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He said “Yes”!
Iliya
Iliya was born in the state of Kaduna, Nigeria, a 2 hour drive from Jos. He was the 9th of 10 children. His father was a tailor as well as a farmer.
One day, the elders of the local church approached Iliya’s father and mother. They asked if they would donate their house and land to the church. After praying and talking about it, they said “yes”, the church could have their property. In exchange, they were given a smaller place to live with a smaller piece of land.
Imagine that…giving your house and land (as a farmer) over to your local church. I wonder what they were thinking?
The day before moving, Iliya was born, the ninth child in this family. 9 mouths to feed and now they had a smaller patch of land to farm!
But rather than feeling regret, they ask the elders to name this latest child. You should name him “Iliya.” “Iliya” means Elijah in English! “We will ‘pass on the mantel’ to this child and he will one day serve God.”
Iliya grew up knowing the story of his name. He went to school. He did well in his exams. He watched God provide money for his university training. He was the first person in his class to finish his thesis. He was determined to finish quickly and he did.
After graduating in 2011 he got his first job. It didn’t pay a lot, but he always had money left over.
In 2012, a pastor approached him and said that his language group, the Jju language, needed a Bible translated. “Would he like to help?”
And like his father before him, he said, “Yes.” Just like that.
He took several workshops learning Bible Translation principles, software and other needed classes.
Never did he imagine he’d be doing this type of work. But the elders did. His parents did. And God did.
Now, Iliya tells people that his name is “Favor” because he believes that God has favored Him so much! He believes that God has made him “fit” for this job.
What job has God made you “fit” for?
I’m blessed for having met “Elijah” who took up the mantel to continue following God in the way that he was created for!
It’s My Turn!
Visa is in hand!
My visa has arrived for Africa! Ever since I was a child, I have wanted to visit the huge continent of Africa. Next week I get to accompany my husband to the place he travels to on a regular basis. Ken will be teaching software, and I’ll be writing stories, taking photos and doing some interviews.
Thanks for going with us with your prayers and funds!
For more specific details, please sign up for our newsletter.
Pat yourself on the back!
Source: inspirationalposter.org
This just in! 2013 achievements from Wycliffe Associates, the organization that Ken is seconded (lent) to.
*Accelerated the work of Bible translation in 71 countries
- *Mobilized 3,145 volunteer and staff members to advance the cause of Bible translation throughout the world
- *Installed 197 Bible Translation Acceleration Kits (BTAKs) in 25 countries for 295 language communities since started installing BTAKs.
- *Improved hundreds of facilities for Bible translation around the world
Thank you for making these achievements possible!
Why do we do this work? (Bible Translation)
We have just entered our 24th year of working for Wycliffe Bible Translators. Here is a short video which speaks to our heart and the reason we do what we do. People’s lives are changed!
We can’t help but thinking it speaks to yours as well since many of you have stood with us the 24 years we’ve been with Wycliffe. That’s why we’re sharing this with you.
Thank you for being a part of the Bible translation team!
Adjust! And Carry On!
Image Credit: mathandreadinghelp.org
One thing that my husband Ken has learned well is adjusting to the unexpected!
His class was supposed to be limited to 25 people, but instead 47 students arrived. How does one turn away mother tongue translators that traveled 12 and 13 hours to come to upgrade their ministry skills?
Due to the class size and cramped quarters, they had to change classrooms halfway through the day. It is possible that the number of students with laptops simultaneously connecting to the hand-made electrical outlets overwhelmed the generator and it stopped functioning (not sure if the machine is permanently broken though). So, after the move, they had no electricity for the remainder of the afternoon. Ken had to yell across the large room to be heard in class, more than once through rain pounding the corrugated roof. Yikes, no electricity in a technical training class!
So, let’s bring on the prayers, my friends! I don’t know how many language groups that this class represents, but don’t you think that Satan would love to slow down this process so that God’s Words cannot be translated into the language of all of these people?
Please pray that all that God planned (not us) will be accomplished this week. Please pray for clear understanding of this software, especially for those few who did not take the previous class. Pray for patience too! Thank you for standing with us.
We’re expecting great things in the days to come.
Visa Granted..
Visa delivered!
Happiness is receiving your visa with just two days to spare!
I’m on my way to expediting Bible translation by teaching mother tongue translators how to check their language data in a specific Bible translation program. It is the second, more advanced, course so not only do I have the opportunity to renew relationships with those from the first course I taught, but I have the opportunity to watch them grown in their technical skills.
What a blessing!
Breaking News…
Breaking news…it’s the phrase the news organizations use when they feel that the new story is big enough to interrupt the ongoing stories of the day.
We haven’t made a post in some time now, but we have our “ongoing” stories like the rest of you.
Ken had three back-to-back trips to Nigeria and then July arrived. It was the month we left open to do personal trips. Our Spring and Summer melded into one as each of us took three trips each to visit our mothers who needed care. Vacation, work, and a graduation all got fit in between. We had planned on writing and giving everyone a small update.
Then came the breaking news…Ken’s mother, Jean Haugh, needed emergency surgery. We knew she wouldn’t do well having a surgery in her weakened state, but she also couldn’t live without the surgery. The day after the surgery, Ken was changing his plans, boarding a plane from his work trip to Florida, and rushing to his mother’s side. On Saturday morning, about 9am, she passed into Heaven with all of her family by her side.
Breaking news…death breaks up your days and your weeks. It waits for no one. It’s never a “good” time. It’s painful and shocking even when expected.
My daughter and I will fly to Michigan tonight and meet our family to start the ritual of “laying Mom to rest.”
Yet we are restless. Yes, she was not healthy. Yes, we knew it could happen. Yes, she had lived a good long life. But it feels horrible and we mourn.
Thanks for standing with us. In a few days we will return and resume our work. The ongoing stories will continue. School has started for me…Ken is planning his next trip…life will go on. We’ll just be a little sadder for a while.
Tea, Biscuits and Eternity
Wycliffe Associates President, Bruce Smith, is in Papua New Guinea. He tells a lovely story of the struggles of the men and woman working on the Old Testament Translation for the Folopa people.
He starts with a story of rats…reminds me of our last post!
You can read his blog here.
http://brucesmith.wycliffeassociates.org/
God Dvu’s you!
Yes, that’s someone’s head, but here is the group!
Last night we had about 25 people over ranging in age from 11-25. It was the youth group from our church, Next Level Church. We had the great opportunity of sharing with them about the Bible translation process, the work of Wycliffe Bible Translators, and why God’s Word is important to them too.
One of the stories we told was recently posted on Wycliffe’s web page. The translation committee in the Hdi language in Cameroon couldn’t find the world for “unconditional love,” the kind of love that God has for all of mankind. How could they translate verses about God’s love without this important word?
They knew that a verb in this language needed to end in an i, a or an u. They knew two words for love already, “Dvi” and “Dva” but would these words work? The coordinator got together with a group of men who spoke Hdi.
“Could you ‘dvi’ your wife?” he asked them? “Yes”, they said. “That would mean that her husband loved her once, but not anymore.”
Hmm, that doesn’t work for God’s love.
“Could you ‘dva” your wife?” “Yes”, they said. “That kind of love depends on the wife’s actions or what she did.”
That won’t work either.
“Could you ‘dvu’ your wife?” he asked? Everyone laughed.
“Of course not!” they said. “If you loved your wife that way, you would have to keep loving her no matter what she did – even if she never made you meals or even if she went to live with another man. No, we would never say ‘dvu.’ It just doesn’t happen.”
The coordinator sat quietly for a moment. “Could God ‘dvu’ people?”
After several minutes tears started running down the faces of these men. They finally responded.
“Do you know what this would mean? This would mean for God kept loving us over and over for thousands of years even while we rejected him and were sinning!”
By changing one simple letter, the vowel at the end of the word, the meaning changed from “I love you because of what you do and who you are,” to “I love you because of who I am.”
Isn’t that a wonderful story about how God created this language so that people could understand the true love of God!
Thank you for supporting us in this important work. It’s so exciting!
The Haugh Herald 