RSS

What Good is Bible Tranlsation?

26 Sep

We know that Bible translation gives the Word of God to people in their mother tongue. We also know through His Word, people come to know Christ and, hopefully as a result, will grow in His grace and knowledge. But, to those that care little about spiritual things, the question is a big, “So What?” And indeed, some (i.e., Anthropologists) have complained that Bible translation is counter productive in that it changes the nationalistic culture. Often times, the comment is immediately followed by how we introduce germs and other things that might be considered hurtful to the indigenous culture. How do we respond to that?

I’ve lived overseas and, just like in America, some of the changes brought into the culture are welcome changes. The one change we welcomed overseas that immediately comes to mind is cannibalism! Aren’t you glad that the Gospel helps people love and respect their fellow-man rather than eating them??? I sure am. But we that believe in the Bible, come to the issue with a different perspective. How do we answer those that don’t believe like us?

Here is a Seed Company video that shares a bit on how the Gospel has changed a culture – and for the good. (The Seed Company is a Wycliffe partner organization and works alongside many of our other partner organizations to bring the Gospel to the whole world through the Bible translation task). And, it’s in THEIR words, the nationals’ words, those directly impacted by God’s Word in the mother tongue.

Take a moment, if you can, and watch this short, seven minute video on how God’s Word transforms and liberates cultures around the world. Then you’ll see that you and I no longer need to argue the benefits of Bible translation. Our friends and neighbors living all around the world will do it for us.

Happy viewing!

Video: http://www.theseedcompany.org/video-library/13

 
Leave a comment

Posted by on September 26, 2011 in Partner Organization, The Seed Company, Video, Wycliffe

 

Pilot Redeemed to Glory…please pray for his family

23 Sep

With heavy hearts we let you know about the death of a friend, colleague, and father Paul Westlund along with two national Indonesians. Paul was a pilot in Indonesia where we previously worked. He had been flying in those remote mountains for 25 years. Paul was a man of God and had a great sense of humor. He was also a “no-nonsense” kind of guy. His plane went down in the mountains of Indonesia yesterday.

I remember him returning to Indonesia from his furlough time in the US. There had been sickness and death in his family. I was murmuring something about what a tough year it had been for them when Paul stopped me and said, “We don’t want these things to define us. They were just a part of our lives and God took us through that.”

Wow, those words have stayed with me for many years. When I want to have a pity party for myself I think, “Why do I want to make this issue ‘define’ who I am? God is greater than this one thing.” Boy, I need to say those words to myself today.

After grieving for his family yesterday, my next thought was, “Paul would be okay with this death. If he had been told ahead of time that he was going to die that day, I could see him saying that it was just fine.” I hope people say the same thing about me when I die.

Below are some photos of Paul as well as a link to an article he wrote some years ago about “A day in the life of a pilot.” And here is a YouTube video that Paul helped produce a few years ago, tribute to Paul’s life of service to the Papuan people here.  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rr0mDf6fdYM

I know Paul is resting in peace with His Father who he served so wholeheartedly. I also know he will be sorely missed on earth.

Will you please stop a moment and pray for his wife LaVonne, his daughter Joy, and his son Mark as well as all of the others who are grieving? Joy, currently serving in the military, graduated in the same class as our daughter Laura and was one of the students that we spent time with as class sponsors. Pray for Joy who is, at this very moment, flying half way around the world to her father’s funeral. Pray for Mark, his son. He is a junior at Hillcrest International School. Pray for wisdom regarding his schooling, whether he will be able to stay in Papua or have to return to the States. Pray too, for the teams who must go to Papua, Indonesia and investigate this accident to see what went wrong. It can be a stressful time for many people. Thank you.

Paul Westlund, ever with a smile, with some of the many people he served and loved.

 
7 Comments

Posted by on September 23, 2011 in Uncategorized

 

Just one of 41 Million!

15 Sep

The new fiscal year for Wycliffe Bible Translators starts October 1. While that doesn’t mean much to many people it means a lot to me. A new year means new project fund-raising goals. And for Wycliffe that means we need to find 41 million dollars in the next 365 days!

Yikes! That sounds like a lot of money, doesn’t it? Where will it come from? What will we use it for?

I have a huge Excel worksheet which has every project listed, what country it will go to, what project it will fund along with a myriad of other details. It takes months to write-up a project and then takes lots of work to carry it out all the while writing reports on how the money was spent and how it will aid in Bible Translation.

Much of the money will come from individuals, churches and from some larger organizations. Most of it will come in $25 at a time. This is money above and beyond personal support for missionaries.

These finger puppets are telling a story!

Last year we wrote about one project that a friend of ours was involved with. She works in Guatemala. While this project is not funded by a European (and therefore not in my area) I still have a great interest in it because this friend and her husband went through training with Ken and I over 20 years ago. They are still with Wycliffe, just like we are, but their lives and their work has been completely different.

The Deditos is a small non-profit group that was formed in order to produce audio and video materials for minority people groups. They have really become accomplished as they use finger puppets to tell truths and stories from the Bible. Check out their videos! The first one has English subtitles and looks fantastic!

It’s wonderful to see how God’s people are being so creative as they get God’s Message, the Good News, into the heart language of the people from around the world!

 
Leave a comment

Posted by on September 15, 2011 in Anne, Europe, Video, Wycliffe

 

REAL Distance Learning

07 Sep

I woke up halfway and turned over in my bed. Glancing at the clock I read, “2:30 AM”. Wow! Ken sure was getting to bed late. But if you live in India, it was midday and time to be working!

Ken had just finished connecting with some of our co-workers who live halfway around the world. They were interested in learning more about the help desk program called “Spiceworks” that Ken and Wycliffe Associates have been using. It’s free and an effective tool for managing technical support needs, increasingly more important as we, and our national colleagues, rely on computers and computers systems for our daily lives. Could this program be a good fit for them?

Ken’s boss asked him if he’d be willing to do a training session for some of the staff in India and a time was set –  9:30 AM India time. Since the East Coast of the US is 9.5 hours behind India, Ken stayed up late the night before so he could remotely connect with our Indian colleagues.

Sometimes we need to connect with people from home.

At 12:15 AM he made a connection with them. Using Skype for audio and Bomgar remote control for video, he configured the program for presentation mode enabling the staff in India to view his laptop. He demonstrated how Spiceworks  works and answered their many questions. Skype dropped the audio connection at 1:45 AM and rather than our Indian colleagues attempting to reconnect, they sent Ken the following chat text –

“Go to bed, Ken. It’s 2:30 AM there and we have a good idea where we’re headed with this program. Thanks for your help.” Ken crawled into bed tired but satisfied knowing that he helped a partner Bible translation organization with their tech needs while helping them become one step to sustainability.

With Ken’s education background, teaching comes naturally. In fact, it’s fun! When you use the gifts that come naturally for you, it doesn’t even feel like work.

And so a connection was made…literally and figuratively, with a new group of people that we may have a long-term relationship with. Thank you for enabling us to connect with others each day as we serve with Wycliffe!

 
Leave a comment

Posted by on September 7, 2011 in Application, Ken, Wycliffe Associates

 

Tags: , ,

From Their Perspective

23 Aug

You often read about the excitement we feel when we deploy technology to accelerate Bible translation. But, have you ever wondered about the mother tongue translator’s reaction?

Recently, Mark Hancock, a member of our team, went to a South American country and installed a BGAN satellite for someone living in a remote region. Check out this video as he describes his reaction to this new tool. And, while you’re at it, check out the scenery, the house, surrounding this couple. We have so much, don’t we? Our colleagues have so little. It really is amazing.

 
Leave a comment

Posted by on August 23, 2011 in BGAN, Satellite, Video

 

Just can’t pass it up!

18 Aug

Some things are just too good to let go by!

I was in Orlando last week for team meetings and enjoyed a dinner with Dwight and Margaret Hartzler, a couple of my former Indonesia colleagues. Dwight and Margaret completed a New Testament translation and now both serve as translation consultants. And as old friend do, we began to reminisce about our Irian Jaya (now called West Papua) days.The topic soon turned to how much Sentani, where we lived in Papua, had changed. It was then that Margaret pulled out the picture below. I simply had to share it with you. Talk about culture clash!

What’s amazing is Anne and I and our daughters frequently visited and walked the paths of jungle villages like these. What’s even more amazing is that these are the people currently receiving God’s Word, not in Indonesia which they understand little of, but in their mother tongue.

The president of the ministry Anne and I served in for five years said that although people may be physically and/or mentally limited, the Holy Spirit is not. Likewise, although the world may consider these people of the stone age and backwards, God doesn’t. He loves them just like He loves us. And, Jesus died for them just like he died for you and I. And, just like us, they need His Word to grow in Christ.

But it sure does look funny getting there.

Dani with a computerClash of cultures – Dani with a computer

 
7 Comments

Posted by on August 18, 2011 in Laptops

 

Growth in Hungary!

12 Aug

Our colleague Erna (back, far right) with some seekers in Hungary.

Working for Wycliffe Europe Area allows me to share in the varied work of others in my office. Wolfgang and Erna Binder carry dual roles as the Wycliffe Austria director as well as the Central and Eastern Europe Area director. They are a huge help with some of our newer offices which opened after the fall of communism.

Our Wycliffe Hungary office opened about 10 years ago. Every two years or so they put on a week-long event called, “Camp Wycliffe”. Those interested in Wycliffe Bible Translators can come and listen to not only information about our organization but vital lectures on knowing God’s Will.

This years Wycliffe Camp took place July 4 – 8 in Hungary. Wolfgang told us, “The group was smaller than in past years but there were a number of potential applicants. One of the participants, Lilla, who already speaks four languages, even told us on the last evening that she wants to become a Bible translator. So as a result of this camp at least one additional people group could be receiving the Word of God some day!

It was especially encouraging to meet three colleagues who had attended a camp like this two and four years ago, respectively, and have become members of Wycliffe in the meantime. So, after years of sowing,a time of harvest has come (Matthew 9:38).”

Praise God with us as new workers are being raised in countries we never dreamed would be open to the gospel just a few short years ago! It should remind me to continue to pray for other nations that seem “closed” right now.

 
Leave a comment

Posted by on August 12, 2011 in Europe, Wycliffe Europe

 

Accelerating Bible Translation

05 Aug

I love technology, not for technology’s sake, but for some of the ways it enhances our lives and makes it more productive. Yes, I’m also aware that technology sometimes complicates life, like when your computer won’t work like is should, when your email is hacked and your system starts sending out embarrassing messages, or in my case, when I carry the phone but can never seem to get it out of my pocket in time to answer a call.

Here is a link to a video where technology DOES work. And, it not only enhances a life but it accelerates Bible translation too.Take a look at it and simply think of the context —

  • someone living deep in the jungle using a BGAN satellite terminal
  • sends an email with attached translation data
  • via a communications satellite located (I’ve heard) 22,000 above the earth
  • to a translation consultant located thousands of miles away!

What’s even more amazing is that the consultant can send the corrected translation data back the NEXT day as one would do with any email.

Formerly, sending and receiving translation data via the post, hand carry, or other methods would take days, if not weeks or months. One translation consultant said that sometimes he would not hear from one of his mother tongue translators for a year! And now the process can take as little as a day. It’s amazing.

I praise God for this new technology. Take a few minutes to watch these video and I suspect you will too.

Take a moment and watch Accelerating Bible Translation for the Jiru and Levering Technology

 
Leave a comment

Posted by on August 5, 2011 in BGAN, Satellite, The Seed Company, Video

 

A Tale of Three Churches

29 Jul
There once were three churches. These churches were established some time ago, most long before you and I were born. Someone had a vision, and planted them. They’ve each grown, thrived, waned and grown again….some over a 100 year history.
While each church has similarities, each is unique…like each of us. One church, Central Presbyterian, became a second home for a small, petite girl with a big name…Anne Barajikian. This church taught her in Sunday School, provided VBS each summer, gave her lots of opportunities to serve in music, allowed her to meet her heroes, missionaries from around the world, and most of all, stood up for the principles of God’s Word in the midst of a prominent town.

The second church, Dix Hills Evangelical Free Church, was home for this girl’s grandparents. While newer than the other two, it has made its place in Dix Hills and the surrounding area, growing in leaps and bounds. This church allowed this girl, now a teenager, to sing with her school and start ministering at a young age.

Church number three, First Baptist Church of Brewster, allowed this teenager, now grown up with children of her own, to minister in music as well as the children’s ministry. It nurtured her young family as they made their first steps toward joining a mission that would take them far away from their home country.

Central has used it’s “central” location and opened its doors to the arts. Many Sunday afternoons, beautiful opera music sounds out in their vast sanctuary. Many people who would not normally pass through a church door, now come to hear the music that they love in a new place. Thursday afternoons, Central hosts a children’s club which ministers to the neighborhood. While these may not be traditional events for a church, they are ministering to the people around them in a most perfect way.

Dix Hills, who allowed a young teenager sing on its stage, has continued the tradition of nurturing the youth to take leadership positions. The youth group runs VBS entirely on its own for a local church closer to the city. The next generation is being prepared to serve their God in a unique way.

Brewster, is trying something new….VBS on Sunday! Who doesn’t like VBS? Encouraging local children and their families to come to VBS on the most traditional day of the week to worship will show them that Brewster Baptist is a great place to be every Sunday of the year.

And so, each church takes its place in New York. Similar, yet unique. And each one is our partner…they come alongside us as we minister with Wycliffe with both prayer and finances. And they get to rejoice when God’s Word becomes available in the heart language of another people group.

But we are their partners too! So I get to rejoice after each concert, on Thursday afternoons, and at the close of another VBS. Because I’ve partnered with them as they have served. And we all lived happily ever after!

(Thanks for allowing us to come and share with you this month! We love you all!)

Mom, sister Lois and Barbara Walling (Central), Walther and Shirley Reeves (Central), Mr. and Mrs. Tobiason (Central), Sam and Ashley Sutter – great hosts and servants at Dix Hills.Susan Tobiasin and Faye Maynard (Central), Pastor Rick Julian and McKelvie Wilder (Brewster), Central’s Praise Group, Central’s Pastor Aldridge, Paige, from Central.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

 
5 Comments

Posted by on July 29, 2011 in Anne, Family, Ken, Wycliffe

 

Tags: , ,

To my “home town”!

14 Jul

Anne acting silly on a Smart Car in Frankfurt, Germany.

I, Anne, have returned from my latest trip to Germany. I had the opportunity to work in the office, planning some meetings for the Fall, as well as participate in our twice yearly staff meetings. Like me, half of our staff work remotely from our office which is in Germany. A few staff came as far as South Africa! So it is always nice to connect with our group, pray for each other and make sure our strategies are aligned as we served our partners in Europe.

Tomorrow, we take off for New York! We’re both excited to get back to Long Island where I grew up. I have such good memories of my childhood. I had a great family, good neighbors and my family and I attended a wonderful church called Central Presbyterian Church. As the saying goes, “If the doors were open, we were there.” We had lots of opportunities to serve at Central and most of the time it was in the music ministry with my dad greatly involved in missions. Two of my loves!

So this Sunday, July 17th,  we’ll be speaking at Central in the morning. Friday, July 22nd, we will be visiting the First Baptist Church of Brewster, a fantastic church we attended for five years. The next Sunday, July 24th, we’ll be speaking at another wonderful church, Dix Hills Evangelical Free Church. This is the church where my grandparents, Norman and Martha Clayton, worshiped when in New York. They, too, have stood by us for many years as we’ve served either with Children’s Bible Fellowship or Wycliffe Bible Translators. We’ll be doing a presentation we’ve entitled, “Looking Back, Charging Forward” to highlight our last 20 years with Wycliffe and the people who have made it possible.

Hope we can see some of you there! Please pray for us that our message will go forth in a clear way. Our job is not done!

 
4 Comments

Posted by on July 14, 2011 in Anne, Europe, Ken, Prayer, Wycliffe, Wycliffe Europe

 
← Older posts
Newer posts →