A number of you have asked us if Ken is planning on returning to Nigeria any time soon. As you recall, he has made three trips there this past year helping deploy the BGAN satellites as well as doing training for our national Bible Translators.
The frequent news articles highlighting the increased bombings in the region make us all a bit edgy. As of this week, Ken has no plans to return to Nigeria until he is needed. But our work is not stopping in the region. Most of the translators are nationals and therefore have a good idea of how to keep themselves safe.
But all our work is not safe, is it? We lived in Indonesia for 10 years and had malaria many times. We watched colleagues and workers die from this disease in spite of medication. We lived in a place that was frequently protesting to become independent. This caused us to have “riot” days — days that we closed down the local school just in case there was to be a local uprising. Increasingly, the places we work will seem not that safe. Sure, none of us wants to walk into the path of trouble, but there are risks to working outside of your own culture and comfort zone.
Please be in prayer for the nation of Nigeria which is experiencing unrest and violence targeting Christians. Nigerians are hungry for God’s Word and translation is going on in dozens of languages. Pray that Satan will be stifled and God will allow these translation projects to continue so the people will have His Word in their heart language sooner rather than later.
An article Thursday on the Mission Network News website included an interview with Wycliffe Associates president Bruce Smith (see http://mnnonline.org/article/16662). When asked about the Nigerian translation teams, Bruce responded:
“They (the Nigerians) are seeking wisdom about how to respond in these circumstances. They’re actually looking to God’s Word for the answers that they really need in terms of how they relate to their neighbors and other members of the community that are part of this stressful situation.” The article says that the teams have not allowed the situation to disrupt their deadlines for translation work. Bruce said, “It’s definitely creating a climate of uncertainty and increases their concern about how to continue carrying out their work. They know that God’s Word has the real power to change people’s hearts and that continuing to move forward in Bible translation is the best way to remedy the situation that they face.”
You can keep up with the latest news about the Nigeria situation at the Mission Network News site as well as other news services like CNN. These events highlight that we need to take advantage of opportunities to spread the Good News while the doors are open.
Thank you for standing with us as we continue to do so.
The Haugh Herald 