words for life winter 2014

wycliffe.org.uk

WordsforLife Now with Call to Prayer

Winter 2014

Front cover: A woman from the Khanty people, Russia, dressed in her winter clothing. Photo by Marc Ewell.This page: Genesis 1:1 translated back from the from the Eastern Apurimac Quechua language of Peru. Illustration by Jason Ramasami.

God in the beginning

the above

world

and this

world

also created.

WelcomeI bet on that evening, two millennia ago, there was no mistaking that the angels were bringing good news. Multitudes filled the sky, all singing about the glory of our God. It must have been magnificent!

We’re probably not expecting the same choir this year, but that’s not because the message has changed: it’s still very, very good news. In this edition of Words for Life, we’d like to tell you how people have joined the angels to declare God’s news in every language they can, from Siberia to Senegal and from Peru to Papua New Guinea. We hope it encourages you to keep declaring the good news as you have the opportunity.

Hannah Thomas EditorE: [email protected]

Wycliffe UK Ltd. is a charity registered in England and Wales,

number 251233 and a charity registered in Scotland,

number SC039140.

In this issue…P4 Listen… but don’t just listen From the directorP8 Who will sing of love for the Nenets? RussiaP10 Some of the best bits of 2014P12 Who we areP16 Literacy is…P24 Money mattersP30 God restores hope Central African Republic

Pray…December Wycliffe in the UK; Language projects in

Asia; ChristmasJanuary Wycliffe workers; Literacy programmes in

Asia and AfricaFebruary After the launch in Senegal and Papua

New Guinea; Photo prayer; Peru March Tanzanian teams; Caucasus Mountains;

Answers to prayer; Trauma healing

New address

Wycliffe Bible Translators, The Clare Charity Centre,

Wycombe Road, Saunderton, High Wycombe HP14 4BF

T: 0300 303 1111E: [email protected]

Designed and produced by

WordsforLife 3

WordsforLife 54 WordsforLife

Listen…

In September 2014, Wycliffe welcomed new director of Wycliffe Bible Translators UK James Poole. He writes about why he’s passionate to see the Bible available in everyone’s language.

I’ve belonged to church fellowship groups almost all my adult life. For me they have been the source of tremendous help and support, and are a real highlight in the middle of a busy week. So when I moved house and joined a new

church recently, I was eager to find out about the midweek groups as soon as possible.

One Wednesday soon after our move, my new group were looking at the verse where the apostle James writes, ‘Don’t just listen to God’s word. You must do what it says.’ (James 1:22 NLT) Naturally, we began to think of our own failure to put into practice the things we read in the Bible.

But if we look more closely, we find that James isn’t talking about reading the Bible but about listening to it. He was writing long before people had easy access to printed copies of the Scriptures. Rather than reading the Bible for themselves, people would have gathered to hear someone read it out loud and explain it. They needed to listen – and then to obey.

but don’t just listenJames Poole

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Listening to the word in a Lahu church in Thailand.

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Call to Prayer Monday 1 – Sunday 7 December

Pray for Wycliffe in the UK…Please pray with James and the team at Wycliffe in the UK for the following year. Pray for…

n Planned events for people to explore opportunities to serve with Wycliffe.

n Contact with more people who want to join the team by giving, praying, going or through advocacy.

n For good relationships and unity, amid some restructuring to the team in the UK.

n The Christmas appeal this year and requests for financial support throughout next year.

n We’re thankful for new opportunities in the Republic of Ireland to share about Bible translation.

n That the team in the UK would continue to be able to support those overseas.

n That every member of the team would enter 2015 with a renewed vision and zeal for sharing God’s word with the world.

This gives us a little glimpse of what life was like for those early Christians. Even without the printed Bibles we have, James still assumes that his readers’ churches would be based upon gathering together to listen to the Bible and its message proclaimed, so that hearing God’s word might lead to changed lives.

This is the New Testament pattern for church life. So what happens to a church whose only copy of the Bible is in a foreign language? How can they listen to God’s word? How will lives be changed?

Wonderfully, God overflows with love and compassion towards his people and works powerfully in the lives of those who, through no fault of their own, have little access to his word. But it is clear that the Great Commission to ‘make disciples of all the nations’ (Matthew 28:19) cannot be carried out without sustained attention to Bible translation ministries.

For new churches to grow in spiritual maturity, the Bible must be made available to them in the language they understand the best. For that to happen, individuals and churches who already have the Bible in their own language need to partner with those who do not.

I’m excited to have joined Wycliffe Bible Translators as the new director because of the eternal significance of the work we are involved in. Please pray that God would give me his wisdom as we begin to make plans for the coming year.

And next time you hear the Bible read and preached in your church, or you study it together in a fellowship group, please pray also for our brothers and sisters around the world who are having to do this in a language which is not their own. Could your church or Bible study group partner with them to make a translation available?

As James might say, ‘Let’s not merely listen to the Great Commission, but do what it says.’

If your church is interested in partnering with a community to make an understandable translation of God’s word available, please get in touch. You can find contact details on the inside of the back cover.

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otos

: Ada

m Je

ske


Developing development

n There’s been a rapid turnover of staff at LEAD Asia over the last months. Pray for the new team to work well together and, through that, better support marginalised people groups.

n LEAD’s community of practice is meeting in December to discuss environmental issues that affect marginalised communities. Pray for useful, productive and peaceable discussions.

n Pray for the development of an online space for the community of practice to grow, share ideas and support each other when not meeting together.

n Currently, two ‘fellows’ are working with LEAD Asia, learning about transformational development on the job: Frank Schweikhardt is in the Philippines and Sharon Kim is in Cambodia supporting the community of practice. Pray for them

as they adapt to their placements and think about future roles.

n Pray for more fellows to join the team. leadimpact.org/fellows

International Cooperation Cambodia (ICC) is a local LEAD partner. Their involvement with communities in Cambodia is diverse: projects include setting up literacy classes, teaching about health issues with puppets and running seed-exchange events for farmers.

n Mariam Smith is helping local ICC staff to take on leadership. They have great vision, passion and capacity, but struggle to communicate with foreign donors.

n Pray for justice for the Bunong people who are losing their land and forests to industrial concessions and illegal logging. One said: ‘If we lose our forest, we will die.’

LEAD Asia is service team of SIL International, Wycliffe’s key partner.

Years of experience in community development means LEAD Asia is well placed to support many working with the poorest and most overlooked communities in Asia.

Photo courtesy of LEAD Asia.

Call to Prayer Monday 8 – Sunday 28 December

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From fear to worship‘We only knew one place to go to when we need help – cry out to the spirits. This would be for healing, protection and even forgiveness for offending the spirits. We lived in fear… Now it’s no longer spirits but Spirit, knowing that the God we worship loves us so much having sent his Son Jesus Christ.’– A pastor from the Ifugao region (Philippines) on the difference the mother tongue Bible has made

n Praise the Lord that after some initial glitches, the Central Ifugao Bible was typeset last year.

n Ask the Lord to cause the equipment to work well through the printing and binding processes, producing books that are both easy to read and durable.

n Pray for a Bible launch that will engage the entire community.

n Ask the Holy Spirit to inspire people to make the word a regular part of their lives. The people have had the New Testament since 1980; now they will have God’s full revelation!

Celebrate God’s goodness in the launch of two New Testaments in the region last year:

n Two editions of the Brooke’s Point Palawano New Testament, Philippines, were delivered to the Brooke people last year – a printed New Testament and an audio recording. Pray for good distribution of both the book and the recording.

n In the wider region: the Western Kala New Testament was launched at a 5-hour celebration in September 2014! May it be valuable for the ten house fellowships that meet in the Kala area.

n Pray for the other nearby projects nearing completion, which have the potential to reach more than three-quarters of a million people.

Pray for the world: Inspirations from the Christmas story

n A promised coming. Your promise to the prophets that the Messiah would come proved faithful. We hold on to your promise that a day is coming when people from every nation, tribe and tongue will worship you before your throne.

n A long journey to Bethlehem. We thank you that your eyes are on all your people, whether they are near or far from home. We pray particularly for safety and security for those who are travelling.

n A gathering of shepherds. We know that you rejoice to see people gathered to worship you. We stand, in prayer, with those of our brothers and sisters who cannot gather with other Christians because of illness, government or because there are no other Christians near them.

n A message for wise men from afar. As you spoke through word and signs to the wise men, we ask that your message would be proclaimed to those in authority.

n An attack. Jesus’ life was opposed, as Herod declared a massacre. We pray for those who are suffering for his name.

n The escape to Egypt. We ask for your mercy for those millions who are displaced or refugees, knowing that Jesus was also once a refugee, and think particularly of those in Syria, Iraq, the Central African Republic and South Sudan.

n The Word became flesh. We praise you that your Son became a man and lived among people: you long to communicate intimately with your people. Please keep translating your word so that people may celebrate this good news.


Who will sing of love for the Nenets?Craig CombsFinland and the Russian Federation

Salekhard, Russia, is a place where few would choose to live. In this city – one of only two in the world located on the Arctic Circle – the average annual high temperature hovers around minus one degree. During the months of November through January, the sun comes out for an average of 14 minutes per day.

But Suvi Eriksson, a young woman from Finland, has not merely chosen to live there; she loves it! More precisely, she loves the people God sent her to serve among – the nomadic, tundra-dwelling, reindeer-herding Nenets people. Suvi is part of a multi-national team dedicated to serving

with the Nenets through the ministry of Bible translation and Scripture engagement.

‘Yes, God – but never to Russia!’A calling to cross-cultural ministry came early to Suvi – starting around the age of seven. Even then, she began the process of thinking about where she might like (and not like) to serve. South America was high on her list; Russia was at the bottom of it. ‘I thought at one point, Okay, God, basically anywhere, but never to Russia,’ she shares.

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Suvi’s change in attitude about Russia happened gradually, but there was one significant turning point. She attended a youth meeting, where the topic of discussion was a ministry to children in former Young Pioneer (communist youth) camps.

‘I was surprised at my reaction, that it wasn’t, Oh no, Russia!’ she recalls. ‘Somehow I was taken by it and thought I would love to go there.’

Suvi signed up to participate in one of the camps. It was during one particular prayer time that God spoke to her heart about her negative view of Russia and Russian people: ‘As we were praying I just realised my attitudes had not been right.’

Clarifying the call: the NenetsWhile attending Bible college in Finland, Suvi came across a church newspaper with a story about a project to translate and record Finnish children’s songs for the Nenets people in northern Siberia.

‘I just could not get rid of that idea,’ she says. ‘I wrote to [the newspaper] right away and asked if I could join them. They said yes.’

So, in the summer of 2008, Suvi was off to spend three weeks among the Nenets in their tundra homeland. The trip involved a lot of travel, much of it on trains. While Suvi was napping on one long train ride, God spoke to her about the Nenets in a dream.

A common feature on Russian trains is the pervasive presence of popular music emanating from the trains’ speaker systems. Having fallen asleep during one long stretch of travel, Suvi dreamed she heard a song titled What is love all about? The last line of the song was Who will sing of love for the Nenets? Incredulous, she asked her companions if they had heard that line. But – still in the dream – Suvi’s friends said no, they did not hear it.

At that point Suvi woke up and realised it had all been a dream. Since that day, the dream has served as an encouragement to Suvi during difficult times. ‘God has been reminding me in

different ways of that dream and the words of that song, “Who will sing of love for the Nenets?”’

That the word would live in their heartsSuvi’s passion, as she puts it, is ‘to work with children, families and young people, to see them grounded in the word.’ So the area of Scripture engagement is a good fit for her.

Scripture engagement – encouraging people to use and apply God’s word in culturally appropriate forms – is not limited to teaching people how to read printed books. In some cultures, people access God’s word more naturally and effectively in other formats.

‘As much as I know about the Nenets, they are not reading,’ observes Suvi. ‘In the village where I spent six weeks last year, I noticed that they would rather listen to Bible recordings. They would sometimes have them on for half of the day.’

Especially encouraging to her has been her ability to work closely with a gifted Nenets composer named Tatyana Lar. One of Tatyana’s worship songs starts with these words:

In the morning I wake up in your name

If you happen to encounter Suvi walking through the town or out on the tundra, you might hear her singing a melody as she goes – a song of love for the Nenets.

Craig Combs serves as a communication consultant with the Wycliffe Global Alliance.

In the morning I wake up in your name

and everything goes well with me when I live in your name.

For the whole day you protect me.

In the evening I am so thankful that you are with me.

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Some of the best bits of 2014

A word to the youngGirls’ Brigade is Northern Ireland’s largest youth organisation, with more than 23,000 members. This year, Marlene worked with Girls’ Brigade to develop a module all about Bible translation for Brigade companies to use.

The Mankanya New Testament LaunchOne of the New Testaments launched this year was the Mankanya New Testament (in the Spring 2014 edition of Words for Life we mentioned the translation was reaching completion). UK Wycliffe worker Maggie was on the translation team and joined the big launch in May.

New resourcesThe team based in the UK were able to launch new resources for UK churches. Kids on a Mission – a Bible translation Sunday school session – came out in June and Focused prayer, kingdom results – a guide to praying for mission – came out in August.

Pho

to: J

ohn

Ham

ilton

WordsforLife 11

Official recognitionSolomon Islands: When the Kwaio New Testament was launched in April, it was added to a permanent display hosted in the National Parliament of all the New Testaments that have been translated into local languages. The Prime Minister, Speaker of Parliament and members of parliament acknowledged the new translation in a special event.

Some of the best bits of 2014

The JESUS Film in KouyaThe JESUS Film has been translated thousands of time, and this year was no exception. A dubbing into Kouya, a language of the Ivory Coast, was one of the new additions to the library this year. In this snap, the team are moving mattresses to soundproof the studio.

GO FestivalAn excited Wycliffe team was one of the key partners at 2014’s GO Festival, the UK’s biggest annual mission festival. One of the headline speakers we enjoyed was new director James Poole.


their own language, the faithfulness of the pastors, the JESUS Film and the audio New Testament have all contributed to this growth.

The Tampulma Bible was launched in 2000. Ian became an Old Testament consultant and checked many other translations including the Nafaanra, Deg, Vagla and Gonja. Claire started literacy classes in churches, in which the students learn to read, listen to a Bible story and learn a memory verse every week. There are now more than 20,000 young people in these classes across 16 languages and many have come to know the Lord.

Was it worth it? Most certainly yes. Giving people the Scriptures in their own language and seeing lives changed is a great privilege. We only wish we were 50 years younger and could do it all again.

Milestone members These two couples retired in 2014 after reaching milestones of service. They sum up their years with Wycliffe.

Ian and Claire Gray Members 1964–2014

Just two years after arriving for our first role in Nigeria, we were evacuated to Ghana where we began work with the Tampulma people. To reach them, we had to cross the White Volta River by canoe (and still do!). Pastor Peter helped us to study the culture, learn their language and produce an alphabet. Ian and Peter translated the New Testament while Claire prepared primers and taught people to read. There were very few Christians then and just one small church.

The Tampulma New Testament was launched in 1978 and, from that one little church, there are now 65 Tampulma churches. The Scriptures in

Who we are Ian and Claire Gray

Call to Prayer Monday 29 Dec – Sunday 4 January

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Prayn For the Gonja translators Adam, Pastor

Francis and Pastor Issah who have finished typesetting and are checking for final corrections. Pray for consistent electricity and no computer problems. They are hoping to launch the Gonja Bible in March 2015.

n The Tampulma Bible is sold out and people, especially the younger generation, are asking for Bibles. Pray for Samuel and Ian as they revise the Tampulma Bible. The reprinted Bible will be available in 2015.

n That, through these Scriptures, many more Gonja and Tampulma people will come to know the Lord.

n For Pastor Jonah Kwotua (left) who led the Kasem translation team and is now studying for an MTh in African Christianity.

n For John Sidsaya who works as typesetter for the Wycliffe organisation in Ghana. He has his hands full with six Ghanaian-language Bibles in the publication pipeline.

n 8,000 Kasem Bibles are being printed in South Korea and shipped to Ghana. Pray that many lives will be transformed through reading and hearing the word of God.

n Pick a member or a family on this or the next page to pray for: for peace in mourning, for joy in a new stage of life, for provision for the work.

and her husband Tim now serve with Wycliffe in Nigeria.

Sacrifice? Those who have faithfully stood with us all these years through prayer and giving have in many ways made the greater sacrifice. It has been a great privilege for us to stay with the Kasem translation and to see the Bible through to final production. Mostly it has given us great joy – and also some heartaches. God is good all the time.

Judy and Philip Hewer Members 1968 and 1969–2014

When we joined Wycliffe we were expecting to go to Brazil. Forty-five years later, we are putting the final touches to a Bible for the Kasena people of northern Ghana! During that time we have served in many different roles, about half the time in Ghana and half in the UK: Philip in linguistics, translation and language development, guiding UK membership applications, serving as company secretary, as administrator, consultant and facilitator; Judy in adult literacy, children’s education (both teaching our own kids and advising other parents), personnel management and most recently preparing cross-references for the Kasem Bible.

Through all of this there have been tough times and good times, such as celebration of the Kasem New Testament, published in 1988. In 1972 there was no electricity supply in Paga, the Kasena village where we went to live, and wider communication was by 2-way radio. Now many homes have TVs and everyone has a mobile phone, if not two or three! Our two children grew up there in a safe environment and benefited from a rich experience of life which has stood them in good stead. Alison

Pastor Abraham (right) and Pastor Jonah during the typesetting of the Kasem Bible


New to the teamIn the last year, we welcomed to the team…

Bart and Amber Modderkolk From: Christians Alive Church, Lancaster At the moment: Doing theological studies before training for language work.

Rosemary Pritchard From: leading in a Methodist Circuit in Essex At the moment: At Redcliffe College, preparing for language work in Burkina Faso.

Rachel Lloyd-Williams From: Euston Church, London At the moment: Finishing training at Redcliffe College, preparing for a language role in Asia.

Michael and Helen Morrissey From: St Leonard’s Church, Exeter At the moment: At the end of training before beginning language roles in Senegal, where they have previously done short-term assignments.

Rebekah Overton From: Holy Trinity Church, Cambridge At the moment: Finishing language studies before joining the Mara Cluster Project, a group of eight

languages in Tanzania.

Joe and Sarah Potter (top) From: Enfield Evangelical Free Church At the moment: Joe’s training for a language role, while Sarah cares full-time for their four sons.

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Promoted to gloryRetired member Valerie Mitchell died on 24th November 2013, after a period of declining health. Valerie began her linguistic training in 1958. She started serving in Brazil in the Rikbaktsa project, and joined work among the Xavante in 1972. The team faced many challenges, but when Valerie retired in 2000, the Xavante New Testament had been drafted.

Michael Werner died on 9th February 2014. After joining Wycliffe in 1974, Michael worked for a year in Nepal and a year in the Philippines, then moved to Indonesia to work with the Kemtuik translation. The New Testament in Kemtuik was launched in 2008. Direct work with the Kemtuik translation was limited by visa difficulties but his accountancy background enabled him to return in 2003 not as a translator but as a finance consultant, in which role he served until 2013.

Patrick Caröe died on 10th March 2014. When he and his wife Kate became members of Wycliffe in 1999, Patrick joined the IT team. He was instrumental in setting up the stable and reliable computer infrastructure, email system and network that Wycliffe in the UK has since enjoyed. Always ready to rise to a challenge, Patrick mastered ever-changing technology with cheerfulness and a willingness to serve.

Retired member Elaine Thomas died on 3rd August 2014. She joined Wycliffe in 1962 and worked in the Engenni language in Nigeria until 1976, when the New Testament was completed. Moving to DR Congo, she worked on the Ngbaka New Testament (1978–82) and Bible (launched 1996), and on the Ngbandi New Testament (completed 1986). As well as a translation advisor, she was also a translation consultant and valuable teacher at Wycliffe’s training. She retired in 2003.

Call to Prayer Monday 29 Dec – Sunday 4 January

495 people in totaln 417 members, including 15 members

in training and 90 retired membersn 37 volunteersn 14 employeesn 12 board membersn 15 honorary members

Count on usWycliffe in the UK in 2014

14 births

3 weddings

learning

to grow

as a

Christian

through

reading

the Bible.

the Bible.

not having to ask your son or daughter

to write a letter for you

helping your

children with

their school

work

no longer feeling second class

feeling proud of

your language,

and that it is

written down

children le

arning

to read an

d write r

st

in their ow

n languag

e

so that th

ey have a s

olid

foundatio

n for learn

ing

in other lan

guages

not having ink on your thumb when you go to vote

keeping your own accounts in your business

not being

cheated in

the market

knowing how much money you have in your pocket

reading the instructions on the medicine bottle

knowing how to look after your children when they are ill

feeling proud that you can write your name

saam

visu

al.c

om

Jason Ramasami 6/14


reading, writing and numeracy, and…

learning to grow as a Christian through reading the Bible.

feeling proud that you can write your name.

not having to ask your son or daughter to write a letter for you.

no longer feeling second class.

feeling proud of your language, and that it is written down.

reading the instructions on the medicine bottle.

knowing where the bus is going and where to get off.

not being cheated in the market.

understanding the numbers on the scales when you are selling your coffee beans.

knowing how much money you have in your pocket.

knowing how to look after your children when they are ill.

helping your children with their school work.

knowing that you have not spent more than you have earned.

keeping your own accounts in your business.

not having ink on your thumb when you go to vote.

not feeling afraid in places you don’t know.

children learning to read and write first in their own language so that they have a solid foundation for learning in other languages.

Literacy does not automatically guarantee change – but the opposite, non-literacy, is certainly an obstacle to personal and community development.

Literacy is…

There are approximately 774,000,000 non-literate adults in the world, most of whom live in South, West and East Asia and in sub-Saharan Africa. UNESCO 2014

A boy in Ethiopia reads Scripture in Basketo.

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Jesk

e.

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Call to Prayer Monday 5 – Sunday 11 JanuaryNow I can see

the worldFor three years the women of Yasu’s village had been praying for someone to teach them how to read the translated Gadsup Bible, when God laid it on Yasu’s heart to teach a literacy course. ‘I had only taken a basic literacy workshop,’ he explained, ‘but I soon had 174 participants and four classes!’

A few years later, Yasu attended a programme in literacy-based development. ‘Before, I thought literacy was for reading and writing only. But it actually covers a wide area. Literacy impacts every part of the things we do; it’s what makes

people become poor and what makes people become rich. It’s what makes them become a believing Christian, and it’s why they don’t know Jesus. [This course] led me to the top of the mountain and now I can see the world.’

Now Yasu spends much of his time teaching literacy courses around the Highlands of Papua New Guinea.

‘In Binumarien, they have translated the Bible already, but no one can read it.’ Yasu said. “That’s the problem – literacy needs to come first, otherwise how can they read the Bible?”

After two years, the Koch community in Bangladesh agreed how they want their language to be written and spelt. It meant that in May they were able to launch the first preschool programme in Koch.

Sangita Florence, who was at the launch, said: ‘As I saw people talking and laughing together I realised how important this opening celebration was to the community. I felt excited when we handed over the school materials to the teachers in the presence of the community. I believe the materials are a key to unlock learning.’

Give thanks for…n The final decisions about the

writing system.

n Koch community members who developed resources for the first year of pre-primary.

n A training workshop for Koch teachers, equipping them to teach effectively and engagingly in the mother tongue.

n The opening of the new pre-school programme and excitement about mother-language learning.

Pray…n That the new primary programme will

flourish and that many students will join.

n For four much-needed mother-language teachers and for a supervisor for the programme.

n For the SIL Bangladesh team who help speakers of lesser-known languages develop writing systems and mother-language education.

How much difference does a writing system make?

SIL is a key partner with Wyciffe

20 WordsforLife WordsforLife 21

Margaret, a literacy coordinator, and Kijuu, a Rangi translator, were travelling home very tired but very happy. They had spent a few days in a Rangi village, days that included the very first Christmas celebrations the village had ever held. That year the Christmas story in Rangi had been translated and printed for the first time.

They decided to break their journey so that they could visit a group of nuns. Two of the sisters are Rangi. After greetings, Kijuu read aloud from ‘The Birth of Jesus’ and everyone listened quietly. He finished and asked, ‘What do you think?’

The sisters were quiet. Margaret looked around the room to see that the Rangi sisters were silently weeping. They had heard this story in Swahili, the national language, many times before but never in their own language.

A Tanzanian Christmas story Pray…

n For the progress of literacy work among the Rangi, Burunge, Sandawe, Alagwa and Mbugwe people groups. Pray especially for the women, many of whom do not know how to read.

n For the office-based literacy workers, Emilia and Magdalena, as they prepare publications.

n For the area literacy teachers, Michael, Vita and Samweli, who have challenging work teaching literacy in villages.

n For more volunteer literacy teachers in the villages.

n For wisdom, understanding and perseverance for Margaret as she leads the team’s work.

n For the work of local churches who are sharing the truth about Jesus.

n That more people, both Tanzanian and expatriate, would hear God’s call to work in literacy in Tanzania.

Able to read the Muyang New Testament at a Cameroon launch in 2013

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Call to Prayer Monday 12 – Sunday 1 FebruaryA cluster of literacy

Ndop is a cluster of ten languages in Cameroon. As Bible translation goes on in seven of the nine languages in the cluster that don’t have a New Testament, literacy is a vital part of making the Scriptures accessible and opening up opportunities for communities.

Thanksn The literacy project is increasingly self-

sufficient: many of the teachers are people who have come through the literacy programme.

n Emmanuel and Daniel, the literacy supervisors, are taking more responsibility and initiative in running the programme.

n Multilingual education is being piloted in one village and is going well.

Discovering JesusThe Fulani people of West Africa are probably the largest nomadic group in the world. There are about 20 million of them spread throughout 16 countries. Over 99% of Fulani are Muslims. It is said that to be a Fulani is to be a Muslim.

Fifteen years ago a Fulani leader had a dream about Jesus. It made him seek God through prayer, meditation and by studying their holy book. He came to the conclusion that Jesus was the Son of God and the Saviour of the world. He and his disciples visited Fulani villages in four countries spreading the good news!

Three years ago, believers from this movement got in contact with a Wycliffe literacy specialist, asking for classes to learn to read and write. They also asked for Bibles in their language. Since then, seven Fulani have been trained as teachers. Classes and Bible study groups are being held in three villages, with highly motivated men, women and children from all generations attending.

n Praise God for calling these Fulani to trust Jesus.

n Pray that the Fulani believers will continue to experience God’s presence in their lives and his provision for their needs, even in adversity.

n Pray for the Holy Spirit to guide believers to open doors where they can bring the good news of Jesus to their people.

n Pray for unity among the believers. Some are critical of using Scripture; pray that they would seek to grow in their faith by more than dreams and visions.

n The Bible is a difficult but exciting book for new readers. Pray that believers will grow in understanding as they start studying God’s word.

n Pray for the Fulani literacy teachers. They were all non-literate not long ago and teaching is a big challenge.

n Pray for the revision of a primer and the writing of a teacher’s handbook to help the teachers.

Prayn All the expatriate literacy specialists are

working remotely in their sending countries this year. Pray that Emmanuel and Daniel would grow in confidence and wisdom as they lead the project.

n Daniel is taking school examinations to increase his general level of education and Emmanuel began literacy training in September to enable him to become the literacy coordinator for the project.

n Pray for the church-based literacy programmes in villages where Scriptures are now available, especially that there would be people able to read the Bible in each church.

n Pray for development of the multilingual education programme in primary schools. The team hopes to extend the programme to another school in the coming year.


‘But those who drink the water I give will never be thirsty again. It becomes a fresh, bubbling spring within them, giving them eternal life.’ John 4:14 (NLT)

In Words for Life in the spring, we celebrated the launch of Genesis and New Testament in Mankanya. More than 500 people came to the celebration and many copies of the New Testament and audio recordings of Genesis were sold (see p10).

The launch of Scripture is not the end of the process.

n Now that Scripture is available in Mankanya, pray that many people would have a real hunger for God’s word.

n Pray that God would speak clearly to the groups of Mankanya people who are listening to Genesis in their own language.

After the launch: the Seimat people, Papua New GuineaIn 2013, the Seimat people of Papua New Guinea launched the New Testament for the first time to much celebration.

n Salt-water flooding in the Ninigo Islands (where the Seimat people live) destroyed many gardens, the key source of food. Thankfully, an SIL plane was able to deliver emergency food supplies.

n Rains have come, washing away the flood water and the salt left on the land, so the community can begin growing food again.

n In the summer, Theresa Wilson and Beata Wozna – who have been working with the community since 2003 – returned to the islands. Beata worked with teams on several islands to translate Genesis, and Theresa began testing it in the communities for clarity and naturalness.

n Pray for Michael Tolen and Jon Maius, with their teams, who are now working on Exodus.

n Thank God that Theresa and Beata were able to record new praise songs in Seimat during their visit.

n Literacy is a vital part of the project. During her visit Theresa ran courses for teachers from five island schools, along with reading-fluency classes and writing workshops, so that more Seimat books can be written for elementary school children. Pray that parents will take up the challenge set for them of reading to their children.

n Pray that as the rains have washed the lands, God’s Spirit will wash Seimat hearts, refreshing them and preparing them to grow fruitfully with an increasing desire to know him and read his word.

After the launch: the Mankanya people, Senegal

n Pray that the Mankanya Scriptures would be used in the Catholic churches where there are many Mankanya people.

n Give thanks for the recording of the Mankanya New Testament and for the composition of many songs based on it.

n Pray for the audio technicians working with Wycliffe’s partner SIL, as they edit the newly-composed Mankanya Scripture songs and insert them into the audio of the New Testament.

n Pray that the New Testament songs will be released as planned by April 2015.

n Pray that God would use his word to transform the lives of many Mankanya people and to set them free from fear of the spirits.

Call to Prayer Monday 2 – Sunday 22 February

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Jesus and his disciples enjoyed a fishy breakfast and, in China, noodles are common breakfast fare. As you eat your (probably very different) breakfast, use these facts about China to pray.

China is the third largest state by area in the world. The climate ranges from tropical in the south to arctic in the north.

With a population of 1.3 billion people, China is the world’s most populous nation. Around a third of people live in cities.

91% of the population are Han Chinese. There are more than 600 Han dialects but all are written in a common form.

There are more than 450 other ethnic groups in the country.

Of China’s 298 languages, around 70 have some Scripture. Pray that speakers of minority languages would see how valuable translating the Bible can be for their community, and that they would offer to lead the work.

Pray that language and translation work in minority languages would benefit local communities.

Estimates of the number of Christians in China vary, but it is probably over 60 million. Pray that the Christians will grow in love, faith and hope.

Read about the history of the Bible in China at wycliffe.org.uk/wflextra.

Statistics from Operation World, Ethnologue, BBC.

Breakfast facts


Money matters Phil Prior

Talking about money can be awkward, but there are good reasons for us to do it. All around the world, Bible translation is funded by supporters. It may be through gifts given to individuals who work with us or it may be through direct donations to projects. It is important that those who give can understand how we use the money God provides.

Money for membersWith more than 400 UK members living in a variety of situations, it’s not possible to give a simple or quick summary that would do everyone justice. However, a few facts may help to make the needs that members have clearer:

Wycliffe members are each supported in what they do by a group of people who regularly fund, pray for and encourage them.

Members don’t receive a salary. All their financial support is provided through donations. The

income they need varies depending on where in the world they work and can be impacted by changes to exchange rates, the cost of medicines and air travel, just as much as by the cost of accommodation and groceries.

A tenth of a member’s income is split between their sending organisation (Wycliffe in the UK in our case), the local organisation they are working with and our global partners. This money allows those organisations to serve them, including arranging the transfer of money between countries or helping with relocation in a crisis.

From the Adamawa community, Nigeria

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There are always new members looking for support (prayer and encouragement as well as finance) and a number needing to top-up their income as situations change. Some of these needs are urgent.

Pounds and pence for projectsA number of churches and individuals fund translation projects directly. These gifts enable workers from countries that don’t have the sending heritage that we have to be involved in Bible translation. They also provide for infrastructure such as IT supplies, offices, tables and chairs, training and support personnel.

The best examples of this kind of support are in our InFocus or First Gospel programmes, where supporters make a commitment to give to and pray for a specific project. In turn they receive regular updates from the project, and sometimes supporters have even visited the project and taken a broader interest in the community.

With all the First Gospel and InFocus projects, Wycliffe in the UK has made a commitment to see them through to a conclusion: for First Gospel, that’s the publication of Luke (the first gospel in that language) and the release of The JESUS Film; for InFocus, it’s the completion of a

New Testament. These are serious commitments. Pulling funding for a project does not only mean that a translation goes unfinished; it could also mean unemployment for local translators and financial hardship for a family.

First Gospel and InFocus project support has never been high enough to cover all the needs. This means that we use general donations to make up the shortfall. These may come through responses to general appeals, gifts through the website, donations at church meetings or other routes. As well as making up the shortfall on First Gospel and InFocus projects, these funds provide for projects that may not be so appealing. For example, we pay the salary of a bookkeeper in Chad. It doesn’t sound like the most exciting way to use money, but if we don’t pay for a bookkeeper then someone else has to be taken out of another role to do this job.

Any remaining money is used for the support of projects that emerge needing an instant decision. Sometimes these are shared with supporters and we see amazing generosity, but often they are administrative challenges that are neither exciting nor inspiring, but essential to keep the wheels of Bible translation turning.

FY means financial year, so FY10 is the financial year 2010 (Wycliffe’s financial years run from October to September). The financial figures for 2014 are taken from information included in the charity’s full annual accounts which are still subject to audit, and which will be available in due course.

Other giving to projects: FY10 £507,000 FY11 £539,000 FY12 £411,000 FY13 £346,000 FY14 £392,000

InFocus

FY1019 Projects

FY1116 Projects

FY1215 Projects

FY1315 Projects

FY1414 Projects

£201

,000

£130

,000

£215

,000

£122

,000

£273

,000

£169

,000

£294

,000

£143

,000

£247

,000

£158

,000

FY102 Projects

FY113 Projects

FY124 Projects

FY132 Projects

FY142 Projects

First Gospel

£90,

000

£34,

000

£139

,000

£54,

000

£203

,000

£100

,000

£121

,000

£68,

000

£134

,000 £1

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Expenditure

Income


Ponchos and Scripture promotion

Edilberto, a Scripture use promoter, said: ‘Our family life was sad. I used to use curse words. Now, I have forgotten those words. The neighbours are watching us and saying, “What has happened to make them behave so differently?” We have learned to be respectful and love each other.

‘When we have work parties in the fields, during our rest breaks we talk about the Luke video. We ask ourselves, “How shall we live, now that we have this new understanding?”’

n Give thanks for life-changes, as a result of God at work, that are starting to spread out into the communities.

n Alan and Helen, based in the US, often travel to Peru to work with the Corongo and Sihuas Quechua teams. Praise the Lord for safe travel for Alan, Helen and their co-workers during recent workshops.

n Praise God that both teams were able to revise all of Luke.

n The Sihuas team has prepared a book of 33 stories for children. Pray for the printing and distribution.

n Pray for the translators and Scripture promoters as they show the Luke video and teach lessons from Luke in the schools and communities. Pray that the equipment would function and people would respond to God’s word.

n Pray for the promoters as they travel to distant villages.

n Thank God for a Peruvian linguist who wants to work part-time with the Sihuas team.

Alan and Helen are codenames.

The Corongo and Sihuas Quechua people of Peru

Men in a Sihuas Quechua village don ponchos when they come to church at night to watch portions of the Gospel of Luke on video.

Call to Prayer Monday 23 Feb – Sunday 15 March

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Teaming up to translateKatavi Region, Western Tanzania

Pray…n For the language communities served through

the Katavi project: the Bende, Tongwe, Pimbwe and Rungwa. May God prepare and open their hearts to have a hunger for God’s word, and a desire to read and write in their mother tongue.

n For the team at the regional office – for unity, protection, good health, and for wisdom and joy in their work.

n That the project will continue to have good relationships with local churches and government officials in the region. Pray especially for wisdom for Richard Yalonde, the team leader and partnership officer for the project.

n For Mathias Kassanda, a Bende pastor, who recently became a translator after years of wanting Scripture in his language. At the moment he is working alone and the nearest translation advisors are 12 hours’ drive away.

n For more people to join the team. The highest priority is for translators (one Bende and two Pimbwe), translation advisors and a partnership officer.

n Praise God for all the work that has been done in the last three years: in Bende and Pimbwe, provisional writing systems have been established, CDs with songs have been produced, literacy booklets are ready to be printed and a first draft of the book of Jonah has been completed.

n For ongoing work over the coming months as specialists travel to Katavi to facilitate workshops in literacy and Bible translation. Translation advisors will work with Pastor Kassanda (Bende) and a Pimbwe speaker, checking their first drafts of the book of Jonah and preparing them for publication.

On the mountains

Work in the Caucasus Mountains that divide Europe and Asia is difficult and information about the work is sensitive.

n Please pray for visas and work permits for workers.

n This year teams will make plans on Scripture engagement. Pray for guidance, wisdom and creativity.

n Please pray for expansion of the work into the language communities of the North Caucasus. Pray for open doors, contacts and more workers to begin language assessment work.

n Pray for more prayer supporters who will continually lift up the needs of the unreached peoples in this region.

n In the autumn, several new members have joined the team. Pray for them as they transition into life and work in the Caucasus.

n Pray for valuable contacts with members of the language communities and the sustainability of the work.

n Pray for God’s blessing and protection over workers and their families.

A woman in the region cooks traditional bread


You prayed: For more people to connect with Wycliffe in prayer, especially online.

n The number of people following the Twitter prayer feed (@wycliffeuk_pray) has more than quadrupled and interaction with the prayer blog is increasing slowly. Please keep praying!

You prayed: Elly Gudo, pictured, a Kenyan who had been working in Kenya and Tanzania, was training to become a translation consultant.

n Elly finished his training as a consultant in October 2013 and is now working with several Bible translation projects in East Africa. Praise God for his faithfulness and pray for more consultants like Elly.

n During his training, Elly helped to check Matthew in the Samburu language. Praise God for the recent launch of this book.

n Elly and his wife Caroline are church-supported missionaries. In the summer they began keeping chickens to raise additional income. They still need some income to complete their house.

You prayed: that Wycliffe Denmark would have more opportunities to share about Bible translation in churches.

n Lene Aagaard Nielsen, Wycliffe Denmark’s director, says: ‘This year I’ve had a few opportunities to share about Bible translation in churches and fellowships. The responses have been different in different groups. I was sharing with a small group of 10 people in one church; they were very engaged and we had a really good debate.’

n In September, Elly Gudo and his wife (above) visited Denmark and spoke about their work in a number of churches. Pray that the enthusiasm would keep growing.

What happened next?

Elly and Caroline Gudo

Call to Prayer Monday 16 – Sunday 29 March

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n September also saw major board changes for Wycliffe Denmark, with half the trustees and the chair being replaced. Pray for wisdom for the new trustees.

You prayed: for new videos of Nigerian and Russian Sign Language Bible passages to be uploaded to the DeafBibles.com website.

n Please keep praying for the Nigeria team. They are hard at work in Kenya and hoped to complete the translations at the end of 2014, but it’s a long, complicated process.

n The Russian team have had delays and weren’t able to meet for a camp to select the translation team until December. Pray for the right people to start this long process.

n In July, three new translations from India were added to the website, in Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu Sign Languages. Praise the Lord!

DeafBibles.com is a ministry of DOOR International, Wycliffe partners specialising in sign language translation.

You prayed: for the Bandial translation, Senegal, which was heading into the final stages of the New Testament.

n The Bandial translation team spent several weeks in Cameroon, typesetting the completed New Testament. The files have been sent to South Korea, where they will be printed in time for an April 2015 launch. Praise God with them.

n Pray for the committee planning the launch celebrations. Several people who worked on the Mankanya launch in 2014 are helping them (see page 22).

You prayed: The Luke Film had just been completed in the Bambalang language of Cameroon.

□n Having seen the final film, one leader said, ‘Truly, you have shown that God is the God of Bambalang people speaking their language.’ It’s very popular: pastors are being asked to return to show the film again and, although it’s often shown over two evenings because it’s four hours long, people are impatient to see the second part!

You prayed: The Husa New Testament was waiting for a few more checks from partners before publication, ready for a January launch.

n Unfortunately, the checks didn’t go as well as hoped, with severe delays because of sickness, funerals, church events and power cuts. The launch will be re-planned for later this year. Pray for encouragement for the team, and for the ongoing Old Testament work.

Husa is a codename used for security.

A JESUS Film showing in Tanzania


Trauma healing in the Central African Republic

God restores hope

The last two years have been traumatic for the Central African Republic (CAR). The actions of a rebel group provoked fighting and retaliation. More than one million people (a quarter of the population) have been displaced in the ensuing violence and many have died.

The trauma that Central Africans have experienced is unimaginable for many of us, but we trust a God who understands their experience. After several thwarted attempts to run workshops to help people find healing in God’s word, a group gathered for a workshop in the capital in June 2014. The men and women came from communities where there was no Scripture available – some spoke languages that had never been written down – so the workshop focused on sharing Scripture in an oral way, using stories and songs. The result wasn’t only the first Scripture in their own language; it was the beginning of healing in their lives and hope for their communities.

What is a story-based trauma healing workshop like?Each lesson begins with a real-life trauma story that helps participants connect with the theme and finishes with exercises to help participants engage with Scripture and the God it reveals. One of the leaders Margaret says, ‘Almost all the participants have experienced severe trauma so we are doing some healing exercises as well as the regular material. Apparently there is shooting at night, but I still haven’t heard any – not that I want to!’

One of the workshop leaders, Cami, describes a typical day on the course…We tell the Bible story (today it was Jesus raising Lazarus) and then go around the room and, bit by bit, have the participants retell it. We ask questions about the story, always asking, ‘What did you like?’ and ‘What did you find difficult?’

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Call to Prayer Monday 30 – Tuesday 31 March

We’d love to hear from you.Wycliffe Bible TranslatorsThe Clare Charity Centre, High Wycombe HP14 3BFT: 0300 303 1111 E: [email protected] On Twitter @wycliffeuk On Facebook WycliffeBibleTranslatorsUK

Since we were focusing on the story where Jesus wept, we asked cultural questions like, ‘What does your culture say about men crying?’

After the questions, we divide the story into sections. For example: 1. Lazarus becomes sick. 2. The reaction of the disciples and Jesus to the message that Lazarus is sick. 3. Jesus goes to Bethany. 4. Jesus raises Lazarus from the dead. Then they put together a skit about the whole story and perform it.

Then we talk about difficult words to translate. Most of these languages do not have a word of Scripture and they have not thought about key biblical terms, so we talk about what the tomb was like, how to say ‘resurrection’, how to say ‘believe’…

In groups, they translate it by telling it in their own language, then we record it. We translate it into a wider-spoken language so that a consultant can check it to make sure they have translated accurately.

There is a Bible verse for each lesson. The one for this lesson was Ecclesiastes 3:4: ‘There is a time for weeping and a time for dances of joy.’ They translate the verse and compose a song to go with it. They love this part and do it really well.

What difference does a course like this make? Cami says…One young man had been experiencing terrible nightmares at night. Monday was the first day of the workshop. Monday night he had a peaceful dream in which one of the team was leading a group in a song of praise to God. He slept well and he also slept well Tuesday night. Hallelujah!

At the beginning of the second week, after the devotions, we heard testimonies of their experiences of retelling stories over the weekend. I wonder if it was a little bit like when the disciples came back and reported to Jesus. There was an overwhelmingly positive reaction to their stories. People loved it that they were telling stories in the mother tongue. Deeply wounded people began on the road to healing. People felt heard and understood. It was so cool!

The best reaction was people understanding through the story of Creation that God loves us and that we are made in his image. We are not worthless. With all the trauma here, people feel that they are worthless and there is no hope for them. God is restoring hope through these stories in the mother tongue.

Pray… n Thank God for this and other planned

trauma healing workshops. Pray for the participants who took the course, that God would continue to heal them. Pray for those communities the participants will share the Bible stories they have learnt with.

n Pray for an end to violence in CAR. Bring to mind another country where you know God’s peace and healing is needed and pray for it.

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Wycliffe Bible Translators partners with Just Cards Direct, giving you an opportunity to buy Christmas Cards and Gifts which will support the work of Wycliffe. Order your items on the Just Cards website at www.justcardsdirect.com and simply select ‘Wycliffe’ at the

payment stage. We will then receive 10% of all sales.

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