12 quotes from 2012 – No.9

Wycliffe Bible Translators UK Blog ended the year with a list of 12 Quotes for 2012. I have enjoyed reading them and decided to trickle them out on a daily basis

Quote number 9 is from a Nigerian Anglican Bishop saying how important Bible translation is in his country.

It means that Jesus is one of them, he is their brother, is their Lord. He can understand their language, he can speak it… It means that he understands their problems… When they talk to him, he is not a stranger.

Bishop Ndukuba, Nigeria

Wycliffe Bible Translators believe that the Bible is the best way for people to come to know who God is. But how can you access that knowledge without any of the Bible in your language? Bishop Ndukuba, a bishop in Nigeria, has seen how the translation has helped people, churches and communities come to know God more. Have a listen to what he has to say:

Nigeria has one of the largest remaining needs for Scripture translation in the world. If you believe, like Wycliffe and Bishop Ndukuba, that all people should have access to the Bible, find out how you could be part of getting God’s words to people’s hearts.

Almost 2,000 languages don’t have any access to God’s Word in their mother-tongue.

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12 quotes from 2012 – No.8

An Ikoma woman with the newly published book of Luke

Wycliffe Bible Translators UK Blog ended the year with a list of 12 Quotes for 2012. I decided to trickle them out on a daily basis

Quote number 8 is about stories! Stories in the Bible – a book that is just full of great great stories!

This is such a good story! We didn’t know the Bible had good stories in it!

Ikoma speakers, Tanzania

Think about your favourite Bible stories – and then read more about the Ikoma people discovering good stories in the Bible by following the link above.

It was reading a brief commentary in a Tearfund magazine about the story of Peter and John healing the crippled beggar in Acts 3, that led my wife and me to join Wycliffe Bible Translators 24 years ago.

But that’s another story…

Almost 2,000 languages don’t have access to any of these stories  in their mother-tongue. Give the Story.

You could become part of the Wycliffe Bible Translators UK story yourself in 2013! We are full of thankfulness for the amazing things God is doing through so many people to bring his Word to his world. Take a look at First Steps – and help bring the Bible: the Story everybody needs to those who don’t have it.

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12 quotes from 2012 – No.7

Wycliffe Bible Translators UK Blog ended the year with a list of 12 Quotes for 2012. I have enjoyed reading them and decided to trickle them out on a daily basis as 2013 begins

Quote number 7 is from Kenya!

Bible translation brings life transformation. Their worldview changes when they know God speaks their language. He’s no longer a foreign God.

Peter Munguti, the general secretary for Bible Translation and Literacy of East Africa

Peter has some interesting things to say…

I was blessed to have been born in a community where the Bible was available…

There are 8.6 million people in Kenya, with 50 languages — some have the New Testament and some have portions of Scripture; 19 have nothing. Some of them have no written language … and my heart goes out to them.

Why not follow the link above and read all Peter has to say.

Almost 2,000 languages don’t have any access to God’s Word in their mother-tongue. Give the Story.

Happy New Year from Wycliffe Bible Translators UK! We are full of thankfulness for the amazing things God is doing through so many people to bring his Word to his world.

Take a look at our Wycliffe UK website

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12 quotes from 2012 – No.5

Tra Didier speaking at the dedication of the Kouya New Testament in March 2012

Wycliffe Bible Translators UK Blog has ended the year with a list of 12 Quotes for 2012. I have enjoyed reading them and decided to trickle them out on a daily basis

Quote number 5 is actually someone that I know praying!

Dide -Lagɔɔ. -Jejitapε, -mι na ‘paa fuo, -mι na ‘paa yuo…

Bita Tra Didier prays in his mother tongue

The link takes us to Eddie Arthur’s blog…

One by one, people stood up in the huge conference hall to pray. There were prayers in English, in Spanish and then a young West African stood up to pray…

I buried my face in my hands and sobbed my heart out.

The young man was Didier and he was praying in Kouya.

It’s a great story! I encourage you to read it all.

Almost 2,000 languages don’t have any access to God’s Word in their mother-tongue. Give the Story.

Happy New Year from Wycliffe Bible Translators UK! We are full of thankfulness for the amazing things God is doing through so many people to bring his Word to his world.

Take a look at our Wycliffe UK website

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12 quotes from 2012 – No.2

Wycliffe Bible Translators UK Blog has ended the year with a list.

We get to hear some incredible reports of joy, surprise and excitement when God’s word comes in the heart language of those who have waited for it. We’ve picked 12 quotes of the year to remind you of some of the amazing things that God has done.

I enjoyed reading them and decided to trickle them out on a daily basis

I think if we call certain things as ‘basic needs’, I think that [God’s word in the mother tongue] should be the most basic need for every people.

Naphtaly Matah, working with BTL, Bible translation partners in Kenya

In the last 30 years, BTL have completed 6 New Testaments and are currently involved in projects in 14 languages. Find out more about BTL on their website.

Through partnerships with national Bible translation organisations and churches worldwide, the global partnership of Wycliffe organisations want to see a project for Bible translation started in every language where one is need by 2025, because we believe the Bible is a basic need.

Happy New Year from Wycliffe Bible Translators UK! We are full of thankfulness for the amazing things God is doing through so many people to bring his Word to his world.

Take a look at our Wycliffe UK website

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12 quotes from 2012 – No.1

As 2012 comes to an end, many remember it as an amazing sporting year especially in the UK – just look at today’s New Year Honours list, but Wycliffe Bible Translators UK Blog has ended the year with a rather different list.

We get to hear some incredible reports of joy, surprise and excitement when God’s word comes in the heart language of those who have waited for it. We’ve picked 12 quotes of the year to remind you of some of the amazing things that God has done.

I thought I would trickle them out on the blogosphere over the next 12 days or so.

So here is the first one, a poem by James Lokuuda Kadanya, a speaker of the Toposa language of South Sudan.

Far and near
It is said that you, God, speak!
How do you do that?
Is it in their tongues?
If it is truly so,
God, when will you speak in my tongue?

When he wrote the poem, James was studying in a linguistics school, and he now works for a mission, spreading God’s good news around the country. As many as half a million people who speak Toposa still only have a few portions of the Bible in their language. Do something so that people like James will hear God speak their tongue.

Happy New Year from Wycliffe Bible Translators UK! We are full of thankfulness for the amazing things God is doing through so many people to bring his Word to his world.

Take a look at our Wycliffe UK website

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Bethlehem Hospitality…

Pottery nativity

Mary and Joseph and the birth of Jesus in a stable is the stuff of nativity scenes: carved figures, paintings, pottery versions. But what was it really like?

SU WordLive’s Advent animated video reached the stage yesterday when Mary and Joseph faced the problems of a lack of suitable accommodation in census crowded Bethlehem…

Take a look and empathise with the stresses on Joseph finding a place for his pregnant wife.

My recent “No room at the inn” focussed on hospitality African style. Which hospitality do you prefer – Bethlehem or Nairobi? Which style do we live out where we are?

Access SU WordLive’s Advent animation series with various options here

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No Room at the Inn

“No room at the inn” is inevitably associated with Christmas when we get self-righteously stroppy with the inn-keeper who couldn’t find space for Mary and Joseph. However, how good are we at hospitality at Christmas or throughout the rest of the year?

However in many African cultures hospitality is a given – whatever your circumstances – as we see in this story from Wycliffe colleague Jill Brace about some colleagues from the Democratic Republic of Congo.

When a Congolese Bible translator hears the phrase, “No room at the inn,” he has a hard time translating it. The response of that Bethlehem innkeeper is very much at odds with that of the Congolese—where hospitality is a must!

To continue translation studies, Congolese Mayogo translator, Pastor Mapuma, and wife Faustine, had moved to Kenya with their five young children—one a newborn. They were able to find a two-bedroom apartment in a quiet neighborhood of Nairobi.

Another Congolese translator, Pastor Choro, from the Lendu-speaking people, also arrived in Nairobi with his wife and three younger children in order to follow a study program. On arrival, they were temporarily accommodated in a guesthouse located in an isolated area. Just a few days later thieves attacked the night watchman and broke into the guesthouse. While not harmed, Choro’s wife was badly shaken by the incident. Being reminded of a violent incident from her past, she refused to stay at the guesthouse. But where could they go?

Hearing of their plight, Mapuma and Faustine invited the Choros into their apartment—even though the couples are from different Congolese ethnic groups. Mapuma cheerfully quoted the Mayogo proverb: Kpála bedhe etï de. [People - fill - house - not], “A house is never full.”

To literally “top it off,” Pastor Choro’s three grown children were evacuated to Nairobi from another African nation where ethnic fighting had grown from bad to terrible. Although now safe in Nairobi, they too were without a place to stay.

Once again Mapuma and Faustine agreed and invited the refugees to share their two bedroom home—bringing the total to seven adults and eight children! Pastor Choro responded, “Mapuma and his wife are examples of the Lendu saying: Dzae ndrú pü nzÿ. [The house doesn’t turn you away], “You are always welcome.”

Thankfully, the Choro family found an apartment, and the Mapuma family is once again alone in their tiny flat. But never was a word of complaint ever heard from either family, only gratitude on the one hand for having such good friends—and on the other hand, happiness for the opportunity to have been able to express hospitality to brothers and sisters in the Lord. There will always be room in Mapuma and Faustine’s inn.

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The first for a long time…

The first time we met was when she volunteered to help with the Wycliffe stand at an event at the end of August 2012. She was not long home after having spent her language year abroad with a Wycliffe family in Mozambique. Soon after she returned for her final year at university.

Unlocking the secrets of an unwritten language

Then we began to correspond by Facebook message…

9 October 2012

Hi John! Hope you’re well. Thank you for prayers. Let me tell you how the Lord’s been working, and how he has answered my prayers. I’ve been thinking and praying so much about the MA course [MA in Field Linguistics with Wycliffe]. And talking to a lot of mature Christians, who I look up to and whose words I take seriously. The Lord has been doing wonders in my life in the last month, since being back in Oxford. So much to praise him for.

Most of all for the revelation of something of the size of his love, that my heart cannot even hold the weight of it…  he has filled me up to the absolute brim with the knowledge of his love, and how unfailing, never-ending, completely satisfying it is. And the reality of that is something I haven’t known before – to that intensity anyway.

I have been loving what I’m studying too, which is awesome. My research project is so exciting, and I don’t struggle to find motivation. I know it’s only the start of term but things are so busy, and could get overwhelming, but I’m helped to keep focus.

That’s a bit of where I’m at. Wanted to let you know I’ve not forgotten about next year. I’m more and more excited about it.
God bless…

10 October 2012

Lovely to hear from you and even more to hear how God is speaking to you. So we are here ready and waiting for your decision!

God bless, John

16 October

I’d like to start the application process, John!

I don’t know what the first steps are for that… I imagine paper work?!

God bless…

16 October 201

Praise the Lord! OK, where to start…

Have you officially talked to your church? Who should we contact? Guess you should send us a name and contact details.

Looking forward to hearing back from you.
John

PS Wycliffe enquirer form attached

17 October 2012

I’m going to ‘officially’ chat with [my minister] on Saturday, although I already talked a bit about it with him over the summer. So yeah, after that I guess you can go ahead and get in touch with him.

20 October 2012

Hi John,
Just spoke to [my minister]. He said he is very happy for you to get in touch, and to meet up and talk!
Talk soon,
p/s  Let me know what I need to do next after you’ve had a good chat with [my minister].

22 October

I’ve arranged to talk to [your minister]on Thursday morning.
John

25 October

“Excited: today a minister agreed to commend one of his members to apply to Wycliffe Bible Translators as a linguist – the first from N. Ireland for a looooong time!”

Just couldn’t resist posting this on Facebook!

Had a great chat with [your minister]. We’re now working towards you getting online access to the application papers. But enough of admin! I’m happy that we’ve got this far

God bless, John

25 October 2012

Hi John!

Very much looking forward to starting the application papers. Let me know about that.

Today I’ve been working on the Introduction section of my research paper! These are the opening two sentences:-

“This linguistic study came about because of a passion for Bible translation, a curiosity about how texts hold together and the opportunity to do practical field work observing the Makonde language in use, over a period of 10 months in Mueda, Cabo Delgado Province, Mozambique. The research for the study was carried out in the context of an SIL language development programme involving the translation of the New Testament, started in 1992, and works closely with two portions of their translated scripture, namely the Healing of the Paralytic (Mark 2:1-12) and the Parable of the Lost Son (Luke 15:11-32).”

How cool is that? To be able to write a paper which will contribute to my final mark and for this to be what is is about!
Be in touch.
Love in Christ,

28 October 2012

And so it begins!
I see that [my colleague] has e-mailed you the link for accessing the application papers.
God bless you as you get into the process.
John

Wycliffe Bible Translators UK is keen to talk to people like this girl in the blog – and not just linguists – see here

Interested in finding out more about studying linguistics with Wycliffe Bible Translators? Take a look at this.

[All above written with permission from the applicant]

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Another complete Bible in a new language

Jula Bible presentation

You may have read my posts about the Kouya New Testament dedication in Ivory Coast this past March… it was a tremendous joy and privilege to join with Kouya friends to celebrate God’s Word in their heart language!

Randy Groff was a colleague of mine in Ivory Coast in the 1990s and today he sent me this photo of the complete Jula Bible – another Ivorian language.

After more than two months of hard, often tedious work, Pastor Moussa, Pastor Jean, Darrel (the chief typesetting technician) and I have finished the typesetting of the Jula Bible! Darrel ordered some “translators’ presentation” copies so that Pastor Moussa could carry a printed copy back with him to Ivory Coast, and this morning we had a little celebration during our weekly coffee break. The final copies (5,000) will be printed in South Korea, and we hope to have a public dedication in Ivory Coast sometime next year.

We rejoice that after 30 years of work, the Jula Bible is now ready to be printed and put into the hands of Jula speakers, most of whom do not yet know our Lord.

Pray for the Jula people and praise God that another people group will soon have the complete Bible in their language.

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