Baptism & Bible Translation in Chad

Dear Friends & Family,

Merry Christmas! We hope you're enjoying the Christmas season as we celebrate the coming of God's eternal son into the world. We returned home the Tuesday after Thanksgiving and put up most of our decorations last weekend. Below is a praise and a report on Bible translation for a people group in Chad. After that is a personal update about our recent travels and prayer requests.

Kuo baptism: Chad

One of the Kuo team's greatest joys recently has been the baptism of ten young people. Baptism takes place at the river to be witnessed by all. The person receiving baptism not only publicly professes his desire to follow Jesus; he also publicly renounces all alliances with the spirits that he once worshipped. For this reason, people say that if you are baptized, you will die. For the past eight years no one in this village has had the courage to be baptized. May the fact that these youth have not died be a continual testimony to God's power.

The Kuo team is drafting the last New Testament book. "We praise God for all the ways that He has helped us and ask for your prayers so that we may indeed finish well. There are still corrections to make, revisions of some books, key terms to verify, book introductions to write, a glossary to finish, and maps and pictures to choose. By the Lord's grace we trust that all these things can be finished before August 2012." Most of all, pray now that the Spirit of the Lord will give the Kuo people ears for His word and hearts that desire to obey.

Personal Update

We enjoyed celebrating Thanksgiving and seeing many people during our recent trip but were glad to return home after 33 days of travel. We were encouraged at a week-long missions conference at our home church and were blessed over the following two weeks as we connected with many of our supporters, friends, and family in Georgia. After that time, we saw part of Lynee’s family in Nashville and Arkansas. There is never enough time to spend with all the people we love to see!

We are very thankful, especially with the hard times many people are having economically, that our financial support for the year has been good. Our committed giving is about $400/mon low, but occasional gifts have been making up the shortfall. “Thank You!” to all those who pray for us and support our work.

Please pray for us as we get back into our normal work. I am hoping to finish upgrading the system we use to test our fonts. Also, my globally distributed team will be meeting in Dallas Jan 16 - 27. Please pray for the planning and for the meeting itself. Lynee will be updating and expanding the website she set up to help missionary teachers and parents with children’s issues.

In Christ Jesus

Updates on orientation and meetings

Dear Friends and Family,

Updates
Thank you for praying for the the online teacher orientation and the meetings I was involved in a week ago.

Lynee says the orientation is going well after two weeks. The staff are pleased with how the teachers are responding to the content and interacting with each other. There are two weeks left.

The meetings about publishing Scripture on smart phones did go well, though not in the way I expected. However, two groups were positively impacted. One of those groups was already committed to publishing Scripture in the complex alphabets some language groups use. They learned a lot about how to do that and want to include our technology in their Bible reader software. The other group learned for the first time about the technical issues involved and intends to add our technology to their Bible reader as an optional add-on.

If the groups follow through with these decisions, two of the popular Bible reader apps (on Android-based phones - Bible.is and YouVersion) will be usable for reaching Bibleless groups who use complex alphabets! There were more positive results, so please ask if you want more details.

Mobile Phones & Missions
Here's a quote and a link to a PDF article that describes the potential mobile phones have for ministry around the world.

I realized recently that these nomads were no longer making decisions about where to set up camp on the basis of where they could find water. Rather, campsites were determined by where they could get mobile phone coverage.

I recommend the first section and the conclusion if your time is limited. http://ijfm.org/PDFs_IJFM/27_3_PDFs/mobile_williams.pdf

Sharing Our Work
Please pray for our upcoming trip to Georgia (Oct. 28 - Nov. 20). We are seeking opportunities to present our work and the work of Wycliffe Bible Translators to Bible study groups, Sunday schools, etc. Please contact us if you would like us to speak or just visit a group.

Thank you for your prayers and please let us know how we can pray for you.

In the deep, deep love of Jesus

Online teacher orientation and strategic meetings

Dear Friends and Family,

We wanted to quickly send you a couple of prayer requests concerning some happenings this week.

On Monday, the online teacher orientation course that Lynee has been working on started up for the first time! Please join us in praising the Lord for its completion. Eight teachers in Cameroon, Australia, and the U.K. are taking it. Please pray that they would learn a lot and provide good feedback. The course should take about four weeks to complete.

The other prayer request requires some background info. Smart phones are in widespread use around the world, including among language groups who don’t have the Bible. These phones could be used to electronically publish translated Scripture to reach such people. However, standard phones don’t work with the complex alphabets that some groups use. One of my colleagues has adapted some of our technology so these alphabets can be used on certain phones (Android-based ones, in apps specifically written to use the technology).

On Thursday and Friday, we’re having some meetings that could be quite strategic. Groups who are already publishing Scripture on mobile devices are coming together so we can show them how to use our technology. Please pray these publishing groups will see the potential for reaching so many Bibleless people and want to be involved.

In closing, here’s a link to a story about how one people group who just received the Word wanted to remember what life was like before.

http://wycliffeusa.wordpress.com/2010/06/30/we-don’t-want-to-forget-what-life-was-like-before-we-had-the-word/

In the Grace and Love of Jesus.

Sept 2011 newsletter (pg 1)

Orientations

The teacher orientation in June went very well. Of the 18 participants, seven are overseas already working with missionary children. Two more are ready to go as soon as they get their support. The teacher pictured, Stacy Cawley, is now in Tanzania starting the school year as a librarian. She and her husband felt the call to missions three years ago, but they let fear keep them from obeying. The last three years have been miserable. When they felt the call again in April, they didn't hesitate! God confirmed His will for them by bringing in all of their needed support in a couple of months' time. Please pray for the adjustments of all the new teachers overseas as they work to keep missionary families on the field.

The online teacher orientation course is almost done! It was developed for those from other countries who can't come to the face-to-face orientation in Dallas. We hope to run the pilot course in October. Please pray we can find initial users who are well suited to try it out.

Coordinating schedules for four Wycliffe leaders here at one time in April was hectic, but it worked out well. As they connected with our international leaders and resources, they also learned from each other. Two more directors were here this summer. No one else is coming for orientation until November.

Celebrating Andika

Alan's team is celebrating the public release of another font, Andika. It's designed for people who are just learning to read their language for the first time. The letters look more like handwriting and are more distinct than in most fonts. Those who teach reading have been asking for a font like this for a long time. They are using Andika around the world — preparing people to read God's Word. This font includes alphabets used in the Americas, Europe, Africa, the Pacific, and Russia. Only the regular style is done. Work is progressing on bold.

Travel
We had a great vacation in July on a small farm north of Dallas. Despite the incredible heat, we found ways to relax, be refreshed, and spend time with God. We also enjoyed a late celebration of our 15th anniversary. We're planning to go to a missions conference and visit our partners in this work in Georgia from October 30 to November 20. We are in need of more financial partners and would welcome the opportunity to speak to Bible studies, Sunday school classes, etc. Currently, our committed giving is about $285/month short.

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Sept 2011 newsletter (pg 2)

Bible Translation for the Yawa People

Board a plane in Dallas, Texas. Travel for four days on 15 flights far into Southeast Asia. Now climb into a truck and journey up into lush green mountains on a deeply rutted, often muddy road. Hike over slippery landslides. Eventually you'll come to a little village nestled into a mountain valley, where the local language is Yawa, but where the people have traditionally worshipped in the national language.

As you walk through the village, ask if anyone preaches from the Yawa Scripture portions published over the last 20 years. "Elder Sefnat does all the time." Sefnat will show you two small worn books protected by brown paper covers — Yawa translations of John's writings, Acts, and nine epistles. Tucked into the pages are little slips of paper with dated sermon notes, references to Scripture passages in those two little books, and unpublished verses that mother tongue translator Andowa¹ has handwritten for him.

Walk on and you'll come to the village church. In this very remote village, where there is neither electricity nor phone service, translator Andowa sits at a solar-powered laptop computer. A dozen people cluster closely around him, listening as he reads aloud a Bible passage in Yawa. The volunteer reviewers enthusiastically discuss it, looking for ways to improve awkward or unclear sentences. When they're satisfied with the way it sounds, Andowa revises it on his computer. Then, since his specially-designed software has a send/receive function, he logs onto the Internet via satellite and "syncs" his draft.

Halfway around the world in Arlington, Texas, Wycliffe translator Linda Jones will get up tomorrow morning, sync Andowa's draft onto her computer, and read what he has revised. She'll check to make sure the meaning hasn't been altered and send back suggestions for the next round of discussion.²

Now return to Andowa's village in late June of this year. Everyone is smiling. The Jones family has arrived with 18 other foreign visitors. People are dressed up. You feel an air of anticipation in the procession that has just come down the street. You go into the church to see what is going on there. You see people hanging in through the windows because there is not enough room for everyone inside. You see everyone smiling with immeasurable joy as books are taken out of boxes. When you ask about the books, you are told they are Yawa New Testaments! Near the end of the day you notice all the books are gone.

On the flight home, just before landing, you turn to Gracie, an American teenager who has been talking about the fun she has had on the trip. "But," she said, "all these fun things were not nearly as amazing as going to the ends of the earth and seeing there that God was just as real and just as faithful as He is here. It was amazing to see how far the Gospel has gone and to witness part of the fulfillment of the prophecy in Matthew 24: 'And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations.' "

Larry and Linda Jones attend our local church in Dallas; in fact, Larry is one of the leaders. He worked on the translation until he was called to be a leader in Wycliffe. They were in our home group this last year, and we had the privilege of praying for the New Testament through the final checks to the dedication. The New Testament was typeset using the Charis font that Alan has worked on. Join us in rejoicing that all Yawa now have access to God's Word in the language of their hearts!

Larry and Linda Jones with Andowa

¹ not his real name
² taken from http://wycliffeusa.wordpress.com/2010/10/28/a-new-way-to-work-remotely/. More of the story is there.

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Orientation done & font released

Dear praying friends,

We know that we're not the only ones with hot days right now. We hope you are surviving. Alan and I are on a vacation. We don't have cool weather, but we do have good air conditioning.

My department's teacher orientation went very well. We had 18 participants: One left for Africa Monday, one leaves tomorrow for the same place, and one leaves next Tuesday for Nigeria. Please pray for the adjustments that many of these teachers will be experiencing. Since the orientation ended, I've had two directors (from the Philippines and Papua New Guinea) come through Dallas for orientation. I'm thankful both found it profitable.

Alan was able to finish his part of the Andika font before we left Friday evening. Even though the main font designer was away, another team member was able to fill in for her. Adding a new feature was harder than expected, but it was completed. The full version of Andika was released this week. Please pray that people will find this font very useful, especially for teaching people to read.

We are about 1.5 hours north of our home at a small farm for a week's vacation. We're getting a lot of rest and many opportunities to refresh our spirits. Tuesday we received word that a pipe burst in the townhome attached to ours and some of the water came into our bedroom. We are very thankful for all the great friends who handled this for us while we were away.

We travel home on Saturday. On Monday, Alan has jury duty. Please pray for us as we get back into work. With teacher orientation done, please for what my priorities should be in the coming months. Thank you for praying for us and our work. We appreciate you and feel your prayers. How can we be praying for you?

May God bless you as you finish out the summer.

Upcoming teacher orientation and font release

Dear Friends and Family,

We hope you're staying cool in these unusually warm days. It's been in the high 90's for the last week here and reached over 100 degs a couple of times.

We wanted to ask for your prayers regarding the teacher orientation that will be starting on Sunday, June 19. Nineteen teachers have registered! The goal is to prepare them to educate missionary kids (MKs) overseas, so they will be learning about MK-specific issues and cross-cultural living. Last week, Lynee was working very hard getting materials ready for them. The preparations will continue in the coming week. Please pray for her and the other three people leading the orientation.

My team is hoping to release a new font (Andika) by June 24. You may recall that we sent it to testers before our last trip. We received good feedback and have been making some changes. The main font designer is leaving on a trip, so we want to release the font before she goes. Please pray for us as I put Andika through the final production process.

On June 8, we celebrated our 15th anniversary! I've recovered well from the kidney stone I had in Chicago in early May. Thankfully, it was just a "normal" one. Drinking plenty of water will hopefully prevent any more from forming.

Here's an interesting blog post giving the story of an Ethiopian Christian who lived under Communist persecution and his involvement in Bible translation since that time. Alemayehu, who is mentioned near the end of the post, is one of the directors Lynee helped orient.

The Bible is My Life - http://wycliffeusa.wordpress.com/2011/04/29/the-bible-is-my-life/

Thank you for your prayers, encouragement, and faithful support. How can we pray for you?

Upcoming travel to Omaha and Chicago

Dear Friends and Family,

We hope you had a great Easter celebration remembering the resurrection of our Lord.

We wanted to let you know about a trip to the north we're about to take. We would appreciate your prayers.

On Friday (4/29), we plan to leave for Kansas City. We'll stay overnight and part of Saturday with one of Lynee's cousins and his family. Then, we go on to Omaha to see more family and friends. It's been 2.5 years since we were there. On Wednesday (5/4), we hope to go to Chicago to see Lynee's sister and family. We will leave on Monday (5/9) and get home on Tuesday. We will be visiting many people who are part of our support team. Please pray for safe travel, good contacts, and great times of being together.

Before we leave, Lynee and I are both trying very hard to finish some projects. My team hopes to get a font (Andika) off to some testers. Since this font includes many new features, we're finding a lot of things that need additional programming work. Lynee has four directors here for orientation and is trying to prepare things for the upcoming teacher's orientation so others can do their part while she's gone.

Thank you for your friendship, encouragement, and support. How can we pray for you? May the Joy of the Resurrection fill your heart.

Apr 2011 Newsletter (pg 1)

Progress in Bible Translation
We recently heard some great news. For the first time in Wycliffe’s 70+ year history, the number of languages waiting for Bible translation to begin (2,078) is going down! In the past, this number has been increasing as we discovered languages faster than we started new translations. Based on recent trends, it’s likely that the number will drop below 2,000 this year. Currently, translation is proceeding in over 1,700 languages without Scripture.

“We must make the Bible known by all means possible, for its message is for all people on earth. We recommit ourselves, therefore, to the ongoing task of translating, disseminating and teaching the scriptures in every culture and language, including those that are predominantly oral or non-literary.” This endorsement of Scripture translation came from a meeting of over 4,000 Christian leaders from 198 countries in October 2010. They were meeting “to confront the critical issues of our time as they relate to the future of the Church and world evangelization,” and Bible translation was a major concern. There is great potential for starting the remaining translations in this generation as many people around the world work together. (See www.lausanne.org/cape-town-2010)

Personally Speaking
On a more personal note, Lynée has been making progress creating an online orientation course for teachers going overseas. She’s also scheduling orientations for four leaders coming here at the end of April. Please pray for her manager, who recently lost both her parents in just five-weeks’ time.

I had surgery for a hernia about eight weeks ago. We’re thankful for a good recovery and for some extra financial gifts that should cover the cost. I’m working on the final stages of a new font called Andika. It was designed with literacy experts for people who are just learning to read. Its appearance is closer to handwriting than most fonts. We hope to release it to testers by the end of April. The “Revelation 7:9” title for this letter is in Andika (pre-release).

Our committed financial support has increased by $200/month since our last newsletter. We are very thankful to the Lord and our support team for their generosity and prayers! We have to determine a new budget with Wycliffe for the coming year, but based on our current budget, we are now about $275/month short. We are thankful that occasional gifts over the last 12 months have continued to cover the shortfall.

Photograph used with permission, Wycliffe Bible Translators. Photographer: Jewel Fink

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Apr 2011 Newsletter (pg 2)

Setbacks and Progress

After my trip to Colombia with my aunt in 2008, we told you about the language group that my aunt and uncle have worked with since the 1960s, the M* people. I was a bit discouraged as I read over the hopes we had then – most have not been realized. Robbie and Johnny have ended up working for an Indian organization instead of doing  Bible translation, and the primers have not been given out for the children to learn to read their own language.  A third man, who gave up medical school to work on the translation, ended up straying from the Lord.

However, there are things to rejoice about too. We bring the M people before you to ask you to pray for them and the work of translating Scripture into their heart language. Here is what is happening now.

One translator, George, is working on the translation. When his cousin Johnny invited him to work on the translation over a year ago, George had no idea what he was doing there. It took him two months to figure out what Bible translation was about, how to write his language, and how to type the language on the computer. But he persevered, moved in with a couple who is dedicated to helping the Ms, and is being discipled by a local pastor. In November he called my aunt and uncle on Skype with this news, “Gwazi, I wanted to tell you that I gave my life to Jesus this afternoon.”

“Now,” says George, “the greatest desire of my life is to translate the Bible. And I don’t just mean the New Testament. I mean Genesis to Revelation.” Please pray that God would put a hedge of protection around George – that he would not get distracted or be drawn away by the enemy. Pray that God would bring him a Christian wife.

My aunt and uncle are currently in Colombia for a month. Please pray for them as they hope to teach and encourage George both in his walk with the Lord and in his work on the translation.

An amazing opportunity has presented itself. My aunt and uncle have been invited to visit a group of 50-60 Ms who are just starting a new settlement. Their leader told my aunt and uncle they all want to become Christians, and the invitation was given for the express purpose of teaching the Bible. My aunt and uncle are hoping to spend Easter week with them. Please pray that God will work out all the details for that to happen. They have the Christmas and Easter stories in the M language to share with them.

Please pray for my uncle to have good health while they are there and for good contacts with other M people. May God’s Spirit do a mighty work in them. We even pray that the translation team members who have wandered from the Lord will return to Him. Thank you so much.

* The names of the language group and people have been changed for their protection.

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Celebrating Bible Translation in India (& Alan's surgery)

Dear Friends and Family,

Wherever you are, we hope you’re weathering this nationwide winter storm well. I’m writing this from home since the offices where we work have been closed for four days because of ice and snow. Wednesday, we lost electricity in our house at 7:00 am. By 2:30 pm, we were trying to decide what to do as the temperature inside was nearing 50 degrees. Thankfully, the power came back on before it got any colder. Below is a praise report from India. My team has held two workshops in India to provide help with the complex alphabets needed for Bible translation there.

Celebration of Bible translation movement: India.

In June 1980, sixteen students came together at Bible Fellowship Center at Nasik, Maharashtra, for a course on Bible translation. The course marked the beginning of a national Bible translation movement in India. Praise and thank God along with team members there. Now, 30 years later, they are praising the Lord for 1) translation projects, once a handful, now numbering 70+; 2) growth in the number of Bible translation agencies; and 3) the publication of 11 New Testaments. They thank Him for giving His life-changing Word among peoples and languages of their land.

Personal Update

Thank you for praying for my team meetings. They went very well. During the first session I led, we made good progress in deciding how to support complex alphabets on mobile devices (smart phones) and the web. The potential to use these technologies to provide the Bible for minority language groups is great but so are the technical challenges. My second session also went well as we discussed questions about the e-mail program (Thunderbird) my team started using a year ago. Relationally, we all enjoyed and treasured the face-to-face time we had together, and I think our two newest team members now feel much more a part of the team.

On Monday, I went to see a surgeon about a minor hernia that was discovered in July. I’m scheduled for day surgery next Friday (Feb 11). I’m supposed to stay home for a week then gradually get back to my normal activities. We’re thankful my medical appointments have not been hindered by the bad weather and that my recovery should be finished in March. Please pray for me and for this unplanned $2,500 expense. (If you feel led to help, please include a note saying “For Alan Ward’s medical expenses.”)

Lynee finished her special project, a surprise book of memories and photos for a colleague who’s retiring after 40+ years of service. She also is helping six directors work out their travel dates and meeting schedules for orientations happening between now and July -- including three at the same time in April. Regarding Lynee’s manager, we were saddened to learn that her mother has passed away. Please pray for Marti and her family.

In the Grace and Knowledge of Jesus.

Alan's Team Meetings

Dear Friends and Family,

This week my team is meeting to review progress from the last year and to plan for the coming year. Please pray the Lord would guide us in the strategic decisions we need to make. Next week, we will be digging into more technical discussion regarding how to actually implement the decisions we've made. I'll be leading a session tomorrow (Th) and possibly two sessions next week.

This is also the only time we have all year to see each other face-to-face. Nine of our seventeen full-time members work away from Dallas. Two members are new to the team. Please pray for relationships to be renewed or established.

Lynee has been working on a special project at work. It finishes this week, so she would appreciate prayer as she catches up with her other responsibilities at work next week, including preparing for two directors coming in February. One of her managers (Marti) is at home in Minnesota helping care for her mom, who is close to death.

Because of the meeting, I didn't have time to include an interesting field report or prayer need. I did see this encouraging video recently.

Using Technology to Accelerate Bible translation for the Jiru
http://wycliffeusa.wordpress.com/2011/01/07/using-technology-to-accelerate-bible-translation-for-the-jiru/

Bible translator Mando explains how technology has enabled him to make faster progress on the Jiru Bible translation project in his mother tongue. By using a satellite internet connection and netbook ... he is able to work faster and collaborate with colleagues on the other side of the world.

In the Fellowship of the Spirit of Jesus.