Revelation 7:9: September 2011

Tuesday, September 6, 2011

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.

PDF

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!