Testing Matthew in Safwa

Dear friends and family,

We are thankful to report that the flooding around Houston has not affected us, though we do ask for prayer for the many people who have been impacted (and for those about to be struck by Hurricane Irma). About 4,000 people from the flooded areas are staying at a large shelter in Dallas. Also, thank you for praying for us in the loss of our cat and for our second funeral trip in July. We received many encouraging replies!

The following story was shared by Steve Pence, a colleague working in Africa. After it are some personal updates.

Making Matthew Speak Real Safwa
Waya and Lawi are translating portions of the Bible into their own local language, Safwa. Today I would witness the testing of a draft of Matthew in a Safwa community… Reaching our destination, we stood under the eaves of a building, trying to escape a steady drizzle. Waya and Lawi pulled out their trial texts of the Gospel of Matthew. The texts were printed in a large font and double spaced, with lots of room to write. Peppered across each page were words and phrases highlighted in pink, each of which needed to be investigated to make sure it communicated clearly and accurately.

With almost no introduction, just a few words saying that they were translating the Scriptures, Waya and Lawi began reading the Safwa words aloud. It was as if electricity shot through the air. One moment men quietly waited out a storm on a day that had turned gray and wet and sleepy. The next moment, eyes popped and hands waved as everyone tried to talk at once.

Lawi and Waya both started writing, scratching through words, drawing arrows into margins and making notes. A word they had used for “axe” was unknown here. It was used in another Safwa town at the bottom of the hill, but not up here on the mountain. And up here people don’t use the same word for killing another person as they do for killing a plant or a cow. Here they use a special word for each. Still, nearly everyone nodded in amazement, saying “Yes, this is real Safwa!”...

The animated conversation over God’s Word continued without a pause. One teenager excitedly told us he was born again. Another confessed, “I’m not born again. I don’t even go to church now.” But all were glued to the Safwa Scriptures being read and discussed.

In another town that afternoon, Waya approached a roadside checkers game and quickly drew keen interest from the crowd … When it was time to go, one young man stood and said, “Safwa! This is good! I understand it very well. I have been made happy.”

All across the highlands of southwest Tanzania, an area the size of Austria, scenes like these are being replayed... Eventually, more than three million people speaking thirteen languages will have God’s Word.

Excerpted from: http://bobcreson.com/2017/07/05/making-matthew-speak-real-safwa/

Progress at work
Lynee is thankful that August’s emails to our parents and teachers (pointing them to resources to help raise and teach missionary kids [MKs]) were sent without any problems last week. This week key staff from her department are having meetings in Virginia and then attending a conference on MK education that goes through Sunday noon. Please pray her colleagues will work well together, cover pertinent topics, and have good interactions with people from other mission agencies, and for follow up on things from the meetings and conference.

Over the last couple of weeks, I’ve made progress on a complex program my team will be using in all our font development projects. This is a praise since I’ve had trouble finding time for such focused, technical work in the midst of other non-technical tasks. I had a good discussion with my manager about relative priorities and am trying to adjust how I use my time. Please pray for good balance.

We are planning a trip to Georgia at the end of October and into November. We do need to build up our team of prayer and financial partners. Please pray for opportunities to share our ministry work with others and for the writing of our next newsletter. Thank you for your partnership with us! We greatly appreciate all those who pray, give, and help in other ways. We would love to know what’s happening in your life and how we can pray for you.

In the faith, hope, and love of Christ,

Alan (& Lynee)