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© European Union 2018. Flickr Creative Commons. Local wisdom gained from years of observing natural phenomena is often passed down through storytelling and songs in indigenous languages. Could this traditional knowledge have helped the people of Sulawesi during the recent earthquake and tsunami? Stanley Widianto explores this in an article in Foreign Policy magazine. Full Article

The Wycliffe Singapore office is moving to a new location near Kallang MRT station. With effect from Monday, 19 November, our office will be operating normally at the new premises. Our office phone number and all email addresses remain unchanged. 163 Geylang Road #04-03 The Grandplus Singapore 389240 Note: The entrance of the building is on Lorong 3 Geylang which is a one-way street; cars have to enter from Geylang Road. MRT Kallang Station (EW line). About 5 mins walk from Exit A. Buses Geylang Rd: 2, 7, 11, 12, 13, 21, 26, 31, 32, 33, 51, 62, 63, 67, 80, 100, 197, 853C. Sims Ave: 2, 7, 11, 12, 13, 21, 26, 31, 32, 33, 51, 62, 63, 67, 80, 100, 197, 546, 853C. Parking There are HDB car parks on Lorong 3 Geylang: Blk 114A is a multi-storey car park, and there are a few surface lots at Blk 114.

Wycliffe’s World Day of Prayer is a global celebration of: Thanks­giv­ing — as we re­mem­ber who God is and how He has done the seem­ingly im­pos­si­ble…again and again. Joy — as we rec­og­nize how God con­tin­ues to open doors and hearts to ac­com­plish His mission. De­pen­dence — as we ac­knowl­edge that all that we have and are is be­cause of God. God is sov­er­eign and almighty, yet He has in­vited us to par­tic­i­pate with Him in his mis­sion. Prayer is an es­sen­tial facet of that par­tic­i­pa­tion and keeps us rooted in our re­la­tion­ship with Him. There is a long tra­di­tion of Wycliffe staff, col­leagues and lo­cal churches pray­ing to­gether on be­half of Bible trans­la­tion. Every day, around the world, peo­ple are pray­ing for the Bible trans­la­tion move­ments, for the im­pact of God’s Word on in­di­vid­u­als and com­mu­ni­ties, and for lan­guage com­mu­ni­ties who don’t yet have His Word. But one day a year, No­vem­ber 11, we make a spe­cial ef­fort to come to­gether in prayer, united in hearts and minds in all our di­verse con­texts and locations. Read more at Wycliffe Global Alliance's page here . Wycliffe Singapore will be celebrating World Day of Prayer on 22 November, 2018.

Sylvia Chong attended the "Tell me a Story" workshop organised by Wycliffe over 13-17 September. She shares with us what she has learnt and do not miss her group's translation of Philippians 3:1-4 into Singlish! “Telling a story…to introduce who God is and the message of the gospel…” that publicity line from the workshop's webpage struck a chord with me. I wanted to add another skill set to sharing Christ, besides using gospel tracts and personal testimony. So I signed up for both the basic and intermediate workshops to get the complete training. I admit that I had some concerns with the full-day (9am–4pm) schedule. Very encouragingly, around 85 others signed up for the workshop. On the first day, one of the first questions the instructor asked the class was, "What is your heart language?" That is, what is the language that comes out of you when you are emotional! The class offered up answers such as: English, Singlish, Mandarin, Bahasa Indonesia, Cantonese, Teochew, Malay, Peranakan, Myanmese, Karen, Malay in Cantonese form, 'Chapalung' (Mixture) Hakka, Tamil, Hokkien and Bahasa Gaul. Such an amazing variety in such a small group! These languages (where there were at least 4-5 people to make a group) became the foundation of our workshop groupings. I chose to join the Singlish group. In crafting our stories, we were told to look at them through the lens of the non-Christian audience and ask these questions: In this Bible passage, which words/phrases would be unfamiliar to the non-Christian? Look at context, commentaries and different Bible translations for help with difficulties. Come up with a C.A.N. (Clear, Accurate, Natural) way to tell the story. Then in your groups discuss, agree, decide on actions, practice and come up front to tell and demonstrate to the rest of the people! These were some of the concepts I gleaned from the workshop: Not to memorise but to internalise the story. Storytelling is more of an art than a science. Stories change worldviews. The more they hear the Bible stories, the more they want to read the Bible for themselves. The story is the skeleton, the meat is put on by the listeners. To put what we have learnt into practice, we were to translate Philippians 3:1-4 into the heart language which we were grouped into. Here's a sample of the Singlish attempt: Aye, finally, Bro, be happy in God. To repeat all I have said before is no problem for me and for you it is the steady one, (thumbs up). Look out for those “pai lang” and “chou kwan” who try to bluff you into pleasing God by your own effort. For we are The REAL DEAL, who honor God by His power, who rely on God and not on how “chai” we are. Though if you know me, I have many things to “hao lian” about. If anyone thinks he is very “chai” let me tell you how "lagi chai" I am! (Philippians 3:1-4: 1. Further, my brothers and sisters, rejoice in the Lord! It is no trouble for me to write the same things to you again, and it is a safeguard for you. 2 Watch out for those dogs, those evildoers, those mutilators of the flesh. 3 For it is we who are the circumcision, we who serve God by his Spirit, who boast in Christ Jesus, and who put no confidence in the flesh— 4 though I myself have reasons for such confidence. If someone else thinks they have reasons to put confidence in the flesh, I have more.) Through this course, I am encouraged to take the Bible and put it into everyday language of my present day listeners.

by Dr David Tan, Executive Director Dear Mission Partner, We give thanks to the Lord for working through Wycliffe Singapore in FY2018 (ended in September). In order to run our events and programs, and for our general administration, we have ministry and office overheads budgeted at $268,491 for FY2019. Some highlights of FY2018: Camp Wycliffe in Chiangmai; GoForth National Missions Conference; Bible Storytelling Workshop; One member left for the field; Two persons had short-term attachments; Disbursed $257,000 to 21 projects (41 languages) under our R200 program. Some plans for FY2019: Moving to a temporary office near Kallang MRT (Nov); Members’ Conference (March); Camp Wycliffe in Chiangmai (May); Romblomanon New Testament dedication in the Philippines (May); To disburse about $237,000 to 20 projects (40 languages) under our R200 program. Please prayerfully consider giving towards these operations expenses. Click here to make a gift. May God’s peace be with you.

Storytelling has been a part of every culture through the ages. Every people group uses stories to record history, pass down beliefs, teach correct behaviour and reflect worldview. Besides the spoken word, they often incorporate cultural art forms such as song, dance and drama. Much of the Bible itself was transmitted orally for centuries before being written down. Research shows that about two-thirds of the world learns better through stories, proverbs, songs and visual arts than through the written word. Therefore, Bible storying in their “heart language” is an ideal method for transmitting scriptural truths to people groups which prefer oral communication to written. Depending on the specific worldviews and cultural backgrounds of the people group in question, sets of stories can be specially selected for oral retelling. For example, a story-set for an animistic group would include stories which illustrate God’s power over spirits, such as stories describing Jesus casting out demons. When believers are able to tell Bible stories clearly, accurately and naturally in their own language, they are empowered to evangelise and disciple others. And often, storying leads to a thirst for more scripture, and will lead to the translation of the rest of the Bible. Wycliffe Singapore is privileged to partner and support a number of projects which make use of oral storying methods to teach Biblical truths in an interesting and unthreatening way. In one unreached people group in Southeast Asia, about 50 stories from the Old and New Testament have been translated. The believers are encouraged to tell the stories in small groups, and invite their friends and relatives to hear them. The stories have also been recorded and are being distributed through a mobile app. Even as these stories continue to be told and retold in story fellowship groups, the translation of the New Testament has begun. In other unreached groups in Southeast Asia, stories are often told through song and dance, or may have songs and drama interspersed through the telling. These groups are encouraged to incorporate their cultural art forms when telling their Bible stories. When the stories have been crafted and checked, they are then retold and performed in the story fellowship groups. A lady from one of these groups said: “With this method [oral storying], I can understand the Bible easily. At church, every week they do a Bible class. But I can’t understand everything and after a while, I forget. But with the [oral] Bible stories, I can understand everything. I can tell them to my friends. I want to tell the stories more.” Find out more about projects supported by Wycliffe Singapore.

By David Tan Missions is more about variety than quantity. Does this statement surprise you? Let us look at God’s plan as revealed in the Bible. Babel and Abraham’s call In Genesis 1–11, we read of God’s creation of the world and man’s fall into sin. The Tower of Babel episode in Genesis 11 marked the height of human rebellion against God. However, God in his wonderful way often uses the consequences of sin for his glory. Babel did not change God’s plan significantly; it simply sped up the creation of different ethnic groups and languages, which are ultimately to be redeemed for his glory. This has always been God’s will. This becomes clear in Genesis 12:1–3, where God launches his plan of redemption with the call of Abraham. He said to Abraham: “Leave your country, your people and your father's household and go to the land I will show you. I will make you into a great nation and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.” God’s plan, right from the beginning, is revealed here: he wants to bless (i.e. redeem) all the peoples (i.e. people groups) of the earth. The Great Commission Jumping forward to the Great Commission in Matthew 28, Jesus commanded us to “go and make disciples of all nations”. In the New Testament, the Greek term translated as “nation” is “ethne” from which the English word “ethnic” is derived. Therefore, the word “nation” does not refer to a country or political entity, but to an ethnic or people group. A modern-day example is the Tibetan people group (ethne) which lives in several (political) nations — China, India, Nepal and Bhutan. It is important to note that the Great Commission does not command us to make disciples of “everyone” but to make disciples of “all nations”. Why? We need to first understand that the chief purpose of man is to glorify God. In fact, the ultimate goal of missions is increase worship because that brings glory to God. When more people groups (nations) believe in and worship God, the greater the glory to him. Variety is the key, not quantity. Coke Cans, Pokemon and Lost Sheep An illustration: most of us have, at one time or another, collected stamps, Coca-Cola cans etc. When you collect stamps, variety increases the value of your collection — the goal is to get stamps from as many countries as possible. If you have multiple copies of a stamp, you try to trade them for stamps that you do not yet have. A recent example is collecting Pokemon. Some people will go to amazing lengths and expense just to collect that one species of Pokemon which can only be found in a single location in the world. This is the picture of what God is like. God wants to be worshipped by “every nation, tribe, people and language” (Rev 7:9), and he will do his utmost to achieve his sovereign plan. Our God will leave 99 sheep to find the one lost sheep (Luke 15:3–7), and he calls us to be his partners in this endeavour. It is not about cost or efficiency. Pentecost: A Foretaste of Heaven In Acts 2, when the Holy Spirit came upon the disciples at Pentecost, they were “declaring the wonders of God” in languages that they had never learnt. More specifically, Acts 2:5–6 tells us that there were God-fearing Jews from “every nation under heaven” who heard the disciples praise God in their “own language”. Then in Acts 2:47, we read that the new believers praised God (presumably in their own languages) as they met daily. From this we can see that the worship God desires is not just worship in one language or style. God desires to be worshipped by every nation in every language under heaven. The special place of language is very clear in this story. I believe that Pentecost gives us a vision and foretaste of heaven. Revelation 7:9–10 tells us what it will be like in heaven: "After this I looked and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and before the Lamb. They were wearing white robes and were holding palm branches in their hands. And they cried out in a loud voice: “Salvation belongs to our God, who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb.” Heaven will be a wonderful experience where every nation, tribe, people and language will be represented. It will be the most multicultural worship service you will ever attend! To sum up: God gets greater glory when a greater number of different people groups or nations comes to believe in and worship him using their own languages. That is why Wycliffe Singapore and our partners worldwide strive to bring the word of God to all the language communities of the world. Missions is about variety, not quantity! Dr David Tan is the Executive Director of Wycliffe Singapore. He and his wife, Sharon, served overseas for several years. Pokemon poster©KeyLimePieNinja, Flickr Creative Commons.

by Erin I came to Canada to study how to translate the Bible. My days were filled with picking apart Biblical narratives and dabbling in dictionaries. I was preparing for a role with a noble purpose – translating the Bible for an unreached people group. But God showed me that he was also concerned about small things. God of Small Things – Chickadees and Trash Until I came to Canada, I had never thought it was possible for a wild animal to enjoy the company of a human. Growing up in Singapore, most of the birds I knew were skittish and avoided human contact. Many of them were regarded as pests since they often picked at leftovers in coffee shops and bins. But there in Canada things were different. One of the staff on campus introduced me to the joy of bird-feeding, setting out seeds in her yard for them. When they came to feed and play, she would admire them and praise God. It was a sunny April afternoon when Pastor, a proud, pompous little chickadee, came to visit. He sat on the balcony rail, facing the street, singing. He was one of the birds that I had hand-fed over the course of the winter when food was scarce, but now, most of my chickadees had left to nest. That was why I was puzzled when Pastor showed up. “Do you want some peanuts?” I asked Pastor, holding his favourite treats in his direction. He ignored me and continued to sing. His head was tilted towards the sky, his eyes closed, and his little chest puffed up. He looked happy. So he had not come to be fed; he had come just to sing, a joyful part of God’s creation. In my first term of school, I was in charge of taking out the trash. I would go from room to room to empty the bins into two bags: one for recyclables, and another for waste. After a couple of weeks, I realized that the bag of waste was always smaller than the bag of recyclables. In fact, the bag of waste was always very small. After talking with my friends, I realized that the students were intentionally sorting their trash and limiting their waste because they were Christians. They wanted to care for the earth that God created. Dumping things that would not decompose in landfills and defacing the earth was not loving. Not sorting trash into waste and recyclables was poor stewardship. I began to see that the God of big noble purposes, like translating the Bible, was also the God of small things, like recycling and chickadees. God of All Things Colossians 1:15-20 reads: Christ is the visible image of the invisible God. He existed before anything was created and is supreme over all creation, for through him God created everything in the heavenly realms and on earth. He made the things we can see and the things we can’t see— such as thrones, kingdoms, rulers, and authorities in the unseen world. Everything was created through him and for him. He existed before anything else, and he holds all creation together. Christ is also the head of the church, which is his body. He is the beginning, supreme over all who rise from the dead. So he is first in everything. For God in all his fullness was pleased to live in Christ, and through him God reconciled everything to himself. He made peace with everything in heaven and on earth by means of Christ’s blood on the cross. Christ came in a physical body — one that was visible and tangible — that was nailed to the cross, not just to restore the church to Himself, but so that everything that God created would be reconciled to Him. He wanted to make peace with everything in heaven and on earth! Everything, including governments, social systems and the environment. In Wycliffe, we translate God’s Word because we believe that it brings about transformation. Reconciliation between God and man takes place when God’s Word goes out into the world. When a person is reconciled with God, he is restored and may now be reconciled with other people. The beautiful work of transformation takes over his life. But this transformation is not limited to fellow human beings. God’s word is so great that it seeps into everything, the invisible and the visible, the large and the small. It helps you abstain from that piece of plastic that might otherwise be floating in His oceans. It helps you consider how to be kind to the racoon that has been messing with your trash. It helps you make small changes that build up into systemic changes, the type of change that ushers God’s Kingdom into the world! Recently, I returned from Canada with even more reasons to translate the Bible. I know that this book has a far wider impact than what I originally thought. After all, the God of birds, and trash, and even Bible translation, is the God of all things in the world. Erin has just completed her Masters in Applied Linguistics at the Canada Institute of Linguistics. There, she learned about Bible translation and how to run a translation project. She will soon leave to work on a Bible translation project in Southeast Asia.

The world was recently gripped by the operation to rescue 12 boys and their soccer coach from the Tham Luang Caves in Thailand. More than 1,000 people were involved in a huge international operation which included divers, military officers, engineers, rescue workers and ordinary people. By the time the first two divers found the boys, they had been stranded in the flooded caves, in the dark, with no food, for nine days. When asked by the boys when they would be rescued, one of the divers replied: Not today. There’s two of us. We have to dive. We are coming. OK? Many people are coming. We are the first. Then one of the boys said, Eat, eat, eat, tell them we are hungry. This huge rescue operation parallels the missions enterprise. In missions, we seek to find and rescue those in spiritual darkness and hunger. Just as in the cave rescue, someone has to go right to where the people are, exploring the unknown and taking risks. Missionaries are like the first two divers — just “two of us”. But can they honestly say “many people are coming”? Like this massive rescue operation, missions requires the support of the rest of the Christian community — for people, resources, prayer, and all kinds of backup to rescue the lost and feed the hungry. Elon Musk, technopreneur and billionaire, made several high-tech suggestions and even provided a mini-submarine. However, the head of the rescue mission said that the sophisticated solutions were not suitable for the conditions faced. It was the rescue team on the spot who could assess what was possible, and in the end, it was the coordinated effort of many people in the caves and outside who carried out the successful rescue. In the same way, in missions, suggestions made from a distance may be unsuitable, and it requires a rescue team on the spot to devise solutions that work and, just as crucially, carry them out. There are still many who are “darkened in their understanding and separated from the life of God” (Ephesians 4:18). Not everyone is called to be a “cave diver”, but all of us can play a part in the missions enterprise. We need everyone to work together to bring those in darkness into the light.

Wycliffe Singapore conducted two Cross-Cultural Experiential Workshops as part of the GoForth Missions Conference in June 2018. Participants were first given a few tips on how to learn language and bridge cultural gaps, and then immediately sent to "Kainantu" to practise what they had learned in a very special cross-cultural experience! Many thanks go to the "Kainantuans" from Judson Baptist Church — we couldn't have done it without them! Before you could see it, you could smell it — the experiential part of the workshop was hidden behind a partition, but tantalising food smells wafted over. The workshop participants were told that they were going to a country called Kainantu, and taught a few basic phrases in an unknown language. These included “Hello” and “What is this?” As they crossed the partition, they were greeted by a colourful display of jewelry, books and ethnic clothing being “sold” at two stalls run by four native “Kainantuans”. The participants tried to find out what the different items were called and how much they cost. It all happened with a lot of pointing and repeated use of the phrase “What is this?”. Sometimes the replies were ambiguous: was she giving the word for “ear” or “earring”? Kainantu: marketplace, meal At the other end of the room, two mats were laid out on the floor, with another group of friendly Kainantuans offering bowls of home-cooked soup, along with fragrant spices and herbs. The participants took the cue from their hosts to take off their shoes and kneel or sit on the mats. In between mouthfuls, they used their limited vocabulary to try to figure out the words for “spicy” or “delicious”. Of course, where words failed, there were a lot of satisfied “mmm” sounds and thumbs-up gestures. In the background played some music which sounded familiar in its pop-style instrumentation, yet the lyrics were completely lost on the participants. That perhaps represented the whole atmosphere of the workshop: something like friendly confusion. One lady meant to ask two stall-owners if they were siblings, but ended up asking if they were lovers instead! During the debriefing, one participant commented that if the 20-minute experience could be so frustrating, imagine how stressful it would be for a week or a few months! Learning language and bridging cultures are indeed very difficult and intimidating — and you will often find yourself being embarrassed, or inadvertently rude. Still, as the facilitators reminded everyone, the important thing is to bring the good news to every culture and language group. Even though overcoming cultural and language barriers is challenging, it is still worth it!