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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.

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!

The Singapore group In May 2018, I accompanied a group of five people from Orchard Road Presbyterian Church to visit the Robeno translation project in a neighbouring country and attend a Bible Festival for one of the languages. For those five days, we left our comfort zone in Singapore to experience basic amenities in a village – and share in the joy of the villagers as they celebrated the arrival of Scriptures in their language. We first visited a translation workshop in the district capital during their third and final week. Translators from six different languages were there, along with their facilitators and translation consultants. They had finished checking Luke 8–10 and were busy producing booklets from those chapters as well as other portions that had been translated previously. Although one of the language groups lived in the capital, the others lived further away. One group needed two days to travel back to their home! During closing ceremony of the workshop, the group from Singapore sang a worship song in one of the languages (we had practised beforehand!). It was much appreciated by everyone. We and some of the workshop facilitators then accompanied this group back to their home region for a Bible Festival. Because of the pouring rain, what was usually a five-hour journey turned into an eight-hour journey, much of it on rough roads. It was already 9 pm when we finally arrived in the village. We, with other guests, stayed in the best accommodation in the village – the pastor’s house. Some unforgettable experiences for us city folks from Singapore – sleeping closely packed together on thin mattresses on the floor; sharing the single bathroom in the house; flushing the squat toilet with a dipperful of water from the ‘tangki’ or water tank next to it; and bathing with water dipped from the same tank. When the water ran low, the pastor turned on a generator for electricity to refill it from another, larger tank. This village had no piped water, but caught and collected rainwater from the roofs. The hospitality we experienced was wonderful. The pastor and his family not only gave up their bedrooms for us, but they also fed us and all the other visitors – about 25 of us. Through the two days we stayed there, there were a few women busy in the small kitchen all day, turning out rice, vegetables and meat dishes for every meal. After breakfast the next day, the men in the group were invited to bless the rice harvest at a villager’s house. Imagine their surprise when they entered his rice barn and were confronted by a cooked whole chicken beside a bowlful of rice sitting atop the sacks of rice – the traditional offering to the spirits. Even though this village was Christian, many people still trusted in the old rituals for their security. Later that morning, one of the visiting pastors preached about it. He said that, when he was a child, he trusted in the sacrifice of chickens, but now he put his trust only in the blood of Jesus. The following day, there were more requests for all of us to pray for blessing on the rice harvest. This time, there were no chicken offerings. However, at one home we enjoyed a delicious traditional meal of roasted chicken and rice wrapped in leaves. Traditional chicken offering; Bible festival The day was entirely occupied with the Bible Festival. It took place at the village church which was packed with visitors from 11 other villages. There was much singing and many speeches. This was followed by competitions for Bible reading, Bible memorisation, and singing of Christian songs. There were also games for children, and a photobooth that immediately printed out pictures of villagers with a Bible verse in their language printed on them. The singing contest generated the most interest. All ages competed – from a group of older ladies who also danced in their traditional style, to a group of children who had walked two hours from another village to take part. The children didn’t win a prize, but still they were happy as they prepared to walk two hours back to their home. The following day was a Sunday, so we were back at the church for the morning service. Once again, the congregation and many performing groups sang songs in their language. Our group from Singapore also sang our song again! Then, the elder leading our group preached a sermon in English with interpretation. The journey back to the district capital took only five hours. We brought back memories of the hospitality of the villagers, and the joy and cheerfulness of the children, even though they didn’t have much. This trip showed us that there is a big world beyond the rich and comfortable shores of Singapore. We saw that people can be happy with very few material possessions – but also that having only a little of the Word of God in the national language isn’t enough for them to have a good footing in the gospel. The Gospel of Luke is reaching them as it gets translated bit by bit. But there is so much more than they need to know and understand. We pray that in time they will understand in full, and that their joy will be complete. Felicia* has been a member of Wycliffe Singapore since 1996. She worked for two years in the Philippines as an Academic Publications Manager, then moved to a nearby country to work in a language project. In 2011 she returned to Singapore for family reasons. In 2016, she began working in the Wycliffe Singapore office. At this time, she is looking to get involved in field work once more. * Not the real name

The 1000th New Testament with SIL (a partner organisation of Wycliffe) involvement has been completed! In 1998, the translation team working on the Keliko New Testament fled south Sudan to escape the violence that had broken out. This was the second time that war had interrupted work on the translation. But this time, the team continued the work in Uganda, and the New Testament will finally be published this year. Read the story and celebrate with the Keliko people who now have God's word in their heart language. Read the full story of the Keliko New Testament HERE.

The annual Camp Wycliffe in Thailand is an immersive 5-day missions exposure camp. Participants get a chance to experience living cross-culturally and get a taste of missions. This year, a group of seven people from Wycliffe Singapore went to join the other 30 or so people who attended, with participants from Thailand, Hong Kong, and even as far away as Canada! As in previous years, the programme was divided between a training phase and a village stay. The training phase saw participants being given introductions to aspects of Wycliffe’s ministries, such as cross-cultural issues, language learning, phonetics, Bible translation, literacy, etc. The highlight for most participants was the village stay where they could try out a few of the language learning techniques they had learned, interact with the villagers and experience village life. This year, the village project was to help build a Sunday School venue, and also hold a children’s programme. What participants said: ... as I sat in the back of the truck and looked at the mountains all around me on the way to the village, I was amazed at the thought of how God knows where all the people are and desires for them to know Him as well. ... there many people groups who do not have the Bible translated into their own heart language yet, and many of them are found in Southeast Asia. ... the realities of spiritual warfare ... it hit me that these things are definitely real and present. ... hearing God's call is simply being obedient and ready to listen to His leading and guidance. ... my next step is to find out how I can be involved in missions after graduation, whether short-term or long-term. If you are interested to get a taste of missions, join Camp Wycliffe in May 2019! Sign up to receive our news and updates here.

By Levene Wong As I look back on the six weeks of ACTI, I don’t even know where to begin. It was a whirlwind of experiences, from meeting 16 other missionary candidates and 23 facilitators, learning 28 different modules, travelling to Chiang Rai for a mission trip and the final graduation ceremony —it’s really hard to describe succinctly what ACTI was like! Hill tribe church: worship; children's programme ACTI began in 1985 with a vision to equip missionaries who were just stepping into the field — preparing them for the many challenges and culture shocks that they were certainly going to face. The topics ranged from Honour & Shame, Contextualization & Worldviews, to Phonetics, and Church Planting Strategies. All these topics were very helpful in giving us an overview of the different worldviews and practical issues we would encounter. However, there was a sense that this was just scratching the surface — it was good to learn some handles by which to navigate in the field, yet at the same time, I am awed by how impossible it is to bridge cultures and transform lives in our own strength. This work can only be done by the empowering of the Holy Spirit and by prayer. Faced with such an immensely impossible task, we see that this is God’s mission and God’s work that he has given us the privilege to be part of. It is wonderful to be able to see His hand at work in miraculous ways! As part of the course, we were asked to come up with a masterplan for our future ministry. Initially, some questioned the need to do this — shouldn’t we simply go into the field and see where God leads? Wouldn’t writing a masterplan counter the leading of the Holy Spirit? Our facilitators explained to us that creating a masterplan did not mean that we were tied to it. It was simply a way to help us think clearly about the needs, the people, available resources and how to use them effectively. It was also a way to help us set clear goals and make sure that we were focusing our energies in the right direction. In the mission field, we would not have a boss to tell us what to do! Lastly, it would help us communicate our ministry clearly to our sending church and supporters so that they would be able to understand what we were doing miles away! At the end of the course, all of us were pleased to be able to present our masterplans clearly and confidently. But while we want to be good stewards of the knowledge and experiences God has given us, at the same time, we want to be prepared to change our plans when he calls us to! ACTI equipped us with the knowledge and tools for service in the mission field. More importantly, the fellowship among the trainers, experienced missionaries and course mates has and will continue to impact us for the rest of our lives. From the trainers and missionaries, we not only learnt from their teaching, but from their personal life testimony and stories. We were awed and humbled to see how these servants of God had striven for the gospel, many in difficult places, yet their lives radiated joy and hope. Their confidence in God and his sovereignty was truly inspirational. Our fellow course mates came from many different cultures, nationalities and languages, and it was like a piece of heaven to fellowship, worship and pray together with them — not to mention the fun outings and lots of laughs together. It was such an encouragement to be among peers travelling on the same journey, to hear of similar struggles, and to know that we were not alone, but one in Christ. I was excited to hear about where God is leading each of them, to rejoice together in triumphs, and pray together in trials. ACTI has been an unforgettable experience, and we have all been truly blessed by it. Levene serves in Wycliffe Singapore as an Event Coordinator and Communications Designer. She and her husband attended ACTI in 2018 and are considering how God can use them in the mission field.