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by Levene Wong It is often said that "Art is the universal language". Even without words, a painting or a song can convey emotions of joy and gladness, grief and sadness. Art speaks to each one of us in a unique way that mere facts and figures cannot. You will be hard-pressed to find a culture or people group that does not express themselves through art — be it in stories, songs, dances or drawings. This insatiable desire to create can only be attributed to the God who by himself created the world — and we reflect His creativity through expressions of our own. For most of us, our culture and identity is closely knit with these expressions, many of which are central to rituals to commemorate significant events in our lives and community. More importantly, it is an expression of community, kinship, and belonging. To choose to forsake these rituals would be a declaration of isolation and separation from the community. Unfortunately, for many people groups today, when individuals turn to Jesus and embrace a new way of life, they are viewed as forsaking their own culture and community. Christianity is perceived as a foreign religion — with its Western songs, instruments, and style of worship. To follow Christ is akin to turning one’s back on one’s own family. On a warm August morning, a group of believers from four different hill tribes gathered in a church, a quiet haven in the middle of a city buzzing with activity. As they sat in a circle, they shared shyly about the songs and poems they had created since they had last met, two and a half years ago, in that very same church. Then, they had learned about how every culture and language is precious to God, and that they could worship God even more meaningfully through their own language and cultural expressions. Dao*, from the Jishan* tribe, sang a lilting chant in a strong steady voice, in a style very similar to what he used to sing as a shaman before coming to know Christ. Hoang*, from another tribe, played on a stringed instrument commonly used in his village. It had a body fashioned from a gourd, with a long slender neck holding the strings taut. It was his first time sharing this song with anyone outside his family, he said. Tim and Marg*, Senior Musicologists and Arts Consultants, listened attentively and shared how encouraged they were to see how far each of the hill tribes had progressed. These new songs, they explained, were not just for the believers themselves, but would be the very tools that they would use to bring the gospel right into the heart of their communities. In order for the message of the gospel to effectively reach its audience, the messengers have to take into consideration the culture of the listener, yet at the same time maintaining the accuracy of scripture that the message is based on. The illustration given was that of an arrow and a target. The feathers on the arrow help to balance and stabilise the arrow so that it is able to hit its target accurately. An imbalance on either side of the arrow would cause it to miss the mark. For many people groups, it is a radical idea that they can worship God in their own language and songs, not just the national language and with western songs. The good news of Jesus Christ is for all cultures and all peoples. It is not an exclusively western religion, requiring people to turn away from their own cultures to embrace a foreign one. When people worship in their own culture, and their own language, God becomes real to them, and it is a powerful witness to the rest of the community that God loves their language, their people, and their culture. In Indonesia, Sulawesi, the Tado people saw transformation in the lives of people in their community through a worship song. After working hard together during a songwriting workshop, the people came up with a song about a little boat being tossed about by waves. The people were able to identify with it because it reflected their lives and culture so clearly, and many were moved to hear a worship song in their own language for the first time. Watch the video for the full story below

Every culture has its own customs and beliefs which govern major events such as death, birth, marriage, festivals and more. Many believers fear the loss of their cultural identity if they break with cultural tradition. Church leaders and cross-cultural workers often need to help the people they serve evaluate cultural practices and make godly choices. The Culture Meets Scripture (CMS) workshop helps believers uncover a culture’s assumptions and beliefs, and equips them to make godly choices when cultural practices clash with Scripture. Participants learn ways to explore the root reasons for a culture’s practices, and then examine them through the lens of Scripture. Three WBTS members attended a CMS workshop in Klang in July 2017. The workshop was conducted by Joanne Shetler, who was a Bible translator of the Balangao New Testament (Philippines) and is now a Scripture Engagement (SE) Consultant, and Amy West, who has a background in intercultural studies and anthropology, and is a Senior SE Consultant. From L-R: Amy West, Jo Tan, Sally Ong, Joanne Shetler The presenters used the illustration of a yam plant: in any cultural practice, the observed actions are only a small part, like the above-ground parts of a yam plant. Unseen are the underlying purposes, beliefs, assumptions, values, fears, needs, etc., which are like the swollen tubers buried in the soil. The presenters introduced techniques which can be used to examine any cultural practice in order to understand it better and transform it in a way that honours God. In some cases, however, a believer might have to reject a cultural practice if it is in contradiction to God’s Word. Joanne Shetler told a story from her time in Balangao, showing how it can be necessary to break away from a cultural tradition: There was a pastor whose son was beaten up by a youth from a neighbouring village. In that culture, a failure to take revenge was considered shameful. However, when the pastor met the youths at the police station, he broke with his culture by refusing to demand vengeance (which the Scripture teaches is God’s prerogative), but forgave the youths and preached to them instead. The father of one of the youths was so taken by this that he invited the pastor to his house for a meal, and over the meal, the pastor was able to share the gospel. A wonderful example of the impact of Scripture on a culture!

By Reenie Go to the people, live among them, learn from them, love them. Start with what they know, build on what they have: But of the best leaders, when their task is accomplished, their work is done, the people all remark, “We have done it ourselves. - attributed to Chinese sage, Lao Zi Wycliffe’s focus is life transformation through God’s Word. However, in cases where a community is not yet interested in Bible translation, or the language team needs a valid reason to live among the minority people in a closed country, a gateway project can help raise awareness and open closed doors. Community development (CD) projects which offer practical help are tangible ways to demonstrate love and build relationships with a community and local officials. When they experience such care, they are more likely to be open to God’s love and eventually desire to have His word in their language. Language teams may start CD projects to address specific community needs such as health education, agricultural improvement and income generation. This type of work requires many skills and specialties in a wide range of areas such as health, agriculture, water purification, education and business. As a result, language teams often need the help of other volunteers who can provide such skills. The aim of the CD specialists is to encourage community members to get involved in the projects along with the foreign volunteers. This also serves to increase their confidence and capacity to work together to reach their own goals and meet their own needs. CD workers hope that community leaders will eventually be able to take over the work, adapt strategies to meet their community needs, and seek outside help only when needed. Read about the experience of the Jin language project in Asia, illustrating how CD can be closely integrated with translation work. If you would like to find out more about opportunities to partner language teams to serve such communities, please contact Wycliffe Singapore. “These people are so kind. They came all the way to our place to help us. They have sponsored one of village girls for a heart operation and now she is well.” - Jin village head These words were spoken by the village head at one of the village meetings held to discuss the clean water project for their village. Each family in the village pledged to contribute labour and the smaller pipes for the water project while financial resources and the larger pipes were supplied by believers overseas. This glimpse of the love of Christ through meeting their felt needs marked the beginning of a good relationship with the community. A few years later, a few villagers accepted the Lord and a small house church was formed. Later, when government officials warned the villagers not to associate with us, the villagers fearlessly told the government officials, “Without them, we would not have clean water to drink.” And, the local believers continued in their faith in the Lord. Praise the Lord for His sustaining grace! Over the years, the CD projects we have worked on include: Education: Sponsoring school and living expenses of children from poor families, up to university level if they qualify. Our hope is that higher education will lead to improved living conditions and higher standards of living. From time to time, we also visit their families to care for and encourage them. We also raised funds to build a school dormitory. Water: Providing clean water to over 30 families. Biogas: Contributing materials to build biogas systems for the individual homes in partnership with the local government. Human and animal manure is converted to fuel for lighting and cooking. Medical: providing medical care through the local hospital for the sick, both non-believers and believers, who are poor and in need of help. We bring them for medical checks and treatment, care for them, and pay their medical expenses. Handicraft: Purchasing handicrafts from the villagers to provide them with another source of income. The handicrafts are sold overseas and the profits channelled back to help the poor and meet medical needs. Micro-enterprise: Helping to start businesses such as rearing animals and selling street food. The current focus is to help local church leaders and believers to earn a living while being involved in ministry. Deepening Relationships CD work has helped us build trust relationships with the Jin people and has widened our network among them. Besides giving us the opportunity to share Christ with them, it has greatly helped the progress of the translation project. The medical ministry in particular works closely with the local church leaders and believers. This relationship makes it easier for us to partner with them in checking and improving the translation and the promotion of heart language scripture use. Many of the Jin who have come to know the Lord have been using the translated Bible stories and songs. They need more Scripture and songs in their heart language to grow strong in the faith, and the CD projects have made it possible for us to live among them and provide such materials to them.

by Grace Tan Imagine this: Jesus has a lao bu (“mother” in Hokkien) who sets out to take charge of him after hearing reports that he’s seow (“mad” in Hokkien). We heard this story at the Bible Storytelling Workshop on 9, 10 & 13 May 2017. And, yes, it’s there in the written record (Mark 3:20–21, 31–35). For many of us, the word lao bu instantly linked Jesus’ mother to the many worried Chinese mothers who try to do what’s best for their children. And at the end of the story, when Jesus didn’t do what his mother wanted, many of us were offended at his response – though we tried to excuse his behaviour, since he’s our Lord. Wycliffe Singapore has run the Bible Storytelling Workshop before. But this year, for the first time, we practised telling stories to each other in our heart languages – Singlish, Cantonese, Hokkien, Teochew, Indonesian, etc. – as well as English and Mandarin. In doing so, we experienced the shock and impact of hearing God’s Word in a homely context. One participant shared, “I think we were all wowed when we heard the Bible in our own dialect and languages. It felt like ‘home’. It felt like ‘This is do-able.’ Suddenly it felt like I have something to say beyond ‘ni how.’” During this workshop, we had a taste of three methods of crafting Bible stories. Once the story was crafted, the next step was to act it out. In Teochew, English and Singlish, three groups acted the story in Mark 4:35–41 about Jesus calming the storm, to the immense enjoyment of all. We also practised doing inductive Bible studies on the stories. On the last day of the workshop, we tackled a non-story: Philippians 3:1–4:9. We crafted segments of this passage, then we put it together, with tellings in English, Mandarin and Singlish. Hearing the whole passage spoken was powerful for us. One participant commented, “When I heard chapters 3 and 4 of Philippians being presented to us, I was extremely moved. It suddenly clicked, I understood and could feel what Paul must have been feeling for the church. It all felt so real, like God’s Word was shooting straight into our hearts.” A workshop participant, CY, used the storytelling method only two days after the workshop ended. CY knew an elderly lady who was unreceptive to Christianity because she thought it was a western religion. However, when CY and her friend visited the old lady in hospital, she agreed to listen to stories and testimonies and she let them pray for her, all in Hokkien. They visited her regularly, and CY was able to share stories of Jesus’ miracles, the Prodigal Son, and some Old Testament stories. During those few weeks of sharing, as the elderly woman learned more about God, her heart was softened towards him. Touched by the Word of God, she eventually accepted Jesus as her personal Saviour and Lord before she passed away in June. This workshop really demonstrated the power of God’s spoken Word in the heart language. As a participant said, “This is a basic skill/lifestyle that needs to be put into the hands of every child of God, not just Sunday School teachers or leaders.” May all of us use this wonderful tool for the glory of God. The storytelling goes on! If you would like to join a storytelling group and practise your skills, please contact us.

By Coral Forty years ago, in December 1976, Coral, the first Wycliffe member from Singapore, began her training in Sydney. To mark this milestone in ministry, she shared some of her thoughts and experiences at a celebration event held in her church, Fairfield Methodist Church, and also at the WBTS Annual General Meeting. After 40 years, one question she is frequently asked is: “Would you do it again?” Her answer is unhesitating: “Yes, I would, all 40 years! The boss is good, and the ‘pay’ is good. Our heavenly father is a good boss, and the church and other supporters have stood behind me.” Her journey began in November 1976 when she graduated from Bible College. Less than two weeks later, she was on her way to Sydney for linguistics training. During “jungle camp” (an orientation camp for new missionaries) in Papua New Guinea (PNG), she met Liisa, from Finland, and thus began a friendship that developed into a 24-year partnership. At the time, Coral was deciding between PNG and the Philippines as possible places to work, and she recalls being discouraged from selecting PNG as it was considered “too tough for Asian women”! House in the village; working with the Mauwake Despite this, she and Liisa decided to partner and work together on a translation project in PNG among the Mauwake people. In April 1978, they moved to Moro village. The day before they moved, they experienced a spiritual attack – Coral stepped on a nail which penetrated one inch into her foot. However, she still decided to move to the village. In retrospect, she says that maybe she should have waited till her foot had healed. The outhouse was, in her words, very “out”, and she required the help of two persons to support her there and back! She spent the next 24 years working on translating the Mauwake New Testament (NT) and teaching literacy classes. Apart from that, she also trained PNGeans from other language groups to do translation, acted as a translation consultant. Over the years, she has amassed a wealth of anecdotes about her life and work among the Mauwake! In 1997, the Mauwake NT was finally completed and typesetting was about to begin. Again, the devil made his displeasure known – Coral suffered such a severe asthma attack that she had to be evacuated to Cairns in Australia. One good thing that came out of that was that the Singapore office has since required every member in field to buy medical evacuation insurance! The dedication of the NT was held in 1999 in the village. Remembering that day, Coral said that rather than feeling joyful: “That day, I wept. The Lord reminded me that there are so few people who love him there, and care about his word.” When asked when she intends to retire, she replies, “I don’t know!” Her current plan is to continue to work for another two or three more years, and help two or three more teams until they finish their NTs, and train some of the senior translators to be consultants. Coral’s 40 years in ministry is truly a wonderful testimony of God’s goodness and a great encouragement for those who come after her. To God be the glory!

A mother, her muscles tensed and straining, carries a heavy load of vegetables from her garden. A father, his eyes keen and searching, joins the hunt for a wild boar. Children, though still young, are learning what it means to work hard. This is Papua New Guinea (PNG), where perhaps 85 percent of the population depends on the land around them for food, shelter, and income. And yet, just over the mountain, lies Port Moresby with its skyscrapers, its hotels, its shopping centers, its clubs, and its busy streets. Papua New Guinea’s people face an incredible diversity of opportunities and challenges. They always have. The people’s history stretches back many millennia. Over thousands of years, groups of people learned to survive together, reaching an island and settling there, or finding a high valley and making it home. Archaeological evidence indicates that Highlanders developed agricultural techniques at about the same time that the better-known Middle Eastern civilizations were learning how to master their own food supplies, half a world away. As the people spread out, adapting their ways of life to the conditions they encountered, their languages changed dramatically too. Today, Papua New Guineans speak more than 800 languages, many as different from each other as English is from Chinese. Such a diversity of languages and cultures offers a rich heritage in a changing world, but it also leaves the citizens, the government, and the church to grapple with needs for multilingual education, healthcare, natural resource management, and conflict resolution. Most of PNG was reached by Christian missionaries in decades past, and many of the people have accepted Christianity. But syncretism and fear of evil spirits remain strong in many places, often because the people do not have God’s Word in a language they can understand deeply. The door to Bible translation is wide open in PNG. Christians from all over the world have contributed to Bible translation in the country, and God’s Word is available in more languages here than in any other nation in the world. The Papua New Guinea Bible Translation Association (BTA) and several other organizations continue working in languages all around the country. Even so, the remaining need is staggering.

David Tan, Director of Wycliffe Singapore, prays for our city state. We thank God for: His grace, protection, and provision for over 50 years of Singapore's existence the many who have given of themselves to build this nation into a multi-lingual, multi-racial, and multi-religious society that enjoys peace, progress, and prosperity. the missionaries who brought the good news to this land many years ago. His grace and mercy that has enabled many Singaporeans to come to know you and establish your church in Singapore. As Singaporeans, we confess that: We have often failed to acknowledge God's sovereignty over our country, ascribing our growth and successes to our own human efforts. We have not always fulfilled our calling and responsibilities as citizens, in not being salt and light in our society. We have embraced pragmatism and materialism as our idols. We pray for Singapore: To truly become a more just and equal society, where there is true love and righteousness. To become a place where the poor and the vulnerable are remembered and helped. For the Singaporean Christians to be salt and light not only in this land, but also to the lesser reached nations in Asia. To be a blessing to the least-evangelised nations and peoples around it. To be a servant leader that facilitates the emerging missions movement in Asia. For the Christians here to be faithful and willing to step out of their comfort zone to serve in missions. We would like to thank Wycliffe Global Alliance for the creation of this prayer video.

By Pearle At the age of 32, Pearle left Singapore to serve in South Asia. She shares with us how her journey really began long before she realised, and how God led her step by step into the mission field. 1. Can you introduce yourself, where have you been serving and for how long? Hi, my name is Pearle*. I have been with Wycliffe serving in South Asia since Nov 2013. 2. What led you to the mission field? I grew up in a multilingual family. When I was a teenager, my family moved from Hong Kong to Singapore. For a long time, I struggled with my identity and found it challenging to have to study and express myself using English, which was a foreign language to me. That gave me a little taste of the kind of struggles and challenges probably faced by the minority language groups. Because of that, the minority language groups always have a special place in my heart. God first put the desire to be involved in Wycliffe’s work in my heart through an issue of Yi Jing Xing back in 2001, when I was about to enter university and was seeking God’s purpose in my life. That issue called for people to participate in various roles to bring God’s word to the unreached people groups in their heart languages. I was challenged by the call. From my own experience, I know that people’s lives can only be transformed and set free if they know who the true God is by knowing His Word. So, I prayed and responded to God’s call that night. However, it wasn’t until 12 years later that I set foot on the mission field and started serving. Looking back, I recognise that God has His good plan and good timing to equip me mentally, emotionally and spiritually for my serving in South Asia. 3. Why did you decide to work with literacy and multilingual education? I actually knew nothing about literacy and multilingual education (MLE) for children when I first got interested in Wycliffe’s ministries. My passion and burden in adult literacy and multilingual education for children among the minority groups grew over time. I used to think that I must become a Bible translator in order to be involved in Wycliffe’s work. So, I thought I might have mistaken God’s call when I realized my strength is more in applied linguistics. After completing my studies, I asked for a short-term mission opportunity to explore other areas of Wycliffe’s ministry to be certain of God’ call. It was during my 10 weeks in Bangladesh that God introduced me to Wycliffe’s work in literacy and multilingual education, and helped me realise that this is where I can fit in with this big Kingdom project picture. God has a good plan for each of us. He subsequently gave me an opportunity to work in a local adult literacy programme to gain some working experience. During those years, I kept in touch with Wycliffe members serving in multilingual education and joined their work for short trips so as to familiarise myself with this area of ministry. South Asia contains many minority language groups who still live in a dominantly monolingual environment. They have limited access to the Scriptures and education in a language they can understand. When I heard that South Asia has a great need for this area of ministry, and I had a chance to visit to see the needs first hand, I decided to go to South Asia. 4. What are some challenges that you face in your work? I work with multiple language groups in our literacy and multilingual education ministries. We often face unpredictable changes due to weather, local political and social situation and resource constraints. Also, each group or even individual has their unique worldview, culture and ways of thinking and doing things. That calls for humility, patience and readiness to embrace uncertainties and approach matters with an open heart and mind. It also requires me to understand the unique needs of each group and be flexible so that I can contextualise our ministries to fit their contexts and support our local partners more effectively. It has been a great learning experience for me thus far to realise my own shortcomings and witness how God is working in my life and also in the country to accomplish His purpose. All our projects are in the remote areas with challenging terrain. Landslides and road closure is frequent especially during monsoon season. Besides, people are engaged in subsistence agriculture and animals raising. This narrows the window period when we could visit them, conduct training workshops or implement literacy classes. It also urges us to learn to be sensitive to God’s leading and grasp the opportunities when they come, take each step in faith and trust God to lead and open doors even when we do not necessarily have all the resources we need at that moment. 5. What are some encouraging moments in your ministry? There is a parent representative who joined our ongoing discussions and workshops for a new multilingual education programme. He did not have a chance to go to school when he was young, so he picked up simple reading and writing skills through friends after he grew up. At the closing of our first curriculum workshop, he shared with us excitedly that for ten years, he had been dreaming that one day his children could learn well and his illiterate wife could also read and be involved in their children’s education. As he heard about the multilingual education programme, he was very excited because finally he saw that his dream was not a wishful thought but it could come true. He has been participating actively in our subsequent material development workshop. It touches my heart to see that God answers this parent’s heart desire and enables him to be part of the team that contributes to the programme and make his dream come true. Most of an adult bilingual literacy programme participants are women who have received no or very little education previously. Many of them were not only illiterate, but they also could not understand or speak the national language. Because of that, in the past a lot of them did not dare to mingle with people from other language communities. They also did not know how to access public health service because they could not read to access information on the posters and pamphlets. It was encouraging to see them speak with confidence in front of a crowd at the end of the literacy programme, that they not only picked up basic reading and writing skills, but also found their identity and were empowered to express their thoughts confidently in front of people. We also saw many minority language group children in our multilingual education programme blossomed and integrated well into the mainstream national language medium education system as they grew up. That was a drastic contrast from the timid young children they once were, who could not understand or speak the national language when they first came to school. It reminds me that each of them is created uniquely in the image of God and they are precious in God’s sight. And this is what we would like to see – people finding hope and experiencing transformation and wholeness in their lives physically, mentally, socially, emotionally and spiritually. 6. What would you tell someone who is thinking about missions? When I first started thinking about missions as a late teen, I was impatient and eagerly wanted to start the journey and go to the field as soon as possible. Over the years, I have come to realise that actually the journey started from the moment I was born (Ps 139:13-16). It is good to look back to our past and discover what God has been doing in our lives through our family, our studies, training and life experience to get to know ourselves. You would be surprised to see how God has used every moment of our lives to mould us and equip us to become who He wants us to be and be ready for the purpose He has set in our lives (Eph 2:10). To run this journey well, we need companions and supporters to come alongside us. So, share your thoughts with your pastors and people who are spiritually mature and know you well. They can journey with you to ascertain God’s calling in your life and when is the right time to go. If you have already developed specific interest and burden for a people group, a place or a type of ministry, start a conversation with people involved in those areas to find out more information about the field. I find it helpful to be able to go on several short-term trips (e.g. a few weeks to a few months) to expose myself to cross-cultural living, start building relationships with people, and develop a realistic picture of life and ministry in the field. This would also help you know yourself more in the process – your strengths and weaknesses, blind spots, concerns, your limitations – to make informed decisions and thrive in the field for long term. 7. How can we pray for you? I will start my second term of assignment from April 2017 and continue with my existing ministries. It is my desire to widen and deepen my relationship building with both international and local friends. Pray for me to find a good balance between work, rest and relationship building and keep a close walk with God. I would appreciate your prayers for me and my colleagues to have wisdom and good understanding to support our local partners, journey with them and build them up effectively too. Thanks! *Names have been changed for security reasons

by Vera “If God had told me on the very day I became a Christian that one day He would send me to the Philippines to translate the Word of God for a special people group, I would have cried out, ‘That’s impossible!’ This is the incredible story of the Obo Manobo New Testament. The Gospel came to the Obo Manobo people in the late 1930’s. However, it took more than 70 years before they finally have the New Testament in their heart language.” “I am thankful that through Bible translation, God is transforming lives, equipping His church and discipling a nation.” In 1989, I, Vera, together with Ena, an American colleague, was assigned to begin a translation project among the Obo Manobo people in Mindanao, Southern Philippines. For over twenty years, we lived among the people in Sayaban, a small village on the slope of Mt Apo. The Manobo people are estimated to number at least 70,000, residing in six different districts. The Manobos were ashamed of their language and ethnic identity. They were looked down upon by other majority groups. We soon found out that although over 80 percent of the Manobo people claimed to be Christians, they were still living in fear of the spirits around them and steeped in witchcraft and superstitions. Many did not have a personal relationship with God or known Jesus as their personal Saviour. As a result, these people lived in constant fear of being harmed by evil spirits whom they called “owners of the caves, lakes or forests”. During those days, a Manobo would not dare to travel alone to another Manobo village unless they have a relative or friend living there. They were afraid that as strangers, they might get killed by “lambus”, a kind of poison concocted by sorcery. They were not able to overcome their fears as they did not know the truths in the Bible. They did not have the Bible in their own language. They often did not understand the Bible when it was read in English or in Cebuano, the trade language. Children parroted their Sunday school memory verses in perfect English but they rarely understood the meaning of the words they had memorised. Churches sang Christian hymns in English on Sundays. Once, I was surprised when a worship leader pointed at the words in the lyrics under “Onward Christian Soldiers” and asked me what does “triumph” means in Manobo. Pastors were afraid to address the issues of sorcery practised by members in the church. The Manobo believers were weak because they have no firm foundation in the Word of God. In the early years, it was difficult for us to find leaders with integrity to help in the translation work. It was very discouraging when Manobo Christians whom we worked with fell into moral sin one after another. There were times I was tempted to throw in the towel, but God encouraged me to persevere with His promise in Isaiah 55:10-13: “For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven and do not return there but water the earth, making it bring forth and sprout, giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater, so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth; it shall not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose, and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it. For you shall go out in joy and be led forth in peace; the mountains and the hills before you shall break forth into singing, and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands. Instead of the thorn shall come up the cypress; Instead of the brier shall come up the myrtle; and it shall make a name for the LORD, an everlasting sign that shall not be cut off.” Even though in the eyes of the world, the Manobo people were despised like the thorn and the brier, but God loves them so much that He sent us to translate His Word of Life into their heart language. They were uneducated, floundering in fear and poverty yet God’s desire was for them to become a people for His own possession, that they may proclaim the excellencies of Him who called them out of darkness into His marvellous light. To effect changes and transformation in the lives of the Manobos, we started a local inter-church organsation called Obo Manobo Active Language Resource and Community Development, Incorporated (OMALRACDI) in 1998 to take ownership of the work among the people, providing training for literacy teachers, pastor’s seminars, identifying and establishing income generating projects to fund literacy and distribution of the translated scriptures to the remote areas. Many Manobos live in remote hinterlands, far away from any public school, so about 40% are non-literates. Literacy work is needed to help people learn to read in order that one day they may read God’s Word. To date, over 3,000 adults have graduated from a basic literacy course. OMALRACDI has had classes held in over 100 sitios (small villages) from 30 barangays (usually a barangay has several smaller villages), covering eight municipal districts. The Manobos love music and dance but are not avid readers. One of the ways to plant God’s Word deeply into their hearts is through multimedia. In July 2009, a radio programme was established, broadcasting Christian music and scripture reading in the vernacular once a week. The Jesus film and Genesis have also been dubbed into Manobo and widely distributed. By God’s grace the Obo Manobo New Testament (NT) was completed in 2010 and dedicated on 22 October 2011. It was a joyful day for the Manobo people and also for us and those who have been faithfully supporting us behind the scene, fellow colleagues in the field and back home, and financial and prayer partners. 7,000 copies were printed and to date, over 6,000 copies of the NT have already been distributed into the hands of the Manobo people, many of them living in remote areas. This was done through the efforts of co-workers Beth and Brian Schwartz. Last year the Obo Manobo NT was audio recorded by co-workers from “Faith Comes By Hearing”. Working closely with the Manobo literacy teachers, Beth has also started distributing the audio form of the NT beginning this year. My recent visit to the Manobo has been a real joy as I witnessed the fruits from past years of sowing the Word of God. Since its inauguration in 1998, OMALRACDI has finally matured as an organisation with godly leadership. Also, since 2014, OMALRACDI conducts annual Obo Manobo Discipleship Bible Training Course for those who desire to learn God’s word. One of my highlights was sharing at a local church in Kidapawan. Since the New Testament dedication, this church holds two worship services every Lord’s Day. The second service is fully conducted in Manobo. I could see that the believers were full of joy singing in Manobo, reading the scriptures and listening to the sermon in their own heart language. I am thankful that through Bible translation, God is transforming lives, equipping His church and discipling a nation. Someone wisely said, “We can know how many seeds are in an apple, but we will not know how many apples are in one single seed.” I praise God that this is only the beginning. What we see now is just the completion of one Bible translated into one minority language. What we have yet to see is how wide is the impact on lives for eternity. This story first appeared in https://wycliffe.my/bible-translation-transforms-the-lives-of-the-manobo-people/.

by Phyllis Rappa For the past 21 years, Phyllis Rappa has been working in Romblon, Philippines translating the New Testament into the Romblomanon language. This is her story of why she chose to work with this people group, the challenges she faced, and how the Word has changed the community. The province of Romblon is made up of three main islands situated right in the centre of the Philippines with a population of about 200,000 people. About half of these people speak the Romblomanon language. This language is unwritten and used in the daily interaction of the people. However, Tagalog, the national language, is used in communicating with outsiders and in official situations. Someone asked what made me decide to choose Romblon. Translators were given the option to visit various projects before making a decision. I had visited several, going all way from Manila to Mindanao and also travelling on a small plane to a tiny island in the middle of the ocean where a translator was working alone. But I did not feel peace about working in any of these places. Then I heard that the team in Romblon had decided to return to their home country for personal reasons and needed someone to replace them. I spent a week visiting them in Romblon and immediately felt peace and knew that God was leading me to that project. I informed my director about this decision and was then officially assigned to the Romblon project. When I first arrived in Romblon, I lived on the main island called Romblon, Romblon, which is the provincial capital. My house had bamboo walls and the roof was made from a type of grass called cogon. There was no electricity or running water in my village, so I had to make do with a kerosene lamp and use water fetched from a well. My first two years were focused on language learning – mostly practising with the children who lived in the neighbourhood. There was never a dull moment – I enjoyed my interactions with the many people I met because they helped to increase my language proficiency. I also made cultural observations which I wrote in a journal. My purpose there was to learn the language so that I could begin to translate the New Testament into Romblomanon. In order to begin translation, I had to produce a 1,000-word dictionary, write a description of the grammatical structure and also of the sound system. Then, a consultant came to the village to test me on my language proficiency. It was an answer to prayer when he said that I had passed this test with flying colours. Having met all the requirements, I attended a translation workshop before I could begin translating. In 1998, I completed my first translation, the book of James. Portions of Genesis were published after that. This came in the form of a storybook on the life of Joseph (Genesis chapters 37-50). After two years in Romblon, another team joined me. In 2012, together with the local pastors, we launched a Bible study of the book of Luke. We started the Bible study in the children’s church and the attendance grew from about 40 members to more than 100 members. There have been many testimonies of lives transformed. For example, a lady shared that she used to be depressed and contemplated suicide. But when she started attending the Bible studies, she was encouraged and decided against taking her own life. There have been many challenges during the course of the project. One incident was when a typhoon blew over the island. The strong winds completely stripped the branches from all the trees. A large branch flew at a high speed towards the front window of my house – but it miraculously dropped just inches from the window. Another time, I was so ill that I could not eat or drink for five days. I had to travel for 12 hours by ferry back to Manila to get medical treatment and recover from this illness. I want to thank the Lord for his grace and strength to overcome the various challenges during the course of this translation project. I am also very thankful for all the people who have prayed and supported me all this time. The fields are ripe for harvest in Romblon. As of 2017, the 27 books of the Romblomanon NT have been revised and approved by the consultant. The revised introductions to each book and the main introduction will be approved soon. What is left is the editing of the glossary, some work on the technical details as well as the scheduling of the audio recording of the NT. The target date for the dedication will be in 2018. The goal of our project is to see people’s lives transformed through the translated Scriptures and we have already seen it happening. The word had indeed has come to Romblon.