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Stories from the Field, 7 November 2023 Speaker: Josh Matsumaru Do you need to be a linguist or translator to play a part in Bible translation? How do other skills support “heart language” ministries? Josh Matsumaru, now the Executive Director of Wycliffe Japan, shared his journey in missions and Bible translation, despite not being a translator. When he was 19 years old, he went on a mission trip to Indonesia. Already planning to be a teacher, he saw first-hand the difficulties faced by missionaries in providing a good education for their children. After graduating and teaching in Japan and the US for seven years, he felt the call to teach missionary kids on the field. Josh shared Jeremiah 1:11–12 through which he felt God confirming his call to serve as a missionary teacher: The word of the Lord came to me: “What do you see, Jeremiah?” “I see the branch of an almond tree,” I replied. The Lord said to me, “You have seen correctly, for I am watching to see that my word is fulfilled.” He felt God asking him: “What do you see?” He saw his years of interest in teaching missionary kids, his experience as a teacher, his abilities and skills. He was also assured that God would be watching to see his Word fulfilled – for his Word to reach all people in their own languages. Josh and his wife, Mika, went on to spend over 15 years (1999–2014) teaching at the Ukarumpa International School in Papua New Guinea (PNG), a missionary school for over 200 children of missionaries serving in PNG. While he taught sports at the secondary school campus, Mika taught art at the primary school campus, Japanese language and culture, and also provided some member care to female missionaries. Teaching sports and art Josh was also able to help in the Jesus video ministry – travelling to remote villages to screen the video which had been translated into the local language of the villagers. Often, it would be the first time they had ever seen a video in their own language! Other highlights of his time in PNG were the opportunities to attend some Bible dedication celebrations. They returned to Japan in 2014, and Josh took up his current appointment in 2017. He gave a summary of some of the activities of Wycliffe Japan: Literacy and Ethnoarts workshops Cross-cultural Missions seminars Wycliffe Café (discussions and seminars) Partnership with Japanese Sign Language organisations Mission trips/volunteer programmes About the speaker: Josh Matsumaru, a missionary from Japan, served in Papua New Guinea for over 15 years. During his time there, he and his wife helped support Bible translation work by teaching at an international school for missionary kids. Both of his children grew up in Papua New Guinea. Josh and his family returned to Japan in 2014, and he has been serving as the Executive Director of Wycliffe Bible Translators Japan since 2017. Prayer pointers: Pray for Wycliffe Japan as it carries out its various activities to engage churches and individuals to understand and participate in God’s mission. Pray for potential missionaries to clearly sense God’s leading in their lives.

by Phil Prior and Jim Killam, Wycliffe Global Alliance For the first time, the story of the Wycliffe Global Alliance has been chronicled in a book that could serve missions everywhere as they navigate new realities of the global church. A Missional Leadership History: The Journey of Wycliffe Bible Translators to the Wycliffe Global Alliance (2022, Regnum Books International) was written by former Alliance Executive Director Kirk Franklin and Susan Van Wynen, consultant for strategy. It was edited by Deborah Crough. Far from being the story of one or two heroes, the book recounts a history shaped by many people in many places—people whose names and voices may not have even been chronicled but whose contributions were immense. “I think that’s astonishing,” Kirk says, adding that the book’s title and subtitle were chosen carefully, and help set it apart from conventional organisational histories. “The idea of a journey eliminates the idea of there being a sense of competition,” he says. “A lot of good tools have come from the business world, but also a lot of things that have done more harm than good. Seeing it as a journey makes it possible to see it from a perspective of learning and being led by God through the whole thing.” The book is intended for organisational leaders and boards of governors within the Bible translation movement, of course. But it is also for any mission leaders and future leaders seeking a case study for organisations adjusting to paradigm shifts in the global church. “There was a discernment process,” Susan says. “Patterns of listening, responding, learning and acting. When you look back, you can see a map. It points to God’s presence through all of it. God’s timing, people’s reluctance … and leaves it open to reader’s interpretation of what they can apply in their own context.” For source material, the authors started with 10,000 digitized pages of Wycliffe board records from 1942 to 2020. They also reviewed notes from 30 missiological consultations, plus records from various national Bible translation organisations that are part of the Alliance. “Board minutes may be considered boring, and we quote from them very minimally,” Kirk says, “but they helped us piece together the story. You know who’s in the room, but you don’t know who said what, because decisions are generally made unanimously. Nameless people – we don’t appreciate the sacrifices they made. Hundreds of people, all committed to making wise decisions toward Scripture reaching all languages that need it.” “You put that all together and you have a reference piece that we trust will serve the Bible translation movement for a long, long time.” Vision 2025 One chapter recounts the story of Vision 2025 and some of the misunderstanding around it. “One of the key things that can get buried is that the intentions were so important,” Susan says. “People instantly moved to thinking about dates and goals — which is just human nature — but so much of it really was about heart intentions. … It was really about being willing to be different people and being willing to work differently and think differently—(and know) that it was in God’s hands.” Kirk adds: “So much of the story around Vision 2025 was just the one sentence that was taken out of a much bigger context: ‘By 2025, Bible translation in every language that needed it.’ That’s so unfortunate, because it’s not actually the decision that was made. It was much, much more than that. It got reduced down to a sound bite.” The chapter recounts much of the thinking and conversations behind Vision 2025, starting with its adoption in 1999 and moving toward it becoming an aspiration of the global church. “Wycliffe International in 1999 was not what Wycliffe Global Alliance is in 2020,” Kirk says. “It was primarily Westerners who made the decision – in faith that eventually the worldwide church would adopt this and partner together. But they couldn’t see that in 1999 because it (the global church) wasn’t in the room.” A powerful change story In fact, the book points to 1999 as a catalyst for significant changes in the Bible translation movement. “Partner organisations used to sit in the back of the room and didn’t say a whole lot,” Kirk says. “They really challenged the status quo in a nice way, because we then had to grapple with – if we are really serious about the global church’s engagement, then we have to do something about these so-called partner organisations. They have to somehow be included.” It led to a structural change in what is now the Alliance, with Western voices ceding control to a truly global, polycentric movement. “Mapping that all out … is a very, very powerful change story,” Kirk says. “Many international mission agencies would give their right arm for that to happen in their movements. Why did it happen with Wycliffe? And the story is there in the book. The conversations. The leading of God. The grappling with the future. Wrestling with, what do we really make of this need to see our vision fulfilled before God, and yet our structure is stopping us? “I think that showed so much courage for all the leaders of the day. And to have that documented so we don’t forget it, because it was such a pivotal moment, is very striking.” Story and videos: Phil Prior and Jim Killam, Wycliffe Global Alliance A Missional Leadership History: The Journey of Wycliffe Bible Translators to the Wycliffe Global Alliance is available for download and can be purchased Video about the book from Global Connect 2022 Watch the full interview with Kirk Franklin and Susan Van Wynen Reproduced with permission from Wycliffe Global Alliance

4–5 August 2023, Grace Singapore Chinese Christian Church By Grace Tan In 1962, Joanne Shetler went to the remote Balangao people in Northern Philippines (read her account in her book And the Word Came with Power). The Balangao were animists and bound by fear of the spirits. When someone became a new believer in Christ, he would have to consider whether he could follow his traditional practices – the practices that up to then had defined his world and his identity. From years of living with the Balangao, Jo Shetler developed a helpful method to help believers faced with traditional practices or rituals to make decisions that honour God. This eventually became the Culture Meets Scripture Workshop (CmS). The trainers for this CmS, Lena* and Faye*, have served in a sensitive part of Asia for many years, and have run CmS many times. The 2-day workshop was a condensed version of the original which usually lasted a week. With oral learners, it could run for two or three weeks. Rituals – how they develop Lena and Faye used oral Bible stories, from Passover to the Lord’s Supper, to show how rituals develop and evolve, and how they reflect the worldviews of the practitioners. The five stories were: Passover (historical event; Exodus 12:1–29) Passover ritual (modified, and to remember the event; Deuteronomy 16:1–8) Last Supper (repurposing of ritual to foretell an event; Luke 22: 7–20) Crucifixion (historical event referred to in (3); Luke 23: 33-47) Lord’s Supper (ritual to remember the Crucifixion; 1 Corinthians 11:23–26) This was very illuminating, and also moving, especially as the workshop ended with a celebration of the Lord’s Supper. Culture Meets Scripture – the process The CmS participants were mostly Chinese Singaporeans, with one visitor from India. Many of the participants were already experienced in ministry, either in Singapore or overseas. In two days, we went through a five-step process of digging down through the layers of a traditional ritual: a) Describe traditional practices Since most of the participants were Chinese, we considered four situations that occur within Chinese culture – Chinese New Year, Qing Ming (tomb sweeping), weddings, and funerals. For each situation, we listed the actions involved, the reasons for doing them, the consequences (according to the traditional worldview) of not doing them, and asked many “why” questions to tease out the underlying assumptions and beliefs. b) See what scriptures say We searched the Scriptures to find biblical answers which address the underlying beliefs and assumptions (e.g., that the spirits of dead people are able to return and harm the living). c) Transform rituals In the light of Scriptural truth, an appropriate response could be to totally reject or accept the ritual, to modify the ritual, or to replace the traditional ritual with a newly created one. For example, rather than wishing others “prosperity” at Chinese New Year, we could use the word “blessing” instead. d) Unite believers Young believers who are faced with making these changes need a lot of support. Prayers or scriptural songs should be composed to reassure and strengthen them. These should express the Scriptural truths which address the cultural beliefs being rejected. e) Create action plan Believers are encouraged to apply this process to all cultural activities, and share their understanding of Scriptural truths with others. By the end of the CmS workshop, every participant had experienced the process of working out a Christian way to deal with a particular traditional practice. They also gained a powerful tool for analysing any cultural situation and determining a solution that honours God. Thanks be to the Lord! * names changed for security reasons Related articles: Contextualisation – Culture in the Light of Scripture Culture Meets Scripture Workshop, 17-20 July, Klang, Malaysia

What were the four fasts mentioned by Zechariah? Zechariah 8:18-19: “The fast of the fourth month, the fast of the fifth, the fast of the seventh, and the fast of the tenth, shall be joy and gladness and cheerful feasts for the house of Judah.” In Jewish history, some fasts were instituted to mourn, repent or remember crisis events. The four fasts mentioned by Zechariah were all associated with the destruction of Judah and the Temple at the time of the exile to Babylon. 4th month fast - the capture of Jerusalem by the Babylonians (Jeremiah 52:6-7) 5th month fast – the burning of Jerusalem and destruction of the temple (Jeremiah 52:12-13) 7th month fast – the assassination of Gedaliah (governor of Judah) and his men (Jeremiah 41:1-3) 10th month fast – Nebuchadnezzar’s siege of Jerusalem (2 Kings 25:1) At the time of these prophecies, some of the Jews had returned to Judah, and the rebuilding of the Temple was nearly complete. In chapters 7 and 8, Zechariah declares that these fasts could be discontinued and would become joyful festivals when the Temple had been rebuilt. Zechariah 8:22-23 is also a foreshadowing of the New Jerusalem when people from “all languages and nations” will worship God (Revelation 7:9).

Stories from the Field, 3 October 2023 Speaker: Daniel Jesudason Culture clash is experienced any time you cross some kind of boundary – language, ethnicity, social class, gender etc. How can we effectively reach those from a different culture, and avoid a culture clash? Becoming an “Insider” Daniel began by asking: Can we really be an “insider” to another group? Can we become like “one of them”, to understand their culture, and become like “family” to them? He pointed out that this is “incarnation” – just as Jesus became human and dwelt among us, we are called to be incarnational in order to bring Christ to others. Paul also wrote in 1 Cor 9:22: “I have become all things to all people so that by all possible means I might save some.” So how can we become insiders when we want to minister cross-culturally? Is it even possible? How far are we prepared to go? To become an insider requires learning to speak the language well, including understanding and using idioms. It also requires getting to know how they live and behave, and a willingness to change some of our own behaviour. Daniel gave this example: among the Umanakaina, holding hands is foreplay, and it would be inappropriate for him to hold his wife’s hand in public! So as not to embarrass others and to fit in to that culture, they had to refrain from holding hands. Culture Is Like an Onion Daniel gave a Daga example to illustrate the layers that constitute “culture”: an intern experienced a culture clash when the Daga people would laugh when she slipped and fell on the steep and slippery terrain. That made her hurt and angry. Analysing her reaction: she felt that laughing at others’ misfortunes was bad, that their laughter meant that they were ridiculing her, and showed that they had no respect for foreigners. However, a Daga friend explained to Daniel that when the people laughed, it was in fact their way of drawing attention away from the slip so the person would not be embarrassed. It is important to realise that cultural differences always give rise to some culture clashes, but applying good coping strategies can lead to better understanding. Contextualisation Case Study: Umanakaina Marriage Custom A problem arises when a cultural practice is contrary to Christian teaching. What should Christians in these cultures do? How can they stay within their culture while still being faithful to Christian teaching? Daniel gave a case study from Umanakaina culture: Daniel said that, in the 5-6 years they spent with the Umanakaina, they did not do anything about this as they didn’t know what to do! They continued to work faithfully among the people to help them read the scriptures in their own language. Some time after they had moved elsewhere, they heard from a Christian man how the people themselves had resolved this issue. Actual solution: instead of sleeping with the korogoni, the girl would write to the korogoni and they would exchange letters! Other than that, the practices were unchanged. Literacy made it possible for the people to study the scriptures for themselves, grow in maturity, and contextualise their practices in the light of their Christian faith. It also meant that the young people were able to read and write letters! A wonderful example of transformation through God’s word. About the speaker: Daniel, along with his wife, Wei Lei, and son, served in Papua New Guinea with Wycliffe Bible Translators from 1985 to 2005. They initially worked among the Umanakaina as literacy consultants. They then worked in literacy and Bible translation among the Daga. They completed the Daga New Testament and dedicated it on 18 June 2005. Daniel has recently stepped down from his role as a Director at Promises (www.promises.com.sg) which provides psychiatric and psychological services and is currently making some career transitions. He continues to serve in a number of local and regional mission agencies. Prayer pointers: Pray for various training commitments to mission agencies Daniel is involved in as he makes career transitions during this time. He has stepped out into two part-time jobs now. Pray for Wei Lei as she manages a heavy workload in adoption services and cares for her father. Pray for the new projects and initiatives through the children's home and drug rehabilitation work in Nepal which they are involved in.

25-29 July 2023, Thailand https://ariseasia.org/ This was a historic gathering of 1,300 young people from across Asia and the Middle East who came together to worship, hear God’s voice, and journey with thousands of other young people who want to live for God’s purposes. The aim of this event was to help them find out more about missions and what God is doing around the world, and to inspire them to take the gospel throughout Asia and to the rest of the world. Sponsoring partners included more than 10 mission agencies and seminaries, along with over 20 endorsing partners. The Idea It was a question that sparked off the idea of this event: “What would it be like to see God ignite the hearts of this younger generation throughout Asia, to bring the Gospel where there is no Gospel witness in Asia and beyond?” Asia is an area of enormous need for the Gospel: 60% of the world’s population lives in Asia, and the majority of the unengaged and unreached people groups who have yet to hear the Gospel also live in this region. The Conference Over five days, the participants listened to messages and panel discussions, and attended workshops on a whole range of topics. Talks and seminars addressed issues facing missions today: unreached people groups, different types and durations of missions, the persecuted church, business as mission, social justice and much more! There was also an Innovation Lab – an ideathon over three afternoons: groups of 5 to 8 from different cultures brainstormed together to formulate actionable ideas to catalyse the spread of the gospel throughout Asia and the world. Christian leaders in various fields of business, technology, and entrepreneurship were on hand to give advice. Several groups might also have opportunity to partner with mission organisations and/or kingdom-minded investors to see their project to its completion. One speaker made a clarion call to attendees to be prepared to make sacrifices for God. He said that the biggest challenge to missions today is that too many offer up sacrifices that cost them nothing. He said that we should echo the apostle Paul in Acts 20:24: “However, I consider my life worth nothing to me; my only aim is to finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me – the task of testifying to the good news of God’s grace.” It wasn’t possible, of course, to have all our questions answered in just these few days. One attendee said that the most valuable part of the conference was the opportunities to connect with others and ask questions – they might be speakers and workshop leaders, people met during meals, or randomly assigned roommates. Who knows where some of these connections and friendships will lead?

From Wycliffe Australia "When people read the Bible in Ambonese Malay it’s like God is speaking directly to their heart with the language they understand the best." — Olce Saleky, Ambonese Malay Scripture Engagement Team Ambon city in eastern Indonesia is no stranger to grand openings and official launches. During our time here as translation facilitators, we’ve seen pomp and ceremony for new bridges, hotels, shopping centres, supermarkets, restaurants and more. In September 2022, a different, more significant kind of launch occurred. A young boy sounded a conch shell, announcing to all that something special was about to happen. A traditional band stopped traffic as they marched down a main street to the church. Joining the procession were the eight members of the Ambonese Malay New Testament translation team, each carrying a copy of a book that was twenty years in the making. The newly-published Ambonese Malay New Testament was handed over to the church and officially endorsed by Ambon’s most influential Christian leader. The ceremony was culturally and strategically important. Ambonese people value the symbolism of an official event and the church’s endorsement of the translation is crucial for its acceptance and ongoing use. We feel incredibly blessed to have been part of this once-in-a-lifetime event. It is significant for us because we have both had the pleasure of being part of the team working on this translation. We have ridden the highs and lows and seen glimpses of the impact of the Scriptures translated into Ambonese along the way. But it is so much more significant for the people of Ambon who now have the New Testament in their own language. Christianity came to Ambon and the surrounding Spice Islands in the 16th century and the church is well established in this region. Churches generally use the national language of Indonesian for the Bible and all aspects of ministry, which means that many Ambonese are left practising their faith in a second, third or even fourth language. As a result, language can be a significant obstacle to understanding the gospel. Twenty-five years ago, before we joined the project, no one thought that an Ambonese Bible translation project would get off the ground. Yet God made a way for it to happen. Over the years, the project faced numerous obstacles and setbacks. We were rocked by an earthquake and flooded twice. Translation staff came and left. COVID pushed publication plans back by two years. Travel restrictions meant we didn’t even know if we could attend the official launch. Yet again, God made a way. The story about the Ambonese Bible dedication has been taken from Wycliffe Australia's publication, Wycliffe Today. The video of the dedication was produced by Wycliffe Australia. Reproduced with permission from Wycliffe Global Alliance

Why did God say that Zerubbabel would be like his signet ring? Haggai 2:23b: “‘I will make you (Zerubbabel) like my signet ring, for I have chosen you,’ declares the Lord Almighty.” Zerubbabel led the first group of Jews back to Jerusalem from Babylonian exile. He was the grandson of Jehoiachin (the king of Judah at the time of the exile) and therefore a descendant of David. Years before, Jeremiah had pictured Jehoiachin’s exile to Babylon as God pulling off his signet ring (Jeremiah 22:24). Haggai now prophecies that this action would be reversed in Zerubbabel’s life, and he would be like God’s signet ring – a symbol of God’s authority and covenant with his people. As God’s signet ring, Zerubbabel also foreshadows the coming of the Messiah. In ancient times, the way to mark a document as genuine was with a seal – usually a stone or gem engraved with a design unique to the owner, which was then pressed into a blob of soft clay or wax on the document to leave a clear impression. When the seal was incorporated in a ring, it was called a signet ring. The owner was then able to wear this symbol of his identity and authority conveniently on his hand.

by Dayna The annual Camp Wycliffe in Thailand, interrupted by the pandemic, is finally back! Camp Wycliffe is intended to let participants experience living cross-culturally and be exposed to missions. This year, I got a chance to join the other 20 or so people who attended, with participants from Singapore, Thailand, Hong Kong, South Korea, Canada and the US. For the first two days of the camp, we attended training sessions as well as listened to speakers involved in various aspects of Wycliffe’s ministries, such as language learning, phonetics, literacy, cross-cultural issues, Bible translation, oral Bible storytelling, etc. This year’s camp included some new activities, where we visited Wycliffe Thailand’s new office building and the Chiang Mai Theological Seminary, and had prayer walks in a temple as we observed and learnt about Thai Buddhism. We also got the opportunity to visit Payap University, an international college based in Chiang Mai, where we were introduced to their Linguistic courses. The second half of the camp was the village portion where we were split into groups of 3-4 and stayed with hosts in the individual village huts. The travel up to the village was a bumpy one, but as we headed up into the mountains to get to the village, we were in awe of the scenery all around us. On our first night in the village, we had a time of worship and a short sermon by Ps. Tharawat (Director of Wycliffe Thailand) in the village church. As we led the worship and prayed for the church, we got to see how passionate the villagers were through their singing and response to the sermon. Many of them had to walk long distances, and it was nighttime, yet most of them turned up to attend the service! This year, the village project was to help build a shared toilet and a flight of stairs that went up the hill towards the church. We spent the whole of the next day helping the experienced locals by passing buckets of sand, stones and cement around, as they put their construction skills to use. On the final night, we had a campfire where we shared our thoughts and short testimonies of our experiences in the camp. It was touching to hear some of the stories of other campers who shared how they had been called to the mission field and how this camp helped them learn more about what it meant to be a missionary. Some also shared that while they wished to learn more about missions, they also had many other commitments back home that held them back. They shared that Camp Wycliffe had widened their perspective and helped them reconsider the factors holding them back (family matters, personal fears, school/work-related issues etc.) On the way back to the city, we visited the Eastern Lawa team where we got to listen to Greg and Rosie share about the Eastern Lawa people and their stories. We also had lunch together, which gave us a chance to talk to the people involved in the project and get to know one another better. Final thoughts I believe that most of us would have some worries or doubts when it comes to considering missions. If you can personally relate to some of those mentioned above, I’d strongly encourage you to sign up for the next Camp Wycliffe! I definitely learnt a lot from the Camp Wycliffe speakers and experiences. It has widened my perspective on cross-cultural living, and what missions is all about. While the camp was a short one, it did leave a lasting impression on me, and it is something I will never forget!

Stories from the Field, 5 September 2023 Speaker: Sharon Third Culture Kid: a person who has spent a significant of his/her developmental years outside the parents’ culture. Most of us know a TCK, or you or your child may be one! This is someone who has lived overseas because his/her parents were there for ministry, work or studies. Often, they are highly adaptable and resilient, relate easily across cultures, and have lots of interesting stories to tell. On the other hand, they may experience culture shock on returning to their passport country, have difficulties adjusting to school, seem unable to settle down, and may experience anxiety or depression. This may even persist into adulthood, when they may struggle with issues of identity and belonging which can impact their mental, emotional and spiritual wellbeing. How can we help TCKs grow up to be mature, God-fearing adults who have learned how to process the positives and negatives of their unique upbringing, are able to embrace the fact that their life is a unique blend of cultures and places, and appreciate their TCK characteristics and experience? Adverse Childhood Experiences Research has identified 10 Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) which, when experienced in childhood, can affect a child’s brain development and impact their biological, emotional, social and cognitive functioning. These ACEs are: A TCK lifestyle, unfortunately, puts a child at a higher risk of experiencing ACEs compared with the general population. This is because the family may live in less safe environments, have less social, financial or emotional support, and the parents themselves may experience culture stress and heavy workloads. Positive Childhood Experiences However, it isn’t all “doom and gloom”! Research has also shown that ACEs are not deterministic of health and wellbeing in adulthood. There are protective factors, known as Positive Childhood Experiences (PCEs), that can be introduced in a TCK’s life which will reduce the negative effects of ACEs. As the main adults who support and care for TCKs, parents must be intentional in providing these PCEs, and engaging others to help. These PCEs are: Sharon concluded by sharing stories of how she and her husband (before knowing about PCEs!) worked such experiences into their family life during the years they lived overseas. The family returned to Singapore when their daughters were in their teens, and helped them transition to Singapore schools. They now live and work in Singapore. Prayer items Pray for greater awareness of TCK issues in Singapore, especially in families, churches and schools. Pray for families living overseas or preparing to go overseas, that they will be aware of the difficulties their children face, and be pro-active in helping them cope. Pray for TCKs who are struggling with re-entry to get help. For more information about the research into ACEs and PCEs, especially in relation to TCKs: Tanya Crossman & Lauren Wells, (2022). Caution and Hope White Paper: The Prevalence of Adverse Childhood Experiences in Globally Mobile Third Culture Kids. Tanya Crossman, Elizabeth V. Smith & Lauren Wells (2022). TCKs at Risk White Paper: Risk Factors and Risk Mitigation for Globally Mobile Families. About the speaker: Sharon, herself an adult TCK, lived overseas with her husband and two daughters for more than 10 years. She volunteers at Wycliffe Singapore, mainly writing reports and articles.