Search Results

Why not do something that is worthwhile as well as fun, and guaranteed to open your eyes to a wider world? See what a young person decided to do with one year of her life, with Wycliffe.

Richard Kunene, a Deaf church leader in South Africa, yearns for the Deaf in his country to be able to experience God’s word as intimately as hearing people. “I see that the hearing churches are happy, and I worry about the Deaf,” Richard says. “They suffer. Many Deaf suffer. They struggle. For a long time, they’ve been struggling, and I’ve been praying to God, ‘How can the Deaf understand?’” Although specific numbers are difficult to identify, by the best accounts there are hundreds of sign languages around the world, used by as many as 70 million people. However, only one sign language has a New Testament, and no Scriptures exist in the vast majority of these languages. Correspondingly, only 1-2% of Deaf globally are Christians. “For 2,000 years the church has neglected the Deaf world. It’s just been off the radar screen,” says sign language Bible translation consultant Jim Dowsett. A vision for the Deaf in South Africa In South Africa more than 600,000 Deaf people use South African Sign Language (SASL), but no Scripture has been avail­able in this language. Hands with Words, founded by Lisa Craye in 2006 to min­is­ter to and with South African Deaf, began a Bible translation project in SASL in 2013 to address this need. Lisa first became interested in ministry to the Deaf in South Africa while working as a teacher at a local school for the Deaf. She found her passion in using sign language to share with the Deaf about Christ. “I discovered that when I interpreted the Gospel for the Deaf in sign language, something was happening in me that I couldn’t explain,” Lisa says. “I sensed that the Holy Spirit was really working through me to tell the Gospel to the Deaf.” It was at this school where she first met Richard’s wife, Agnes, who was working as a teacher’s assistant. During this time Lisa went on a short-term mission trip to Namibia. She thought she was going to be ministering to hearing people, but the team discovered a school for the Deaf. Lisa acted as the interpreter as the group interacted with children at the school. In subsequent years Lisa made more short trips to the school for the Deaf in Namibia with a growing team which included Agnes, Richard and their daughter, Happiness. When they returned home from one of their trips Richard asked Lisa, “What are you going to do for the Deaf in South Africa?” This challenged Lisa to start a ministry for the Deaf people in South Africa as well as in neighbouring countries. As the ministry developed, her vision for how to best work alongside the Deaf community evolved. “The DEAF don't have a Bible?” A critical point in this evolution came in October 2010 when Lisa and Agnes attended Cape Town 2010: the Third Lausanne Congress on World Evangelism. During the conference a list of languages without translated Scriptures was distributed. They noticed that Deaf sign languages were included. “I said, ‘The Deaf [in South Africa] don’t have a Bible?’ The Bible is written in different languages [in South Africa], but there’s nothing for the Deaf!” explains Agnes. “We need the Bible to be translated into the heart language of the Deaf, so that they can be excited and understand.” Soon after, Agnes and Lisa met a woman who was involved with a sign language Bible translation in Asia. She encouraged Agnes and Lisa to contact her colleague Jim Dowsett because he worked in Sign Language translation in Africa. Agnes and Lisa left the Lausanne Congress encouraged and convinced to pursue a Bible translation project for SASL. Seven months later, Agnes and Lisa met Jim at DOOR International’s training center in Nairobi, Kenya. DOOR is an organization dedicated to facilitating Bible translation into sign languages, as well as promoting the growth of the Deaf church around the world. Jim and staff from DOOR helped Lisa and Agnes lay the foundation for an SASL Bible translation project.

Growing up in a restrictive West Asian country, Reza* never embraced Islam, which is the majority religion of his country. Instead, he considered himself an atheist. As a college student, he vocally shared his opinions on his university campus. One day, his secular viewpoints caught the attention of police. They seized his books and dragged him to prison in secret. His parents searched for him for three months. Finally, Reza came home from prison with a bruised face and a realization that he wasn’t safe in his own country. “You went the wrong way,” Reza’s father told him. “You don’t belong to the society.” Soon afterward, Reza fled to Central Europe as a refugee. Settling in Germany, he found a job at a fast-food restaurant, where he met many fellow refugees. One of them was bold in sharing his Christian faith with Reza nearly every day for two years. “God has a plan for you,” he told Reza. “I, my family, and my church will pray for you.” At the time, Reza brushed off his words. His mother had prayed for him to accept the Islamic faith, but those prayers had only seemed to make his life worse. A FAMILIAR FACE About two years after arriving in Europe, Reza faced trouble with his visa. He lost his apartment and his permission to work in Germany. He went to a refugee camp, where he felt lonely and discouraged. One night he decided to temporarily escape the crowded camp by taking a train ride to another town. There, he saw a sign advertising a church for people from his home country. Reza still didn’t believe in God, but he stepped inside the building out of curiosity. In the corner, a group was praying. Then, he saw a familiar face – the man from the restaurant. “Hallelujah, God brought Reza to us!” the man said. “We were praying for you.” That evening, Reza’s heart softened, and he began to follow Christ. Around this time, Reza met Robert*, a Wycliffe staff member working with refugees who speak Elegant*— a language spoken by almost four million people from Reza’s country. Robert invited Reza to help with the project, and Reza eagerly agreed. The team was able to secure Reza’s legal status in Germany, enabling him to stay. One of the first pieces he worked on was a document about why Bible translation matters. It was designed to help the Elegant translation team understand why their work was so important. Although Reza still faced difficult circumstances, his new faith strengthened him. “I was seeing how God was restoring things,” he says. “My life was not normal, but my soul was so free. The fear that I had before did not exist anymore.” TESTS OF FAITH In the past decade since Reza became a Christian, several challenging experiences have tested his faith. His relationship with his parents has been strained because he’s not been able to share with them about his work in Bible translation. However, Reza hopes to visit with them in Europe soon. His distance from his home country also offers him no guarantee of security. Even though he’s far away, he’s still received threatening calls in the middle of the night from people unhappy about his work. This is true even now, as Reza and his wife raise their young daughter while continuing the translation work. Sometimes the threats have become real. Reza had a neighbour who came from a country near Reza’s homeland. One day, the neighbour saw a Bible in Reza’s hand. “Are you a Jesus follower?” the man asked Reza. Then he punched Reza in the face, giving him a bloody nose. The neighbours called the police, but Reza declined to press charges. A couple of years later, Reza ran into the same man at a Christian conference presented by a local church. The man had been so impressed by Reza’s kindness that he became a Christian.“Then I remembered God says, ‘You do your job and I will take care of the rest,’” Reza says. “This is what I’ve experienced in my life with God.” Reza is full of gratitude as he reflects on his unexpected journey toward fulfilling God’s purpose for his life. “As an atheist, against religion, my reaction was to reject everything which had a religious feeling or was about God,” he says. “Then, how God prepared the whole way for me – it is unbelievable. But for our God, it is possible. And because of that, when I talk to people I say it is not religion – it is a relationship. FOR GOD, IT IS POSSIBLE In the past few years, Reza has taken on a larger role in the Elegant translation project, alongside Robert and several Elegant refugees. Today, he is the project manager. On top of this full-time job, he is completing a graduate degree and leading a Bible study at his church for migrants from his country. Reza strives to make sure the translations are not only accurate, but meaningful to Elegant speakers. “We need to see their background, their culture, because we can then serve them better,” he says. When he is translating certain passages of Scripture from the original Hebrew text, the words and scenes leap off the page. “I feel the relation with my culture, and I can understand it and have a picture of it,” he says. He wants Elegant speakers to feel the same connection – and he thinks they are particularly receptive because of the struggles they face in their own country and as refugees. “In that region [my homeland], sometimes people don’t know where to find real love,” he says. “My point of view is that it’s in the Bible. God reveals that in His words. We don’t need weapons; we don’t need a lot of money – just the Word. This book brings the whole of these things: love, peace.” Together, the team has translated the Gospel of John, the book of Acts, the story of Joseph, and the story of Abraham. Many other Scripture portions are in progress. The finished Scriptures have been distributed via booklets and audio CDs and have been broadcast on satellite TV and on the radio in Reza’s home country. The team has also created a website, a Facebook presence, a YouTube channel, and an iPhone app to help people download text, audio, and video versions onto their computer or smart phone. “I’ve just been amazed – people have been downloading this app all over the world,” Robert says. “Even inside [Reza’s country] where it isn’t easy to have an iPhone, people are downloading and using the app, even though there’s risk with using it.” For many of the Elegant, having God’s Word in their heart language is well worth the risk. And for Reza, dedicating his life to translation has been worth the sacrifices. “It is my vision that people from my area will know God and experience what I have experienced with him,” he says. “And it is my vision that people hear from him and be just in God’s arms. The Bible says that nothing can separate us from his love. Problems and wars don’t matter. It is true – nothing can separate us.” *Pseudonym

Since childhood, Lee’s* life has always been engaged with Scripture. He is 40 years old and belongs to the Karen people, which is a minority people group in Southeast Asia. Growing up with Christian parents, Lee heard Bible stories and the teachings of Jesus since he was a child. The Bible was translated into his language more than a hundred years ago. He has always heard God's Word in the language he understands best. But he realises that it is a privilege not everyone enjoys. At the age of 25, Lee graduated from a Bible school and became a pastor. Ten years later, he completed a Master of Ministry degree and worked with the Bible League as an administrator. Then in March 2010 Lee decided to become more directly involved in Bible translation. He wanted to share Scriptures with those who are still without God's Word in their own language. However, rather than being a Bible translator, he chose to become the coordinator for a Scripture engagement (SE) team. He and his team help people to apply translated Scripture to their everyday lives. FOR LASTING IMPACT “SE is basically helping people to use the Bible,” Lee explains. He says that many people misunderstand Bible translation ministry, believing that once the Scripture is translated, the work is finished. However, SE is essential for translated Scriptures to make a difference in people’s every-day lives. “We focus not only on the product, but the actual impact on people as well,” says Lee. “The process doesn't stop when the Scriptures are translated. It lasts until the Scriptures…impact the people.” In his country there are more than a hundred minority language communities. While they all need more help with Scripture engagement, currently his team serves in only about 30 of them. They are looking for opportunities to serve more. Lee and his team visit Bible schools, churches and communities. They introduce SE programs and encourage church ministries, such as Sunday schools, to share with their students about how to use and apply the Scriptures. Through these activities Lee and his team hope to get more people actively using and engaging with Scripture in their languages. USING MULTIMEDIA IN ENGAGEMENT As Lee is on the job, he sees how multimedia is an indispensable tool in Scripture engagement. He points out that nearly all minority language communities traditionally have oral cultures. It is often more natural for them to listen or watch than to read. Therefore, Bible stories crafted in audio or visual forms are often more easily understood. Additionally, multimedia tools help language communities preserve and develop their traditions, culture and language. Lee believes that multimedia is essential for people groups that already have the Scriptures in their own language, because it helps with continued learning. And, for those who do not yet have the Scriptures, multimedia brings the Gospel in accessible forms. Recordings of music and videos with simple picture stories are examples of multimedia that oral communities often enjoy. “We can use multimedia skills to reach out to people groups without the Bible in their language,” explains Lee. “With the skill of doing audio recording now, we're planning to use CDs, cell phone and small devices as a means to share the Scripture. Electricity is now available in our rural areas, and even if it’s not, we have solar batteries and generators. The people can watch TV and Video-CDs easily.” Some churches among minority language communities in his country are hesitant to use multimedia in Christian education or Sunday school. They feel that they do not have enough money and manpower. However, Lee has found a way to meet this multimedia need as well. “I've learnt how to produce media tools in cheaper and easier ways,” he explains. He also hopes to host training workshops to share his knowledge with others. A PERFECT FIT Because Scripture engagement has only been an organised activity in his country for a few years, there has been no example to follow. Lee’s team has found it important to advance cautiously. For this reason, Lee completed a 10-week training course on Scripture engagement. And, he continues to learn on the job without being deterred by the challenges. “I like preaching the Bible, and I have the passion to share the Gospel... [But] I don't see my potential to be a Bible translator. Scripture engagement fits me better!” he says with a smile. An outgoing and lively personality together with excellent training help to make Lee a perfect fit for Scripture engagement. What’s more, those years in Bible school and serving in a church have helped him build a strong network with many church leaders, which is essential as he visits churches and communities. Chew Tong, who was involved in training Lee how to use multimedia, affirmed Lee’s performance: “Lee is a person with the big picture. He is able to plan well. He is also good at coordinating people.” FOLLOWING THE PIONEER Lee is thankful for the support of his family and his church for his participation in this ministry. “They regard it as God's work,” Lee shares. “Even though they feel that they are small, they see this as a way that they can be part of God’s work.” The example that he and his team have set for committing themselves to Bible translation ministry is influencing others. For example, a young man working in Lee’s office is praying about becoming a Bible translator himself one day. In 2013, the churches in Lee's country had celebrations commemorating the missionary who translated the Bible into their national language 200 years ago. Before Lee became a Scripture engagement coordinator, he only knew facts about what that missionary did – writing their grammar, compiling their dictionary, and translating the Bible into their language. Now, after serving in Bible translation himself, he sees clearly why the work this missionary did was truly significant for his people. “Now I understand, and I want to do the same, too,” shares Lee. * Pseudonym

by Bob Creson, President, Wycliffe USA Morgan Jackson, director of Faith Comes By Hearing, remembers the day some years ago when he visited a Konkomba village in Ghana. His organization partners with Bible translators to produce audio recordings of Scripture, and he asked the Konkomba leaders if they’d like to listen to God’s message in their language. They didn’t believe it was possible. “God doesn’t speak our language,” they said. “He only speaks English.” “But God does speak Konkomba,” Morgan said. He turned on an audio player, and the words of Matthew 1:1 in Konkomba filled the air. “This is a record of the ancestors of Jesus the Messiah….” Amazed, these leaders called for villagers to assemble. Soon 300 people were listening to God speak Konkomba. As they listened, they entered into the story. They were walking and talking with Jesus. “Jesus is now one of us,” they said. “He speaks our language!” I hear stories like this all the time. When people receive the Word of God in their own language, they experience the living, breathing Jesus who became human and moved into their village (John 1:14). In Eurasia a Bible translator was reading a translation of Mark 12 to a group of teachers when she thought she heard someone laughing. Was something wrong with the text? Were listeners mocking the use of their own language? Then she realized they weren’t laughing, they were crying! Looking up, she saw a school principal with his head bowed, a pool of tears on the desk in front of him. In his own language, he’d heard Jesus commend a poor widow for giving everything she had to God, and he felt deeply touched and challenged. In Senegal, an Oniyan-speaking pastor experienced a new sense of communion with God as he learned to pray in his own language. He’d always prayed in French, the language of his pastoral training. As he helped translate the Gospel of Mark, he began to realize he could express biblical truths in Oniyan, and he developed the vocabulary he needed to pray in the language of his heart. He found that things he could never express in French, he could freely share with God in his own language. The need for Scriptures in the language people are born into, the language they speak in their homes, isn’t just an issue in smaller communities around the globe. It’s also a reality in the United States. Many people have their need for engagement with the Bible met using English translations, but 60 million others (one out of every five residents) speak a language other than English in their homes. Of these, two out of five admit to speaking English “less than very well.” To understand deep spiritual truths, many of these need Scripture in their first language. And even those who speak English more fluently benefit from relating to God in the language that speaks to the deepest level of their being. Digital technology is allowing people to engage with Scripture in new and meaningful ways so they can experience God’s love, his healing, and his power to meet life’s challenges. If a translation of the Bible exists in a language, it is, or soon will be, as close as the nearest smartphone. While printed Bibles may be stored thousands of miles away, a speaker of one of these languages can find digital versions on mobile apps like Bible.is or YouVersion. In one recent 28-day period, people in the United States used the mobile app YouVersion to access translations in 554 languages, requesting 626,250,279 chapters of the Bible! Emmanuel, a taxi driver in Oklahoma City, is one of the 60 million U.S. residents for whom English is a second language. Born into a minority language community in Cameroon, West Africa, and now living far from home, his mobile phone provides him access to oral Scriptures and the “JESUS” film (based on the Gospel of Luke) in his mother tongue. What language does God speak? He speaks all of the nearly 7,000 languages in the world. People can talk to him in any language and he understands. But many people—including some we meet every day—can’t understand him when he speaks. The love letter remains a closed book. The good news is that more people have more access to Him in a language they understand best, the language of their home, than ever before. On average, a new Bible translation is started somewhere in the world every three or four days. At this rate, Bible translation agencies believe that by the year 2025 everyone will be able to hear God speak clearly to them in the language they understand best. This article is taken from https://bobcreson.com.

by Becca Coon, September 2016 (from 'Inspiring Image' on Wycliffe Global Alliance website) Expect great things from God; attempt great things for God. - William Carey A pastor of a small church among the Oshai Tripura language community reads from his Bible. Born in 1761 in rural England, William Carey led a quiet and unassuming life. He attended school until the age of 12, when he dropped out to become a cobbler’s apprentice. But when he got older, Carey felt called to share God’s Word in another part of the world. In 1793 Carey and his family moved to India. The Carey family eventually settled in Bengal, which is now India’s West Bengal and southwestern Bangladesh. With the help of a language expert, Carey diligently studied Bengali, and soon began translating the Bible into Bengali and preaching at small gatherings. After seven years with many trails and hardships, Carey published the first Bengali New Testament. Over the next 28 years, Carey and his team translated the entire Bible into India’s six major languages, as well as printing and distributing the Bible in whole or in part in 44 languages and dialects. By the time Carey died in 1834, he had spent 41 years in India and modern-day Bangladesh, and had contributed to more than 215 Bible translations.