WordsforLife
Autumn 2015
Now with Call to Prayer
wycliffe.org.uk
Dadi ni manyiata so'o ne: “Minga Baba da'u toma soroga, 'Ani lomanga ngowa'a ya silamo'o re siýubuso,
So pray like this:
'Ani pareta 'i sapolo ino,
Our Father in heaven. Your name may people worship it,
'Ani 'akala ma mau 'i dadi toma dungia nena‐ne, ma tero toma soroga.
Minga ngo‐ngoromo toma wangere nange‐ne, Your will, it happen on this earth, Na pula'a ino ga'a the same as in heaven. ngomi mi paralu. Your kingdom come here,
Our food this day give to us that we need. Our wrongs forgive/remove, the same as we also have forgiven people who have done wrongs towards us. And don't allow us to be tempted, but keep us away from sin. Because Father’s Kingdom, Power and Glory are forever. Amen.
Re No singi‐ngiranga minga sala, ma tero ngomi ýi'i remi si'apongo ngowa'a ga'a 'aýi 'a'a sala ýua ra ngomi. Re awa No sieanga i'a ngomi mi sanga bo‐baja, mada'a Na siwoi'i ngomi toma jira. Sababu Baba 'ani Pareta, Kuasa re Mulia kasingado‐ngadolo i'a. 'Amin”
Above: The Lord’s Prayer, Matthew 6:9-13 in Husa (pseudonym), a language of southeast Asia. Illustration by Jason Ramasami. Front Cover: Children at the window, Niyes, Nigeria. Photograph by Phil Prior
Welcome ‘I tell you the truth, if you had faith even as small as a mustard seed, you could say to this mountain, “move from here to there,” and it would move. Nothing would be impossible’ (Matt 17:20 NLT). Clearly, without God, Bible translation would be impossible. The simple task of reaching the 1,900 language groups still without a translation project started is a logistical nightmare. But what about the other challenges that get in the way? Countries that are closed to the gospel (p18) or where the education level is so low that people don’t know how to read and write (p12). And what about when people suffer from a physical disability such as deafness, how does that impact Bible translation (p20)? There are many barriers to the gospel that we could allow to defeat us before we even start, but Jesus reminds us, ‘Humanly speaking, it is impossible. But with God everything is possible’ (Matt 19:26). These barriers should prompt us to pray and that’s what I hope this magazine will prompt you to do - either to praise God as you read of how the message is getting through, or to cry out to him to change situations, open doors and draw more people to himself. Phil Prior E: askus@wycliffe.org.uk
In this issue… P4 P6 P12 P16 P18 P20 P26 P28
The greatest need Tears have no use in heaven The language of education Barriers to the Bible God’s word of hope in Iraq and Syria Until all the Deaf have seen A different perspective Shipwrecked
Pray… August Challenge, A new translation, Members, Nepal September Praise God in Nigeria, UK activities, Scripture engagement, Audio Scriptures, Dukawa JESUS Film October Deaf translation, Assyrian translation and persecuted Christians, Multilingual education November Isolated communities in PNG, Wycliffe Global Alliance, Solomon Islands, Inspired prayer
New address Wycliffe Bible Translators, The Clare Charity Centre, Wycombe Road, Saunderton, High Wycombe HP14 4BF T: 0300 303 1111 E: askus@wycliffe.org.uk
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The greatest need Why did Jesus teach his followers to pray, “Give us today our daily bread”? This prayer is far more necessary than many Christians realise. In an age of online shopping and home deliveries from supermarkets, it is more important than ever that we learn to ask our heavenly Father to “Give us today our daily bread.”
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When we ask God each morning for something as basic as that day’s food supply, it teaches us to depend on him for our needs. Most of us take it for granted that we have the money to buy food. We believe that we have provided for ourselves, and do not need God’s help with this. But to ask God each day even for the food we need reminds us that we are entirely dependent upon him for everything. Our lives are in his hands. If we have money to buy food, it is only because God has given it - giving us as much as we need for the purposes he intends. Having food
Cooking with friends Tanzania
To rely on ourselves and our own abilities is to reject God’s fatherly care for us. But to depend on him for all our needs is to honour him as our Father and deflect glory away from ourselves onto him.
Food stall Myanmar
in the fridge does not mean we don’t need God that day! Rather, each time we open the fridge door and find food there, it should make us rejoice in his loving care for us. Praying that God would “Give us today our daily bread” reminds us that we need him. This honours God. We ask God to give us what we need because he is the Father who loves to provide for his children. It honours him to seek good things from him. When he meets our needs, he reveals himself as good and loving and worthy of our praise.
This is why I’m asking you to pray for the work of Bible translation. It is essential that we do not work in our own strength, but in full dependency on God, looking to him to meet the needs of this world, so that he is glorified. There are 1.3 billion people alive today without a complete Bible in their language. Please pray that God would raise up more people to pray for Bible translation. The work cannot go forward without prayer. As director of Wycliffe, I often hear of how translation projects are being held back by lack of money. But I’m convinced that our greatest need is for more prayer.
James Poole, Executive Director of Wycliffe Bible Translators
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Working on the translation
Tears have no use in heaven One of the significant challenges of Bible translation is that different cultures have different ways of expressing themselves. Simply substituting one word for its counterpart in another language, if indeed there is a counterpart, doesn’t always work.To try to avoid mistakes and to ensure the clearest translation possible, translation teams will meet frequently to discuss portions of Scripture and the language being used. It was from one of these team meetings that John Severn, a British Wycliffe member involved in a translation project in southeast Asia, made a wonderful discovery that opened eyes and hearts to the true nature of God’s forgiveness.
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Printing the Husa New Testament
Husa New Testament
‘I had been explaining how Paul described forgiveness as like cancelling out a record of debt (Col 2:14), not just hidden, but completely wiped out so they are no longer even visible. The team from the community then explained to me how, in the old days, when a person committed adultery he had three options for his sin to be wiped out. He could commit suicide, he could plead for mercy from the village elders so that they would not pronounce the death penalty, or he could leave the village. The last option seems like the most straightforward solution but without a letter of recommendation from the village elders the man would never be accepted elsewhere. Ultimately he would roam homeless until he died!
John, his wife Lois, and the wives of other translators
I could not believe my ears and lost no time in explaining to the group that this is how our sins have been forgiven – the record has been wiped totally clean. This was a memorable day on which I still look back on with great joy. However, there was greater still to come. This same Greek word occurs in Rev 21:4. When I looked at their draft for this verse, they had used the Husa word for ‘wiping away’ following the national translation. I asked if we could use the word singingiranga’ in this context with tears. They agreed but before the conversation could move on, Thomas one of the members of the drafting team said, ‘I get, if you wipe a tear away another one can come but this means that there are no more tears’. His
own language had explained a deep truth hidden in Revelation. It is not as though God is wiping away tears but that the tears are removed, they have no more use in heaven, they are redundant. He had not needed me nor a commentary; just a clear and accurate translation.’
John Severn has been working with the Husa (pseudonym) project in Asia for 25 years In May this year he and his family were able to join the community in celebrating the dedication of the Husa New Testament. The Lord’s Prayer on page two of this magazine is taken from the Husa language.
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Wycliffe Prayer Diary
■ 1 Pray that people would open their hearts to Christ’s forgiveness and spiritual healing. ■ 2 Pray that God’s Word would powerfully transform lives. ■ 3 Pray that those who live with fear would know Christ’s peace that passes all understanding. ■ 4 Pray for healing for those who have lost all faith in God’s goodness. May they remember his faithfulness in the past and call out to him again with hope. ■ 5 Pray that Muslims would open their hearts to Christ. ■ 6 Thank the Lord for his victory on the Cross over sin and evil. Pray that people would confess their sins and in so doing know Christ’s love and forgiveness. ■ 7 Pray that those who do not yet know Jesus would be drawn to him. ■ 8 Pray that through the power of Christ’s Resurrection, healing would come to the people of _________, and that there would be great rejoicing in the land. Isaiah 35
August
People need God, wherever they are
The general theme of this edition of Words for Life is challenging situations, and over the next four months we will focus some of our prayers on some of those situations where only God can bring change. But for the first few days it seemed good to use some prayers originally prayed by our colleagues connected to the Central African Republic. These prayers are not specific to one country, so you may want to use them to pray for one place close to your own heart - or you could pick a different country for each day and pray all eight prayers at a time!
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On page 6 we shared the story of how the translated word removed the language barrier for a member of the Husa* translation team. Over the next few days let us pray that the newly published New Testament would have the same impact in the lives of the community. ■ 9 Pray for the distribution of New Testaments to churches and schools in 25 villages. ■ 10 Pray that the initial joy of receiving God’s word in their own language would translate into the visible fruit of transformed lives. ■ 11 Ask that God would lead project leaders to the right replacement for a retiring member of the translation team. ■ 12 Pray that there would be a good deal of local encouragement for the village translation team throughout the long haul of translating the Old Testament.
Husa* New Testament Dedication
Call to Prayer
August 1 – August 22 ■1 7 Richard and Sue Gravina are consultants based in High Wycombe. They help teams from several different politically sensitive countries with linguistics, translation, literacy and culture learning. Pray for wisdom as they help teams contribute to what God is doing in the region. ■1 8 Peter and Jennifer Brassington have served in UK, Canada, and Malaysia and now work globally, mostly from home in Burton-on-Trent. Peter is a specialist in global statistics and digital Scripture engagement. Jennifer is Director of Strategy for Child Protection.
■1 3 Ask God to strengthen and encourage the village translation team as they promote the use of the newly published New Testaments. ■1 4 Pray that God would give the village translation team good health and few distractions as they seek to attend four Old Testament workshops each year ■1 5 For other local language communities to be inspired to get involved in Bible translation. *Husa is a pseudonym
Some Wycliffe personnel receive a salary for what they do, others are volunteers, but by far the biggest group are members who raise support from friends, family and churches to enable them to do what they do. The following prayers are for members whose financial support is lower than required to sustain them in the roles they are fulfilling. Please pray for them, their work and especially their financial situation. Pray that God would lead people to provide. ■1 6 Up till August 2013 Barbara E Graham was based in Kenya where her principal role was to be an advocate for multilingual education in Africa by building alliances with likeminded organisations and assisting education authorities to make multilingual education a reality. For medical reasons she is now based in the UK but her role remains the same.
■ 19 Richard Young runs the Computer Department in Nigeria from his Czech home. Today he travels to Nigeria for a month, where he will install some muchneeded new computer equipment - to help Bible translation colleagues work more effectively. ■2 0 Tony and Maggie Canvin, pastoral care for the Roma Team in Europe. They are based in the UK but travell to visit and support the teams in their locations. ■2 1 Please also pray for new members who are just starting to raise financial support for the first time. ■2 2 Please pray for all members that have, or will, return to the UK this summer: some for a short time, others while they investigate what God has planned for them next. Pray as many adjust to a higher cost of living and a fast-paced, consumer-driven society. Pray especially for families with children who may have few memories of living in the West. If you feel God prompting you to support any of these members and would like to find out more about them and their work please contact our Response Centre (details page 3). We will take your contact details and ask the member in question to get in touch with you.
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Life before the earthquake. Kathmandu, Nepal
Natural disasters can create barriers where there were none before. ■2 3 Continue to pray for those coping with trauma, loss and injury after the massive earthquakes in Nepal. ■2 4 Thank God that the timing of the earthquakes in Nepal, daytime on a Saturday in spring, limited the casualties ■2 5 Ask God for wisdom and cooperation among the various aid and development groups involved in the rebuilding efforts in Nepal. ■2 6 Pray that God would grant strength and courage to the national leaders of Nepal, to govern the people with integrity. ■2 7 Pray that the Nepalese government would be stable and just. ■2 8 Pray that Nepalese Christians would remain strong in the midst of their struggles. ■2 9 Pray that the Church would serve the people of Nepal well. A prayer video for Nepal can be found on the Words for Life Extra web page – wycliffe.org.uk/wflextra
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Praise God! Last August we asked you to pray for the Theological College of Northern Nigeria (TCNN), especially for more PhD staff, a lecturer in New Testament Greek and an increase in Nigerian staff.You prayed and that’s exactly what they got! ■3 0 Praise God! The Linguistics and Translation Department have finally got their first full-time Nigerian lecturer, who is teaching New Testament Greek. ■3 1 Praise God! Russell and Katharine Norton joined TCNN last summer; Russell is a PhD linguist. Students at TCNN
Call to Prayer
September ■1 Please pray for this year’s graduates, that the Lord will guide each of them as to how best use their training to prosper the Lord’s work in their own communities.
23 August – 12 September Student at TCNN
■2 Praise God that the Lord protected the students on their field assignments, even when there was unrest in the area. ■ 3 While we praise God for the new staff, we need more, so please carry on praying for this need. ■4 Two of the students starting their final year of BA studies are suffering from hepatitis and need the Lord’s healing. ■5 Please pray that the Lord will provide the students with the funds needed for their fees. From offices at the Clare Charity Centre in Saunderton, near High Wycombe,The Mount in Belfast, and various home offices around the country, UK-based personnel raise awareness for the need of Bible translation. Amongst their roles are fundraising and recruitment activities as well as support work to enable Wycliffe members to carry on in a wide variety of roles all around the world. ■6 The Northern Ireland office moved to new premises in June. This coincided with Alfred Thompson starting his role in UK communications and Ricky Ferguson as Northern Ireland church engagement team leader. Praise God for the new office staff and pray for the team as they continue to adjust to new team dynamics and seek to promote the needs of Bible translation.
translation movement. Pray that students would have a hunger to serve God around the world. ■9 Also in the autumn, The Next Step will take place around the country - an opportunity for people interested in serving with Wycliffe to find out more. Pray these events would inspire all who come along. wycliffe.org.uk/events ■1 0 Please pray for the team, based in the UK, who support around 500 members serving around the world. ■1 1 Please pray for the Wycliffe members you know. Ask that God would encourage them in both their work and their relationship with him. ■1 2 Pray for the new team members who have joined us, or will join us, this year. Continue on page 22
■7 Each year Wycliffe takes part in a number of events around the UK. Pray for the team that represent us in each location; for safety as they travel, energy to do their job well and good conversations with the public. ■8 The autumn sees Wycliffe personnel visiting universities to talk about mission and the Bible
UK staff team meet
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The language of education 12 WordsforLife
This little boy attends a preschool class, part of the Federation of Guera Language Associations programme. Here he learns letters and word recognition and simple arithmetic in his language, Migaama, as well as a bit of spoken French. When he starts primary school he will already be familiar with the basic concepts of reading and writing, and the link between written forms, spoken words and meaning. For many years international bodies such as UNESCO, as well as SIL*, have been advocating the use of local languages at least in the early years of education. In Chad it has been difficult to make headway with this, although there have been several pilot projects which showed good results. In March SIL Chad hosted a three day workshop on the place of language in education, attended by key decision makers from government departments and NGOs. It seemed to be a great success, and now we pray that this is the time when multilingual education will become a reality in Chad.
Liz Williams After 18 years in Chad, Liz has recently returned to the UK. She continues to work for Wycliffe and serves African language communities from a distance. (Pray for multilingual education on page 25) *SIL is one of Wycliffe’s key partner organisations
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Distracted by the camera, a boy from a minority language group in Asia practices writing
A picture is worth a Everyone agrees that education is an essential foundation for development in any country.Yet there are many obstacles that prevent children from getting a good education. Sometimes material resources are lacking in the schools (blackboards, chalk, benches...), or sometimes no teacher is available. Parents may not have gone to school themselves, or see much value in education, so they are not motivated to send their children. In some parts of the world the children cannot be spared from their work, for example minding the flock of goats.
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Another major obstacle is language: many children fail because they don’t understand what is being taught. Research in education shows that children generally do much better if they start their education in a language they understand well, and then make the transition later to another language. It is much easier to learn to read and write in your own language, than to learn to read in another language that you are trying to learn at the same time. The evidence is there, but people take some convincing, especially those who did succeed
A full classroom in the Central African Republic
thousand words in the current system. Parents are sometimes afraid that their children will be behind in the national language, French for example, because they started school in the mother tongue, but in fact, the reverse is true. Children who started in the mother tongue end up doing better in French than those who started learning in French. For example, while waiting for the opportunity to start multilingual education in schools, SIL and partners in Chad started
with preschool programmes in several languages, in which children learn the alphabet and some basic arithmetic and word recognition in the local language. The classes are run by the local language associations, and the outcome is usually very good: the children who take part find the subsequent transition to primary school in French much easier than they otherwise would have done, and tend to do better than their classmates who didn’t take part in the preschool classes.
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Barriers to
There are many things that make it difficult fo Wycliffe to reach communities with God’s wo
Philippians 4:6-7 in every situation, by prayer an with thanksgiving, present you
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1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 Rejoice always, pray continual give thanks in all circumstance Luke 6:27-28 But to you who are listening I say: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you. Psalms 18:6 In my distress I called to the Lord; I cried to my God for help.
Pray for communiti that they are not pr 16 WordsforLife
o the Bible
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nd petition, ur requests to God, and...
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...the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
Genesis 25:21 Isaac prayed to the Lord ... the Lord answered his prayer
Romans 8:26 the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans.
ies, isolated because of barriers like these, revented from hearing of God’s love for them.
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ans 12:12 oyful in hope, ent in affliction, ful in prayer.
WordsforLife Jason Ramasami 7/15 17
Photo: Goran Tomasevic (Reuters)
Syria Crisis
God’s word of hope in Iraq and Syria Christians in Iraq and Syria are facing terrible persecution.They are being kidnapped, driven from their villages and killed.
been using the ancient Syriac Peshitta translation, the same text as their forefathers were using in the fifth century, which clergy and laity alike have had a hard time reading and understanding.
The Assyrians live in northern Iraq and in northeastern Syria along the Khabour River. They are an ancient Christian people, one of the oldest Christian communities in the world. Many have been killed in the current wave of persecutions. The Assyrian diaspora around the world in Europe, Canada, the United States and Australia are grieving for their families in the homeland.
This year, 2015, saw the publication of the New Testament and Psalms, and a service of dedication was held at the Assyrian Christian Church in Chicago.
However, God has been preparing a ray of hope. Over the past 20 plus years a team of Assyrian scholars and translators have been translating the Scriptures into contemporary, vernacular Assyrian, assisted by personnel from the Aramaic Bible Translation team, Wycliffe Bible Translators and other partners. Until now Assyrians have
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At the dedication Demsin, one of the translators, read selections from the Psalms, including Psalm 115:1:
‘Not to us, O Lord, but to your name give glory, because of your love and because of your faithfulness’.
Greetings were read from the Assyrian Church of the East, the Armenian, Syriac and other Eastern Orthodox Churches, including one from the Mar Thoma (St Thomas) Church in India.
At the dedication one of the officiating pastors said, “The Holy Scriptures are God’s word of hope and comfort to Assyrians today, here and around the world.” These Scriptures are being made available in print, through the Digital Bible Library, and online at ScriptureEarth.org and hopefully soon for phones and other electronic devices too. In July 2014 Muslim extremists calling themselves Islamic State marked homes and businesses owned by Christians with the Arabic letter ‘N’ Palmyra
(nun). This is the first letter of the Arabic word for ‘Nazarene’ and signifies ‘Christian’ (see image on page 18). This included the doors of Assyrian Christians. Demsin explains that it was an ultimatum: either leave the city of Mosul, pay a tax for being Christian, or convert. If one of these was not chosen, they would be killed. Tragically, many have been killed. The Arabic ‘N’ was a mark of death. However, Christians and others around the world on social media have shared it as a symbol of solidarity with the Assyrians and other Christians in Iraq and Syria. Demsin continues: “I now view the letter ‘N’ with bittersweet feelings. I am sad to see my people suffer, but I am proud to be an Assyrian Christian.”
More about the Aramaic Bible Translation can be found online in Words for Life Extra wycliffe.org.uk/wflextra Photo: Arian Zwegers
Pastor Hani sang an Assyrian song he had composed about Jesus in Gethsemane. After visiting ministers had laid their hands on the stacks of Bibles at the front and prayed, each person received a Bible as a gift. As the ceremony ended, the buzz of Assyrian voices softly reading the Scriptures filled the room like a sweet offering of prayer and hope.
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Until all the Deaf have seen
When Christians think of those around the world who are the hardest to reach, they often think of people living in Islamic regions or in remote areas. While those groups of people are more challenging to reach with the gospel, there is another group of people who are often overlooked…the estimated 50 million Deaf* people in the world today! In many parts of the world, the Deaf are not only an overlooked minority group, but actually an oppressed one. Many cultures consider it shameful when parents give birth to a Deaf child. Deaf children are often hidden away and not given access to education and other resources that hearing children benefit from. In addition,
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Deaf people are scattered throughout regions and countries, rather than being found in localised groups. No matter what country you consider, the Deaf are always less reached than their hearing counterparts. They are the only people group who generally do not learn their ‘mother tongue’ from their parents. Most Deaf children are born to hearing parents who very often never learn to communicate effectively with them. Language separates the Deaf from access to information, including access to the Scriptures. The question is often asked as to why Deaf people cannot be reached with a printed Bible. Spoken languages are second languages for the majority of Deaf people in the world. Written
words are composed of letters that represent sounds which they have never heard. Learning a spoken/written language is like memorising groups of symbols (words) that have meanings attributed to them. In the same way that we strive to bring the Bible to hearing people in the languages of their hearts, we desire to bring the Bible to the Deaf in the languages of their hearts: sign languages. Researchers estimate that, at best, 2% of Deaf people in westernised countries are believers. That percentage falls dramatically when you look at non-western countries and regions. Sign languages comprise more than 10% of all the languages that do not yet have the Scriptures. In fact, the only sign language that has a complete New Testament is American Sign Language and no sign language has the entire Bible. Of the estimated 400 sign languages actively being used in the world today, there has been some translation done into only about 50 of them! Progress is slow due to a lack of resources, not merely financial resources, but even more critically, a lack of personnel.
sign languages and who, for the first time in their lives, grasp the meaning of the text and respond to God’s call to know him personally. Those same people are set on fire to share the message with Deaf friends and family members. We continue to share God’s heart for the Deaf until all the Deaf have heard seen!
*’Deaf’ is used to refer to people who are culturally part of the Deaf community, not simply those who cannot hear.
Yet as we work to translate God’s Word into the languages of the Deaf, God is at work reaching into their hearts! In a country in South East Asia the Deaf translation team hired a non-Christian Deaf woman to work as a translator. As she interacted with the believers on the team and the Scriptures that she was translating, she came to know Jesus personally. Shortly thereafter, her husband accepted Christ during a Deaf Sunday fellowship gathering. Stories can be shared from around the world of Deaf people who have received Scripture portions in their
Read more about reaching the Deaf with the gospel in Words for Life Extra – wycliffe.org.uk/wflextra WordsforLife 21
Tanzania
There are a number of ways in which a community may engage with the Bible. Over the next two weeks we will pray for some of the Scripture engagement activities in Tanzania. ■1 3 Many Sunday school teachers have limited or no resources other than a Bible, and have had no training or help in how to teach children. Please pray for Scripture Engagement workers in the Mbeya Cluster Project of Tanzania, as they try to encourage and train Sunday school teachers. ■1 4 Please pray as they try to find more effective ways to train the teachers, so that they remember what they learn and are able to implement it. ■1 5 Pray for Sunday school teachers to grow in their own knowledge of God and of his Word, so that they in turn might teach his truth to children.
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The primary way that many people engage with God’s word in Tanzania is through listening to preaching at church on a Sunday; it is less common for people to meditate on God’s Word at home or discuss it with others. This can open the door for people to be led astray by false or inaccurate teaching and can create a disconnect between God’s word and daily life. Bible studies can be a great way to help people learn to engage with God’s Word for themselves and as part of a group. ■ 16 Pray for opportunities to train leaders in churches (pastors, teachers, leaders of youth or ladies’ groups etc.). ■ 17 Pray for good learning times, clear communication and understanding. ■ 18 Pray that trained leaders would have the confidence to try this new method of studying the Bible and that there would be fruit. ■ 19 Pray that God’s word would dwell richly in the believers of his Church in Tanzania.
Recording audio scriptures
Call to Prayer
13 September – 3 October Audio Scriptures and the Jesus Film can have a huge impact on a language group. In Nigeria, the Dukawa JESUS Film showings are now in their 13th Year. From October 2014 to May 2015, 9,599 individuals saw the film.
Audio Scriptures have a real impact on the listeners. ■2 0 Pray for the Mbeya Cluster Project as they try to make audio Scriptures available through mobile phones and other means. ■2 1 Pray for more frequent and planned opportunities to listen to God’s word with people and to discuss it. ■2 2 Pray that God’s word in their language would touch people’s hearts and change them.
Setting up to show the JESUS Film
Scripture engagement activities take place in other places around the world too.
■ 27 Praise God! 655 received Christ through the JESUS Film showings.
■2 3 Praise the Lord that new technology is giving us new ways of making the Scriptures available to people. Now that smartphones are getting cheaper and more readily available, we are developing Scripture apps that people can use to read and listen to God’s Word.
■ 28 Praise God! 260 renewed their faith.
■2 4 Praise God that people from nine language groups in Papua New Guinea are now trained to translate the JESUS Film script into their vernaculars. Pray that God will lead each team to prepare the translations, so that many can see the film in the language they understand best. ■2 5 The text of the Tengir* Bible is available to download online and to view on computer or cell phone. The audio recording of the Tengir Bible started recently. Please pray for all the technical problems to be worked out and for people with good radio voices to be found. ■2 6 Praise God for those partnering to promote use of the Northern Thai Bible. Ask God for the right people to join the team, and for wisdom for each one.
■ 29 Praise God! 978 received Christ through the use of the Dukawa audiobibles. ■ 30 Praise God! 68 families promised to renew their marriage in a Christ honouring way.
October ■ 1 Thank God that four more Dukawa New Testament books have been approved for publication and that the last four books have been approved for a consultant to check. ■ 2 Pray for all the New Testament books to be approved by January 2016. ■ 3 Pray for the Dukawa team as they finalise the New Testament and attempt to innovate the literacy programme before the publication of the complete printed New Testament.
* Tengir is a pseudonym
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There are an estimated 50 million deaf people in the world today, yet the complete Bible does not exist in any sign language. ■4 Pray that God will provide more staff to support sign language translation work around the globe. ■5 November 17-19 workshops will be held in South East Asia for sign language translation teams. Pray for a fruitful time of training and of sharing among the various teams. ■6 Reports come in regularly of staff members and local translation team members who are struggling with health issues. Pray for God’s healing and protection of those who work with sign language Bible translation projects. ■ 7 Pray for many of the sign language translation teams as they seek to discover better strategies for increasing the use, engagement and impact of the translated Scriptures. ■ 8 Pray that the Deaf translators working around the world will have the wisdom they need as they translate the word of God. ■9 Pray for relationships among the various organisations who are involved with sign language Bible translation to remain strong. ■1 0 Pray for various Deaf translators, consultants-in-training and consultants, who will be participating in next week’s International Bible Translation Conference, BT 2015, October 16-20. More about sign language translation on page 20
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In some parts of the world Christians are actively persecuted – see the story on page 18. Wycliffe have recently published prayer resources to enable us to pray more effectively for Christians who are facing persecution. Over the next two weeks our prayers are drawn from these resources.You can download these resources to use personally, with a home group or in a church prayer meeting, from wycliffe.org.uk/persecuted From the Assyrian translation project: ■ 11 Pray for the translation team as they work through the books of the Old Testament.The Old Testament is very long and can be somewhat discouraging.They will be publishing each Old Testament book online as it is completed. ■ 12 Pray for the health of the team. The team ranges in age from 37 to 91 years, and each has their own unique health challenges. ■ 13 Pray for word to spread quickly that the Bible is available online, especially among displaced Assyrians of Iraq, Iran and Syria. ■ 14 Pray for the fervent witness of Assyrian Christians to their neighbours. Pray for some Assyrians who may be Christian more by culture, to come to personal faith in Christ. ■ 15 Pray for open doors for distribution of the actual printed New Testament and Psalms
Call to Prayer
4 October – 31 October among refugees in the Middle East, especially in refugee camps in Lebanon, Jordan, and Turkey, and in Europe, where Assyrians first make their way to the West. ■ 16 Pray that Assyrian families, churches and language schools will make use of the New Testament & Psalms in their worship, home reading, and language schools. ■ 17 Pray for peace and the demise of radical terrorism in the region. ■ 18 Many people have been killed in attacks on Assyrian Christian villages in Syria and Iraq. Pray for comfort for the family members that remain. Pray for protection of the women and children who have lost husbands and fathers. ■ 19 Many Christians in the occupied cities have been given the choice either to convert or to leave their homes, belongings and businesses behind. Pray for those who have lost all their physical possessions. Pray for provision for their needs. ■ 20 Many Christian children and women have been kidnapped, presumably to become slaves. Pray for mercy and help to come to them. Pray for their rescue and release. Pray that they will know the close comfort of God’s love and presence in their suffering. ■ 21 The numbers of Christian living in these persecuted countries is decreasing rapidly as many are killed or flee the area. Pray for those who remain to be strong in faith, bold in their witness, loving in outreach and to be Christ’s hands and feet in their homeland. ■ 22 Pray that as a result, many more will choose to follow Christ from their witness. ■ 23 Pray for God’s word to bring comfort, strength and hope to the suffering. ■ 24 Pray that God’s Spirit will help them to forgive their oppressors. Pray that Jesus’ love in their hearts will shine out to invite more people into the Kingdom.
Encouraging education in the Democratic Republic of Congo
See on page 12 how multilingual education makes a difference. ■2 5 Pray for SIL* staff in Africa, Asia and the Pacific who are attempting to build alliances to promote the use of local languages in schools. ■2 6 Pray for SIL staff in Africa, Asia and the Pacific who are working with local partners to produce materials and train teachers for local language education programmes: pray for good relationships and good communication. ■2 7 Pray for teachers and pupils who are trying out the use of the local language in primary schools, that they will be able to evaluate the benefits. ■2 8 Pray for national church denominations involved in children’s education in Africa, Asia and the Pacific: that they will be able to discern and promote the benefits of using the local languages to help children learn better. ■ 39 Pray for governments in Africa, Asia and the Pacific who are facing the multiple challenges of providing effective education for their children. ■3 0 Pray especially that the importance and value of choosing the most effective language for education will not be overlooked by governments. ■3 1 Pray for people in training at Redcliffe College, Gloucester, who are learning about the challenges and opportunities in multilingual education, to be equipped for service in various countries. Continue on page 29 *SIL is one of Wycliffe’s key partner organisations
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These pictures illustrate the isolated nature of some Papua New Guinean communities.
A different perspective In Papua New Guinea… ‘Well, I don’t know if my place is a remote and hard-to-reach location. We need to fly there because there are no roads, so in that sense I think it is. The people, though, are used to walking through ‘short cuts’ on the kunai grass and the swamps, for about a day and then take a vehicle for 2-4 hours (this depends on the condition of the road) to Wewak’. 26 WordsforLife
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Photos by Craig Campbell
Shipwrecked
Emotions ran strong as the choir sang ‘Masina, Masina…’ at the Mussau hymnal dedication. ‘Masina’ means ‘Thank you,’ ‘that’s great’ and is even used as a greeting in the Mussau language. But as the choir sang, it meant only one thing: “It is well, it is well, it is well with my soul.” On this day, these precious words had special meaning to the Mussau people. In February 2014, John and Marjo Brownie were travelling from Mussau to Emirau Island with Leslie their co-translator and three others when the boat hit an unusually rough wave, immediately capsizing their small craft. The boat sank in seconds, setting all six adrift. John and Leslie became separated from Marjo, the boat captain and the other two men. They all drifted with the current but miraculously came ashore on Emirau’s western shore, John and Leslie arriving just before dark. If they had missed the island, the next land would have been Nauru, over
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Call to Prayer
November 1 – November 7
November There are many isolated regions around the world (see p26). This week we pray for just one area in Papua New Guinea. ■ 1 For more involvement of the churches of the Sos Kundi area in the Translation Project. ■ 2 For the spiritual growing of the church leaders and their churches. ■ 3 For a closer relationship between the translation and literacy team and the churches. ■ 4 For a closer relationship between the translation and literacy team and the school. ■ 5 That the power of God’s love will break through the darkness that reigns in some of the Sos Kundi comunities - Nindikum, Tinboli, Mangujangut and Timbunangua, specifically. 600 miles away. When the boat capsized, John’s computer and all the recent translation work went overboard. The day before the hymnbook dedication, John and Marjo visited Emirau Island for the first time since the boating accident. They were tearfully greeted by the Emirau people who presented the Brownies with some of their belongings that had washed ashore several days after the accident. When John opened a case that contained the computer with all the recent translation work, everyone cheered! Many people around the world had been praying that this work would be recovered.
■ 6 For the spiritual life of the translators and their families. For them to be an example of the transforming power of the Word of God to the communities they work in. ■ 7 For the Sos Kundi Committee, translators, and literacy workers.
Hundreds of people came the next day to the hymnbook dedication… As they listened to the choir sing ‘Masina’, it was hard not be filled with grateful emotions. Many amazing things had happened that not only preserved everyone’s lives but also saved the Words of Life that had been lost at sea. Now these wonderful words were being sung in the heart language of the people.
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Wycliffe organisations are both independent and interdependent. In the UK, Wycliffe is an independent charity, responsible for its own work, personnel and budgets. We also work internationally through a network of organisations with whom we have a common vision for Bible translation. Collectively these organisations (over 120 of them) make up the Wycliffe Global Alliance. A small staff team have responsibility for advising and consulting with these organisations and providing direction within the Bible translation movement. ■8 Pray for the Global Alliance Senior Leadership Team, a group of five leaders based in different continents who provide strategic leadership across the Alliance. Pray that God would keep them safe and give them energy as they travel regularly to meet with the different Wycliffe organisations. ■9 The Global Alliance has personnel based around the world to support the needs of individual Wycliffe organisations. Many organisations may only have a small staff team but could still have members serving around the world. Pray for the Alliance personnel who seek to support these smaller organisations. Solomon Islands
■1 0 Pray for unity of vision through the Alliance leadership and in the organisations that form the group. ■ 11 The Alliance’s Global Leadership Team holds wide-ranging responsibilities but due to the global nature of the group they are only able to meet face-to-face once or twice a year. The next gathering is in February 2016. Pray for good and clear electronic communication in the meantime and that the whole group would be able travel to this meeting. ■1 2 Over time the makeup of the Alliance leadership changes. Please pray as new members join the team, that they would adapt quickly to their new roles and to the nature of being part of a team based in many different time zones. ■1 3 Pray that the Alliance will be flexible enough to serve under God’s direction, with an increasing number of partners in diverse and ever-changing contexts worldwide. ■1 4 Pray that God would direct the Alliance as it collectively serves in advocacy with minority language communities to see God’s word translated, accessible and in use in every language community that still needs it. ■1 7 Ask God to provide godly people from the language communities who will commit to serving in Bible translation for their people. ■1 8 Praise God for the great response to Adau Kaniwa’s preaching patrol in Papua New Guinea this year. Many people made commitments to Christ and were saved.
■1 5 Due to harsh terrain, rough seas and inaccessibility by road, not much language development has come to the southern coast of Guadalcanal Island, in the Solomon Islands. Praise God, there is a growing interest in Bible translation and literacy in this area and initial translation awareness is being planned. ■1 6 Pray for the right timing and location for these first translation awareness meetings.
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■1 9 Praise God that previously hostile villages welcomed the patrol and urged Adau to come again to teach them God’s word. ■2 0 Pray for these new believers to grow deeper into God and become stronger in faith. ■2 1 Pray for Adau and Domai Gaida as they work on translating Romans and John into Bamu. Pray that the translation will be natural, accurate and clear.
Call to Prayer Together we bring our prayers to you!
In this issue of Words for Life we have considered just a few of the barriers that exist to the spreading of God’s word.Yet we can bring our appeals to a loving God who is faithful in answering our prayers. In the centre spread (p16) of this magazine we have illustrated some verses to encourage us to pray. We are going to use these verses to inspire our final prayers this month.You could pray these prayers for yourself, for others in your church, but we would also ask that you would pray them for Wycliffe personnel you know, and even some you don’t. ■2 2 Phil 4:6-7 God, we praise you that we can bring all things to you and receive your peace. We pray especially for _________ at this time. ■ 23 Rom 12:12 We pray that we would continue to turn to you no matter what the situation and that our character would show our faith in you. We pray for friends serving you and facing challenges, that their character would testify to grace. ■ 24 1 Thes 5:16-18 Lord, we thank you for what you have done for us and that you also offer it freely to others. May we rejoice in you. ■ 25 Luke 6:27-28 Lord there are many thousands of people who are hated for loving
November 8 – November 30
you (p18). Help those suffering at the hands of oppressors not to be eaten up by hatred but to show the love and compassion that Jesus first showed for us. ■ 26 Psa 18:6 God, help those in distress! Bring peace, healing, safety, life, joy and hope. ■ 27 Gen 25:21 God, thank you that you hear and answer our prayers. Give us confidence to bring it all to you. ■2 8 Rom 8:26 Sometimes we don’t know what to pray. May your spirit intercede powerfully when our hearts are burdened but our tongues don’t know what to say.
Praise Continued! ■ 29 Praise God for the many people that support the work of Bible translation through their prayers and financial gifts. May God encourage every one of them with news of answered prayer. ■ 30 Praise God for the steady stream of new members joining Wycliffe every year. Pray that, even today, God would be encouraging more of his followers to investigate their call to world mission and the opportunities that exist with Wycliffe.
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Frontline Prayer resources
Stand together in prayer for the hundreds of millions still waiting to hear God speak their language. Frontline Prayer resources are flexible, downloadable prayer modules, perfect for equipping you and your church for passionate, inspired and informed prayer.
Modules now available: Scripture engagement, praying for the persecuted church and an introduction to praying for Bible translation. Pray through the whole collection online: wycliffe.org.uk/fpmodules
wycliffe.org.uk Wycliffe UK Ltd., a company registered in England and Wales, no 819788; a charity registered in England and Wales, no 251233; and in Scotland, no SC039140 Registered office: The Clare Charity Centre, Wycombe Road, Saunderton, High Wycombe HP14 4BF