I recently heard Nard talk about the day he flew into his home village in the Philippines, ferrying cases of newly published Bibles to his own people.

Airplanes are rare in Nard’s home, so when he landed, people came running. He was busy with the plane, unloading the cargo, so he didn’t look up right away. Nard heard a woman’s voice, and recognized the voice of his sister.

He glanced up, smiled and noticed that his sister had picked up a carton of Bibles that he had unloaded. She was balancing them on her head – the easy way to carry a heavy load.

Nard asked her, “Do you know what you are carrying?”

(more…)

George Cowen was one of the early leaders in the Bible translation movement. His passion has grown from years of participation with what God is doing to draw people to himself. His passion has grown from reflecting on God’s goodness in his own life.

Take a moment to listen to this prophet.

 

 George Cowen: Play Now

Click on the image of George and wait a moment for the movie to load.

Here is a moving story of a couple who helped make the Jesus Film possible in yet another language community in the world. The Jesus Film is an abridged version of the Gospel according to Luke. It is now in over 1,000 languages thanks to Wycliffe’s partnership with Campus Crusade for Christ.

For the Gamo people of Ethiopia, the Seed Company (a part of Wycliffe) oversaw the translation of the Gospel of Luke.  Campus Crusade produced the film. Financial partners not only made it possible, but were able to start the projector for the first showing of the Jesus Film for the Gamo people.

It is hard to be a pioneer. When I first heard Nancy Honeytree’s song Pioneer, I thought she wrote it about many of us in Wycliffe. It’s really about her life, but the tears that flow most times that I listen to this tells me that a prophet has spoken to me.

The past couple of months seem to have whizzed by. There have been days when I have been quite stressed – times when I realize I need to consciously work at releasing anxiety and tell myself the truth that God is in control and he deeply loves my family and me. And there have been times when the day has been relaxing and full of joy.

I don’t think a day has gone by, though, where I have not been thankful to be part of the Bible translation movement – what an honor! …and where I have not been thankful for the wonderful family, friends, and home we are able to live in. God is so kind.

Years ago God gave Mike Trainum a dream that could revolutionize education for the poor. That dream was years ahead of its time. But time is catching up.

Mike’s dream was to develop a system that would allow quality educational material to be produced by people who don’t speak the major languages of education. People who could never afford the traditional publication process.

Mike’s dream led to the creation of “shell books”, and eventually ShellBook Publishing Systems. World Vision is partnering with Mike to touch the lives of people in Nepal. Check it out in this 15 minute video.

When life is very different from our daily lives, sometimes it is easier to see God at work. Dennis Cochrane worked for many years in a remote part of Papua New Guinea. Listen to him talk about life among the Duna. (Running time approximately 30 minutes – but worth it!)

Quite regularly I am in discussions about how to help people become effective missionaries. One statement that I have heard repeatedly is that it takes the average American about two years to become really effective in a cross-cultural environment.

Saying that, I need to clarify that we are talking about people who grow up in a relatively mono-cultural environment. And I also need to clarify that “cross cultural” doesn’t mean Frankfurt, Germany. My context for “cross cultural” is rural Africa or rural Asia. This requires adjustments to language, economic level, living quarters, even access to communications, water, and foods. For example, if you grew up on America, chances are you don’t know how to cook from scratch. How long would that take you? (Scratch means that you buy your vegetables at a farmers market, if there is one. You sift the bugs out of your flour, if you can get flour. You make your own syrup, if you need it.)

Bible translation isn’t easy. But it is worth the effort.