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.

Mother’s Day is Pentecost Sunday this year. I guess that makes it Mother Tongue Sunday!

We’ll be at Ascension Lutheran Church in East Lansing, MI. That is the church where we were married 32 years ago this coming August.

I (David) will be speaking about God’s desire to communicate to all people, and about our work with Wycliffe Bible Translators.

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.

Sometimes you find an excellent bit of advice in a place you aren’t looking. I do look at Patrick Lencioni, but not on the topic of suffering.

I’d like to quote a bit from his recent newsletter. (Take this as a free advert — he is worth reading.)

When people fear suffering more than they should, they ironically experience unnecessary anguish and stress. Beyond that, some would say that worrying actually increases the likelihood that… Read the rest of this entry »

This weekend we travel to Williamsburg Virginia to again be an advocate for the Bibleless people of the world. We’ll be spending time with our partners at King of Glory church, trying to build vision and stir new people to become involved with us for the sake of those still waiting to receive the Good News in a language they can really comprehend.

While Ruth and I are intimately involved with Bible translation work, we don’t believe that the role of advocate “belongs” to us. We want to share that honor with everyone on our team. Each of us can speak out on behalf of those still waiting. Get involved. Go. Pray. Financially support your favorite missionary involved in Bible translation.