June 26, 2020 Global Alliance welcomes new executive director By Wycliffe Canada Back to all stories The Wycliffe Global Alliance is now under the leadership of Dr. Stephen Coertze, a former director of Wycliffe South Africa. Coertze began his official duties as executive director on June 3. Coertze, a former policeman, served as director of Wycliffe South Africa for 10 years. Most recently, he served as the director for missiology on the Alliance’s leadership team. In a virtual meeting of the Alliance board and leadership team, board chair Agnes Lid formally marked the end of Dr. Kirk Franklin’s tenure as director, thanking him for his 12 years of faithful service and visionary leadership. Lid then welcomed Coertze as the new executive director, and thanked him for his willingness to serve as leader for the 100-plus member organizations that make up the Global Alliance. “I look forward to seeing what God will do through you and through the Alliance in the years to come.” Posted in News and updates Previous Next

September 2, 2020 700th Bible translated By Wycliffe Canada Back to all stories The full Bible has now been translated into 700 of the world’s 7,300 languages. The milestone is indicative of the acceleration that is happening in the work of Bible translation – to the extent that it is impossible to state which translation was actually the 700th, as there were several launches of physical Bibles as well as several being made available online and via apps, all at about the same time. Christians in Malawi celebrate completion of the Ellomwe Bible. “This is such exciting news,” says James Poole, executive director of Wycliffe Bible Translators in the UK. “It represents the tremendous work that Bible translators are doing across the world. Every time we hear of the Bible being translated into another language, we know that means that for the first time the people in that language group can fully access the complete picture of God’s story.” Globally, portions of God’s Word have been translated into more than 1,100 languages, while 1,548 languages have access to the full New Testament. ‘It’s good to take a step back,” says Poole, “and realize what this 700th Bible means: 5.7 billion people who speak 700 languages now have the Bible in the language that speaks to them best. That is a remarkable figure and continues to grow. However, there are still about 1.5 billion people – that’s roughly 1 in 5 – who do not have the Bible in their language. That’s an injustice that Bible translation teams worldwide continue to work to put right.” Although it’s uncertain which translation was actually the 700th, there have been several dedications recently that might have been the 700th. They sum up the joy and celebration that comes with a newly translated Bible. The Huichol (Wixáritari) Bible was launched in Mexico on 10 July 2020. The New Testament was completed in 1968, and it has taken a further 52 years of faithful service by the Huichol Bible translation team to complete the job. In contrast, the Ellomwe Bible was launched in Malawi just five years after the Ellomwe New Testament was published. Hundreds of people danced and sang to celebrate the launch of the Bible. Senior Chief Nazombe, who received a copy of the new Bible on behalf of the Ellomwe community, said: “I am grateful to God that I can witness this in my lifetime.” Around the same time, new additions to YouVersion (the online and mobile Bible app) included two Nigerian languages – a newly edited version in the Tiv language (which was first published in 1964) and the Igede Bible . “It’s amazing that there is so much Bible translation going on,” says Poole, “that we can’t pinpoint the 700th Bible. We live in exciting times, when the vision that all people will be able to read or hear God’s word in their language is becoming a reality.” Source: wycliffe.org.uk Link: Wycliffe Global Alliance translations statistics (Oct. 2019) More news Posted in News and updates Previous Next

November 19, 2018 Latin Americans embrace missions call to Southeast Asia By Doug Lockhart Back to all stories A Canadian couple who recently returned from an extensive speaking tour in Latin America say Christians in that region are eager to serve God and ready to advance Bible translation in Southeast Asia. The Friesens (front row, centre) pose with students in Costa Rica. Wycliffe Canada’s Derryl and Karen Friesen spoke at 30 meetings during a three-week tour that took them to Ecuador, Brazil, Argentina, Peru, Costa Rica and El Salvador. Speaking to students, church and mission leaders and on radio and TV, the Friesens challenged thousands of believers to channel their passion for Jesus and their desire to serve Him into Bible translation efforts in Mainland Southeast Asia. The response, they reported in a recent email to supporters, was beyond anything they could have imagined. After speaking at missions seminars in Argentina, for example, the Friesens were approached by a young couple who said, “Everything you talked about today describes us exactly. We are the people you are talking about. We are ready to go. What do we need to do next?” After talking to the Friesens, the couple applied to study linguistics at Payap University in Thailand. “We believe with all our hearts that God is indeed raising up a new wave of missionaries from Latin America for the Bible translation task in Southeast Asia. And Karen and I are thrilled that we have had a small part in being the link between the two.” The Friesens, who are based in Chiang Mai, Thailand, plan to submit a full report about their tour to leaders of the Wycliffe Global Alliance and SIL Asia. It’s hoped the report will aid in developing strategies and new pathways for Latin Americans to serve long-term in difficult, new contexts in Southeast Asia. Help equip students at Payap University Related links: Wycliffe Thai Foundation Word Alive archives: Seeds for a Harvest Posted in Bible translation Previous Next

June 16, 2020 Let Us Run the Race With Perseverance By Guest Contributor Back to all stories When our kids were little, the ‘greatest hits’ in the Sharp family playing list were a series of cassette tapes called ‘GT and the Halo Express’. The best thing about them was that they included songs with Bible verses straight out of the NIV translation so we all memorized Scripture as the kids listened to them over and over. One of the songs that stands out in my mind came from Hebrews: Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us (Hebrews 12:1 NIV). I have a lasting image of my daughter Aimée singing that song, bouncing up and down on a tree branch over the roof of our village house in Chad. In a sense, it has become the ‘theme song’ for our involvement with the translation of the Gergiko New Testament. But we didn’t run; we plodded . If you had told me, in 1992 when we relocated to the village of Mukulu in central Chad, that it was going to take us 27 years to finish the translation of the New Testament, I may not have been too surprised. We began at the same time as other language teams who finished in 20 years, and we were still trudging through it. During the years we lived in the village, a young lady from the peace corps was assigned to Mukulu. She once asked us, ‘What makes you stay?’ I told her that it was the love of Christ, and the love for the people he called us to. It makes all the difference. Our aim was to put the Gergiko New Testament into the hands of the church, and that goal kept us going during very difficult times. In my mind, the culmination of our work would be the big ‘D’ day: Dedication day! I couldn’t wait! But what if that day didn’t come? What if we went to Chad for it, along with seven visitors from Australia and two from the USA, and the New Testaments didn’t arrive in time? Well, the truth is that they didn’t! We had a small celebration–happy as it was–but not at all what we had imagined. All we and the Mukulu church can put it down to is that the battle is fierce because some amazing things are happening at a village level. The church has grown so much, even without the New Testament, that they’ve created three satellite congregations. Women in villages on the other side of the mountain have taken literacy classes so they can read the New Testament when it arrives. People one would never imagine are coming to the Lord through dreams. The chief of the Mukulu people commented to our visitors that having mother-tongue literacy classes for pre-schoolers means that children who attend them are at the top of the class when they get to school. When we first moved to the village in 1992, there was a group of elderly ladies at church who always sat at the same bench; leaning on their walking sticks it appeared they’d gone to sleep. At that time, all the Scripture readings were in French. One Sunday when I was sitting right behind them, one of the translation team members read from the Gospel of Mark in Gergiko. The ladies sat up and got really animated, chatting among themselves! A lady sitting next to me laughed with me and said, “They understood!” I was so glad I witnessed that because it gave me perseverance to finish the task. Those ladies have passed away, but at the celebration we had in January I got to dance with some of the new generation of elderly ladies, bringing it full circle. We could easily get discouraged because the second attempt at a dedication was postponed indefinitely by COVID-19. Our main regret is that the New Testaments aren’t in the hands of the people yet. But the Lord has had a plan for the Mukulu people all these years, and He’s not finished yet. He is the author and finisher of our faith. Story by Elly Sharp Source: wycliffe.org.au Posted in Impact Previous Next

September 17, 2019 No word for “forgiveness” By Samuel Ko Back to all stories Translators serving with DOOR International, a Wycliffe affiliate that works with Deaf communities to translate Scripture, encountered an unusual challenge recently. When asked to demonstrate the sign for “forgive,” members of a Deaf community in South Asia could only come up with signs for “sorry” and “apology.” At DOOR’s recording studio in Kenya, translators record a signed translation of Scripture. Photo by Alan Hood. While observers might view their response as a setback to the translation work, DOOR president and CEO Rob Myers says translators view it instead as an opportunity to fill in missing concepts in the sign language they’re helping to translate. “The hard part about that,” says Myers, “is that it’s not just that a particular word in their vocabulary is missing. Conceptually, [they don’t have] the idea of ‘I am forgiven . . . [that] when I stand before God, he doesn’t see my sin anymore but He sees me righteous.’” Myers was not surprised that the sign language had no word for forgiveness, because it was a Deaf community that had never heard the gospel message. And while it would be easy for DOOR translators to come up with signs on their own, they choose instead to address the problem with input from members of the Deaf community involved. “Their language is one of the only things that belong to that Deaf community,” says Myers. Experts believe there may be more than 400 sign languages in use worldwide. According to the most recent statistics compiled by Wycliffe Global Alliance, about 284 have no Scriptures available. Source : Missions News Network Learn more : DOOR International Posted in Bible translation Previous Next

March 12, 2020 Waking From a Dream By Wycliffe Canada Back to all stories Maximiliana Quispe has been attending church in her Quechua community of Ch’ari, Peru, for a long time. But, she says she only attended because it was the custom in her community. “I thought I could be doing better things instead of going to church,” she says, “since I didn’t understand much.” That changed when ATEK, Wycliffe’s partner organization in southern Peru, launched a comprehensive Bible reading program in the town of Pitumarca. After learning to read and write in Quechua and learning some basic teachings from God’s Word, Maximiliana began to grow in her faith. “Before, my life had no meaning,” says Maximiliana, “and I lived life as it happened. I had no hope.” The turning point came when Maximiliana understood that sin had separated her from God, and that forgiveness could be found in Christ. “I realized I was far from God,” she says, “and needed to return to him. “I woke up–as if from a dream–and decided to return to Him. Now I feel like a different person; I want to live for God and please Him every day.” Read more stories about ATEK’s ministries in Word Alive magazine Posted in Impact Previous Next

February 10, 2020 New LETRA Chile Directors Appointed By Wycliffe Canada Back to all stories The board of directors of LETRA, Wycliffe’s partner organization in Chile, has announced that Génesis Cepeda and her husband Camilo Paredes have been appointed as the organization’s new executive directors. They took over the role in December 2019. Cepeda previously served as a regional leader with LETRA. Most recently, she has served on LETRA’s field projects team and both serve actively in their local church. Fernando Callejas, chair of LETRA Chile’s board of directors, says Cepeda has always been active in the mission of God. “In addition to everything she does at the ministerial level,” said Callejas, “I attest to her unconditional love and tremendous dedication to the Lord and his work.” Cepeda and Paredes succeed Andrew Wheaton and Kelly Pastene, who served as executive directors of LETRA Chile for three years. “Andrew and Kelly have served faithfully during these three years,” said Callejas, “leaving a high standard to press onward, with an administratively sound and growing organization.” Source: wycliffe.net Posted in News and updates Previous Next

February 8, 2022 Newly launched New Testament in Chad brings message of peace and forgiveness By Wycliffe Canada Back to all stories The Migaama New Testament was launched in a vibrant and exciting event in the village of Baro in Chad in December 2021. The New Testament represents an opportunity to emphasize Jesus’ message of peace, forgiveness and reconciliation at a time when these topics are high on the agenda of local and national discussions in Chad. The event was attended by more than 500 people. There was the reading of Migaama Scriptures, presentation of certificates, singing, dancing and eating. In addition, there was a race involving some local chevaliers (horse-riders) which emphasized the spirit of co-operation and harmony over competition. Hamit Adoun, one of the official government representatives at the event, said: “To the Migaami population – today you have the New Testament in Migaama. It is a good thing. Invest yourselves in it, it is important to know what is in this New Testament. Young people, read this New Testament, whether you are Muslim or Christian. The Christian community in Baro needs to teach their children the Migaama language. To our Muslim brothers, the Bible is the Word of God and we should all study it.” Emmanuel, a Migaama Christian, commented: “This translated word has above all given a freedom to put into practice the Word of God at any time. It has broken certain traditions – grudges, difficulties with forgiveness and reconciliation. It has given strength to resist in difficulties. It has transformed this resentful people to become Christian people full of love. Finally, this word has become a shield for the Christian Migaami people: they continually make use of this shield to face up to difficulties.” There was a strong sense of community among all the Migaami, with Christian church leaders joined by a large contingent of local village chiefs and government officials, including the new Magaami chief who declared , “The word of God translated into our language can change lives.” Most of the officials who attended are Muslim, but they were content to sit through the Christian service and welcomed the arrival of the New Testament in their language. Coming just 12 days after the Migaami chief had been enthroned, the New Testament launch was a wonderful complement to that ceremony. The enthronement had been the catalyst for a number of village chiefs who had been in conflict with each other for many years to offer forgiveness to each other and to reconcile. The New Testament launch was marked by the united presence of these local chiefs. Emma Kuipers, who serves with Wycliffe and worked with the Migaama New Testament translation team, says, “There was wonderful communal harmony at the dedication, exemplified by the large group of Muslim women from the village who happily cooked the celebration meal, freeing the Christian women to attend the event. Such participation and co-operation was not imaginable in the recent past when there were tensions between the Christian and Muslim communities.” Many of the speeches emphasised how important it was to read this book and that it is a valuable treasure – not only for Christians, but also for Muslims. Djerambeté Samuel, the provincial general secretary and a Christian, commented: “When I read God’s Word in my own language, I don’t need a lot of extra explanation. I understand it better in my language than I do in French, even though I am educated. “There is nothing more important than to read in your own language, ” he said. “Official languages are not sufficient. Local languages allow development activities that succeed better than in an official language.” The Migaami population is estimated at about 70,000, residing largely in central Chad. (Migaama is the language and also refers to one person; Migaami refers to the community and to two or more people.) The translation committee was formed in 2000, and the first translations were published in 2001 as small booklets – The Good Samaritan , Jesus Blesses the Children , and The Father who Forgives . Missionary outreach to the Migaami began in the 1940s. Today the number of Christian households in the village of Baro (the main Migaama village) is about 60 (meaning around 400 Christians). There are also Migaama Christians in the bigger towns and the capital city, N’Djamena. Source: Wycliffe U.K website Posted in News and updates Previous Next

November 14, 2019 First Nations Mark Translation Milestones By Wycliffe Canada Back to all stories More than 30 years ago, the Naskapi people of Eastern Quebec welcomed a Wycliffe couple, Bill and Norma Jean Jancewicz, to live among them. Working closely with local leaders and community members, Bill helped the Naskapi to standardize their syllabic writing system, develop the first practical way to use their writing system on computers, and build a team to translate the New Testament. Naskapi translators dedicated their New Testament translation in 2007. Since then, the Naskapi translation team based in Kawawachikamach, 15 km east of Schefferville, Que., has pressed on to translate and publish a variety of materials to bolster their knowledge of the Scriptures and help preserve their language and culture. “We’ve been pleased to see steady progress toward their goal of translating through the Old Testament,” Bill wrote in a recent blog post. The book of Genesis was published in early 2013. Earlier this year, the Naskapi dedicated the Book of Psalms in their language, and team members are now translating Deuteronomy, Joshua, Judges, 1 & 2 Samuel, Job and the Song of Solomon. Their translation of Exodus, completed in 2018, is now in composition and layout stage. The Naskapi team hopes to soon have a preliminary printing available so they can review it before Christmas, along with a fully revised edition of the Anglican Church’s Sunday Lectionary Readings in Naskapi. The lectionary provides scheduled Scripture readings for use in Naskapi church services. Copies of the Sunday Lectionary are now being printed, and community members hope to have it in hand by Dec. 1, the first Sunday of Advent SERVING OTHERS Matt Windsor with Oji-Cree translators Even as they press ahead with Old Testament translation, Naskapi translators are sharing their skills and experience at capacity-building workshops attended by other First Nations translators. They’re all part of the Cree Initiative, an ambitious project funded in part by Wycliffe Canada. The initiative helps facilitate Bible translation for more than 100,000 people living in five related Cree language communities from Alberta to Ontario. In Kingfisher Lake, Ont., Wycliffe Canada staff members Matthew and Caitlin Windsor are assisting local translators working on Mark’s Gospel. It’s hoped the Oji-Cree translation will be completed by the end of the year. Another Wycliffe Canada member, Meg Billingsley, is currently in Kingfisher Lake with the Oji-Cree team, checking their translation of the Gospel of Mark. Checking Mark’s Gospel in Oji-Cree In Northern Manitoba, Wycliffe Canada staff members Alice and Martin Reed are working with the Northern Manitoba Anglican Mission to prepare the biblical story of Joseph in Egypt (from Genesis) in three First Nations languages there: Swampy Cree, Ojibwe, and Dene. These books will be told in traditional indigenous storytelling style and illustrated by indigenous artists. Other communities that speak closely related languages–Innu in Labrador, Plains Cree in Saskatchewan, and Swampy Cree in Manitoba–are just beginning to explore the possibilities for Bible translation and language development. AUDIO AND DIGITAL Also in 2019, Bill Jancewicz assisted in the completion of a project to create audio files of the entire Cree New Testament. They are part of The CreeTalker Western Cree Bible App , now available for Western Cree speakers across the Prairies and in Ontario. “There are many Cree speakers and semi-speakers (listeners) who do not read in Cree,” says Bill, “but they can understand the Scriptures well when someone reads to them.” Besides the smartphone app, the Canadian Bible Society is working to complete typesetting and layout of the old Western Cree full Bible (having been out of print for several years) which will also be available as an electronic publication, or ePUB. The ePUB can be viewed on smartphones, tablets and other devices. Related content: Cree Initiative project A Cree Initiative ( Word Alive story, Jan. 2017) Nomads No Longer ( Word Alive story, Jan. 2013) billjancewicz.com/ Posted in Bible translation Previous Next

September 10, 2020 The 30th Anniversary By Jack Popjes Back to all stories On Aug. 10, 2020, my wife Jo and I celebrated a significant anniversary of a major life event in 1990. The location was a Canela village in Brazil. The occasion was the distribution of newly printed partial Bible, which Jo and I helped translate in partnership with the Canela people. Major Investment, Eternal Results Starting in 1957, we spent 11 years in studies, training, and preparation for the ministry of linguistics and Bible translation in Brazil. For the next 22 years, we focused on producing a literate society and a partial Bible in the Canela language. It was a 33 year-long investment. A long time, but it was worth the effort! We are thrilled to think that of the several thousand Canelas now living in the main village, a whole generation was born and grew up in homes where a Canela Bible was present. These 20- to 30-year-old parents are now themselves raising families that have access to God’s Word in their language. Learning about God from the Canela Bible Our Heartfelt Thanks to God Our hearts are full of thanks to God for choosing Jo and me, and our family, to be involved in this significant task. We especially thank our daughters, Valorie, Leanne and Cheryl, for being part of our team. They played a vital role in developing deep relationships with Canela friends, playmates, and families. Right from the very beginning of language learning, they helped us sort thousands of slips of paper with Canela words and definitions to produce a dictionary. During school vacation, they spent many hours helping adult Canelas learn to read. And they prayed with in-depth personal knowledge for the Canelas and us. Our daughters had to sacrifice much: the loss of grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins back in Canada with whom they connected only briefly every five years. During their school years, they spent up to three months at a time in a boarding school on the mission centre separated from us while we worked in the village. When they graduated from high school, they left Brazil, and we were apart for years. But God is no one’s debtor. He gave them dozens of uncles and aunts and life-long friends from among our fellow Wycliffe missionary families, also living on the mission centre in Belem. The Large Team Back Home We thank God for our extended families and for the friends we made during our decades of preparation and active ministry. Many became long-time faithful prayer warriors, encouraging correspondents (even with paper mail), and essential financial partners. We thank God for all of you, and we thank you for your part in bringing the Word of God to the Canela. Our Co-Labourers in Brazil Our thanks go up to God and to our fellow missionaries in Brazil on the centres, also the administrators, the teachers for our daughters, the pilots, the mechanics, the radio and computer technicians, and the PhDs in several academic disciplines, all freely sharing their expertise with us. We could never have completed this task without them. Frankly, we would never even have dared to start it without them. We are also thankful for Bernard and Elke Grupp, the missionaries who have worked among the Canela for the past 18 years. They continually encourage us by sending reports of baptisms, Bible classes, the production of the Canela Illustrated Children’s Bible, and multiple productions in audio and video media like The Jesus Film in Canela. Good Things From The Hand of God Canela life has changed much since those long-ago days in the late 1960s when Jo and I began living with the Canela. Life expectancy has vastly increased. Infant mortality has drastically decreased. Most Canelas now can read and write in their own language. A whole generation has been going to school in town to be taught in Portuguese and is now growing up fluently bilingual. Hundreds of people have prayed, given, assisted, encouraged, sacrificed and worked to make possible the Word of God in the Canela language. Every one of us looks forward to that great worship scene in Revelation 7:9. “There was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and before the Lamb.” Look! Yes, there they are! The Canelas! Source: jackpopjes.com Posted in Impact Previous Next