April 22, 2025 A new creation By Doug Lockhart Back to all stories After giving his life to Christ, the son of Bible translators in Thailand finds healing and purpose. “Anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!” (2 Cor. 5:17, NLT) In Thailand, a couple named Tawan and Jum are helping translate God’s Word for speakers of Eastern Lawa. Once estranged, they are now committed to each other, to the Lord and to the work of Bible translation. They’re also grateful for God’s mercy and grace, especially when they recall all their troubles before Jesus changed their lives. In Tawan’s case, life before Christ included a 16-year stint in prison. During that time, Jum, too, was arrested and jailed for 10 years for supplying drugs. After God healed their broken marriage, Tawan and Jum began serving Him in Bible translation. (Photo: Derryl Friesen) After they started following Christ, they experienced new challenges in the form of rejection and persecution by many of the people in Tawan’s home village. Drawing on God’s strength daily, the couple continued praying for their neighbours and reaching out to them in various ways. At the same time, their hearts ached for their son, Captain (see photo, below). The years of brokenness and imprisonment in his parents’ story before they became Christians left a deep wound in Captain’s life. Depressed and enslaved by drugs, Captain refused to even talk to them for several years. Tawan and Jum were fearful that their son would take his own life or overdose on drugs, so they asked God to do whatever it might take to save him. Shortly after they lifted up that desperate prayer, Captain was arrested and jailed for possessing drugs. Shortly after they lifted up that desperate prayer, Captain was arrested and jailed for possessing drugs. After serving a relatively short sentence on a misdemeanour charge, Captain was released. He claimed that he was no longer using drugs, but Tawan and Jum continued praying diligently for their young adult son. In a 2022 interview with Wycliffe Canada writer Ruth Richert, Jum told Ruth, “This is beyond our capability to fix. . . . I’m still trusting God.” From trust to transformation In 2023, Tawan and Jum witnessed a remarkable turnaround in their son’s life. It began when Captain’s health deteriorated, and continued when members of the translation team prayed over him for deliverance and healing. “In the next month,” said project co-ordinator Greg Blok, “God did some amazing things in his life, including freeing him from depression. He not only got a job after trying for a year without success, he also got a new place to live, and received a scholarship from his university to help him develop a business idea. “Fast forward to Christmas and he wanted to be baptized, so we were very happy to be part of that!” Captain’s life has truly been transformed since he surrendered his life to Jesus and was baptized. Captain is baptized during a 2023 Christmas celebration at Baan Khun, Thailand. (Photo: Rosie Blok) “My parents introduced me to God’s love,” says Captain, “and through their guidance, I discovered the joy of loving others. “Everything began to change when I experienced the love and grace of God for myself.” The change in Captain is apparent to many, says Greg. “Apparently he talks mostly about God and Jesus, which is a huge difference to before when he mostly spoke very badly to everyone.” Currently, Captain is teaching the Thai langage to Korean missionaries who are working to establish a ministry centre near Mae Fah Luang University. His main teaching tool is the Thai Bible. Captain loves serving at the ministry centre, which he describes as a “safe space” and a source of support for students. “It brings me joy to see young people happy and growing in their own paths, supported by mentors and trusted guides. I want to be that kind of person for them—someone who walks alongside them with care and wisdom.” The Bible tells us that “anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!” (2 Cor. 5: 17, NLT). The profound changes taking place in Captain’s life are not only an answer to Tawan and Jum’s prayers, but also a powerful testimony to the people of their village and all who know him. Captain is indeed a new creation—and the turnaround in his life is turning heads, for the glory of God. More : Tawan and Jum’s story: Prison, Pigs and God’s Redemptive Love Posted in Impact Previous Next

August 28, 2025 Bible Translation is a Justice Issue Bible translation Justice World Back to all videos English 0:00 to 2:59 Length 02:43 Many people take it for granted that the Bible is available in their own language, and are unaware that there are hundreds of millions without that privilege – mostly from smaller, often marginalised language groups. This video explains in just under three minutes why translating the Bible is transformative for these communities, bringing greater equality, empowerment and justice. (Produced by the United Bible Societies, used with permission.) DOWNLOAD SHARE MORE FROM OUR LIBRARY A Light in the Jungle Length 16:31 A Light in the Jungle—mystery, death, life—key words that embody this 16-minute docudrama on transformation among the Folopa people of Papua New Guinea. Pastor Gab Length 1:34 Pastor Gab shares the importance of mother tongue Scriptures. With one impact story from his language community, Tetun. Every Tribe Will Hear Length 2:25 In the 1980s, Wycliffe founder William Cameron Townsend — affectionately known as “Uncle Cam” — delivered an inspirational speech at the memorial service of a fallen missionary. This video captures Townsend’s passion for the mission we have each been given to carry the gospel message to every nation. Thinking About Missions? (TC) Length: 0:58 參與跨文化宣教工作其實不是遙不可及的事。或許你不知道自己已擁有不少當宣教士的裝備；你也會驚訝地發現原來工場上的服侍機會是那麼多元化的。 如欲了解更多或探索服侍機會，請與我們聯絡：chinese@wycliffe.ca(mailto:如欲了解更多或探索服侍機會，請與我們聯絡：chinese@wycliffe.ca) Previous Next

Africa HAINAUT, Jackie Jacqueline Hainaut, better known as Jackie, was born of missionary parents in the Belgian Congo (now DRC) and her parents immigrated to Quebec in 1968. It was while Jackie was at Bethel Bible Institute in Sherbrooke, Que., that she heard a presentation on Wycliffe and Bible translation, and was totally fascinated by it. She joined Wycliffe in 1987 and has been serving in Chad, Africa, since May 1989. Jackie served the Kera people in Southern Chad during the first 13 years of her time there. She helped develop a Kera orthography (writing system) and set up a literacy program. She served as an exegete for the Kera New Testament translation, which was completed in June 2002. The literacy program and translation of the Old Testament are in the hands of the Kera people, and both are thriving. Jackie continues to serve them in an advisory capacity, and does some checking of their translations. The Kera New Testament is widely used and is impacting the growth of the Kera Church, both spiritually and numerically. Since 2003, Jackie has been serving as the translation co-ordinator and consultant for the Chad branch of SIL, Wycliffe’s key partner organization. She ensures that both nationals and expatriates have the needed training and resources for translation and exegesis. She also checks translated Scriptures for accuracy before they are published. Jackie has contributed to the nine New Testaments completed by the Chad branch, with another three nearing completion in the next two years. She also mentors six translation consultants-in-training; in 2018, one of them will become the first Chadian translation consultant. The Chad branch is presently involved in 18 translation projects, and with only two entity consultants, there is a great need to have more consultants, and to have the means to invite external ones to help in the interim. Jackie considers it a great privilege to have a part in bringing the transforming Word of God to a few of the peoples of Chad, and in serving the Chad branch of SIL, as well as local partners and other missions, in this crucial task. “…so is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it” (Isaiah 55:11). Support our ministry GIVE NOW https://interland3.donorperfect.net/weblink/WebLink.aspx?name=E341555QE&id=77 Previous Next

Americas WUERMLI, Sam and Dolores “The Lord says, ‘I will guide you along the best pathway for your life. I will advise you and watch over you.’” Psalm 32:8 (NLT) Sam was born in Switzerland and is the second oldest of four boys. Their parents worked for Gott hilft (God helps) as houseparents for a home of about 30 children. There was much activity, work in the garden, farm and home, hiking, playing soccer and enjoying just being kids. On a regular basis, missionaries would come and do VBS weeks to instil world mission and needs around the world in the hearts of the children. Sam immigrated to Canada in 1976 as a young man and worked on a dairy farm in Fort St. John, B.C. A few years later he moved to Calgary and worked for Digital Equipment (DEC) in computer hardware. Dolores was raised in B.C. and she heard about Wycliffe at Bible school (CLBI). She began working in the finance department at the Calgary office in July 1980 as a short-term assistant. She stayed on for five years working in various roles in the department. During this time she met Sam, and they were married in 1982. The Lord blessed them with two children, Natashia and Josiah. In 1987 they moved back to Fort St. John to the same dairy farm. After eight years working in this amazing community, the Lord began to touch their hearts to consider missions once again. In September 1995 they joined Wycliffe as career members. Sam and Dolores took assignments with the South Asia Group (an SIL entity) based at the Wycliffe UK centre in Horsleys Green, England in 1996. Over their 15 years in England, they filled support roles in computer and finance, maintenance and as house-parents for volunteers. The Lord guided the Wuermlis to return to Canada, orchestrating the plan and preparing them for roles with Wycliffe Canada. In the Calgary office, the work they do is transforming lives and helping minority language groups to hear about God and His love letter for them. The Wuermlis’ prayer is that the church will rise up and pray, give and go to serve the Lord where He calls them. They are grateful to be involved in this work, and invite you to partner with them as the Lord leads you. Their family has grown in the past 16 years. Natashia (their daughter living in Lethbridge AB) and Josh have a daughter, Adelaide and a son, Oliver. Josiah (their son living in Stanghow near Saltburn-by-the-Sea, UK) and Hannah have three children, Emilia, Georgia and Ruari, along with their dog, Pippa. Support our ministry GIVE NOW https://interland3.donorperfect.net/weblink/WebLink.aspx?name=E341555QE&id=173 Previous Next

May 17, 2023 Round trip By Wycliffe Canada Back to all stories Stephen Sweeney was 11 when he first learned about JAARS, Wycliffe’s key partner for mission aviation and technical support services. “The youth pastor at our church knew I was interested in aviation, so he took me to the JAARS “Missions at the Airport” event at Smoketown Airport near my home in Pennsylvania,” remembers Stephen. “I flew in the old Hiller helicopter and loved the experience. I knew then that aviation was in my future.” What he did not know was that JAARS would also be in his future. Stephen attended Villanova University on a naval reserve officer scholarship and entered flight training at Pensacola, Fla. after graduation and commissioning. He trained as a naval flight officer whose mission specialty was electronic warfare. During his 15 years on active duty, Stephen accumulated over 2,700 hours of flight time in EA-6B, F/A-18F and EA-18G aircraft. He also flew combat missions in Iraq, Syria, Afghanistan, and Libya. But as successful as Stephen was in the navy, the Lord had other ideas for his future. “I intended to make the navy a career, but after about 12 years on active duty, my first child was born, and my father died from cancer. I started to question my future and my priorities. I prayed for the Lord to show me the way.” Stephen’s next assignment was . . . Read the full article at jaars.org Posted in People Previous Next

Africa HAJIAN, Nora Hailing from Canada’s Yukon Territory, Nora serves with Wycliffe’s key partner, SIL, in Tanzania as a lexicography (i.e., dictionary) specialist in 2019 shortly before COVID-19 appeared, and spent much of her first term working from home in Canada. In 2021 she returned to East Africa and joined SIL Tanzania’s newly-formed remote office in neighbouring Rwanda, where she continues to do lexicography work and other linguistic tasks for Tanzanian language communities who desire to see the Word of God written in their own language. Support our ministry GIVE NOW https://interland3.donorperfect.net/weblink/WebLink.aspx?name=E341555QE&id=78 Previous Next

‎ KNAUBER, Martin and Beate Martin and Beate are from Germany and have been members of Wycliffe since 1982, the same year as they got married. Since then their family has grown to four children and nine grandchildren . . . and counting 🙂 In 1988 they went to Papua New Guinea (PNG) to live among the Dawawa people, where they began their ministry as linguists and Bible translators. Their work started out as a traditional project with language work, translation, literacy and later teachers’ training. Beate also did a lot of medical work in PNG as a licensed nurse. In 1998 they completed a hymn book and in 2003 they celebrated the dedication of the Dawawa New Testament. Over the course of their ministry among the Dawawa, they founded 7 local schools and were blessed to witness a tribal conversion in 2016, where the entire language group came together to publicly renounce spirit worship and dedicated their lives to Jesus Christ. After the dedication of the NT, they served as regional directors of East Papua where they also started a multi language project in 2005. In 2007 the Knaubers took on a new assignment to head up the NT translation for the Hutterite people in the USA and Canada. Martin and Beate continue to be involved with the translation of the Dawawa Old Testament and currently conduct their work among the Dawawa and the Hutterites from Abbotsford, BC. Martin’s main role is currently that of an International Translation Consultant and Beate also serves as a Certified Christian Conciliator. In this role, she conducts mediations for families and churches, but mainly teaches seminars in Biblical Conflict Resolution in Canada and other countries around the world. Support our ministry GIVE NOW https://interland3.donorperfect.net/weblink/WebLink.aspx?name=E341555QE&id=370 Previous Next

Americas HAASDYK, Jeremy and Judy Jeremy, Judy, and their two daughters are currently living in Langley, B.C. and working at the Canada Institute of Linguistics (CanIL); Jeremy as director of finance, and Judy in community life. They are very excited to be involved in training and equipping the next generation of translation workers. Jeremy and Judy are MKs – “missionary kids” who both grew up in Africa. Judy’s parents worked with Africa Inland Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Jeremy’s parents served with Wycliffe in South Africa. They met at Briercrest Bible College while completing undergraduate degrees, Jeremy in biblical studies and Judy in TESOL. From there they went to CanIL (at Trinity Western University), were married, and earned master’s degrees in linguistics. Support our ministry GIVE NOW https://interland3.donorperfect.net/weblink/WebLink.aspx?name=E341555QE&id=76 Previous Next

Americas BUCKSHON, Cindy Born and raised in Langley, BC, Cindy joined Wycliffe Canada in 2012 as the graphic design manager. In 2016, she began working with the global communications team for SIL Global. In 2024, Cindy graduated from a 3D modelling and animation program and is now working as an animator and 3D modeller with the SIL Global Media Services department. Cindy works remotely from Calgary with a small team from Texas, North Carolina, and Manitoba. They are creating a series of short films based on Paul White’s The Jungle Doctor Picture Fables , which teach the gospel message and core Christian principles. The animation team’s vision is to have these fables translated into many languages worldwide. Cindy is excited to use her design, art and animation skills to create meaningful content that has a global reach. Support our ministry GIVE NOW https://interland3.donorperfect.net/weblink/WebLink.aspx?name=E341555QE&id=43 Previous Next

Americas SALKELD, Valerie Since Valerie and Laird Salkeld joined Wycliffe in 2001, they have held a variety of roles. Valerie has served in the prayer ministries department. Her vision is to provide spiritual enrichment to Wycliffe members in Calgary and across the globe through weekly chapel time, retreats, days of prayer, intercession and spiritual direction. “We cannot give what we do not own,” explains Valerie. “Like the Israelites in the desert who didn’t have a written word (individually), they relied on coming together to observe practices to remind them of who they were and what their mission was. Spiritual formation prevents us from becoming a business of translation; our jobs are fulfilled from a passion for the Word in our lives, which validates us to encourage formation in the lives of people in other language groups.” Valerie says she believes in Bible translation because she has seen what has done in her own life. “I love the vision to see a world where translated Scriptures lead to transformed lives among people of all languages, because the Word of God is so vital for transformation in my own life.” Before transitioning to a volunteer role in 2016, Laird spent his career in the communications department as a graphic designer and the department’s director. Laird also played a lot of table hockey during his tenure at Wycliffe, winning the league championship five times. This brings him great pride and joy. Laird has a heart for Bible translation because he sees “so much valuable information” contained in the Scriptures, which he is convinced is best understood by someone in their own language. “My heart for Bible translation has changed, and not changed,” explains Laird. “It has changed in that I am far more informed and realistic about how this work is done and the complexity of it. It has not changed in that I am as passionate as the day I first learned about this work God does through Wycliffe. “I like to think my marketing and communications role transformed some people’s perception of Bible translation and Wycliffe. I know I was transformed as I acquired a realistic view of my role within the larger work; a realism that has served me well in order to get one what matters most.” Support our ministry GIVE NOW https://interland3.donorperfect.net/weblink/WebLink.aspx?name=E341555QE&id=141 Previous Next