Thursday, August 29, 2013

Can Trilled R’s Advance the Gospel Message?

I enjoy reading prayer letters from our missionaries on the field. Not only does it keep me abreast of what is happening around the world, but it is also a blessing to hear how God continues to build His church in even the remotest parts of the earth. Recently one of our missionaries shared the testimony of some new believers in the Philippines.

After hearing the message of the gospel, Pilno exclaimed, "I believe it! Jesus is the Savior! Our ancestors said this thing or that thing is the way to God. But they were wrong! Jesus paid the price for my sin. It is finished!"

Mulok joyfully added, "If I die now, I will go straight to God. I'm not afraid anymore! Before I was drowning in my sin, just drowning. Now I know that Jesus paid for my sin, and I will go to be with Him in God's Heaven!"

Sometimes it is easy to get lost in my little world of teaching phonetics. I deliberate over little things like better ways of getting students to make a "trilled r." It is good to hear testimonies from folks like Pilno and Mulok which reminds me why I am here fussing over something like a "trilled r." I am reminded that I am part of a larger team. I am in a role of supporting folks on the field so that they can do a better job. I am also reminded that I have a team of folks supporting me through their prayers and financial gifts so that I can function here at the Missionary Training Center.

We are two weeks into the new semester here. We have 46 new students and 71 returning students in our course. Two of our new students are from the Northern Canada Evangelical Mission. They work with "first nations" people groups in Canada. Please pray that we will effectively train all our students for the ministries that God has for them in the future.

I am part of a team that is currently beta testing a new software package that will help us with scheduling, grading, transcripts and a number of other critical tasks. This software package will be used here at the Missionary Training Center and the two New Tribes Bible Institutes. Please pray for us as we beta test this software package and begin to implement it at our schools.

Bob

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Never Give Up!!!

As Commencement speaker at a large university, Winston Churchill, Prime Minister of England during World War II, gave this message: "Never, never, Never, NEVER QUIT!" Five words .. end of message … then sat down.

V. Raymond Edman, Past President of Wheaton College, put it this way: "It is ALWAYS too soon to quit … ALWAYS!!"

Thursday, August 1, 2013

Translating God’s Word into Unwritten Languages

Many people think that translating God's Word into another language is a fairly straight forward process. You simply find a corresponding word in English for each Greek or Hebrew word in the Bible. I wish it were that simple, but it isn't.

In John 10:24 the Jewish leaders came to Jesus and asked Him:

Greek: Ἕως πότε τὴν ψυχὴν ἡμῶν αἴρεις;

English: Until when the soul of us you raise up?

A literal, word for word translation from Greek into English just does not work for this idiomatic question. They were actually asking, "How long will you keep us in suspense?" Imagine how confusing it would be to literally translate the phrase "he's really in a pickle" into another language. The problems are only magnified when translating into a tribal language.

Once our missionaries have done an initial rough draft translation then they need to have it checked to see if they are conveying the meaning of the Biblical text into the tribal language. These translation checks can be daunting.

Albert and Lynne Castelijn are translating the book of Romans into the Banwaon language. They write, "In order to faithfully convey truth, the process must be much more than simply a matter of switching words from English to Banwaon."

Albert spends very long days reading a passage to two tribal co-workers, who think the passage through and speak back to him what they understand it to mean. Then, in English, Albert tells the translation consultant what they have said. He carefully scrutinizes the passage to determine whether they have understood it entirely.

Then there is re-reading and more discussion. Did they get this point? Maybe this word needs to be clearer—or changed. And finally: That's great—they got it exactly!

The translation group sits long hours in heat and humidity, focusing intently. The tribal co-workers are not accustomed to this. Their days are usually full of farm work. Sitting on a chair for such long hours in deep concentration is very hard work for them.

Translating the Bible into unwritten languages is a complicated task. Our students at the Missionary Training Center take classes such as Bible Translation so that they are prepared to face such challenges in their future ministries.

Your prayers are very much appreciated as we begin a new semester. Classes begin August 19th. Please pray for the safe arrival of our new and returning students. Also pray for our preparations as we kick off the new semester.

Thanks.

Bob

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KEEP THE GOSPEL CLEAR!

By Charles Ryrie

Keep the issue clear: The issue is sin, and Who is going to forgive it.

Keep the direction clear: It is from the Giver to the recipient. The gift of righteousness is given when you believe.

Keep the requirements clear: It is salvation through FAITH. There is nothing more!