Why Bible Translation?
Did you know that the Bible has been translated into English about 400 different times? We are very blessed to have ready access to Scripture. But nearly 1,800 languages in the world do not have a single word of translated scripture, including over 300 in Papua New Guinea (PNG) alone.
Isaiah 55:11 says, “My word that goes out from my mouth shall not return to me empty, but shall accomplish that which I purpose, and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it.” God promises that His Word will bear fruit, that it will not return to Him empty—we are joyfully clinging to this promise and feel privileged to help God’s Word ‘go out from His mouth’ so that people who have never heard it can recognize that ‘it is no empty word for them, but their very life’ (Deuteronomy 32:47).
Much of PNG has been reached by Christian missionaries in decades past, and many of the indigenous people have accepted "Christianity." But syncretism and fear of evil spirits remain strong in many places, often because the people do not have God’s Word in a language they can understand.
Can you imagine your spiritual life without access to the Word of God in the language you understand best? How could you grow in faith and knowledge of God? How could the church grow in strength and maturity? How could they keep from believing things that aren't true? People need access to the Word in understandable form to know God and to feed their souls. We can all be a part of meeting that need.
An Omission from Our Timeline
We got lots of positive feedback from Jon's helpful timeline graphic in our last newsletter. However, we neglected to include one important thing that will happen early next year....having a baby! That's right, baby BOY number 4 is on his way!
Partnering with Our Wycliffe Ministry
We'd like to invite you to consider partnering with us in this exciting journey! There are several ways to do this:
- Prayer: Committing to pray for us regularly, even daily. We won't move forward without a faithful team of prayer partners supporting us.
- Giving: We also need a faithful team of financial partners who are committed to monthly giving. Wycliffe has set a monthly minimum budget for our family - we need to be at 100% of that budget before we will be released to go. We are nearly halfway there!
- Advocacy: Helping us set up a house meeting with those who might be interested in our Wycliffe ministry, talking with your church about inviting us to share, encouraging us in our journey, helping with practical needs, etc.
Praise Report and Prayer Requests
- Praise for our newest, healthy baby boy, please pray for continued health in this pregnancy
- Praise for the prayer and financial partners God has given to help us begin this journey
- Pray for wisdom and energy in finishing up house projects before selling in the spring
- Pray for continued travels this fall
- Pray for God to continue to help us in building our Wycliffe partnership team
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