|
We've been back in the States for a little over a month now and are finally getting a chance to slow down a bit and catch our breath. We hit the ground running, visiting friends and ministry partners in North and South Carolina, as well as debriefing at the SIM headquarters in Charlotte. We had a big answer to prayer as the owner of a dealership provided a brand new Honda Odyssey for us to use free of charge! We then drove up to Wisconsin where we will be based for the rest of our home assignment. We have a beautiful lake house to stay in (rent free!), for which we are very thankful.
Before we left Liberia, John-Mark and his translation team pushed hard and were able to complete some big translation milestones. The books of Acts, Titus, Philemon, Hebrews and James have now been checked by a translation consultant and are ready for recording and publishing! In addition, they were able to translate and record 64 key chapters from the Old Testament that deal with God's character and plan of salvation, setting the stage for understanding Jesus and the New Testament. While these chapters still need to be checked by a consultant before final publication, they are already being used in Discovery Bible classes. Faith Comes By Hearing also finished the mixing of Genesis, Jonah and the four Gospels; these are now being distributed among the Manya people.
A couple months ago, a young Muslim man from the Bible study told John-Mark that he was going for a three-week workshop in another city, but wanted to keep studying the Bible. He said however that it is often difficult for him to understand his English Bible and that he would like the Scripture recordings in Manya on his phone. When John-Mark played the Sermon on the Mount for him, he said, "Wow, this is really good! I'll be listening to this a lot."
Although it was harder to leave Liberia than we had anticipated, we have really enjoyed our time in the States so far. We have met so many amazing and encouraging people on this journey. We plan to spend the summer in the Midwest, and then take a big trip in the fall to visit ministry partners along the East Coast. We have a busy six months ahead of us, but we hope we can connect with as many of you as possible.
|
