April 2020

Dear Friends and Family,

It’s Sunday morning, overcast and about to rain. We have listened to our Pastor’s sermon, and in a while we’ll connect with our church family via Zoom for a time of fellowship. These are strange times, aren’t they?

As a kid, I (Lisa) remember many people asking my Mom which country she liked best – Peru or Chile. We served in both countries for about the same amount of years. The two are so different that they’re hard to compare. My Mom always explained that there were good things and bad things about each place. I’ve tried to remember that throughout the years. All places and situations have both good and bad – even the experience we are living right now. We’ve been confined to our homes now for several weeks. There are great things happening: more family time, no stress of having to get ready by a certain time to go to our commitments, rest, exercise, cleaning, and so much more. But, at the same time, the struggle is real. We feel afraid of the virus at times, nervous to go to the grocery store, and as parents we’re running out of steam to keep our kids productive and happy. We are also sad to hear that many people overseas – in Peru and Ecuador and Venezuela and Mexico are suffering greatly with lack of food and income. So, we pray for the Lord’s mercy and for our daily bread. We pray for you too.

Since you are part of the team, we want to share this with you. José’s Paratext* team received the following thank-you from an SIL translation consultant. [*Paratext is special computer software that speeds up translation work and makes it more consistent and precise.]

In France, every evening at 8pm, many people stand at the windows or on their balconies to applaud our caregivers, who devote themselves selflessly to fight against COVID-19.

If I could, I would ask all the translators to stand at their windows to applaud the Paratext team! Indeed, your work has always been a great help, but now, in these difficult circumstances, the development of Paratext allows us to continue working, even from afar.

I would like to thank you all, sincerely, from the bottom of my heart, for the incredible work you have done to give us this tool and for all that you continue to do to make progress in Bible translation. Without you, we would be years behind in terms of production. Without you, we would have no contact (or much less) with the teams that are in their countries while the expatriates have returned to their own countries. Without you, we wouldn't be able to do the quality work that we strive to do. May the Lord richly bless you and encourage you.

"So, my beloved brothers and sisters, be firm and steadfast, knowing that your work is not without results in the Lord. " 1 Corinthians 15:28

Gracias! Merci! Thank you!

José and I have been able to continue with our work just fine. As the computer support person for all staff in the Americas, José has been pretty busy helping people set up to work from their homes, and helping people use videoconferencing software that enables meeting together. This past week he had two colleagues (one in Peru and one in California) whose laptops kept on rebooting all on their own over and over. Strange! The colleague in California sent his laptop to our house via Fedex and José was able to find the problem! And then with that knowledge, he was able fix the computer in Peru all the way from here in Texas. Amazing. He has a gift for sure!

Our Wycliffe and SIL Clinic is still open, but with reduced hours. I continue to love serving there at the front desk once a week. I also continue to enjoy coordinating the translation of all kinds of SIL communications into Spanish. I thank God that He has given me the gift of being bilingual.

The kids are amazing. They’re helpful, smart and are having a wonderful time playing together. They’ve adapted just fine to doing schoolwork at home. Laura (11) misses her friends but she connects with them online. Samuel (8) is happy, singing, and laughing all the time. Ruthie (5) is more than ready to start Kindergarten in the Fall.

We send our love,

Lisa & José

OUR ADDRESS: Jose & Lisa Chambilla
1231 Ridge Rock Ln
Duncanville, TX 75116
jose_chambilla@sil.org • lisa_chambilla@sil.org
HOME OFFICE: Wycliffe Bible Translators • PO Box 628200 • Orlando, FL 32862-8200
As missionaries serving with Wycliffe/SIL, we trust God to supply our financial needs through churches and individuals who wish to partner with us. To make tax deductible donations, please make checks payable to Wycliffe Bible Translators and include a note indicating, “preference for the Wycliffe ministry of José & Lisa Chambilla – 227490.”