Another heart procedure, a different heart attitude
Time has not healed John's atrial flutter, so he will have an ablation this afternoon to fix his “dancing heart."
Longfellow, in the darkest days of the Civil War, penned the words to “I heard the bells on Christmas day.” (See full lyrics below) At first, the church bells seemed to mock the idea of peace on earth, good will to men. As they continued, the songs became a strong reminder that “God is not dead, nor doth he sleep.”
Neither war, nor dissension, nor a malfunctioning heart can deny the reality that Christ’s birth, death and resurrection means that one day “The wrong shall fail, the right prevail, With peace on earth, good will to men.”
Listen to the Casting Crowns version here.
Grace and peace,
Bonnie (& for John)
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Praise and Prayer
Please pray that John’s procedure this afternoon will return his heart to regular rhythm so he can proceed with his recovery. The valve is still working great!
Praise that after some medication changes, John’s mom has more strength and energy.
Praise that the Aitape West translators and church leaders, who will celebrate Christmas with the Christmas story in their own languages.
Praise the Lord with us for more progress on building our partnership team. Our monthly gap is now down to less than $470!
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Partnership
If you would like to partner with us financially, we have two options below.
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If you prefer to send a check, Wycliffe contributions should go to:
Wycliffe Bible Translators
PO Box 628200
Orlando, FL 32862-8200
(Please include a separate note expressing your preference for the Wycliffe ministry of John and Bonnie Nystrom #221253)
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I heard the Bells on Christmas Day
1. I heard the bells on Christmas day
Their old familiar carols play,
And wild and sweet the words repeat
Of peace on earth, good will to men.
2. I thought how, as the day had come,
The belfries of all Christendom
Had rolled along th’unbroken song
Of peace on earth, good will to men.
3. And in despair I bowed my head:
“There is no peace on earth,” I said,
“For hate is strong and mocks the song
Of peace on earth, good will to men.”
4. Then pealed the bells more loud and deep:
“God is not dead, nor doth he sleep;
The wrong shall fail, the right prevail,
With peace on earth, good will to men.”
5. Till, ringing, singing, on its way,
The world revolved from night to day,
A voice, a chime, a chant sublime,
Of peace on earth, good will to men!
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What we do
Since 1987 we have been training local Papua New Guinean church leaders to translate the Bible into their own languages and coaching them through the process from first draft to publication.
We currently serve in the Aitape West Translation Project, which is producing and distributing Bible translations in 11 languages in print, electronic, audio, and video form; training local people to use the translations; and training the local translators to help other translators do the same in still more languages.
To learn more
We have written about how a tsunami changed the face of Bible translation in Papua New Guinea in our book, Sleeping Coconuts. It is available here on Kindle or here in paperback.
Click here to hear us speaking on this topic at a partner church.
Wycliffe has released a short film called "Arop" about this amazing story. The one-minute book trailer is here.
To see our previous newsletters or to subscribe to them, click here.
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