30 vowels...and counting

In Phonetics class we're learning 30 different vowel sounds!  And each vowel can be modified in a variety of ways.

Are you impressed with God's creative genius?  God created humans with the ability to speak, which is a miracle.  Then God created us with the ability to communicate meaning with our words, which is a miracle.  I'm not surprised that the Son of God is called the Word who reveals the Father to us.

Now the challenge is learning these vowels so that we can accurately translate God's Word into every language.

A taste of Africa - Fufu and Njama

The other day my wife took me on a surprise date. (and our friends were in town to watch the kids!)

We went to The African Village restaurant here in Dallas.

We enjoyed...
Njama njama which is sauteed spinach with tomatoes, onions and spices,
Fufu which is Ugali which is cornmeal mush,
Jollof rice which is rice with a spicy kick,
and Grilled chicken.

The food was fantastic!  We feel like we can survive Tanzania, now that we know about the food.

And the best part of the meal was NOT the live soccer game on the big screen TV (as much as I loved that!).  The best part of the meal was meeting the manager named Grace.  Grace moved here from Cameroon, West Africa.  I asked her what language she spoke in Cameroon and she replied, "my own language."  She said she spoke Moghamo and a dialect Menemo in Cameroon.  When I asked her if the Bible had been translated into those languages, she didn't think so.

THAT is why we are going to Tanzania.  We want Tanzanians to read the Bible in their own language and come to know Jesus in their own language.

It's just a pronoun, it's doesn't really make a difference...right?

Here's one tiny example of how Bible translation is complex and, I think, very interesting.

In Grammar class today we studied pronouns.  We all understand English pronouns: I, you, he, she, it, we, they.  However, in the Malay language of Indonesia there are two different pronouns for "we." 

kita 'we INCLUSIVE' includes the speaker and hearers
kami 'we EXCLUSIVE' excludes the hearers

So if you are translating the Bible into Malay, which pronoun would you choose in:

Matthew 6:12, "And forgive [us] our debts, as [we] also have forgiven our debtors."

   kami because Jesus (speaker) is praying to God (hearer) who does not need to be forgiven.

Titus 1:3, "according to the commandment of God [our] Savior."

   kita because Paul (speaker) is including himself and Titus (hearer)

Acts 2:32, "This Jesus God raised up again, to which [we] are all witnesses."
 
   kami because Peter (speaker) is referring to himself and the apostles as witnesses of the resurrection, not the crowd (hearer)

This is just one tiny example of the complexity and beauty of Bible translation.  And this is why I am in school, studying Linguistics.  Please pray that I would learn, retain, and be equipped.

Waiting for redemption

This morning I read Romans 8:20-23, "For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it in hope; because the creation itself also will be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God.  For we know that the whole creation groans and labors with birth pangs together until now.  Not only that, but we also who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, eagerly waiting for the adoption, the redemption of our body."

1

The United Nations has declared a famine in Somalia, East Africa.  Here's the official release:

Across the Horn of Africa, people are starving. A catastrophic combination of conflict, high food prices and drought has left more than 11 million people in desperate need. The United Nations has been sounding the alert for months. We have resisted using the “f-word”—famine —but on Wednesday we officially recognized the fast-evolving reality. There is famine in parts of Somalia. And it is spreading.

This is a wake-up call we cannot ignore. Everyday, I hear the most harrowing reports from our UN teams on the ground. Somali refugees, their cattle and goats dead from thirst, walking for weeks to find help in Kenya and Ethiopia. Orphans who arrive alone, their parents dead, terrified and malnourished, in a foreign land.

From within Somalia, we hear terrible stories of families who watched their children die, one by one. One woman recently arrived at a UN displacement camp 140 kilometres south of Mogadishu after a three-week trek. Halima Omar, from the region of Lower Shebelle, was once considered well off. Today, after three years of drought, she barely survives. Four of her six children are dead. “There is nothing in the world worse than watching your own child die in front of your eyes because you cannot feed him,”she said of her ordeal. “I am losing hope.”2

The refugee camp in Kenya is only 500 miles from where we will be living in Tanzania.

The extreme drought is also affecting Tanzania, although to a lesser degree.  Most of Tanzania's electric power supply is generated by hydro-electric dams, which are at a critically low level.  Therefore the government has mandated power outages for 5 hours every day.3  {Our missionary friends on the ground say it's more like 8-12 hours of outage everyday.}

This is creation groaning under the bondage of corruption. This is not the way it's supposed to be. Drought is a result of the Fall. Famine is a result of the Fall. Disease is a result of the Fall.  Death is a result of the Fall.  Hopelessness is a result of the Fall.

One Somali woman said: "Maybe this is our fate —or maybe a miracle will happen and we will be saved from this nightmare."

Let's pray for a miracle:

Pray for rain in East Africa.
Pray that the Islamic extremists ruling Somalia will repent of their sins and turn to Jesus as Savior and King.
Pray that governments around the world would open their eyes and hands to help those in crisis.
Pray that Christians in these nations would abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit and that they would be strengthened by Jesus their treasure.
Pray that missionaries would take opportunities to rescue bodies and souls.
Pray that the work of Bible translation would not be hindered but accelerated by this crisis as people see their desperate need for the gospel.

1  http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-14249733
2  http://www.un.org/sg/articleFull.asp?TID=125&Type=Article
3  http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-14192896

How many elephants does it take to carry the Gerths to Tanzania?

You tell us...

Each elephant represents a family unit who has partnered with us in regular prayer and financial support:  57...and counting!

We have faithful partners from Roanoke to Wamic and from Duluth to Amarillo.  (we even have some in other countries)  Some give $500/month and others give $5/month.  Some pray for us at mealtime while others pray with us over skype.  Every gift and every prayer is valuable to us!

Thank you for carrying us this far!  If you would like to join our team, click "Join us!" on the side bar.

Now hear this: the big eight zero

When our kids want to get our attention they say, "Now hear this!"

Now hear this...God has provided 80% of our necessary monthly financial support through friends and family like you.  Thank you!

If you'd like to join our team, please click "Join us!" in the side column.

THAT'S THE BIGGEST BUG I'VE EVER SEEEEEEEN!

Let me introduce you...this is Head Brrrrr. 

This little creature monopolized my morning (this is Jeannette by the way).  I was peacefully getting ready for the day in my bedroom when I heard blood-curdling screams coming from our girls' room.  Of course, my heart began to race and I ran as fast as I could into their room.  These were not just whines or the normal selfish cries that so often grace our home.  They were the cries that make you think that blood must be involved and perhaps a rush to the ER is in order.  Well, there was no blood.  Kara and Ellie were frantically telling me that they had just seen the, and I quote, "biggest bug they had ever seen!"  I've heard about the scary huge bugs that live here in Texas.  I've heard that cockroaches are a norm around here, and not just little cockroaches but HUGE ones that like to chase you.  Thankfully I haven't come in contact with any of these little, or big, guys as of yet, and I'm quite ok with that!  I must admit that as soon as I heard the word bug I too was up on Kara's bed feeling a bit frantic myself.  When I realized how pitiful I must have looked and remembered that I am the parent who needs to help my girls overcome their irrational fear of bugs I calmly and confidently got off the bed and began hunting for the mystery monster bug.  He was no where to be found.  Kara insists that the bug was a HE due to his terrifying nature!  Girl bugs would never be that scary :)  I safely removed the girls from the room (felt a bit like I was blocking off a crime scene) and began our day.  Every so often I would go back into the room and search for our new "friend".  As I was talking with the kids about the mornings' events we rememberd a verse that we have been memorizing together.  Psalm 56:3 says "When I am afraid I will trust in God."  Very applicable, don't you think?  Kara agreed and we talked about how we could trust that God is our protector and that we do not have to be afraid.  This same God who sovereignly protects us created this bug.  We then spent some time talking about how amazingly creative our God is and how bugs really are quite fascinating...we just don't like them in our bedrooms :)  We prayed and thanked God for being Creator God and that we can trust Him because He is everywhere present and watches over us because He loves us.  Amazing how this creature, who I hadn't seen yet, drew us to worship our Creator.  Naturally, the next step was to name our new house guest.  We like to name things in our family...plants, cars, why not bugs?  Kara thought Head Brrrr would be a good name.  She made it very clear that Head is his first name and Brrrrr is his last name.  Not sure why, but "Head Brrrrr" he was.  I went in one last time to search for our new friend and this time was successful.  I admit, I had secretly hoped that he wouldn't make his appearance until Ben got home from school, but I guess God wanted me to practice what I was preaching to my frightened little girls. 

Well, Head Brrrr was pretty big, but he was just a great big cricket-like grasshopper thingy which wasn't scary at all.  Wow, what a morning.  I brought him out of the room after repeatedly whacking him with Ben's big shoe and put him on the kitchen floor for the kids to look at.  Luke informed us that if he would have been there he would have gotten that big bug!!  He loves to be the hero, just like his daddy.  Now Head Brrrr is dead and in a plastic baggy for all to look at and be reminded of our eventful morning.  Luke loves it.  The girls, not so much.  But Head Brrrr is a good reminder of our sovereign creator and protector who is everywhere present.