Longest word ever!

 

Ok, maybe it's not the longest word ever, but it's still impressive. Recently, I was working on spell-checking the Jita translation of the Bible and I discovered this word. It's in Matthew 17:12 where Jesus explains that John the Baptist was the fulfillment of Old Testament prophecy about preparing the way for the Messiah. The Jewish religious leaders did not recognize the significance of John's ministry. That's what our word means.

:bhataamusombookeeywe means "they did not recognize him"

It's important to check the spelling carefully because one little mistake can change the meaning dramatically.

Jita Matthew and Pumpkin Pie

 As we were enjoying pumpkin pie on Thanksgiving Day in America, the book of Matthew was being published in Tanzania. It was published in the city of Dar es Salaam and then loaded onto a truck for the journey to Musoma. It's only 745 miles, but the trip can take a few days because of road conditions, breakdowns, and bandits. Pray that the books arrive safely in Musoma and then into the hands of the Jita people!

We're thankful for...1 Corinthians!

 During this Thanksgiving season, we're thankful that we finished the final checks on the book of 1 Corinthians in Jita! Now the Jita people can know that:

Abhaanu bhanu abhabhura abharora ati emisango ja Kirisito okufwa ku‑musarabha ni ja echimuumu, nawe kw‑iswe bhanu echichunguka, emisango ejo nigo amanaga ga Nyamuwanga.

The message of the cross is foolish to those who are headed for destruction! But we who are being saved know it is the very power of God. (1 Corinthians 1:18)

We're also thankful that we have now finished 25 books of the New Testament!!

This amazing progress is only possible because of faithful prayer and financial partners like you. Thank you for your kindness and generosity! We love you all.

Those Troublesome Time Zones

This is complicated. The Jita translators in Tanzania are 8 hours ahead of me in Michigan. But we've been able to adjust our schedules so that we can maximize our time together by Zoom or Skype. We spend a few hours together in the morning (my morning, their afternoon), and then in my afternoon I work ahead in the translation, preparing questions for the following day. I'm thankful that we've found a good rhythm.

But now we're trying to publish the book of Matthew in the Jita language. We finished the Jita translation of the book, but it's stuck in our translation software. We need a typesetter to format the text into a nice PDF and insert page numbers and illustrations and maps, etc. Our typesetter is currently in her home country of New Zealand because of the pandemic. She is 17 hours ahead of me in Michigan. So the best time for me to communicate with her is in the evening. We discuss formatting issues in the evening, and then in the following morning I discuss them with the translators, so that I can then give the answers to the typesetter that evening. 

It's very complicated, but we praise God that we have now finished typesetting the book of Matthew!! It's ready to be sent to the print shop in Tanzania. 

Thank you for your prayers!

Seeing Double

comparing versions of Jita Matthew

It feels like I'm seeing double! 

We're in the final stages of printing the book of Matthew in the Jita language. I'm going back and forth a lot with the typesetter. (the typesetter takes our raw translation data and formats it for the printer) When the typesetter sends me a revised version, I have to compare it line by line with the previous version to make sure that all of our requested changes have been made and also to make sure that no new errors creep in. It's extremely slow work, but it's worth it! We want to make sure that the Jita people have a clear and accurate translation.

Please keep praying for us.

John 3:16 for the Jita people

Finally! After years of anticipation, we have a rough draft of John 3:16 in the Jita language. Here it is:

Nyamuwanga eendere muno abhaanu bhoone bha ku‑chaaro kunu. Nikwo okukora ꞉aatumire Omwana waaye wenyere aaje ku‑chaaro kunu, korereki bhuri muunu unu keekirisya Omwana oyo aasiga okusimagira, tari abhe na obhuwanga bhwa akajaanende koone.

Praise the Lord! The book of John is still being checked and double-checked to make sure that everything is clear, accurate, and natural, but we're so excited. Our passion is to see Jita people trusting Jesus for salvation and enjoying the hope of eternal life. Thank you for partnering with us to bring God's Word to the Jita people. Please keep praying for us.

24 books of the New Testament done!

 

This is so exciting! We have finished the final checks on 24 books of the New Testament. That means there are only 3 books left, and those are all in various stages of drafting, checking, and double-checking. We have also translated Ruth and Jonah from the Old Testament. We make audio recordings of the translated Scriptures and put them on solar-powered players. We have a phone app that contains the written text and the audio recordings. We translated the Jesus film and a gospel comic book for kids. And we have translated various literacy materials to help people learn how to read and write in Jita.

Please pray for us as we continue to translate God's Word for the Jita people.

"So what's it like to work from far away?"

Here's a little video of Magesa, Neema, and I checking the book of 1 Corinthians in the Jita language. We thank God for a very productive check. We had our share of challenges, of course: power outages, unreliable internet, neighbors coming over to say hi, roosters (you'd be surprised how loud roosters are on Zoom!) Sadly, Magesa missed one day of checking because his relative was very sick in the hospital. But by the grace of God we checked 9 chapters. Please keep praying for us as we translate God's Word into the Jita language.

Stumbling blocks and Old Testament quotations

Today we started the second round of checks on the book of 1 Corinthians in the Jita language. It is such a joy to work with Magesa and Neema to make God's Word accurate, clear, and natural for the Jita people. We spent some time discussing 1 Corinthians 1:19 where Paul quotes Isaiah 29:14 about the foolishness of thinking we are smarter than God. Then we looked at 1 Corinthians 1:23 about how the message of Christ crucified is a stumbling block to Jews. We discussed the meaning of the phrase, we looked at other passages where the same idea is communicated, and we found the best phrase in Jita to capture the meaning. Then we discussed lots of others issues like spelling, grammar, key terms, consistency, footnotes, etc.

Please pray for us as we continue checking 1 Corinthians!

Publishing Jita Matthew

 

Check it out! We are making progress toward publishing the book of Matthew in the Jita language. Please keep praying for us. 

88% with a big jump!

 

Look what God has done! We're at 88% of our Wycliffe ministry budget. Here's what that means. We have a team of wonderful partners who have committed to faithfully supporting the work of Bible translation for the Jita people. These partners pray for us and give financially to meet our needs. Some give every month, others give every quarter or every year. We appreciate every single individual, family, church, and business that has joined our team. We are so thankful for their kindness and generosity. 

Thank you to those of you who have partnered with us in bringing God's Word to the Jita people!

We need to be at 100% of our ministry budget before we can get back to working full-time on the Jita translation. That means we need more wonderful people to join our team and commit to prayer and regular financial partnership. We invite you to join our team! You can do it on our Wycliffe website here:

https://www.wycliffe.org/partner/2EBEFB

Thank you!!

Zooming with the translators in Tanzania

It was such a joy to have a Zoom call with my fellow translation colleagues in Tanzania! There were translators from every team: Ikizu, Ikoma, Jita, Kabwa, Kwaya, Simbiti, and Zanaki. There were also other Translation Advisors, like me. We were able to share updates with each other about work progress, discuss some best practices in translation, and also encourage each other to persevere in the midst of the Coronavirus restrictions. By the grace of God, the work of Bible translation is moving forward in Tanzania. The Simbiti, Kabwa, and Ikoma teams are in the final stages of finishing the New Testament. Praise the Lord! Please continue to pray for the translators in Tanzania. They face many difficulties like sickness, poor living conditions, and even the death of loved ones, but they press on in the work because they long to have God's Word in their own language!

75% Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good!

Wow! God has provided 75% of our Wycliffe ministry budget. "Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good!" We're again humbled and overwhelmed by the abundant grace of God as well as the sacrificial generosity of God's people. We're so thankful for this team of ministry partners who believe in the work of Bible translation and share our passion to make God's Word accessible to the Jita people!

If you would like to join our team, go to our Wycliffe web page here:
https://www.wycliffe.org/partner/2EBEFB

Thanks!

Speaking Swahili at a grocery store and a funeral in Michigan

I was recently in the grocery store searching for tahini (Jeannette makes the best hummus on the planet), and I overheard some other customers speaking a foreign language. I lingered for a while and listened until I could clearly identify the language as Swahili. In my excitement, I greeted the customers in Swahili and they were stunned. Actually, they were surprised and delighted. We chatted for a while in the middle of the aisle, and I discovered that this family had fled the Democratic Republic of the Congo as refugees only a few months before. They shared how difficult it was to adjust to life in America. We exchanged phone numbers and I told them I was available to help if they ever needed it. We're praying that maybe this will be an open door for sharing the gospel.

Then I heard about the tragic death of a sixteen year old girl who died in an accident. Her family had also recently relocated to Michigan after fleeing the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Unfortunately, the funeral was conducted in English so most of the family didn't understand anything. Thankfully, I was able to talk to the grieving family and offer sympathy and comfort in Swahili. After the funeral, the church asked me to translate the eulogy into Swahili so that the family could understand it. I was thankful for the opportunity to communicate truth about God's love and faithfulness, as well as our hope in Jesus as the resurrection and the life. Again, we're praying that God will use these experiences to open doors for sharing the gospel.

Interesting spelling challenge in Jita

Here's a quick video update about an interesting spelling challenge in Jita. This is just one of the many challenges involved in translating God's Word. Pray for God's help as we seek to translate his Word clearly, accurately, and naturally.

Ben is only able to work part-time on the translation because we are not yet at 100% of our Wycliffe ministry budget. Please pray that God will bring more ministry partners to join our team. Thanks!

Here's the link to our Wycliffe ministry page if you would like to sign up as a prayer and financial partner:  https://www.wycliffe.org/partner/2EBEFB

71% and very thankful

Hey everybody! We're so thankful that God has provided 71% of our monthly ministry budget. We appreciate each and every one of our amazing ministry partners. Together we are bringing God's Word to the Jita people of Tanzania!

If you would like to join our team as a prayer and financial partner, you can go to our Wycliffe web page here:
https://www.wycliffe.org/partner/2EBEFB

How do you say "fellowship" in Jita?

Here's a quick video update about checking 1 Corinthians in Jita. Ben was studying 1 Corinthians 1:9, "God is faithful, by whom you were called into the fellowship of his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord." It's important to choose the right Jita word for "fellowship" so that we can communicate the rich fullness of that beautiful concept.

Thank you for your faithful prayers. Ben is not able to work full-time on the translation until we get back to 100% of our ministry budget. Until then, we're investing most of our time building our partnership team. We realize that this is a difficult time for everyone, but with all of the fear and uncertainty, it is even more important that people have God's Word in their own language. We invite you to join our team as a prayer and financial partner. If you would like to join us, go to our Wycliffe ministry page here:
https://www.wycliffe.org/partner/2EBEFB

Why would "stones cry out" on Palm Sunday?

As we prepare to celebrate the triumphal entry of Jesus into Jerusalem, I want to look at a fascinating little verse in the gospel of Luke.

Luke 19:40
Jesus answered, “I tell you, if these were silent, the very stones would cry out.”

What is Jesus talking about?

Let me give you some context. Jesus rides into Jerusalem on a donkey, fulfilling the prophecy of Zechariah 9:9 about how the king will enter the city. The crowd starts cheering, "Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!" They believe that Jesus is the Messiah-King who will rescue God's people and bring peace. But the Pharisees are absolutely opposed to this idea. They find it offensive to imagine this carpenter-teacher as God's chosen Messiah. Therefore, the Pharisees tell Jesus to rebuke his followers and make them be quiet. Jesus responds, "I tell you, if these were silent, the very stones would cry out."

What is Jesus talking about?

There are two ways to understand this verse. On the one hand, the Pharisees might think back to Habakkuk 2 about how God will punish the Babylonians for their greed, wickedness, and violence done against Israel.

Habakkuk 2:9-12
Woe to him who gets evil gain for his house, to set his nest on high, to be safe from the reach of harm! You have devised shame for your house by cutting off many peoples; you have forfeited your life. For the stone will cry out from the wall, and the beam from the woodwork respond. Woe to him who builds a town with blood and founds a city on iniquity!

With this interpretation, Jesus is declaring that if people reject his kingship, God will send judgment, which is exactly what Jesus says later on in the passage.

Luke 19:43-44
For the days will come upon you, when your enemies will set up a barricade around you and surround you and hem you in on every side and tear you down to the ground, you and your children within you. And they will not leave one stone upon another in you, because you did not know the time of your visitation.

On the other hand, the Pharisees could reflect on passages of Scripture about creation singing praises to God for his work of salvation.

Psalm 96:11-13
Let the heavens be glad, and let the earth rejoice; let the sea roar, and all that fills it; let the field exult, and everything in it! Then shall all the trees of the forest sing for joy before the LORD, for he comes, for he comes to judge the earth. He will judge the world in righteousness, and the peoples in his faithfulness.

Isaiah 44:23
Sing, O heavens, for the LORD has done it; shout, O depths of the earth; break forth into singing, O mountains, O forest, and every tree in it! For the LORD has redeemed Jacob, and will be glorified in Israel.

Isaiah 55:12
For you shall go out in joy and be led forth in peace; the mountains and the hills before you shall break forth into singing, and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands.

All of creation rejoices in the Lord for his magnificent work of redemption. In the triumphal entry, Jesus is on his way to fulfill God's plan of redemption. Jesus is the Messiah-King who will rescue God's people from sin and establish God's kingdom. He deserves to be acknowledged and celebrated for who he is. If the followers of Jesus are silent, then God can cause the stones to cry out in praise and worship.

So here's the point: Jesus is the King and the Savior. He is worthy of all praise and worship. Let's raise our hearts and voices and join the song that we will be singing for all eternity, "Worthy is the Lamb who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing! To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be blessing and honor and glory and might forever and ever!" (Revelation 5:12-13)

Shine the light of 2 Corinthians

The view of Lake Victoria out our back gate in Tanzania.

Praise the Lord! We finished the final check of 2 Corinthians in the Jita language. Now the Jita people can enjoy the beauty of the gospel in 2 Corinthians 4:6,

Okubha Nyamuwanga ꞉aayikire ati, “Obhweru bhumurike mu‑chisuute.” Omwene niwe kaamirika emyoyo jeeswe, na okuchiyaana obhweru bhwa okusombookerwa rikusyo ryaye, rinu eringʼarabhya mu‑bhusu bhwa Yeesu Kirisito. 

For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.

Pray that the Jita people will hear the gospel and believe in Jesus and enter his marvelous light.

Coronavirus can't stop Corinthians

Even though we are bound to our houses, God's Word is not bound! We are continuing to translate the Bible into the Jita language. I've been checking the first draft of 1 Corinthians. 1 Corinthians 1:23 says, "but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles." Is Paul using the word "stumbling block" in the same sense as in Romans 9:33 or in Romans 14:13? What is the best way to communicate that meaning in Jita?

We are also doing the final check on 2 Corinthians. We discussed 2:17, "For we are not, like so many, peddlers of God’s word." What does it mean to be a peddler of God's Word? In Tanzania (and in America!), many preachers twist God's Word in order to manipulate people into giving them money. Some preachers will sell "holy water," or "sacred oils," or even "anointed pens" for ridiculously high prices. One preacher refused to start preaching until people in the congregation gave him enough money to buy a new smart phone. Clearly, this idea of peddling God's Word is well-known in Tanzania. After lots of discussion, we made sure that the Jita translation is accurate, clear, and natural. 

Please keep praying for the Jita translators: Magesa and Neema. Pray that God will protect them and their families. And please keep praying for us. I cannot be back to working full-time on the translation until we get back to 100% of our ministry budget. We realize that this is a difficult time for everyone, but with all of the fear and uncertainty, it is even more important that people have God's Word in their own language. If you would like to join our team as a prayer and financial partner, go to our Wycliffe ministry page here:  

www.wycliffe.org/partner/2EBEFB

Thank you!!

Corona means crown, but it's not the king

Kara wrote this for a school assignment. It's beautiful! She discovered that corona means crown in Latin and her assignment was about how Christians should think about the coronavirus and how we can encourage others who are struggling with anxiety and fear.

For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, “Abba! Father!” (Romans 8:15)

After reading Romans 8:15, I am encouraged once again that I have no reason to fear! We have received the Spirit by whom we cry, “Daddy!” God is our heavenly father, and he knows what is going on. He is sovereign, even over coronavirus. He hears us when we cry for help. When I begin to fear again about the coronavirus, I can remember Jesus’ “corona” of thorns. Jesus suffered greater tribulation than we will ever face. Even if we do get the corona of death, in heaven Jesus will give us the “corona” of life! We know that we will see King Jesus face-to-face, and he will have a “corona” on his head.

How the pandemic map reminds me of the gospel

As I watch the news reports of COVID-19 spreading to the ends of the earth, I need to remind myself of the massive hope that we have in Jesus. Our hope is that Jesus will return to earth as king to make everything new, and we will live with him forever. "He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away" (Revelation 21:4). We long for the day when COVID-19 and every other disease will be completely eradicated. On that day, "The earth shall be full of the knowledge of the LORD as the waters cover the sea" (Isaiah 11:9). Our hearts will overflow with joy because we will see the resurrected, exalted Jesus in all of his majesty and power. With thankful hearts we will all sing, "Blessed be the LORD, the God of Israel, who alone does wondrous things. Blessed be his glorious name forever; may the whole earth be filled with his glory! Amen and Amen!" (Psalm 72:18-19).

But until that glorious return of Jesus, we have a mission to spread the good news of his kingdom to the end of the earth. In the Old Testament, God promised to send the Messiah, "as a light for the nations, that my salvation may reach to the end of the earth" (Isaiah 49:6). Then in the New Testament, the followers of Jesus are called "the light of the world" (Matthew 5:14), and they are commanded to be his "witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth" (Acts 1:8). We have the joyful task of shining the light of Jesus by proclaiming the good news of repentance and salvation and eternal life. The message is simple, "Turn to me and be saved, all the ends of the earth! For I am God, and there is no other" (Isaiah 45:22). Our passion is to see people all over the world believing in Jesus until, "All the ends of the earth shall remember and turn to the LORD, and all the families of the nations shall worship before you" (Psalm 22:27). This is our hope and joy and passion! Even in the midst of a pandemic. Let's pray that God will use this crisis to draw people to himself. Let's use this opportunity to shine the light of the gospel through good works and good news until, "All the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God" (Psalm 98:3). 

67% and new momentum

This is very exciting! Look at how God is providing! He has brought some new ministry partners onto our team, and he has stirred the hearts of some long-time partners to increase their support. We appreciate each and every one of you.

If you would like to join our team as a prayer and financial partner, check out our Wycliffe website here:
www.wycliffe.org/partner/2EBEFB

Is it the Dead Sea or the Salt Sea?

We're in the final stages of preparing the book of Matthew for publication in the Jita language! Now we're working on the map. The translators said that a map would really help our readers to understand the context of the book. I certainly agree. First, we had to choose a map template. Our only templates are for the entire New Testament so they list EVERY location mentioned in the gospels. We only want the locations specifically mentioned in Matthew. Therefore, I had to go through the whole book of Matthew and list out all of the places, and then go through the Jita translation to find their corresponding Jita spellings.

When that was finished, we then had to decide how we want to label the Dead Sea and the Mediterranean Sea. Neither of them are mentioned in the book of Matthew, but we thought it might be helpful as points of reference. The Mediterranean Sea is called "The Great Sea" or "The Western Sea" in the Old Testament and the Dead Sea is called "The Salt Sea" or "The Eastern Sea." Which names should we use? We ended up choosing the more common names for the sake of our readers.

Back to 61%, and rising

Hello friends! We're so thankful to God for all of the ways that he has blessed us. We're thankful for the many friends and churches who are partnering with us in bringing God's Word to the Jita people. We're also thankful that we can continue doing the work from America. Unfortunately, the cost of living in America is significantly higher than in Tanzania. As a result, our support level has dropped to 61%. Please pray that God would bring us back up to full support quickly. We need to be at 100% of our support so that we can focus our full-time energy on the translation work.

What can you do to help?
1. Pray that our faithful, all-powerful Father will move in the hearts of people and lead them to join our team as prayer and financial partners.

2. Join the team! If God is stirring in your heart, we invite you to join the team. You can sign up here:
Ben and Jeannette's Wycliffe page

3. Tell others about us. Talk to your friends and pastors and church missions committees about us. We can give you information to share with them.

Thank you!

Spell-checking the book of Matthew

Did you know that the book of Matthew in the Jita language contains 23,015 words? I'm currently spell-checking every...single...word.
Thankfully, our translation software has many tools to help with the process, but it still takes a lot of careful concentration. For example, while spell-checking Matthew 26:34 where Jesus tells Peter that Peter will deny him three times, I found these four words all translated as "you will deny me."

waanyigaanire
waanyiigaanire
wanyigaanire
wanyiigaanire
Which spelling is correct?

If we break down the word into its smallest units of meaning we find:
wa-a-ny-igaan-ire = waanyigaanire

Please pray for us as we finish these final steps in the book of Matthew so that it can be published!