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