Faithful Workers

“Work at telling others the Good News, and fully carry out the ministry God has given you” (2 Timothy 4:5b, NLT).

Having been part of the Wycliffe translation team that completed the New Testament for the Matigsalug people of the Philippines, mother-tongue translators Bern, Ricky, and Diony are faithfully working on the Old Testament. Tano, another Matigsalug mother-tongue translator is working to finish his advanced degree program. Upon completion, Tano hopes to split his time between translating and serving as a translation consultant for other mother-tongue translation teams in the Philippines. What a joy to see mother-tongue translators continue the work of Bible translation!

• Praise God for these mother-tongue translators who have a passion to see the whole Bible made available to the Matigsalug language community.
• Ask God to provide the ongoing funds needed to see the Matigsalug Old Testament completed.

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Scripture Engagement in Siberia

“Now all glory to God, who is able, through his mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think” (Ephesians 3:20, NLT).

Some of the language groups in Siberia are remote and widely dispersed. How can they be reached with the translated Scriptures that speak most clearly to their hearts? A team in the region has been looking for effective approaches. The team leader wrote: “Over the past few months, plans have come together for a new initiative that is really exciting. It includes communicating the Good News in culturally relevant ways, involving local churches and native speakers, and partnering with a national organization in a new and sustainable way.”

• Pray that God will guide as these plans are developed.
• Pray that even the most remote people in Siberia will soon be reached with His Word in their heart languages.

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Workshop Follow-Up

“Then everyone who has eyes will be able to see the truth, and everyone who has ears will be able to hear it” (Isaiah 32:2, NLT).

A project in a sensitive location in Africa held two workshops in April to do a final check of translated Scripture stories and to discuss orthography* decisions. Both workshops now need follow-up.

• Pray for the right time and place for team members to record an audio Scripture story set.
• A meeting is scheduled to take place in July to get consensus among community leaders for the proposed orthography; pray that the right people will come and for constructive discussions.

*Orthography is the development of an alphabet.

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Resting in God’s Sovereignty

“But as for me, how good it is to be near God! I have made the Sovereign Lord my shelter, and I will tell everyone about the wonderful things You do” (Psalm 72:28, NLT).

Bible translators Steve and Carol Jean Gallagher serve with Wycliffe in Papua New Guinea, and have seen the completion and dedication of the Bariai New Testament. Recently the Gallaghers spent four months in another part of the country working as teaching staff for the Pacific Orientation Course*. During their time away, their village home of 20 years was broken into several times and looted by a few young men, in which almost all of the Gallagher’s belongings were stolen—including light fixtures, power and gas supplies, mattresses and bedding, kitchen items, and even their kerosene refrigerator. The vast majority of the villagers are appalled at this behavior, and yet they are afraid of these young men and feel powerless to stop them.

• Please pray for God’s grace, wisdom, and discernment as the Gallaghers return to the village in early June to work to resolve the problem.
• Pray for peaceful village proceedings to take place at that time. Ask God to give Steve the words needed to convey their forgiveness for the wrong committed against them, and pray that these young men will repent and accept God’s mercy.
• Pray that this issue would not distract the Bariai people from accessing and learning from God’s Word in their own language.

*The Pacific Orientation Course is a field course for new staff who have come to serve the needs of Bible translation in the Pacific region. During this course, participants learn life skills that are needed in a Papua New Guinean village setting, such as hiking jungle trails, cooking over a fire, washing clothes by hand, and more.

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Preparing to Serve

“May he equip you with all you need for doing his will. May he produce in you, through the power of Jesus Christ, every good thing that is pleasing to him. All glory to him forever and ever! Amen” (Hebrews 13:21, NLT).

Wilfred is a young man from the Touo language in the Solomon Islands and is currently working as a taxi driver to save enough money to send himself to Bible school. Wilfred wants to complete the training to one day work on a Bible translation into his own language. Wilfred said, “I really need prayers—for people to pray for me to achieve my dreams. My goals are there, my dreams are there, but I need people to mentor me and to give me advice. I really need that encouragement from elders.”

• Please pray for Wilfred—for guidance, wisdom, patience, and perseverance. Pray for the right person to mentor him and that he will be able to save the money to attend Bible school.

Click here to read more of Wilfred’s story.

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Global Day of Prayer

“On the day of Pentecost all the believers were meeting together in one place” (Acts 2:1, NLT).

A Global Day of Prayer is scheduled for Sunday, May 19, 2013. United by a Prayer for the World, Christians from different cultures and denominations will gather in a variety of places to “pray with one voice.” This call to prayer first occurred in July 2000 when Graham Power, a South African business man, acted on a vision to challenge Christians in South Africa to unite in a Day of Repentance and Prayer. The vision grew to include all of Africa, and now every nation of the world.

Global Day of Prayer organizers have made prayer guides available online that lead up to May 19. To access them and other resources, visit the Global Day of Prayer website at http://www.globaldayofprayer.com/.

• Pray that the worldwide Church responds to this opportunity to unite in prayer.
• Pray that the Global Day of Prayer will encourage many people to place a greater personal value on the spiritual discipline of prayer. Pray too, that the event will also demonstrate the importance of prayer to participating children and those of the emerging generation.
• Praise God for the diversity reflected in this widespread call to prayer!

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Answer!* “Leaders Moving Forward”

“But thank God! He has made us His captives and continues to lead us along in Christ’s triumphal procession. Now He uses us to spread the knowledge of Christ everywhere, like a sweet perfume” (2 Corinthians 2:14, NIV).

Praise God for the Leaders Moving Forward event held in early May for the Southern Cone** of South America. An event leader wrote: “Our expectations have been surpassed at this event! One participant said: ‘God is using this time to renew me, speak to me, and confirm my call to be a cross-cultural missionary. I can only say, thank you!’”

There were 23 participants from 5 countries, representing 13 organizations. It was a vital time of interaction among leaders who influence the Bible translation and mission movements in this part of the world.

• Praise God for His faithful answers to the prayers of His people!
• Pray for continued encouragement as these leaders continue to work and grow together.

*Prayer for the Leaders Moving Forward event was previously requested in PrayToday on April 29, 2013.

**A geographic region composed of the southernmost areas of South America.

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Learning to Praise

“Those who live at the ends of the earth stand in awe of your wonders. From where the sun rises to where it sets, you inspire shouts of joy” (Psalm 65:8, NLT).

The Panao Quechua people of Peru are learning more about praising God. Translation team leaders Terry and Karla Smith give thanks that as the Psalms are being translated and taking form, people are interacting with the message and learning to praise. They recently concluded a good Psalms workshop and are holding another one this week.

• Pray that the translations and studies of the Psalms will touch the hearts of the Panao Quechua people, and that they will begin to experience the joy, safety, and life found in God’s closeness, as opposed to seeing Him as distant and disinterested.

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Intensive Scripture Checking

“Then everyone who has eyes will be able to see the truth, and everyone who has ears will be able to hear it” (Isaiah 32:3, NLT).

About 50,000 people speak Lelemi, a language of Ghana, Africa. With God’s help, the whole Lelemi Bible translation will be ready to typeset this year. Earlier this month, translation workers Marcus Pewudie and Andy Ring began a consultant check* of the remaining Lelemi Old Testament books. Marcus is located in Accra, Ghana, and Andy is in the U.S., so they will have to rely on technology to overcome the distance between them.

• As they work together via Skype, pray that they would leverage the technology well.
• Ask God to give them the endurance they need—physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually—to see these books completed.
• Andy also needs to write up information he gathered about cluster projects which refers to projects among languages that may be linguistically related, and/or from similar geographic regions or cultural backgrounds. Pray that he can finish an initial document before an upcoming trip to Nigeria, Africa.

*Consultant checking is a requirement for every Bible translation. A consultant thoroughly goes over the translation with the team, checking for accuracy, clarity and naturalness, and looking for omissions, extraneous thoughts, or possible misconceptions.

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Strategic Meetings in the Americas Area

“So we have not stopped praying for you since we first heard about you. We ask God to give you complete knowledge of His will and to give you spiritual wisdom and understanding” (Colossians 1:9, NT).

In the Americas Area, 60 leaders in the Wycliffe Global Alliance will be meeting in El Salvador starting tomorrow, May 14, through Thursday, May 16. The purpose of these meetings is to bring these leaders together in one place to strategize about the best manner in which they can work collectively in the promotion of Bible translation. They desire to be more intentional about working in an integrated manner, collaborating with each other as they assume major responsibilities to support Vision 2025*.

• Ask God to renew and strengthen this vision in the hearts of the participants. May He guide them in the knowledge of His will.
• Pray that at the end of these meetings, there will be collaborative strategies in place that will better serve the ministry of Bible translation. Ask God to provide the people and financial resources to accomplish them.
• On May 14, a special dinner will be held for a group of pastors and church leaders. Pray that they will be challenged to participate actively in Bible translation.

*Wycliffe Bible Translators and its partners around the world are committed to Vision 2025—a desire to see a Bible translation program in progress in every language still needing one by the year 2025.

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