Category Archives: Church

Posted on

World Vision: Unwrap The True Spirit of Christmas

I posted a short story about World Vision and its vision here few months ago. Thinking of giving what to who is really drives me crazy and still cannot figure out who need what. Too many things that we can find at stores, many people have been rushing to the stores to get things that they “think” that their family “might need.”

Yet, many people, especially children, in all over the world are in need of water, food, shelter, blankets, and even more their parents to find something to make money so they can survive. These parents need financial support to start a small business, instead of depending on some other unsure resources, these parents need physical and spiritual supports. But, both parents and children do not know where they can find the help that they need, they do not know where to get whatever they need to survive, and they inly know that they are hopeless, no one care. BUT GOD knows. He cares about these people. He can provide ANYTHING that they need. He is the only one who knows every single thing that we need and provide it for us, also He is the only one who can provide for these people too.

The question is how do they know what God is the provider? how can they hear about this Good News that they have hope in Christ? where they can find help? what is our part in this?

The answer is you can only find in the Bible, the true Word of God:

“Whoever receives one such child in my name receives me, but whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin,tit would be better for him to have a great millstone fastened around his neck and to be drowned in the depth of the sea.” (Matt 18:5-6)

These verses said by Jesus himself. Children are important and precious before God (also see in Mark 10:14-16).

Posted on

Response to the Translated Word of God

What does it mean to have God’s Word in a language you can understand?

Discovery Trip 2008 - South East Asia

Lives change when people meet Jesus. That is one of the most significant purposes of Bible translation. The translated Word of God is key to introducing people of other languages and cultures to the One and only true Savior—Jesus Christ. In Christ we find our freedom and our new identity.

Here are just a few of the many responses to receiving the translated Word of God:

In South America, a Quechua Bible translator of Peru said, “Getting our spiritual food from the Spanish Bible is like trying to eat soup with a fork. We can get a little taste, but cannot get nourished. Using the Quechua Scriptures is like eating soup with a spoon—we can really get well-nourished.”

In Africa, Dereje Tilahun, currently a Scripture use worker, shared his desire to see the Bible made available to all the peoples of Ethiopia. Dereje said, “There are more than 80 languages in Ethiopia, and only 8 have the [whole] Bible!…We have to bring the Bible in their own language. When it is in their mother tongue, they can understand it. They can love it.” An Ethiopian himself, Dereje greatly values the Bible in his own language, Amharic. “The Bible is my life,” he said. “I cannot live without the Bible.”

A new reader in a minority group in Asia told her friend, “When we read the Bible in our language for the first time in our lives, it made us feel so encouraged that there is nothing to compare it to. Since we were small children until now—in our whole lives—we have never seen our language written down. But now we can read the Bible in our language, and read stories in our language and sing praises to God in our language.”

Posted on

Scripture Use

The Word in practice—putting the translated Scriptures to use

Translating the Bible is just the one step towards changed lives. As the translated Word becomes accessible, the broad work of engaging individuals and communities with newly completed Scripture begins.

The process of promoting the translated Word of God and equipping the local community to use it can be challenging. People must be informed of its availability, supplied with the resources to use it well, and encouraged to apply it to their everyday lives.

Scripture-use workers may enlist any number of ways to promote a finished translation—through radio broadcasts, videos and films, and other media. Scripture-inspired dramas, songs, and other artistic creations help awaken people to the truth of the Word. Other projects might also include the development of children’s materials to introduce the Bible to young people; the production of training tools to aid Bible teachers and pastors as they instruct others; and the formation of Bible studies to encourage daily practice and application of the Word.

These endeavors lead to a more finished product of the whole translation work—changed lives, deeper churches, youth ministries, Sunday schools, women’s fellowships, counseling, and so much more.

  • Praise God that through the efforts of Scripture-use workers, people understand that they can relate to God in their own language.
  • Pray for more Scripture-use workers to help with the immense task ahead; ask God to call people who enjoy planting the Word and seeing the fruit of their labor.
  • Pray for wisdom and strength for these workers as they seek to connect people to God’s Word and its relevancy to their lives.

Watch what Scripture-use workers say about how people respond to Scripture in their heart language.

Resource: Wycliffe Pray Today Blog

Posted on

Working in Sensitive Areas

Working in Sensitive Areas
Conducting work in potentially unsafe locations

Many of the world’s remaining translation needs are located in nations considered “hard to reach.” Often, these language communities are unnamed for fear of jeopardizing the safety of colleagues and their work. Workers need to be prudent in the way they live and in what they communicate about what they do. In some places spiritual opposition is a constant factor to be dealt with. For many, the logistical, spiritual, and emotional support from colleagues at home and on the field, from churches, and from families is a lifeline.

  • Pray that those who provide support, in whatever form, will remain faithful to their role in the ministry to these faithful workers.
  • Ask for God’s wisdom for those who are living and working in sensitive areas as they communicate about their work.
  • Pray that they will be protected from spiritual attack, and that they will maintain good physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual health.
  • Pray especially that they will stand firm in their faith and knowledge of God as Job did when he said, ” I know that you can do anything, and no one can stop you” (Job 42:2, NLT).

Learn more about how to pray for missionaries on the field.

Here’s the list of the The Twenty, “hard to reach” nations:

1. Papua New Guinea

2. Nigeria

3. Indonesia

4. China

5. India

6. Democratic Republic of the Congo

7. Cameroon

8. Vanuatu

9. Nepal

10. Chad

11. Viet Nam

12. Tanzania

13. Iran

14. Myanmar

15. Mexico

16. Central African Republic

17. Russia

18. Sudan

19. Malaysia

20. Pakistan

 

Resource: Wycliffe Pray Today Blog

Posted on

Life On The Field

a life in the field

Leaving home and living abroad.

Not only are there challenges just to get ready to go on an overseas work assignment, but Bible translation workers in all types of roles often face the challenges of adjusting to new assignments, locations and cultures multiple times in their careers. Staying ahead of today’s fast-paced world seems to lead to more changes in a lifetime than ever before. As you pray through this list of common challenges to life on the field for translation workers, try to put yourself in their place and ask the Holy Spirit to bring to mind other challenges for which they might need prayer.

  • Pray for God’s protection over missionaries’ physical and spiritual health and that of their family, friends, and colleagues. Ask God to bring good Christian fellowship and support whenever possible.
  • Pray that they will find appropriate housing at a reasonable cost and God’s provision of vehicles needed for transportation. Thank the Lord for colleagues and others in some locations who can help newcomers get settled.
  • Pray for productive language learning as well as comfort with using the language and relating to the culture in everyday life.
  • Pray for children as they adjust to new school situations and develop relationships.Pray also for the ones who remain in their home countries or attend school away from their parents.

Watch this video to see how Chris and Christie Winkler adjust to life in Nigeria while serving with Wycliffe.

Watch the first video of this series to learn more about the Winklers as they made preparations to leave for the field.

Resource: Wycliffe Pray Today Blog