a different sort of thanksgiving prayer...

"O God, when I have food, 

help me to remember the hungry;

 

When I have work, 

help me to remember the jobless;

When I have a home, 

help me to remember those who have no home at all;

When I am without pain, 

help me to remember those who suffer,

And remembering, help me to destroy my complacency; 

 bestir my compassion, and be concerned enough to help, 

 by word and deed, 

those who cry out for what we take for granted. 

Amen."

A Thanksgiving Prayer by Samuel F. Pugh

but not Isaiah

I opened my computer one morning and started up a translation program I use to produce Scripture resource materials for the *Na people, a minority language group in a South East Asian country.  I chose a familiar memory verse to go with the story of Christ’s birth from Isaiah’s 9^th chapter:

For to us a child is born,

to us a son is given;

and the government shall be upon his shoulder...

I typed in the reference, ready to copy the verse from the Na version into my document.   
Instead, four chilling words punctured an otherwise blank screen.   

Book does not exist.

I sat stunned as it sank in that the book of Isaiah does not exist in the Na language.   


In 2011 our family lived for a week in a Na village.  

 The Na people  shared their homes with us, cooked for us, worshiped together with us in their local church, produced their very first VBS with us, and laughed with us at our feeble attempts to speak their unfamiliar language.   

They have the entire New Testament,  the translation of Genesis is complete,

 and Exodus and Daniel are now being printed.   

But not Isaiah.   

And there’s still no Micah or Deuteronomy.  

 No Nehemiah or Kings.  

 Most of the Old Testament is still a closed book to them.  

The Na people do not know, they have not heard, that the Creator of the ends of the earth does not grow weary, or that to those who have no might He increases strength.  (Is 40:28-29) 

They’ve never heard the majestic Messianic prophecies from Isaiah 53, of the man of sorrows, acquainted with grief, the one on whom was laid the iniquity of us all.   

Though their righteous deeds are like filthy rags (Is 64:6) they don’t know to ‘come now and reason together’ to be washed whiter than snow (Is 1:18).  

I’ve begun reading Isaiah again with deeper gratitude than ever before.   I’m also all the more thankful for the faithful partnership so many of you have shared with us as we, in our new roles in missions, support translators who work to erase those terrible words,  

Book does not exist.  

Together let’s make God’s Word known in every language so that every tribe, every tongue may know the One who came as ‘a light for the nations,’ that His salvation ‘may reach to the end of the earth!’  (Isaiah 49:6)

“The grass withers, the flower fades, 

but the word of our God will stand forever.” 

Isaiah 40:8

*Na is a pseudonym for security reasons.

**Note: Traditionally Bible translators have focused on translating the New Testament first, but there’s a growing appreciation for the importance of Old Testament Scripture in understanding the Gospel.

better than diamonds

Isko wakes while it's dark, and paddles out to sea 

where he gathers his morning catch of fish to sell at the market.  

On top of his basket of fresh fish, 

Isko places a packet, 

meticulously wrapped in plastic 

to protect it from the oils and smells of his catch.  

After laying out his wares in the market area, he sits back to wait for customers.  

And as he waits, he unwraps his packet, 

revealing a newly completed New Testament in Isko's native language 

which he eagerly reads during lulls in business. 

 "It's more precious than diamonds," Isko says.

 More to be desired are they than gold, 

even much fine gold

Psalm 19:10

*Isko is from the "E" people of S.E. Asia 

long ago and far away...

Long ago, on an island far away, a man named John wanted to be able to read God's Word in the language he knew best. It troubled him that other Christians could not read it at all; that only very educated men could read the Bible in the elite Latin tongue. John recognized that false teaching and theology were rampant in the church, and realized that the ignorance of the common people was causing serious problems for the Christian faith. 

Even though John’s own language was considered inferior and vulgar, John firmly believed that the Word of God, as the only norm for Christian faith, should be accessible to the poor and less educated people as well. The religious men of the day labelled John as a rebel, as he and like-minded friends translated the Bible into the language that we now call English around 1384.

"Englishmen learn Christ's law best in English.

Moses heard God's law in his own tongue;

so did Christ's apostles."

-John Wycliffe

Aren’t you thankful that John Wycliffe was willing to brave public opinion in order to translate the Bible into our language?  Can you imagine only hearing the Word of God in Latin from the pulpit each Sunday morning, waiting for someone more educated to explain its meaning to you?

Today, more than 600 years since John gave us the Bible in English, 

there are still over a billion Bibleless people.  

 Stop and think about that.  

 One billion people who have yet to read God’s Word in their own language,  

or to learn for themselves the truth of the Bible as the only rule for Christian faith.

May we be faithful not only to share the Gospel, the saving knowledge of Christ with the world, but the whole counsel of His Word, the only means by which the church will grow in faith and obedience!

"Christ and His apostles taught the people

in the language best known to them...

believers should have the Scriptures

in a language which they fully understand."

- John Wycliffe

settled

"Are you all settled in?"

The question is in place of knowing what else to say to a family 

who has reappeared in the community after a long absence.

Settled in? 

Well yes, in terms of physically being settled in, it really didn't take us long,

 since we brought so little with us!

In other ways we feel a little less settled.

This house is our dwelling until the summer;

after that, we are waiting to see how and where God leads us.

Mark is on a learning curve as he begins his new work,

and we're all learning to adjust to a very different family dynamic with Amy and Elise at college.

 

Life here is good!  

It's not quite so varied and unique as it was in the Philippines,

so our blog posts have been few and far between.

But look soon for a new emphasis here at the blog, 

as we begin to focus a little more on the new work that we are doing, 

and on the people God is touching throughout the world.

 For today, just a quick update of what we've been up to in addition to our work...

Michael and Mark stormed the Dollar Tree for sheets of foam board,

commandeered the dining room,

and engineered new r/c airplanes during the lengthening evening hours.  

Then they flew those planes last month at an r/c event that they'd been looking forward to all year.

 Michael had the opportunity to help in a larger community build during the event

in which they actually flew a microwave.  

Truly.  

Ask him about it!  

Or watch a video about it here, in which you just might see Michael
 in a sped-up filming of the wing build!

As well as more riveting home school studies like Geometry, Grammar, and Geography,

Michael is also learning some Electronics during his first year of high school, 

mastering the soldering iron in his most recent lessons.

 Elise and Amy (above) are studying hard, making new friends, 

and learning the football culture of the south as they attend college football games

and participate in the RUF intramural flag football team.

 Meanwhile, Michael simultaneously learns about the football culture first-hand,

playing the season with a local Christian school's flag football team (above, Michael's #6).

The guys practice at the gorgeous Forsyth park in downtown Savannah...

where they played and prayed together, and enjoyed an undefeated season.

Way to go, guys!!

Amy and Elise with friends at a university fellowship retreat this month

God is good, and we're giving thanks for this season...

And i've been dabbling in watercolors...just for fun...

...settled in the unchanging, steadfast love and grace of God

which remains firm and sure despite all other change!

How precious is Your steadfast love, O God!

The children of mankind take refuge in the shadow of Your wings.

Psalm 36:7