Experience a Translation

Latest Text Message: October 27th

Well, thanks to those who lifted us up! Praising Him as He enabled me to make “the ask.”

It was the most I have ever shared with any local person about my desire to see the other 299,990 members of this people group hear His story for the first time. The results:

• 2 of the 4 just sat there silent during the 20 minute discussion.
• 1 spoke up and voiced a concern that people may not be interested / even perhaps be suspicious.
• The 4th spoke up and suggested that we start first by teaching the other 7 literacy tutors (who helped in the translation process but don’t yet grasp all 53 short stories are actually 1 big story with an intro, conflict, rising action, climax, falling action, and resolution).

Next step: Over the next week I have tasked *whomever of them wants to* with writing a 7 paragraph essay about what all they have now learned about His story. For the 7th paragraph I have asked them to include “application” ideas…now that they know the big story, what should they/we do about it, including challenges they forsee to carrying out those application ideas.

I gave them 1 week to complete the assignment, so I will let you know what happens a week from now. Please ask that each of them (A*, A&, E*, and J*) are motivated to do it, and do a good job, too, so we can move on towards expanding it’s readership.

Latest Text Message: October 27th

Thank you, we’re still going strong here. Today is day 21 of 27 of our 2nd trip through His story. It’s day 3 of 6 in studying about Jesus’ life and they are wrestling with just how one-with-the-Father J is. Please be asking that they would soon be confident enough in the evidence to believe Jesus is God incarnate.

My other great hope is that these 4 friends would see how important it is to study the whole story (creation to the new heavens/earth), important enough that they would want to help me teach others.

Latest Text Message: October 12th

I am made of the same stuff you are, and so I fear that my lack of communication here could lead to a lack of intercession. Thus I wanted to let y’all know that since Sept 30, the 4 folks I mentioned in my last post and I have been together in the word 3 hours every afternoon. And each DAY we are able to study what took 1 MONTH to translate, so it is becoming more and more clear that this is 1 continuous story, not 53 separate short stories.

We are talking about His story’s setting, plot flow, and main characters (namely, God, Man, Satan, and Jesus Christ), focusing especially on their various character traits as they become evident in the story.

As a result, there are already many qualities of God that they are readily admitting that their families and neighbors do not yet know.

Please be asking that in the next 4 weeks all 4 people would continue their streak of perfect attendance, that the word would speak clearly, and the Holy Spirit would use it to make them coworkers with us to spread the great news by November.

Latest Text Message: September 29th

10 have completed their 1st study of His Story, 5 others are still just approaching the climax, and today the 4 who have expressed some level of faith in Jesus will begin their 2nd journey through His story with me.

Over the next several weeks we will reread through all the translated passages, looking for all that can be learned about the main characters: God, Man, Satan, and Jesus, and discussing how to best teach others that info.

Only 545,985 people left to inform in this people group, according to the online data. I would appreciate your asking that this new phase of the work gets off to a good start today.

Text Message: September 15th

We had a great comprehension check and study of Revelation today. Despite all his various titles, all 11 who participated in the check recognized that it was Jesus who was the slaughtered lamb on the throne being praised by every being living and dead in all creation, and that it was the same Jesus who possesed such incredible power and authority to conquer and judge (with just his tongue, no less!) and who will live forever as the light-providing King of kings in the holy city on the new earth with those who have believed in him.

Thanks for continuing to do your heavy lifting. These folks are learning so much. It is such a thrilling experience for me to enjoy this privileged role here.

Text Message: August 31st

(Note for clarity: Responses to Acts 12-15)

“And all who were appointed for eternal life believed”….

One lady (translator) answered, “Because I believe in Jesus.”

One guy (participant in the check), “Because I submit to God and the way Jesus shows us to travel.”

Two ladies (1 comprehension checker, 1 participant), Because of my good works

Six ladies (2 translators, 1 checker, 3 participants), Because of my good works.

Text Message: August 30th

In a couple hours we check portions of Acts 12-15, and based on 13:38-39, Lord willing all 10 will be asked what they’d tell Judge Jesus if He asked them why he should let them into heaven to enjoy eternal life, is it because they obey God’s Laws or because they believe in Jesus.

Please ask that they understand clearly what Paul was teaching in Psidian Antioch, and believe it too.

Text Message: August 24th

R*: “But that means there’s no benefit on judgment day if you obey Moses’ rules…. It implies there is only one way to be accepted by God – simply believing in Jesus.”

That was her response while we were reworking our first draft of Acts 13:38-39, which juxtaposes man’s & God’s ways of being justified more succinctly than any passage translated to date.

And after she shared that interpretation, we recalled together Jesus’ supporting claim in John 14:6, and all acknowledged it’s congruency with Paul’s statement here, that there is just one simple way to acceptance.

Thanks for your continued intercession, He is responding!

Text Message: August 18th

That was a lot of ground to cover! Thanks for lifting us up. They saw the pattern and recognized that God wants Jesus’ followers to be baptized right away, but no one showed signs of wanting that for themselves (nor did I invite them to be baptized).

I definitely need wisdom on how to be persuasive in my relationships moving forward.

Text Message: August 17th

Today I and 10 others will study and check most of Acts 9-11 together. Please ask that some will desire to be baptized like Saul and Cornelius.

Text Message: August 13th

Thank you for interceding for the team here, that they would grasp the relevance of His Story to their lives. In our final drafting day of Acts 9-11 portions today, I got a few glimpse of movement in that area.

1) R* answered my question about what language God would use if He were to speak to her like He spoke to Peter on the roof in Joppa, answering that He would speak to her in her mother tongue, in the M* language.

2) Both A* and R* said no one here (nor their ancestors) had ever known what Peter told Cornelius’ household, that Jesus has been appointed the judge of the living and the dead (10:42).

3. They said only a very few people here would know that Jesus possesses all power/authority (10:36).

4. They said no one here had ever known “the good news of peace [that humans can have with God] through Jesus Christ” (10:36).

5. A* also raised the issue of the difference between “knowing” and “believing” these things, and both agreed that it is impossible to “believe” what you do not “know.”

6. They really worked hard to get 10:43 right, which shows me they are not shying away from communicating clearly such countercultural truth as that, “All the prophets testify about him that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through him.”

Thank you for asking that these things really stick with them and have a lasting personal impact leading to widespread longterm community impact.

Text Message: August 9th

Going over my notes from Friday’s comprehension check I found one more encouraging exchange:

Q: Based on all we have studied this far, what do you think they are starting to call Jesus “Lord”?

A: He is the Son of God. He has power/authority.

Q: Jesus once said that all authority in heaven and on earth had been given to him by God. Based on that, do you think he is worthy of being called Lord?

A: He is very worthy!

Similarly again yesterday as I read through Acts 9-11 for the first time with the translators. I asked them about the contrasting responses of Peter when arriving at Cornelius’s house and Jesus, when people bowed down and worshiped them.

They told me it was okay for Jesus to be worshiped because he was no ordinary human, but the Son of God, who if people believed in him their sins would be forgiven, who is in heaven, and who came from heaven (and after I asked a clarifying Q referring to John 1) who was with God at the creation of the world.

In this new story, baptism comes up twice (Saul, Cornelius) as the immediate response upon believing, so please keep asking that the Holy Spirit would prompt each of them to be obedient in that way.

Text Message: August 6th

Thank you guys for continually lifting these folks up. We just had a great study of Stephen’s stoning and the continual spread of the Good News. 10 people attended and are really putting things together. After we juxtaposed today’s story with Acts 1:8, we asked what they thought the future stories would be about, and one of them even said – albeit in jest – “They are going to come to here!”

Please do ask that all 10 of them would earnestly consider being baptized themselves.

Text Message: July 28th

Revising the text from yesterday, reviewing my notes, I just saw one more thing worth mentioning. We asked why do they think Luke called it “Good” News that Jesus is the Messiah. The answers I noted were that those who believed it

1) would be forgiven their sins

2) were relieved of their burden

3) would be safe from [divine] punishment

4) would no longer be afraid to die.

Please be asking that my friends would enjoy all of those results of the good news!

Text Message: July 27th

I got a lot of confirmation that as a group they are grasping the most important themes.

Then we had a good discussion afterwards about the apostles rejoicing in being considered worthy to suffer insult/whipping for Jesus. Some were confused, and I was thrilled when the 2 translators were confident enough to pipe up and explain the logic behind such an unnatural response to persecution, and then to see the others catch on.

Just as exciting as all that for me is seeing how everyone is still interested in continuing on to the next story. We’ll start translating Stephen’s history lesson and stoning today, ending with Saul’s terrorizing and the good news spreading beyond Jerusalem.

Text Message: July 26th

Today I asked the comprehension check makers, “If Jesus had not been killed, would God forgive their sins?” (Acts 3:15-19 raised the issue)

Both ladies said, “No.”

But then I asked “Why not?”

That is not an easy question, in my opinion, so I was thrilled when H* proved her synthesizing of info thus far, saying, “Jesus was like a human sacrifice, like a sheep must be killed.”

I asked one final follow up, “Why did the sheep have to die? What does that have to do with this?” And she said, “So that the sins of the person bringing the sacrifice could be forgiven.”

Tomorrow the rest of the team will digest 80 verses as they are asked those and

134 other questions. I appreciate your continued intercession for good soil.

Text Message: July 15th

I wanted to share two praises:

1) Today I got my new visa, just 9 days before our previous visas expire, and that should enable us to work here another 5 years (pending a simpler annual renewal process). Thank you to those who were remembering that!

2) On a daily basis now I find my translation teammates are quoting Scripture back to me, things relevant to our discussions, showing me they have a strong foundation, Hallelujah! Yesterday it was John 1 v.14. Today it was a verse about visions from 1 Samuel 3. I can only think that it is because the Holy Spirit is at work reminding them.

Please do keep asking that they would be good soil, and that the evil one would not come snatch the seed that has been sown.

Text Message: June 29th

Today He orchestrated two teachable moments in our translation session, reinforcing my thankfulness for this incredibly exciting occupation I enjoy so much:

1) A* and R* saw clearly the link between the promise to Abraham/Jacob and the Great Commission, namely that all nations would be blessed through a descendant of Israel.

2) And they articulated that blessing in the context of what Thomas (the guy who said, “Unless I see and touch…I will NOT believe!”) would have missed out on, had Jesus not appeared to him and allowed him to see his wounds firsthand and touch them. In their words, “eternal life.”

Please keep asking that the weight of “all the prophets have spoken” would soon overwhelm the almost exclusively human-teachings they have received all their lives.

Text Message: June 24th

Amen, amen!

One (more) specific way you can be interceding for these folks: This afternoon the translators and I read through the resurrection, Jesus’s appearances, Great Commission and ascension, and we had some good discussion.

At one point R* said she had just yesterday “coincidentally” heard a majority worldview apologist discussing Jesus Christ’s identity, purpose, and she said he knew about the “Beebul” (I have never used any form of that word around them, referring to the scriptures rather as Torah, Psalms, Writings,Gospel). She said this apologist talked about the apostles having been mistaken about Jesus’s deity, and mistaken about his purposes on earth (both past and future).

All that to say, she is thinking about why what we are studying is different from what she previously understood about God. I listened and showed I was trying to understand, without being stand offish, and did my best to drive a wedge between the value/trustworthiness of God’s words versus man’s words.

Please keep asking that these 11 employees would be willing to recognize that difference, and soon even be wholeheartedly staking their eternity on it, just as you and I do.

Text Message: June 23rd

Oh man, no one was ever more thoroughly bathed in the scriptures on the Messiah’s suffering for 2 hours and 45 minutes in their heart language than these 10 folks were here today!

Thank you for asking that it would go without any obstacles, because it went great.

Text Message: June 22nd

Tomorrow – 15 hours from now – we will be checking/studying our translation of Jesus’s trial, death and burial as a group. Six have already been exposed to it (translating or helping me make the questions) and five more will hear it for the first time. There is such a big emphasis on fulfilled prophecy within the story, and then we will also re-read our previous translations of Psalm 22 and Isaiah 53 together, so please be asking that these folks really see how central this event really is to His plan, and also that they would sense the relevance to each of our lives today. I appreciate you all remembering us.

One more note of encouragement. Yesterday while we were making the comprehension check questions, I asked my coworkers what Jesus could have meant when he asked God to “forgive them, for they know not what they are doing.” H* said, “That he is the Son of God.”

Then later when the Jewish leaders mocked him I asked again what we have learned about Jesus’ purpose that those challenging him to come down from the cross did not understand, and H* said, “That he is the Good Shepherd who lays down his life for his sheep. And he is the judge who determines who will go to heaven.”

Text Message: June 16th

“So they won’t need to make sacrifices anymore!”

R*’s bright-eyed response 20 minutes ago during our discussion of the veil being torn from top to bottom.

Hallelujah!

The funny thing was, that was not what I was trying to steer the translators towards at the time. I was trying to help them make the connection with forgiven sinners gaining access to God (and we did get there eventually), but R* blindsided me with that very astute and foundational-teaching-based interpretation. The Holy Spirit is at work using His sword, praise Him.

Thanks for your continued intercession.

Text Message: June 11th

It went well. They were very even keel.

We started by reading their previous translation of Psalm 22, during which I was doing all I could to hold back tears!.

Then we read the Pilate-Crucifixion-Burial text, and as I always do, I asked for first impressions, (i.e. what stood out or surprised the translators). Today there were two things.

1) That was a lot of prophecies that got fulfilled!

2) What had Judas expected would happen?!

I asked them why they thought the author would include all those prophecies that got fulfilled, and they said, “So that the readers would believe.”

I really hope the writer’s purpose is achieved here, and soon!

Text Message: June 10th – continued

Sorry, one more, R* also said, “*He is the Son of God and so he already knew,” in reference to one of the many predictions Jesus made in today’s story.

Text Message: June 10th

Synthesis is happening and it is a beautiful and astonishing thing to see….

Today we comprehension-checked the story of Jesus’ last full day and night in a natural body, including much of the last supper, where Jesus again says he and the Father are one. So we asked, “What is Jesus’s relationship with the Father?”

U*: “Siporoh i!” (translation, “[It is as if] they share one spirit!”)

I had never heard that word before – you won’t find it in any of the stories thus far – , so I asked the others what she meant, and got two more ways of saying the same thing, namely, “Simesa roh” and “Mesa roh nasiolai,” the last of which is a common enough construction and enabled me to recognize the parts of U*’s first conclusion, Si-po-roh, an amazing truth which which she did NOT learn from me.

One more remarkable statement I heard this afternoon was after we re-read part of John 1 together, R* said, “God has come [to earth]. Jesus has come.”

Thank you for lifting up this people group. I am trusting He is preparing these 10 folks to become a spark that grows into a movement.

And the first of them will read about the death and burial tomorrow, Lord willing.

Text Message: May 31st – continued

Yesterday our son was playing with N* (7 years old), whose mom is on the comprehension checking team. He was leaning back on the handrail of our front porch with hands outstretched, when N* told him, “That it is like Jesus when they nailed his hands to the cross!”

I heard the story from my wife and thought it significant for 4 reasons,

1) My son’s response was, “They’re telling others, so hopefully something will come of that!”

2) N*’s mom is telling/reading her kids these stories.

3) N*’s mom only knows Jesus has predicted his death, and the way he would die, as we haven’t even reached the crucifixion yet.

4) The most informed majority worldview adherents here would say it was not J on the cross.

Exciting to see things develop here. Thanks for playing your roles as we play ours!

Text Message: May 31st

They are engaged mentally and emotionally, and still seem willing to accept all He teaches. R* asked what form the Helper/Spirit that Jesus promised would take, and I responded that they’ll see soon enough. But A* surmised that since it was a spirit, it’d be invisible. (I halfway wondered if R* was thinking it could be a promise of their idolized 6th century messenger, so I was thrilled at A* conclusion.) The other thing that really stood out to us was all the predictions being made and coming true (we covered the last supper and up to the Sanhedrin’s trial). Thanks for remembering us.

Text Message: May 26th

“The good news of God’s kingdom will be preached to the whole world so that all the nations will hear it, and then the end will come.”

Me: “So what is the last thing that must happen before the end of the world?”

R* & H*: “All nations will hear the good news of God’s kingdom”

Me: “Whose kingdom?”

R* & H*:”God’s kingdom”

Me: “Whom did God anoint as king of his kingdom?”

R* & H*: “Jesus Christ”

Please be lifting up the group studying with me here, that this good news and all its implications would become clearer and clearer to them (and their spheres of influence) in the weeks and months to come.

Text Message: May 11th

I and ten others just completed another comprehension check including “I am the Good Shepherd…I lay down my life for my sheep…and have the authority to take it up again…. You cannot be my disciple unless you love me more than….” in John 10 and concluded with the raising of Lazarus and the first formal (and prophetic) decision by the Sanhedrin to kill the Good Shepherd in John 11.

Thank you for interceding for these folks! They are learning so much, and while some quickly accept what we study, others who are more devout and/or critical thinkers are beginning to drag their feet. I saw Ra* and U*’s wheels really turning as we studied today, and rightly so, because Jesus’ statements are more and more direct (e.g. “I and the Father are one.”).

Also, more people were willing today to make the connection that since John and Luke write God’s words, thus when we read their writings, we are reading God’s words.

Please be encouraged as you continue remembering these folks, because I have seen several different ways it appears God’s sovereign hand is at work in the developments here.

Lastly, within the next five weeks we should be translating the resurrection and ascension, Lord willing.

Text Message: May 6th

The younger brother of S* – one of our translators who works remotely – passed away three weeks ago, and culture here teaches it is good to put on several funeral events to intercede for their soul’s destination.

Last night S* told me that the hope is that out of all the crowds that attend the funeral-events, there may be one or two individuals whose intercession is heard by God, and this improves his brother’s chances at getting into heaven.

In our translation session today, I asked A* and R* about that belief-practice and they affirmed the intent and practice. We were editing their translation of Jesus’ claim that “Whoever believes in me will live even though he dies.”

So I asked about the need for this funeral intercession ritual for those who believe in Jesus,

and A*’s response was , “Well, if the dead person believed in Jesus, then the family wouldn’t need to put on those events because he’s already going to heaven.”

Please ask that everyone here would be willing to come to the same conclusion when we test the translation next Tuesday, and that they would soon be transformed by all the implications of Jesus’ work.

Text Message: May 1st

Friday afternoon the translators and I read for the first time Jesus’ statement(s) that he and the Father are one, and I asked them if they’d seen evidence in the stories thus far to substantiate that claim.

A* said, “Well in John it said that the God’s Word became a human, so that’s all the proof you need.”

Text Message: April 29th

Today we tested most of John 7 and 8. Jesus taught some difficult things, not the least of which was he came from God in heaven and existed before Abraham was born. These things rang out loud and clear and were understood certainly for the first time for those involved in our study. I had a reality check though when the testers asked a question which we have asked several times over the course of the study, “How can we hear God’s words today?”

After a long silence and some off the wall answers, one person said, “In these stories!” But others laughed at her. Then another said, “In the Koran. All God’s words are in there.” And it was hard for me to see so many in the group agree with her.

Thanks for your continued intercession on this issue.

Text Message: April 23rd

“You will die in your sins if you do not believe that I Am Who I Am.” (John 8:24)

Rejoicing today that although the translators remembered the connection here to Exodus. 3:14, nobody quit or accused Jesus, nor me, of heresy. Please be asking that next week the rest of those helping translate and check would be able to make the same connection and accept these clues as to Jesus’ identity.

Text Message: April 16th

“And I have not come on my own initiative, but the one who sent me is true.” (John 7)

Me: “Where did Jesus come from?”

R*: From God.

A*: From heaven.

Again, I take none of this for granted, so I am thrilled every time they say something that would have been unthinkable just a few months ago.

Text Message: April 15th

“Jesus existed before the creation of the world.” These were R*’s comments this afternoon after we read through John 7 and 8 for the first time, including, “Before Abraham was, I Am” in John 8:58. After reading such a series of exchanges between Jesus and those who would not believe in him, A*’s conclusion was, “It must be really soon that they are going to kill him.”

Text Message: April 14th

Here are some encouraging observations the group of nine ladies and one guy made yesterday:

• The prophets had to ask God for help, but Jesus just acted, spoke, and it happened immediately. – Jesus is the Son of G, but the other prophets had parents.
• We worship God so it is fine to worship his son too.
• He is the Son of God, so he knows everyone’s thoughts.
• Our local religion teachers would say the work God required is ritual prayers, alms giving, and fasting. But Jesus said the only work God required is believing in Jesus.
• Jesus had just come from heaven.
• According to Jesus, it is not doing good and avoiding bad that determines whether we spend eternity in Heaven or Hell.
• We need to believe in Jesus the one God sent so that Jesus will resurrect us on the last day.

It really seems everyone is simply accepting this new info as truth. Please be asking that as this story diverges more and more from their current worldview, that they would recognize fully the differences and keep believing the truth.

Text Message: April 12th

Mark today on your calendar as the first day I ever heard anyone here give Jesus himself credit for his divine power and omniscience. By now the D. People have read plenty of examples of his miraculous signs and knowledge, but up to now it has always been interpreted as God’s power/knowledge through him. No different from, say, Moses.

Well after a brief review of John 1:1, 14 where it says, “the Word was God and the Word became flesh.” The two comprehension check makers started putting two and two together and subsequently said Jesus walked on water by “his” power and knew what the crowds were truly seeking by “his” omniscience.

I have been wondering when they would turn this corner for a few weeks now, and it happened today. Please be asking that the rest of the group would draw the same conclusion when we test the story Wednesday

One more plug for chronological teaching. Today the comprehension question makers said, “If I hadn’t read the previous stories about Jesus, I would have thought the disciples worshiping him in the boat was wrong, because only God is worthy to be worshiped.”

Text Message: April 9th

R* finished my sentence today, showing she grasps the events to come even before she has read about their coming to fruition! We were discussing how to translate Jesus forbidding James, John and Peter from telling anyone about the transfiguration event until after “the Son of Man has risen from the dead.”

After helping them see how yesterday’s draft was inadequate – how can someone who is not dead rise from the dead – I clued them into the sequence of events, that Jesus would first fulfill the suffering servant prophecies, then rise from the dead, and before I could finish R* says, “and then it’s after he comes back to life that he will become King and reign forever.” referring the Davidic covenant of 2 Samuel 7.

Text Message: April 7th, 2021 (Part 2)

One more moment of excitement came today when we were reworking the paragraph where the disciples worshipped Jesus in the boat. Having been reminded by a colleague this morning of this point, I took them back to the verse “And he will be called Emmanuel, which means God with us” passage from Matthew 1:23, citing Isaiah 7:14, which we translated in February, and asked them how that verse could help explain what the disciples had just done

R* said, “Well, then it’s just like they are worshipping God.”

Praise the Lord that the D people are starting to understand who Jesus really is for the first time.

Text Message: April 7th, 2021 (Part 1)

Today, A* and R* translated “The food that I will give is my body, which I will give so that the world may live.”

After each of them had a go at drafting the paragraph, I asked them what they thought the figurative language was referring to and tried to give a hint by saying the Greek word could mean meat/flesh.

Immediately A’s jaw dropped as she looked at me and said, “He is a sacrifice!”

I asked her why she thought that, and she said, “The poetry,” referring to the suffering servant in Psalms and Isaiah 53 that we translated months ago.

We then briefly discussed John the Baptist calling him “The Lamb of God”, and that all these stories are really telling one big story.

Praise Him! And thank you for lifting them up!

Text Message: April 6th, 2021

Thank you for interceding for me as I do my best and depend on His sovereign hand to give success in His Great Commission! Here is some of the interaction we had today.

Me to the translators this afternoon: “How does it make you guys feel to read that Jesus’ disciples bowed down and worshipped him in the boat?”

R*: “It really irks me.” (As a Muslim, it is perhaps not surprising to be bothered by the idea of someone worshipping a mere man.)

Me: Just a sec. Let’s go back and read our translation of the beginning of John 1 together. How about now? Reminded now of what that passage said about Jesus, how do you feel. Does that help?”

R*: Yes. He was a part of creating everything!

Me: You won’t be the only locals who get irked when they read what the disciples did toward Jesus, so we’ll have to remind others of what God had already said about Jesus to help them, too.

Please keep asking that very soon they would be reborn and empowered to help us realize His purposes for their community!

Text Message: March 21st, 2021

“Because He is the Son of God who knows everything.”
“Because of the Holy Spirit.”
“He came from God so He knows everything.”
“Well of course, because this is the Son of God”

These were all responses during our comprehension check of John 3-4 plus a few miracles last Friday. We were discussing Jesus knowing the woman at the well’s marital history, and then the thoughts of the Pharisees when Jesus claimed to forgive sins. Things I once thought would be great barriers are being accepted as truth, PTL!

Thank you for your continued intercession as we begin translating the next section today, approaching the halfway point in our phase one New Testament texts.

Text Message: March 12th, 2021

We had another celebration today. For 19 months I have studied His Word with 4 people from this people group and their default basis for differentiating between people God approves and those God condemns has always been “doing good” or “doing bad,”although they have Abraham as a counterexample. I have never corrected their wrong theology.

Well, today, 12 March 2021, was the first time anyone realized and verbalized anything different. It was R* who caught herself mid-sentence today to correct herself when restating her new understanding based on Jesus’s conversation with Nicodemus (John 3). She started by saying “Those who do evil are condemned but those who do…” and just before saying “good” she stopped, her eyes made her realization known, and she continued, “…BELIEVE IN Jesus will have eternal life.”

So thankful today for His inspired word and its effectiveness to teach!

Text Message: March 11th, 2021

“….And as Moses lifted up the serpent on a pillar in the wilderness, in the same way the Son of Man must be lifted up,…” – John 3:14

That verse gave the translators pause today. At first, they wanted to translate the first “lifted up” literally and the second occurrence figuratively (like “exalted”).

Of course, I know the end of the story, as did Jesus Christ and John’s audience, but these translators don’t!

I confess to being a bit flustered as we went through this passage. I don’t just want to jump to the cross if I don’t yet have to, so I followed the example of Nehemiah before Artaxerxes (Nehemiah 2:1-5). I asked God for help! PRAISE HIM – in the end, they agreed to go with my interpretation (based on the phrase “in the same way”).

They agreed to translate it this way even though they do not in the least expect the incredible hero of this story’s life to end with him “lifted up on a tree.” Thank you for your intercession. God is obviously listening!

Text Message: March 8th, 2021

It’s hitting me that this is a huge week here for us…

“Yesterday, we began our new section of stories chock full of examples of people believing in Jesus Christ (the woman at the well and her fellow Samaritans, the guys who broke through the ceiling to get their buddy healed, and all the others who saw him heal every kind of ailment), complete with the ramifications of such belief…

The translation includes John 3:16 – a more clear statement of the Gospel you could never hope to see! As a result, I really see how 4 people (the translators) could believe in Jesus Christ this week, and enjoy the five benefits stated in this very section…

“Please ask that S*, R*, A* and J* would desire to follow the examples of these Bible characters and believe in Jesus themselves, even this week!

Text Message: February 10th, 2021

Today Jesus Christ showed me I have too little faith (again)…

The translation team read for the first time through John 1 and John’s ministry and Jesus Christ’s arrival on the scene (Matthew 3-4 & Luke 3). Jesus Christ’s divinity is absolutely an obstacle here in our host culture, so I was worried but had to ask some questions to make sure A* and R* were understanding the stories in general and in the specifics/implications, too.

So at one point I asked, “Remembering John was born about 6 months before Jesus Christ, what could John mean when he said ‘he who comes after me is greater than me because *existed before me*’?

After a short pause A* said, “Oh, there was that prophecy!” And proceeded to quote the end of Micah 5:2.

In case anyone is a little rusty on Micah chapter 5, she quoted the part that says, “whose origins are from of old, from ancient times.” She didn’t quote the preceding clause, but simply knew that it referred to “one who will be ruler over Israel,” this promised Bethlehem-born King we have been anticipating.

Praise Him with me for enlightening A*, and also as you read this please ask Him to guide us to come up with a good title for “the Word”. We wrestled with this for a good 30 minutes to close our session today.

Text Message: January 28th, 2021

Another glimpse of the audience among the D people taking His story seriously, this on the translation team’s first time reading through Matthew 1 today…

R*: “Why does he have two names?”

Me: “Which two names?”

R*: “Emmanuel and Jesus.”

After we look back through and see the reason/meaning the text gives for naming him Jesus, we turned to the name Emmanuel. There we realized that only the virgin-birth part of Isaiah’s prophecy has been fulfilled, but that no one has yet fulfilled the second part of the prophecy at this point in the story (the “God with us” part). And that’s where we left her question for now.

Please be asking that soon R* will, herself, be calling him “God with us”!

Text Message: January 18th, 2021

I want to share with you all a highlight from last Thursday’s comprehension check: the text included Isaiah’s poetic description of the suffering servant, and our checking sessions always include strategic questions to get the team thinking and making connections to previous stories.

At one point a checker looked at me and gave me a summary to make sure he was understanding correctly, saying, “So, God punished, the servant suffered, and the people sinned. Like the goat offered at the Tabernacle suffered after its owner sinned.”

I love that he is grasping the essence from the prediction, even before reading about the fulfillment in history, and that 4 other checkers heard him crystalize it in their heart language, too!

Please ask that he will be able to read about the historical event fulfilling the prediction in just a few short months from now, and that he would understand and believe.

Text Message: January 12th, 2021

SO thankful today for those who have gone before and left their legacy of Bible translation for me to follow.

Translating select passages from Hosea, Jeremiah, Isaiah, and Micah which predict the coming of a Messiah is a difficult task for translation helpers who have never heard about their fulfillment in Jesus Christ. However, this week I have found that their familiarity with Israel’s history and especially the sacrificial system at the Tabernacle/Temple has come in so handy this week in ironing out some lack of understanding. Just think how you would explain “by his wounds we are healed” to a person without any Bible background! It is beautiful to see lights coming on because of the way truth has been presented chronologically here among the D people.

Please remember us this Thursday/Friday as we officially start into more and more potentially controversial parts of His story, as recorded by Luke. For many, this will be the point in the story in which God’s Word starts to stand in sharp contrast with their Muslim beliefs and as such we covet your prayers especially in this time.

Text Message: January 4th, 2020

“An unmarried woman [will get pregnant]!”–

I was thrilled here today to hear the surprise in one of the translators. Of course, her assumption is that it will be the result of premarital relations – ever too common in this community. Nevertheless, it was an opportunity for me to get glimpse of what is going on inside a person’s head. In this case, I got to see one of my translation assistant’s amusement at a promise of God, and potentially even emotional investment in God’s story which she has been studying from its beginning over 15 months ago. I can’t wait until she reads about its fulfillment later VERY SOON!

I am nearly certain some of the 15 studying with me will have heard about the virgin birth, but I know that none of them are aware it was a sign given by God himself and foretold some 700 years prior.

Thank you for continued prayers.

Text Message: December 22nd, 2020

Something to be lifting up before the Father – over the next 10 days we here will be translating stories covering 930 years of Biblical History to get us from Solomon/Israel’s undoing to the fulfillment of so many promises in the Old Testament.

The crucial issue of who they understand Jesus to be, as we leave the Old Testament behind and move into the New Testament, will ultimately define reality for these people in the very near future. Our goal is to see a mature church planted among the D people, and the next few weeks are crucial to that effort. I definitely appreciate your prayers for a smooth transition and I will let you know how it turns out.

Text Message: December 8th, 2020

Today we made questions for testing the translation of the story of David & Bathsheba and then Psalm 51, and there were so many questions that tie so many key themes together there.

For the first time, I am realizing I am past the point of being able to be accused of asking the D people who are involved in the translation to convert to a different religion, which has always felt like a dangerous issue as it could result in us being forced to leave the country. Instead, I feel it will really be a question of whether each individual wants to repent and submit to God’s way or continue on their own way.

Please be asking that in just a few months’ time I might be able to pose that very question to them, and they would all choose the former, seeing and understanding God’s big picture by then as it is revealed by His Word in their language for the first time. Please ask that the Holy Spirit will be moving in their hearts, revealing Truth and shining His light into the darkness here.

Text Message: November 24th 2020

Yesterday we studied and checked comprehension of the story of David & Goliath and then God’s covenant with David in 2 Samuel 7. In this passage, God promises David “When your days are fulfilled and you lie down with your fathers, I will raise up your offspring after you, who shall come from your body, and I will establish his kingdom. He shall build a house for my name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever.”

One question we posed to the people engaged in the translation process was, “So according to God’s promises, would there still be a descendant of David with his kingdom until today, the year 2020?”

The consistent response was, “Well, yeah he promised there would be forever, but who could it be?” And some suggested going and looking for David’s descendants and others wondered if maybe it was one of those people over there colonizing Palestine.

I can hardly wait until they know the rest of the story, and hopefully meet the descendant of David whose throne is forever for themselves! We are trusting God to allow this translation to continue until then. Thank you for praying for us. He sure is enabling us to keep up our momentum here!