Hot off the 'press'

If you're interested in what's going on with me in work, just now, make yourself a nice cup of tea and have a read of my Oct 09 newsletter below:

“… my word… will accomplish all I want it to, and it will prosper everywhere I send it.”
Isaiah 55v11 (New Living Translation)

“How did the Engage teams get on?”

Really well! Teams spent a month this summer in Burkina Faso, Cambodia, and Cameroon, seeing Bible translation first hand, engaging with the local community, and helping with translation projects and other church work. I’ve put some photos and stories from the teams on the internet at www.wycliffe.org.uk/engage, so if you can, please do take a look and be inspired by their experiences.

Here are some reflections from the team members on their trips:

· "Everything we did was fantastic, and for me it was a wonderful introduction to Burkina Faso and Africa. Meeting so many different people - children, students, Pastors and Christian families, translators, even people in the marketplace - was amazing..." Jayne, Burkina Faso

· "We were delighted when the San translators told us of the joy that they had knowing that a team had come from thousands of miles away."
Mark, Burkina Faso

· “Meeting Cambodian Christians was inspiring, because of their generosity, friendliness and love for God. Meeting literacy and language workers opened our eyes to the complexities of translation, and as a linguistics student, really got me excited.” Eleanor, Cambodia

· “It was great to hear from someone currently involved in the process of Bible translation, and to realise the actual implications of dedicating your whole life to this work.” Elizabeth, Cambodia

· “Part of the team assisted in the three day teacher training workshop held in Ndop. There were 30 participants from 9 languages, and the technical and general logistical support that the team provided was invaluable. The workshop would not have been possible without them.” Jon Blackwell, Cameroon team host

Please pray that God would continue to teach the team members as they reflect on their trips. Pray that the relationships they made with the local people they met would grow. And please pray for us in the office as we begin to plan ahead for Engage 2010 - we have provisional invitations from our partners in Cambodia and Cameroon to send teams again next year, and we are exploring two other ideas, one in a new and challenging location.

“So what were you doing over the summer?”

Worrying about the teams! It’s my job to keep my mobile on at all times in case there is an emergency. Praise God for keeping them safe and that no difficult situation arose.

I also got to spend a week at New Horizon (a week-long Christian conference in Coleraine), working alongside other mission agencies’ staff to run the mission venue ‘Hope Street’. It was great that a whole bunch of Wycliffe volunteers came to help out too. I wrote a blog post about ‘Hope Street’ when I got home, and here’s an excerpt from it:

‘Hope Street’ at New Horizon gives mission agencies the opportunity to show hospitality to the church. So often I feel that as agencies we mostly spend our time asking for money, prayer and volunteers by making everyone feel guilty that here in N Ireland we have a church on every corner, more money than we need, and more versions of the Bible in English than we know what to do with. At Hope Street, people come to enjoy a reasonably-priced tea or coffee, enjoy the interactive display, find information about mission, browse the bookstall, listen to a seminar, and in the evenings enjoy some of the best young local Christian musical talent for free. Thursday night was like a party, thanks to Alistair Bennett and Band and their fun tunes.
http://upmytree.blogspot.com/2009_07_01_archive.html

Other highlights of the summer included Wycliffe UK Conference in June, which was really inspiring and encouraging. The Connect Houseparty (11-13 Sept) was a great weekend. It was so good to get together with others who are really keen to be involved with Bible translation, to have fun, share and pray together.

Oh, and I had a lovely week’s holiday in August in the south of France with friends!

“And what’s coming up for you this autumn?”

It’s looking like a busy one, but I’m excited about it!

On Sat 3 Oct all the Engage 09 team members in N Ireland are getting together for a meal and a catch-up. My friend and colleague Kat is coming from England, and some others from outside NI are hoping to join us.

Wycliffe:Live09 is on Wed 14 Oct in Wellington Presbyterian in Ballymena. Mary Steele will be giving us a glimpse into her 50-year journey with the Lord in Wycliffe, and Eddie Arthur (Wycliffe UK Director) will be speaking too. Connect have a wee slot as well, which will be fun!

Wycliffe and Me is a one-day event to help people interested in Bible translation to find out how they can get involved, and we’re running one on Sat 24 Oct in Saintfield Road Presbyterian in Belfast. Please help us get the word out about this event! There’s more information about it on the web at www.wycliffe.org.uk/wam.

We have a Wycliffe Day of Prayer every year on 11 Nov, and this year we’d like to invite everyone to join us in the evening to pray for the work of Bible translation around the world. Details of this will follow, but please put it in your diary!

I’m busy during the autumn with MAP (Mission Agencies Partnership) events. We’re planning two ‘Ignition’ youth events for churches around Ballycastle and Lurgan. Then during October and November we’ll visit the University CUs, this year focussing on the importance of showing Jesus’ love in practical ways in our lives.

Please continue to pray for me—that God will give me strength, wisdom and creativity for the challenges in the months ahead, and that He will fill me with His Holy Spirit, His love, and His peace. Pray I will ‘translate’ His Word with my life in all I say and do every day.

With much love and many thanks for all your love, prayers and support, Stephanie

PS. If you'd like to receive my newsletters (as pdf with photos) regularly by email, let me know!

Rejoice with me, for I have found that which was lost!

I am feeling a special empathy just now with the people in Jesus' stories in Luke 15.

When I turned 18 my Dad and Mum bought me a gold watch. One of the good things of being an only child is you get all the good presents! I haven't worn it a whole lot, I guess feeling that gold watches are for mature and sensible ladies, not for... um... people like me. But last week, I decided that I wanted to start wearing my gold watch.

So at about 11 o'clock one night I went to the place I knew I had stored it...

Hmmm... that's funny... I was sure it was there...

Oh no. Where on earth is it? If it's not there, where is it? My bedroom's very small so there aren't many places it could be. Then I remember, I recently did a big clear out of stuff. Cold sweat breaking out. Oh no, I couldn't have. If I did, it's mashed up in some landfill site or someone's struck gold (!) in the local Oxfam.

More frantic searching... No gold watch.

*%&$!!!!

What on earth am I going to say to Dad and Mum when they, as they inevitably will one day, ask me where my gold watch is... it's a long time since they've seen me wearing it... etc?

Some desperate praying... Sorry Lord, I know I haven't been talking to you as much as I should lately, and this is a really stupid thing to bother you with, but it would be so so lovely if you could show me where it is...

Sleepless night!

Fast forward two nights...

I have an epiphany... one place I hadn't thought to look...

And there it is! PHEW!!!! I wore it that whole night and have hardly taken it off since. I know now I will wear it until it wears out or I wear out.

It wasn't until I lost the watch that I realised its true worth. And as I thought about it I realised that yes, God loves me very very much, but I am not lost to him. I am His. How must he feel about the people who are still lost to him?

I know that I am called to serve the ones who are no longer 'lost' and to encourage them to step out into the joys and risks of following God's leading in a deeper way. But I hope that every time I look at my watch to find out the time, I will remember that the way I felt when I lost my watch is only a fraction of the pain God feels for His children who are lost and don't know Him yet.

Having a go at Bible translation

I've just had a great weekend at the Connect Houseparty. Connect is a network of people aged 18-30ish in the UK who are passionate about God, mission, and Bible translation. There were about twenty of us, laughing, sharing, encouraging, praying, and having lots of organised fun together.

As part of the weekend, we each took one of our favourite passages from the Bible and paraphrased it into our own words. On Saturday morning we each read our paraphrased passage aloud, and it was so so lovely to hear familiar passages presented in such a fresh, personal and unique way. And in a sense, it was like we had a wee go at Bible translation!

I thought I'd share mine with you:

My Father, I turn my heart, my thoughts, all of me, to you.
I want to tell you that I am putting everything in your hands and trusting you to look after it all.
Don't let me lose face Lord,
or give the people who don't like me reason to make fun of me.
I know that when we completely depend on you, you won't let us be humiliated,
but people who deceive others will be shamed.

Lord, please would you be like my satnav for life so that I know where to go,
tell me the right roads to take in my choices.

I will try to keep your truth always before me so that I follow it and not the other voices.
Teach me like I am your apprentice, because you are the one who will save me from taking the wrong decisions.

All day, every day, I have hope because I have you.
Psalm 25v1-5 (paraphrased)

Click here to see my photos from the weekend on Facebook. And if you'd like to be invovled with Connect, contact Kat at connect_uk@wycliffe.org (England, Wales & Scotland) or me at stephanie_angus@wycliffe.org (N Ireland). We'd

Talking about mission

My colleague Mark has written an excellent blog post about two different ways to talk about mission.

The first type of person realises that, in explaining his work with a language community, he is a bridge between you (the audience) and the community. But he doesn’t feel any connection with the community – instead he tries to help you to relate to him. He tells you of the large cultural divide, but he does so in order that you can understand him and the difficulties that he has in his work. He puts you in his shoes.

The second type of person also realises that he is a bridge between you (the listeners) and the community. But unlike the first person he helps you to understand and relate to the community. He tells you of the immense cultural differences, but he does in order to help you to understand and identify with people. He puts you in their shoes.

But I think it goes deeper than just the things we say. The way we talk about people ultimately shows what our perspective is – how we perceive them, and what we believe about them.

The problem for the first person is that he sees things from an ethnocentric perspective. He doesn’t seem to respect the local people, or feel that they are his equals. He has come to help them, not to understand them. He sees many differences, and naturally is impacted most by the frustrations and difficulties. He doesn’t seem to notice however, that his cultural mistakes and blindspots are equally frustrating to his hosts. Read more

I am ashamed that so often I have been the first person. I want to be like the second person. More than that even, I want to point to God every time I talk about mission and Bible translation. I think it was Bonhoeffer who said "When Christ calls a man, he bids him come and die." Mission is not about us, it's about what God is doing in esablishing His Kingdom.

Father, help me to die to myself every day, to lay down my life and live for you and you alone, so that when I open my mouth to speak I do not seek to promote myself but You. Dying is not fun! I feel the process of death at work in me even now, and it is far from fun or easy. But Christ has shown that through death comes true life, and THAT is the life that I want to live, every moment of every day.

Hope Street on the MAP

I'm just back from a week of helping staff the 'Hope Street' venue at New Horizon. Hope Street is designed and run by MAP (Mission Agencies Partnership).

Hope Street is not a traditional mission exhibition with each agency vying for space for pull-up stands and literature tables, and jostling for attention and 'recruits'. Not that there's anything wrong with that - I enjoy manning the Wycliffe stand at the many Christian events around N Ireland.

Hope Street is different, and here's why.

It's an expression of unity - mission agencies working together to present the challenge of mission as a whole to the church in N Ireland. Unity is not easy. We are many people from at least 46 different agencies of varying sizes in MAP, all different ages and with different responsibilities within the agencies, never mind all different church backgrounds. Yes, there are stresses, tensions, and misunderstandings. However, it works, and that's the most exciting thing. We work together, we pray together, and we promote our own agency and all the others too.

It gives mission agencies the opportunity to show hospitality to the church. So often I feel that as agencies we mostly spend our time asking for money, prayer and volunteers by making everyone feel guilty that here in N Ireland we have a church on every corner, more money than we need, and more versions of the Bible in English than we know what to do with. At Hope Street, people come to enjoy a reasonably-priced tea or coffee, enjoy the interactive display, find information about mission, browse the bookstall, listen to a seminar, and in the evenings enjoy some of the best young local Christian musical talent for free. Thursday night was like a party, thanks to Alistair Bennett and Band and their fun tunes.

And Hope Street is a great place for us in Wycliffe Bible Translators to continue to build on relationships with friends, supporters, members and enquirers. We probably won't be able to measure the number of people who were 'recruited' to join our cause through Hope Street 09, but surely mission is primarily a lifestyle, not a job-description. Yes, we need people to give their time and skills and resources to plant churches, teach children, bring aid and relief, and facilitate Bible translation. But more importantly we all need to participate in loving, joyful community, and Hope Street is truly a wee example of this.

So let's hear it for unity, hospitality and community! Please pray with us that God would give us strength and grace to keep working together and loving each other and sharing our resources and expertise to be better used by God as He grows His Kingdom all over His world.

Experiencing the work of Wycliffe

James has been with us in the Wycliffe office in Belfast for the past three days on work experience. I asked him if he would write an article, and here it is! It's great - enjoy reading...

"If I’m honest, about all I knew of Wycliffe 3 months ago was that it existed!

In spring 2009, I found myself in the awkward position of having to do work experience and not having any organised when a friend who had come here last year and, like me, is interested in Modern Languages suggested that I try Wycliffe. Thus I sent off a tentative e-mail which was forwarded to Stephanie at the Wycliffe office in Belfast. She was quick to encourage me to come and thus, having sorted out the relevant details, I turned up in optimistic near-ignorance at the door of 342 Beersbridge Road.

What was I expecting? I had really worked out that the office staff were not a vast body of ink-spotted researchers, huddled over a combination of Kouya dictionaries and Hebrew Old Testaments – but aside from that I had no real idea.

After John and Stephanie had welcomed me, my first morning consisted largely of an extended introduction to the vocation and work of Wycliffe, through a Power Point of John’s as well as a selection of literature. That was an eye-opener; it was positively astonishing to find out that over 2,200 languages and about 200 million people worldwide do not have any of the Bible in their own language.

I find that difficult to take in, and for me it puts the importance of what God is doing through Wycliffe in Africa, Asia, the Indo-Pacific (to quote Wycliffe’s three areas of the world in which Bible translation is needed most) and elsewhere in stark perspective. It was here as well that I was introduced to Vision 2025: the vision of Wycliffe and worldwide partners to see a Bible translation begun by 2025 in every language that still needs one. It immediately struck me as being an undertaking on a massive scale but it’s true that if it is to be accomplished it can only be done by God – which must be a good way to do anything.

My Monday afternoon was largely taken up with compiling a basic Power Point presentation for October’s Wycliffe:Live! event with details of all of Wycliffe’s members who are either from or based in Ireland. This was interesting, simply from the point of view of seeing the broad spectrum of activity, countries and people who are a full-time part of God’s work through Wycliffe.

But even after I had made my way home on Monday evening, my day with Wycliffe was by no means over! Sparing no effort to make the newcomer feel at home, Stephanie had invited me to join in an informal meeting of Connect NI at her house. Again, I wasn’t too sure what to expect, but it turned out to be great. I got the chance to chat with young people from all over Northern Ireland who had spent time abroad with Wycliffe as well as just enjoying the fellowship and banter (though I was somewhat taken aback to walk in and find an RE teacher from my school present – how cool am I, hanging out with teachers in my free time…).

Tuesday saw me introduced to Evelyn, Bob and Bill in the office, in between a spot of light tidying-up and posting some passports (to anyone going on the Engage team to Cameroon: if you don’t get any passport back or you get someone else’s by mistake, it was my fault and not Stephanie’s). Monday night’s exertions meant that I was allowed to take a half-day.

And so to Wednesday, my last day in the office. Things kicked off with a “high-powered executive breakfast” (Stephanie’s words) at Gourmet Burger on the Belmont Road. Stephanie was meeting up with the university CU stream of MAP (Mission Agencies Partnership) and had agreed to take me with her. Breakfast with five girls was a novel experience (!), but also fascinating. I must confess that the sheer volume of different pressures and issues for the people ‘behind the scenes’, between doing God’s will and working in what is very much the real world, had never really occurred to me before. After that, I got the chance to browse around some of the blogs on the Wycliffe website before sitting down…to write this.

So now, as I finish up, I have some serious thanks to give, to everyone with whom I’ve come in contact – Stephanie, John, Thelma, Lynda, Evelyn, Bob, Bill and Miranda (and others – I could go on). I could not possibly have been made to feel more welcome, more at home. Everyone went out of their way to involve me and help me and nothing was ever too much trouble, and I really am grateful for that. I was happy just to have the opportunity to come along, but you all made my time here so enjoyable. My only regret is that I’m not about for a bit longer! And perhaps most of all I should thank God for bringing me here and introducing me to all of you.

As I move on (though I hope you haven’t yet seen the last of me!), you all individually and the work of Wycliffe worldwide will definitely be in my prayers. For what it’s worth, I think this is such a worthwhile work and it was a real privilege just to get a glimpse into it over the past three days.

Every blessing to you all."

Thanks, James, from us in the office for all the work you've done (tidy stationary store... many passports posted... and lots more). I certainly hope we haven't see the last of you!

Do I actually translate the Bible?

"I work with Wycliffe Bible Translators."

There's no easy way to describe my job to someone who I've just met, but I have to start somewhere.

This inevitably leads to the question, "So are you actually translating the Bible into another language?"



At which point I smile to myself, and then launch into some confusing explanation of how I don't actually sit at my desk in my office in East Belfast with the Bible and a dictionary in some minority language and translate it, but rather that I work in Mobilisation, which involves sharing our vision for making God's Word available to everyone in the world in the language of their heart and encouraging people to get involved.

But it's not a completely daft question - do I actually translate the Bible? It's got me thinking, don't all of us who know and love God and the Bible have a responsibility to 'translate' it?

God loved us so much and wanted us to know him, his love for us, his character as a completely trustworthy, kind, gentle, just, forgiving, compassionate Creator and Father God, that he sent his Son Jesus to show us himself. Jesus did that, and we can find out all about his life in the Bible. Not only that, the whole Bible is the story of God reaching out to us in love.

But we know that Jesus died, then he didn't stay dead but came back to life, and now he is still alive but not here on earth any more. He is now with our Father God outside the space and time of this world as we know it. But God has not completely left us here, because now the Holy Spirit is here on earth with us, but he's not only with us, he is IN us.

So if Jesus was in effect God living and walking in this world, and now the Holy Spirit is here as God's presence in this world, and the Holy Spirit lives in and through us... surely that means that we respresent God on earth.

Which could be thought of a bit like Bible translation. Translation takes something that is in an incomprehensible language and puts it into a language that can be understood by the reader. God is beyond our comprehension, but Jesus is accessible to us. He's real, he's human, he cried, he got hungry, and thirsty. A recent poll revealed that the 'dead' person that the British public most want to meet is Jesus Christ.

So where am I going with this? If the Holy Spirit, the presence of God on earth today, lives in and through us, then we have the awesome challenge of making God accessible to the people around us by letting the Holy Spirit live through us. I have hardly begun to understand the enormity of what this means. But I want to do it. I want to be real with people. I want them to see God in me and to see God's love for them in me. I'm still human and I'm still selfish and I still want things my way, but if I can keep taking steps to give up control of my life and let the Holy Spirit take charge, then God will be able to respresent himself through me.

So do I translate the Bible? Yes, I do. And that mean you do to. So let's do it!

Oh, and if you'd like to be involved in the kind of Bible translation that actually involves taken the written Bible and helping making it available in other languages, then get in touch with us!

(I would like to acknowledge that these thoughts have not all come from my own brain - many thanks to our ED Eddie Arthur, my boss John Hamilton, and my housemate Leanne for sharing your ideas with me. Oh, and thanks to John for the cartoon!)