March 2009
Today
Before I get distracted by anything else I need to tell you all about today’s Tuesday Fellowship. Once a week (on a Tuesday – though, you could probably work that out for yourself) the whole Wycliffe Centre gets together for one hour to hear about what’s going on, pray, praise God and discuss the Bible. Regardless of how busy I am it’s something worth making time for. Today it was an extra special Tuesday Fellowship for the following reason…
Over the weekend we had a group staying here from different parts of the world. In and of itself that’s nothing unusual, there are always people from different parts of the world here, but this group were special for the simple fact that most of the participants were totally deaf. Today they joined us in Tuesday Fellowship and spoke a bit about their lives and how they want to be able to share the Bible with people who cannot hear.
This isn’t as straightforward as I at first believed, because there isn’t just one official sign language. There are currently 230 sign languages that are known of, and possibly another 200 or so that are yet to be discovered. In exactly the same way as written and spoken language, sign is a unique way of communication within a language group and isn’t something that can be imposed from the outside.
It’s an impressive sight to see a sign language convention with sign language translators.
For more information it’s worth looking at Deaf Opportunity OutReach, or DOOR, at dorrinternational.com.
I know this is supposed to be my newsletter, but please pray for a girl called Natalie. She’s deaf and a member of SIL – the only deaf member I think. She can read and write in three languages and is investigating Bible translation for the deaf in the Pacific region.
It’s probably also worth mentioning that despite our Western status, there is not a signed translation of the Bible in English sign language. There are parts of the Bible in American sign language, but this is a different language.
Phil’s News
On Sunday evening I was back at Above Bar Church giving a short presentation about what I’m doing working with Wycliffe Bible Translators. I ended up getting in trouble with Tany for spending too long talking about all the good things that Wycliffe are involved in and not talking about myself enough. Officially I have now been fired from self-promotion and can no longer claim to be in charge of my own marketing (which is kind of ironic really) but I have to acknowledge that she probably has a point.
That’s a long introduction to my news, so here I go…
Things are going really well. The flat is still a bit of a mess but I have stopped unpacking because there’s going to be some building work done on it before Tany moves up. Number one is to put a bigger bed in. There’s a Phil sized double bed in there at the moment, but to make it a Phil and Tany bed it needs to be enlarged. There are also some heating issues too – mostly that old radiator valves are stuck open rather than it’s a cold place – so that’s going to be sorted. Anyway, it means that I’ll need to move out for a bit while that gets sorted.
I am in the process of joining a local gym. At £41 a month it’s a bit expensive, but I do get use of a swimming pool, gym, steam room and sauna etc, and I need to get out and do something. I have gone from walking three miles per day to less than 100 metres and I need to change that. Plus it will give me the chance to meet some people outside of the Wycliffe organisation.
As far as finding a church, well, it’s going to take a while I think. I’m travelling back and forth between Southampton for most weekends so I can’t say I’ve had the time to look. It has been nice being back at Above Bar Church (my old church in Southampton) just as a visitor, rather than taking part, but I’m aware that Tany and I will need to find a new base when she is able to move up here.
The wedding preparations are going well. Invitations have been sent and most of the details have been sorted. We’re feeling pretty good about it all and are looking forward to being in the same place afterwards.
Being part of Wycliffe is fantastic. I feel that I have settled in well and am getting on well with my colleagues. I also feel that I have been able to make a difference and we are making progress towards being better at communicating about bible translation and better able to deal with requests and enquiries.
I spent a week on the WOW course. Those of you who have been following my blog will have heard a bit about what that means. But I now have a much more complete understanding of how languages can be transcribed and how this massive organisation operates.
Oh, I’m also starting to get some requests to preach and lead some meetings. Some of them will be onsite here at the centre, others in local churches. I think I would have preferred to have had the chance to practice this skill in front of people who know me, but I’ve lead prayer meetings and other groups and eventually I have to take the plunge to preaching. I guess it may as well be now.
If you want to support me financially you can do through Wycliffe. Details of how to do this are on the ‘support‘ page of this website. By giving through Wycliffe, those of you in full-time work and paying tax, you can elect to Gift Aid your donations.
Prayer points
- Give thanks that I’m having a great time, settling in well, enjoying the work and making progress.
- There’s a lot to do, so please pray that I’ll have the energy, clarity and wisdom needed to identify tasks and make progress towards accomplishing the necessary goals.
- Praise God that the wedding plans are going well, but also pray for Tany and myself, that we would adjust well to the changes in our lives.
- Pray for Tany as she looks for work in the High Wycombe area as well.
From Eden to Eternity
It would be good for you all to be aware of what else is going on here.
On Wednesday 11th March there is a production of From Eden to Eternity in Southampton (well, Totton) at Testwood Baptist Church. This has been commissioned by Wycliffe and is being performed by the Saltmine Theatre Company. In one hour there is a performed overview of the Bible followed by a presentation by a Wycliffe representative about work taking place in one community in Nigeria.
If you can come along and support this it would be wonderful to see you there – I’m planning to be at this event – but if you can’t, please pray that people would be enthused by the idea of bible translation.
Tickets are £6. There are group discounts. Performance starts at 7:30pm. More info from the Saltmine website.
Press Releases
On Friday 20th February, the Guardian newspaper published a full-page article under the title ‘Words of warning: 2,500 languages under threat worldwide as migrants head for city’, with details about the new atlas being published by UNESCO showing how languages are dying around the world.
In an ideal world Wycliffe would have known about this in advance and would have sent information out to the press to accompany this news. Unfortunately, I only found out about this when it had been published, so I had to catch up with the news and put out a press release a little after the fact.
The news cycle is only part of the story though. The good news is that Wycliffe and partner organisations like SIL are working with minority languages and that improvements in conditions are being made. Wycliffe are about providing Bibles for these groups, I don’t want to ignore that for one minute, but the benefits to a community are not just seen in the understanding of scriptures.
The development of a new language means that children can be educated, information can be communicated (such as how to avoid contracting AIDS) and people can be valued for who they are.
…and finally
You’ll have to excuse the lack of personal news in some of these messages. It’s not that I won’t tell you stuff as it happens but it’s just that I want you to see what I see and be excited by the work that’s taking place.
There are 2,393 language groups that do not have a Bible. Many of these are now in dangerous or difficult to reach places. These 2,393 language groups relate to something like 200 million people. That’s 200 million individuals who cannot read for themselves that God loves them and cares for them,
“I am praying not only for these disciples but also for all who will ever believe in me through their message. I pray that they will all be one, just as you and I are one—as you are in me, Father, and I am in you. And may they be in us so that the world will believe you sent me.” (John 17: 20-21).
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