Translating God’s Word for an African People Group — but not in Africa “Lord, if you are willing, you can make me clean.” The leper’s faith-filled plea hung in the air as the translation team wrestled with how to convey his words in Kinyamulenge. We had been working...
“Empowering others” has become quite a buzzword in missions circles. Missionaries nowadays are trained not to be the solutions to problems but rather to be catalysts for local solutions and local problem solvers. I acceded to this orientation during my training mostly...
Urgent Recruitment Needs In Luke 10, before Jesus sent out the 72 disciples, He told them that the harvest was plentiful, but the workers were few. Then He instructed them to ask the Lord of the Harvest to send out more workers. God wants us to ask Him to send out...
Because prayer is the strategy of Pioneer Bible Translators, our worldwide team intentionally sets aside a day of fasting and prayer every month. On this day, we join in unified prayer, offering up to our Father praises and requests collected especially for this day....
Derek and Allison were eager to start translating God’s Word with a Bibleless people group in Africa. They had made their home among the Muliga people and had begun learning their language. Their next step was to facilitate a meeting in which local leaders would...
What does “hope” mean? I am a translator, and my work involves parsing meanings of words to their core components with the purpose of identifying functional equivalents across languages. So naturally, this is where I began with a word like “hope.” The word “hope” is...
Write a blog for Pioneer Bible Translators? “No problem!” I said. After all, I’ve been with Pioneer Bible Translators for nearly two decades. I could tell stories of how I overcame my shyness to answer God’s call to missions. I could share awkward fundraising...
I am on a dry, cracked dirt path. The raised, bumpy part I walk on is only wide enough to go single file, so I carefully watch the flip-flops in front of me as they flap, flap, flap on the feet of my friend. I copy her every step as she picks the most level places and...
For we do not have a High Priest who cannot be touched with the feelings of our infirmities, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin. (Hebrews 4:15, 21st Century KJV) In January 2021, we found out we were having twins, taking our family from three to...
Research notebook? Check. Fully charged phone doubling as a recorder? Check. Diapers for the baby? Check. I headed out to the refugee camp to meet some well-known Naas musicians with my 5-month-old baby in tow. As we ducked down to enter the low door of the first...
The pilot folded his hands and looked at us across the table. His eyes brightened and a smile crept across his face. “This week I get to fly Bibles. First Scripture ever in these people’s language.” Our grins matched his. My family and I were in the capital for our...
One time I pierced my nose with a thorn. Actually someone else did — I just sat there as the thorn pushed steadily through my nose, my eyes closed peacefully, measuring my breaths, water seeping out of my eyes. It was blissful. There is a pain deep in the bodies of my...