Streams of Prayer for 19 July 2021
The Streams of Prayer for 19 July 2021, is a circular from Wycliffe Global Alliance. This is made available through Wycliffe Caribbean.
Missions belong to God and the agent of missions is the Church. Please join with us as we pray for Alliance organisations engaged in the Church Participation Stream. We pray also for the Church as it participates in the Bible translation movement.
A time of deliberate rest: Asia-Pacific
The Wycliffe Asia-Pacific Area leadership team met together virtually on 16 and 17 June for a time of retreat. They were joined by their spouses. The team was reminded at the start of the retreat that God ordained both work and rest. With that, the team encouraged each other to deliberately stop work, to enjoy a time of rest, practise delight and contemplate God.
Each morning was spent around God’s Word, sharing and praying for one another and doing fun activities. The rest of the day was free time allowing each one to rest. At the end of the day, the opportunity was given for reflection and sharing how each person experienced rest. It was a mutually encouraging and refreshing time. Praise the Lord for stable internet connections during the two days. Pray for leaders in Bible translation to be intentional in incorporating times to stop and rest in the midst of the busyness of work and ministry.
A fresh new beginning: France
In French, there is a saying: the more things change the more they stay the same! No one really knows what this means exactly, but there are big changes ahead for Wycliffe France. For two years, the organisation’s work and efforts have been on hold. From 1 July, a new interim director will begin work to build a brand new team. Stewart Johnson will take on this role and will be joined on 2 August by a new administrative assistant, Therese Stauder. Wycliffe France will focus on two streams of participation: prayer and the church in France.
Please pray that the restart will be effective and fruitful. Like many countries, churches throughout France are just getting back to face-to-face meetings rather than just coping with COVID-19. Please pray for the team in France as they come alongside churches there that are starting to dream about what the mission of God looks like for them at this time.
Effective online transitions: Thailand
The pandemic brought creative ways to continue Bible translation work. Wycliffe Thai Foundation has transitioned to online platforms for some of its programmes. Praise God for the third virtual tour on 5 June about Bible translation for the P people (P is a pseudonym). Camp Wycliffe will be held online instead of onsite this year. The programme has two parts: basic skills and practical application. Pray for wisdom and guidance for the teams working on these programmes. Ask the Lord to move in the hearts of the participants to catch the vision for Bible translation.
Engaging with Jesus through Gospel films: Peru, Global
In partnership with the LUMO Project, Faith Comes By Hearing provides a multi-language biblical film resource that helps people engage with the life of Jesus through the four Gospel accounts. These full-length feature films use the actual Gospel texts as their scripts—word-for-word. Created by LUMO using extensive theological, historical, and archaeological research, the
Virtual engagement is thriving through the sharing of the Gospel films on various platforms. Records show that in Lima, Peru, 2,000-plus people are logging in to watch and interact with the videos weekly and sometimes daily. Families and small groups gather to watch, listen, and discuss. Statistics show that 86% of viewers share with others through their social media accounts. Pray that the popularity of these films will result in spiritual transformation for those who view the stories about Jesus and his gift of salvation.
The Gift of Strategic Partnerships: Global
The Bible Translation Podcast recently featured Dr John Chesnut, President/CEO of Wycliffe Bible Translators, USA. Dr Chesnut talked about strategic partnerships in Bible Translation and emphasized the effectiveness of working collaboratively by highlighting the following benefits:
- Multiple organisations sensitively come alongside one another to participate in what God is already doing, listening to and learning from each other.
- Working in partnership makes it possible to collaborate with national organizations, so that, the work has a greater possibility of enduring into the future.
- Partnerships include the global church, which by the Holy Spirit’s power, oversees and helps to sustain the work.
- Organisations learn together how to operate in new and different ways and advance the resources God provides, and together seek wisdom, address challenges, and access new opportunities.
Pray for all the strategic partnerships around the world. In addition, ask God to use them to help advance Bible translation and impact more people for transformation through His Word.
God opens doors for the Himba project: South Africa
Staff at Wycliffe South Africa are excited about the developments with the Himba translation. Earlier this year one of the funding partners was unable to meet their commitment. On the day in January when this was discussed at the leadership meeting, a church called that wanted to start getting involved. They were excited to meet the shortfall and have agreed to continue support in the next 3-year phase too.
The church also has a ministry that funds Bible distribution. They have offered to help get the Himba Oral Bible portions onto devices for distribution and Scripture engagement. This has led Wycliffe South Africa to start engaging with Trans World Radio in looking at potential partnerships with radio broadcasting. So praise God for his goodness and the generosity of this church. Pray also for this initiative to expand to other communities.
Digo Bible launched: Kenya
Rejoice that after more than 30 years of work and some delays due to the pandemic, the Digo translation team along with staff from Bible Translation and Literacy have completed the Bible in the Chidigo language! The official launch was held in May 2021 in the Digo homeland on the coast of Kenya. There are not many Digo Christians. Pray that the church will be encouraged and strengthened now that they have the whole Bible. Pray that many Chidigo speakers will read God’s Word and come to Christ as a result. Also, ask God to use His Word to transform the lives of many in the Digo community.
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