Streams of Prayer for 4 July 2022
The Streams of Prayer for 4 July 2022, is a circular from Wycliffe Global Alliance. Wycliffe Caribbean makes this available.
Bible Translation Programmes
The vision of the Wycliffe Global Alliance is “Individuals, communities and nations transformed through God’s love and his Word expressed in their languages and cultures.” Each Alliance organization serves Bible translation movements in various ways. Many are directly involved in the participation stream Bible translation programmes.
It is wonderful that people in the movement are developing skills and resources for a range of different types of translation including Oral, Bible storying, Sign Language, and written. We also see that communities desire and need translations of the whole Bible in order to fully understand the revelation of Jesus as found in the New Testament. This is wonderful news and alerts us to the need for more training and new ways of working. So join us as we pray this month on the theme of Bible translation projects. Also, ask God to transform individuals, communities and nations through his living Word.
Community participates in Old Testament translation: Papua New Guinea
From 11 to 29 April, the translation team from the Somba-Siawari language community in Papua New Guinea worked hard with consultant Duncan Kasokason to check the Old Testament books of Deuteronomy and Zechariah. Leaders of the team took the initiative to host this checking session in Lae City. This was the first time they held a checking event outside of the language community. They diligently raised the funds needed to take care of all the costs involved. The Somba-Siawari community in Lae provided lunch each day by means of their youth and women’s prayer groups. Praise God for community participation in these tangible ways to encourage and accelerate the translation project. So pray for those continuing to translate the Old Testament. They plan to check the books of Numbers and Song of Songs in August. The Somba-Siawari New Testament was launched in 1996.
Thirsting for God’s Word: Australia
Up to 3,000 people in Central Australia speak the Anmatyerr language. Give thanks that they have 11 books of the New Testament available in their language. Thank God that the New Testament books distributed last year were well received. Also, thank Him that the Anmatyerr people are thirsting for God’s Word. In March David and Ming Fang Strickland conducted an Easter Story painting workshop. So pray that the redeeming message of Easter will continue to flow from the paintings at all times of the year.
Oral Bible translation workshop: Philippines
Praise God for the Oral Bible Translation (OBT) Workshop conducted by the Translators Association of the Philippines (TAP) with Wycliffe Philippines from 25 April to 13 May for two language groups: Inati and Binukignon in Negros Occidental. Participants from these language communities are conducting community checking of narrative texts to practise what they have learnt. Pray for spiritual covering as the team works in the community. Pray also for wisdom and good collaboration between the staff and consultants.
Bible translation project: Romania
Join Wycliffe Romania in praising the Lord for the advancement of the Romani translation of the Gospel of John. Recently one consultant checking session was held in a Roma church and a Scripture Engagement workshop was held in a different church. The Roma people are excited about the possibility of having their own Bible as people have in other language groups around them. One elderly Roma participant said after the workshop, `I would spend all day every day with these people, to learn the Romani words and read the Scripture in my language and my parents’ language’. So pray for more Scripture engagement workers to hold workshops in different parts of the country. Pray also for one more translator to become involved in order to accelerate translation progress. Finally, pray for a revival among the Roma people in Romania and those in the diaspora.
AIDIA Scripture translation progress: Peru
AIDIA (Asociación Interdenominacional para el Desarrollo Integral de Apurímac, Perú) began Bible translation into Quechua from La Unión, Arequipa. Praise God for progress. The team of translators worked on the adaptation drafts of Genesis 1-35 and checked 425 verses in the first 16 chapters of Genesis. They visited two communities to check the clarity and naturalness of the translation.
Facilitators were involved in orality biblical teachings, biblical studies, and evangelism. Twenty-eight leaders and pastors from 17 churches participated in a Reading Club workshop in one community. Topics included helping people to read and understand the Bible, hymnal praises, and Bible teaching materials in their native language. Dina taught orality in five communities. Cecilio travelled to five other communities to explain the orality book, participate in church meetings, and visit brothers in Christ in their homes. Enrique facilitated Orality Series 1 training with four community leaders. Therefore, pray that God will continue to guide the teams of translators and facilitators.
Translation using Adapt-it: Democratic Republic of Congo
Staff from l’Association congolaise pour la traduction de la Bible et l’alphabétisation (The Congolese Association for Bible translation and literacy, ACOTBA SUBO) thank God for the partnership of the Seed Company in a translation project using the Adapt-it model. Adapt-it is a related language translation editor. The project team selected four languages and will produce oral translations. They will use Mono, the main model language, to facilitate translation into the four languages. The Mono New Testament was dedicated in April 2021. So pray that God will provide the funds for training Orality consultants to serve in these projects.
Nomatsigenga Scripture translation project: Peru
A Scripture translation and use project in the Nomatsigenga language community will begin soon. Abby Méndez serves in mission with El Salvador Miramonte Baptist Church among the Nomatsigenga people in Peru. She says that starting this big project is not easy, but she knows that God is in control. Andrés (Harold) Shaver, helped facilitate the translation of the New Testament into Nomatsigenga. Andrés’ son and his wife and brothers in Christ who will oversee the translation process, met with members of the community to finalise some details before starting the project. They also met with Nomatsigenga churches to encourage them to be involved and identify potential translators. Therefore, pray that God will raise up the translators needed, for churches to participate, and for his continued guidance in the development of the project.
Streams of Prayer is the prayer bulletin of the Wycliffe Global Alliance.
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Valrie McCarthy
Proclaimer Officer
Wycliffe Caribbean
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JAMAICA, W. I.
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