Hey everybody! It's been a productive day since I last wrote. Last night we ate a delicious lasagna dinner (a true Guatemalan delight!) and then we headed over for worship. But not before Ian and Clark wanted to show off their pantalones de fiesta that they bought in the market.
We began our worship time with one song, and then brother Wayne got up and gave us a fascinating look into the world of Bible translation. Did you know that there are literally thousands of languages in the world today that don't even have an alphabet? There is literally not a single syllable that has been written down . That's hard to imagine. Consequently, and more seriously, those millions of people have no Bible. They have no access to the precious Word of God. Even if a person in this language wanted to have a Bible and read it, he couldn't. I had no idea of this until I came into contact with Wycliffe Bible Translators.
We worshiped some more and we felt God's Spirit moving there. We sang the amazing truth that "No power of hell, no scheme of man/Can ever pluck me from His hand/Till He returns or calls me home/Here in the power of Christ I'll stand." In our prayer time afterward, I reminded the kids of an important truth: the question for your life is NOT "Is God calling me into world missions?" but rather the question is "HOW is God calling me into world missions?" There are senders and the sent, but God has not made involvement an option. Does God want you to be a sender, who provides resources and support? Or does God want you to GO? Have you ever considered that question yourself? Since there is no third option, are you a sender or are you being called to go? God has saved us by His grace, so there is nothing that He cannot ask of us.
As we do every night, we spent time Giving God the glory for our day. Here are some highlights:
- Garrett Myer: "for having my bro on this trip" (awwwww)
- Ernie Elbert: "for how the language barrier shows our vulnerability"
- Sadie Murray: "for the Guatemalan moms, who work so hard to even with about 4 kids strapped to them at all times." She ended by saying, "moms are special people" (double awwwww)
- Slava Seely: "for my new friend Manuel" who is now Slava's BFF
- Garrett Cannell: he went over to a rock nearby that is an idol worshiped by folks in this region. He said, "God is so powerful that He could turn this thing into millions of pebbles at any second"
- James Floyd: "for Wayne" (Amen!)
You might be surprised to find out that bedtime is not a difficult
I took a group of kids with Andrew and Sarah Haverly to La Viña studio. The trip across was so awesome. The temperature never rose above 75 degrees all day. Are you jealous?
And we got to stop at a beautiful waterfall once we crossed over.
The mission of La Viña Studios is to put the Word of God into audio and video formats so that it can be spread as far and wide as possible. Though the languages in this area have alphabets and are written, not everybody is literate or comfortable learning through reading. So La Viña has recorded the New Testament into dozens of Mayan languages. They use music, amazing finger puppet videos for children (and adults...admit it, you like Veggie Tales), and other mediums to spread the hope of Christ. Ellen loved the props.
At Camp David work continued on moving lots of rocks and dirt so that they could plant some little trees around the basketball court.
They got done so fast with that work that they got to go and clear out a new portion of the land. This involves digging and ripping out coffee plants. This was a lot harder this year because the ground was so rocky.
After lunch, the kids had done so much work that they finished the day early! So they got to compete in some international competition. It was USA v. Guatemala.
It's almost dinner time and the rain is coming down. I hope all is well in hot Ft. Worth. Maybe we can bring some rain home with us. What a great day.
5 comments:
Glad you had a chance to get a 'taste' of Bible translation and what Wycliffe does! Wycliffe work has evolved dramatically over the years since Wayne and his wife did translation work. Today we work very often in 'clusters' of languages and in workshop settings. As opposed to working alone for years on a language, we partner with the Campus Crusade for Christ to produce the Jesus Film, Faith Comes by Hearing to produce the whole New Testament in audio format, and The International Mission Board to develop stories from the Old and New Testament (oral) and train story tellers. And, instead of just finding Americans, you will find us working alongside or under people from Latin America, Africa, Asia and the Pacific Islands. We're committed to fast and accurate Bible translation (often using computer technology) at the lowest possible cost. We are now participating in the greatest acceleration of the pace of Bible translation ever witnessed by the Church, and our mission is to see the last Bible translation need started by the year 2025...2251 languages to go!
Have a great missions trip!
Bob Creson
President/CEO
Wycliffe Bible Translators USA
To Dr. Burkett,
I don't know who I should be most proud of. Whitney for working so hard and getting " dirty" or you for getting her to get " dirty"
Talk about " out of a comfort zone" We are so excited. She will now be expected to mow:]
All the kid's as well as the staff are lifted up in my prayer's daily. Thank you, Dr. Burkett and Staff for spending this week with our children. Not only are you making a difference in the lives of the children in Guatemala but, In our children lives also.
A song popped in my head...Google, Thank you for giving to the Lord, by Ray Boltz. May the words help encourage you as well as the kids this week.
God Bless,
Whitney's Mom
Glad to see Whitney learning to use a machete. I've got some high weeds in the yard just waiting for her return. Whitney's Grandfather.
What an Awesome thing to see...all those kids taking the word of God to those who need his comfort! What an amazing thing to see Whitney enjoying hard physical labor...Tyler is impressed Whitney!
We pray for all of you daily!
Ann Marie & Tyler Jones
Proud Cousin's of
Whitney Presbaugh
I agree with you. It a question of "How is God calling you into world missions?"
There are many practical steps towards involvement. May you discover more ways each day.
Nate C.
Post a Comment