Hearing God's Word calms Mayan woman's fears

Jesus isn’t anywhere to be found so perhaps the prophet in the next town could be the answer. Perhaps the prophet knows what’s wrong with my son, reasoned the Guatemalan boy’s Mayan mother, Isidro’s wife.

The boy’s grandmother had suggested visiting the prophet. Perhaps the prophet could tell the parents what sin they had committed and why little Juanito is so often sick and not developing normally. The grandmother’s advice sounded spiritual and very appealing. It also sounded not very different from visiting a Mayan shaman.

By coincidence, Isidro took a Proclaimer home yesterday, planning to approach his pastor about using it for a youth listening group during Sunday school. The Proclaimer, provided by the Albuquerque, N.M.-based ministry Faith Comes By Hearing, is like a small radio with the audio New Testament recorded the local Mayan language, Western Kaqchikel.

Last evening, Isidro and his wife began listening to the Gospel of Mark, where Jesus quickly sets about his ministry, casting out demons and healing the sick. When Isidro’s wife heard this, she said, “I wish Jesus were still here on earth. I’d go and find him and take Juanito to be healed.”

Isidro decided maybe they should change the channel, so to speak, and he switched to the book of Hebrews, where it is written in the first chapter:

“Of the Son (God) says, ‘Your throne, O God, is forever and ever,’ ... ‘You, Lord, laid the foundation of the earth in the beginning, and the heavens are the work of your hands; they will perish, but you remain; they will all wear out like a garment, like a robe you will roll them up, like a garment they will be changed. But you are the same, and your years will have no end.”

Soon, Isidro noticed his wife had begun to cry. “This is very clear,” she said of the dramatized Scripture recording in her own language. “God is still with us. He hasn’t left us.” It’s what Isidro had been trying to tell his wife, and it’s what God promises in Romans 10:17, “Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God.”

*****

Please pray for Isidro, his wife and his family. On Monday, he will travel to Joyabáj, a town several hours away, where the people speak a different language (Kiché, also spelled Quiché) to record another dramatized audio New Testament. Isidro has recorded about 20 audio New Testaments, but he had asked to stay home for this recording because of little Juanito’s delicate state and frequent medical emergencies. Another of Viña Studios’ recording technicians, however, has requested a week off the project, and Isidro agreed to go.

*****

Besides the message Isidro and his wife heard in the Scriptures, there may be other good reasons for Isidro’s reluctance to visit the prophet. He told me an interesting story after our visit to the radio stations last week, distributing audio Scriptures in the local Mayan language.

Several years ago, it seems, a man claiming to be a prophet had started a live radio program. During his show, the prophet typically announced that God had told him about a certain listener with some kind of ailment. The prophet then prayed for the person and pronounced deliverance. Grateful listeners often stopped by giving the prophet an “offering” of cash or other gifts.

Some time later, another man also claiming to be a prophet started a similar program at the same radio station. Oddly enough, the man’s voice and manner of speaking bore a remarkable resemblance to the first prophet. Grateful listeners responded in kind, giving him “offerings.”

One day, listeners were shocked during the second prophet’s show to hear a disturbance. It seems first prophet’s ministry revenues were on the decline. So, perhaps accompanied by some of his followers, he arrived and let his displeasure be known. Soon, a fist fight broke out, prompting the frightened young woman who was operating the radio station to shut off the radio booth’s microphone and switch to the operator’s, announcing trouble had broken out at the station, pleading for listeners come quickly and stop the fight.

I forgot to ask what happened to the prophets’ radio ministries after that, but it may give you an idea why it’s important for people to hear the truth of God’s word in their own language.

Are creoles & dialects worthy of God's Word?

Which languages are worthy of having a Bible translation? I got a copy of a provocative letter addressing this question today. I liked it so much, I decided to share it here. The author is Jack Popjes, a former Bible translator to the Canela, a small Brazilian tribe.

While the nations gathered in Beijing to battle it out in the Olympic sports arenas, a different battle but also with ancient traditions rages in Jamaica. In "Translation Tiff," the September issue of Christianity Today magazine reports on the controversy surrounding the ongoing translation of the Bible into Jamaican Creole, or patois, the language spoken fluently by the vast majority of the population. While English is the official language of Jamaica, most children grow up speaking patois and learn English in school.

Letters to the newspaper editors and callers of radio phone-in programs present the usual objections to translating the Bible into patois. The common language is not good enough to express the concepts of the Bible. Patois speakers just need to learn English better. Uneducated people reading the Bible in patois will be confused because they cannot interpret passages correctly within their context.

It seems that for centuries, whenever the Bible was translated, the new translation was criticized. Jerome translated the Bible into Latin around 400 AD. It was criticized because he translated it not into the classical Latin used by orators and poets, but into the common, everyday Latin spoken by people on the street and in their homes. Jerome's translation was called the Vulgate, because it was vulgar, not in the sense of being indecent, but of being common.

Probably every translation since then has been criticised. Even the partial Bible which my wife and I translated--with the help of gifted and trained Canela associates--was criticised. Imagine that!

Whenever I showed the Canela Bible to Portuguese speaking Brazilian pastors, they automatically assumed that the translation in Canela was not as clear, as accurate, or as good as the Bible they used in preaching to their Portuguese speaking congregations.

I didn't argue with them, but I knew from sitting in their church services that they read the archaic 400 year-old Portuguese Ferreira de Almeida version, then took over half the sermon time to explain to the congregation what the passage meant. I didn't tell them that no one needed to explain what the Bible in Canela says, it speaks clearly right off the page.

Wherever in the world the Bible is translated into minority languages, criticism will probably be leveled at it. When the Bible was translated into Plautdietsch, or Low German, also called Pennsylvania Dutch, it was criticized for not being a language worthy to hold God's Word. Plautdietch was not seen as a "real" language, just bad German. Not true, of course. It is a perfectly legitimate language spoken by hundreds of thousands of Amish and Mennonite people as their native language.

Yet, even today, the church leaders in some Amish groups still insist on reading the Bible in church services only in German, even though most of the hearers don't understand German. The rest of the service, including the preaching and praying, is done in Plautdietsch, but not the Scripture reading.

In being criticized, the translators of the Bible into Jamaican patois, as well as the translation teams working in nearly 2,000 other minority languages around the world, are in good company. John Wycliffe was criticized strongly for translating the Bible into English, the first major translation since Jerome's Vulgate a thousand years before. A contemporary historian and fellow clergyman, Henry Knighton spoke for the clergy of his day when he criticised the first translation into English under the following points:

--Christ gave the Scriptures to the clergy and doctors of the Church so that they could use it to meet the needs of lay people and other weaker (uneducated) persons.
--John Wycliffe has now translated it into common English which has laid the Bible more open to literate laymen and women, than it had formerly been to the most learned of the clergy.
--The jewel of the Church, hitherto the principal gift of the clergy and the divines, has now been cast abroad, and trodden under foot of swine, and is now made ever more common to laypeople.

Henry Knighton used the wrong metaphor. The Word of God is not a jewel to be preserved in a glass case and admired by the chosen few. Jesus called it seed meant to be scattered generously everywhere. People with prepared minds and hearts will hear God's Word and act on it, and receive His blessing.

The Creator made men and women in His own image and, therefore, with the capacity to hear Him and communicate with Him. When receptive people receive the Word of God in the language they understand best, their lives are changed, they deepen their understanding of God, and grow in love for Him.

*****

For a fascinating, well-written account of how we got the English Bible, check out this website.

Did you know the first Bible printed in America was not printed in English? It was printed in the Algonquin Indian language. If you're interested and have $795,000 lying around, you can buy a copy of the so-called 1663 Eliot Indian Bible.

The Goodyear, Arizona-based Bible Museum Inc. (and associated website GreatSite.com) also offers a Tyndale Bible, a Geneva Bible, facsimiles of ancient Bibles and more.

Coming to you live from El Tablón ...

SOLOLÁ — Isidro could have warned me! Perhaps then I could have composed my thoughts, but with scant moments to prepare I found myself speaking live over the radio airwaves here on Saturday afternoon.

Thus, God answered prayer beyond my expectations, granting favor with three rural Kaqchikel radio stations, who agreed to play the dramatized audio New Testaments in the local Mayan language, Western Kaqchikel, on a regular basis.

Last month, church teams delivered 60 copies of the audio Scriptures on MP3 CDs from the Albuquerque, N.M.-based ministry, Faith Comes By Hearing.

Isidro, a Viña Studios co-worker, and I had talked and prayed about distributing the CDs, but we had no appointments, just trusting God to open doors for us. Fortunately, Isidro knew the people and the Mayan way is spur-of-the-moment and God used it.

We got a late start, but Isidro assured me it wouldn’t be a problem. I met Isidro and his daughter just before 5 p.m. at a soccer field, after a 10-minute bus ride from Sololá up the hill to an agricultural area, “El Tablón,” (the flat planting area). We headed out in his rickety pickup, first stopping to gas up, purchasing about a gallon and a half of gasoline. (Gas is about $5 a gallon here so people buy small quantities when they can afford it.)

At the first radio station, situated at the back of a metal-working shop / family home we found a young Kaqchikel woman running the radio control board, and a Kaqchikel man preaching and teaching live from the Spanish Bible, giving explanation in the Mayan language.

The station, “El Verbo,” (“The Word”), airs primarily evangelical preaching and Christian music. The station owner wasn’t home, but his wife welcomed us. Isidro explained to her the purpose of the audio Scriptures, recorded by Viña Studios and sponsored by Faith Comes By Hearing. Bible translators have found audio Scriptures are a vital media for oral learners who use their language exclusively for oral communication. Translated, printed New Testaments are available in most of Guatemala’s Mayan languages, but SIL International estimates just 5 percent can read or write their own language.

Viña recorded the Western Kaqchikel audio Scriptures some 10 years ago, but the recordings have not been widely distributed and many people are ignorant of their existence. (To hear a sample, visit this page and select the Cakchiquel Occidental language, then push the Play Sample button.) Newly available MP3 CDs are much more compact – just two discs — than the older multi-cassette versions, but not all CD players will play the digitally compressed media.

The radio station’s CD player failed to play the MP3 CDs, but the station owner’s wife succeeded in playing them on an upstairs computer connected to the station. We explained the CDs are worth about 200 quetzales ($15), asking her if they could play the Scriptures on a regular basis. She agreed to play them for 15 minutes on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays sometime between noon and 1 p.m. We prayed for the station and left praising God for the woman’s willingness to help out.

Next, we drove to “Radio Sol” (which means “Radio Sun”), an evangelical Christian radio station, a short distance up the road. A young woman, the station owner’s sister, was running the control board and quickly agreed to our proposal, promising to play the Kaqchikel audio Scriptures on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays for a half hour at 6 p.m. Then, she shocked me by asking us to go into the next booth, adjacent to the control room, and explain our program to the live radio audience. I was not expecting that at all and after figuring out that the microphone wasn’t switched on, I opened my mouth and out came some words — not well composed but well intended. Isidro followed me, explaining the program in Kaqchikel.

Later, when I expressed my surprise at the turn of events, Isidro said he fully expected she would invite us on the air. “Why didn’t you tell me?!” I asked him, jokingly. Oh, well, the surprise made the experience more memorable.

Lastly, we visited “Radio Tablón,” the most popular station in the region. We had to hike up a dirt road, then through narrow paths snaking through cornfields to reach a small housing complex on a hill where the radio station is situated. At this station, the owners play popular and Christian music, evangelical and Catholic religious programming, educational programs and news. One program about farming, sponsored by a local business, explains how to feed and care for animals. When we arrived, I could hear the popular song, “Amor Prohibido” (“Forbidden Love”), being played.

After waiting a few minutes in a small office, the station owner, a young Kaqchikel farmer, joined us and listened to our proposal. This fellow took a bit more convincing. After Isidro spoke for a while, he asked me if I would talk. So I did, unsure what exactly Isidro had communicated in his language. Thanks be to God, the man told Isidro that he would play the Scriptures for 5 minutes every day at 8 p.m!

We left giving thanks to God for opening doors for his Word. Lord willing, these radio stations will help reach the rural Kaqchikel community in the language of their heart.

Please pray these stations will follow through on their promises to play the audio Scriptures, and please pray also for the word to be a blessing to the Kaqchikel Mayans who hear them that they may grow in the knowledge and grace of God through Jesus Christ.

Disconnect seen in working age, jailing age

When is it OK for children to work? To go to jail?

I began to chew on these questions after spending an enjoyable morning Saturday with my new friends, Chris and Margaret Olson, of The Seed Company.

The day started out innocently enough. We boated across beautiful Lake Aititlán to Santiago Atitlán, where the local Mayan language is Tzutujil and locals revere a Mayan deity, Maximon. We meandered lazily up a gradual hill lined with shops selling the locals’ hand-made indigenous textiles, wooden masks, carvings, jewelry and the like.

A boy soon approached us, asking if we needed a “guide.” I didn’t think so, but Chris is a more generous soul and he was happy to help out the boy, “Gaspar,” who I would estimate is about 10. When we got thirsty, Gaspar expertly guided us to a restaurant about 40 feet up the street. Chris was very generous with Gaspar and with me, taking care of our expenses for the day.

Children often ply tourists with their wares here. Sometimes they work as families, sisters and brothers and mother or father selling various handmade goods.

After making some modest purchases and enjoying our lunch, we parted ways with Gaspar and headed back to the lake for a boat back to Panajachel, from which we had embarked in the morning. It took nearly an hour for the boat to fill with passengers, and while we waited two enterprising young girls — probably about 6 and 10 years old — eagerly presented souvenirs for sale — bright little handmade keychain trinkets. Each one was made of small shiny beads into a butterfly, a quetzal bird, an elephant, a shrimp or some other animal.

Behind me, I heard a young woman with a Castellano Spanish accent (she said she was from Madrid) turn the girls away, saying, “I don’t buy from children.” Later, as Margaret continued to negotiate with the girls (paying them quite well, I believe), the woman offered commentary,

“People should be responsible. They shouldn’t buy from children. These girls should be in school.”

I turned to her and said, “At least they’re learning to work. Besides, it’s the weekend. Today is Saturday.” The woman didn’t answer. A few minutes later, a man seated across from me (who happened to be from Barcelona, Spain) asked the girls, “Do you go to school?” “Yes,” the older one answered, giving him the name of the school.

Two weeks ago, while I was en route by bus to Guatemala City, a disturbing article appeared in Nuestro Diario, a daily paper here. “Menores como sicarios: Pandilleros los manejan,” the headline read: “Minors as hired assassins: Gang bosses control them.”

The story highlighted a problem created by a law on Guatemala’s books which states that a juvenile cannot be arrested or incarcerated. Gang leaders have seized upon this legal loophole, exploiting it to their advantage. They send out the youngsters under 18 years old to do their dirty work, killing with impunity. The article gave examples of cold-blooded killings with witnesses in broad daylight. If the killer happened to be of age, he was arrested; if he was under age, the police — following this law — just let him go. Out of 41 bus drivers killed this year for not paying extortion money, 16 were killed by minors.

I asked some friends who have lived here many years about this law. They blamed the U.N. Commission on Human Rights, which has pushed such laws, purportedly to protect the accused from wrongful prosecution. So who ends up with “rights” with the existing system? Unfortunately, not the average citizen or the crime victim but the underage killers and those who control them.

Next time some kids come by trying to sell me something, I think I’ll go out of my way to buy from them.

*****

Please pray for Guatemala’s authorities to recognize evil where it exists and to have the courage to make changes necessary to bring justice.

Isaiah had something to say about this a while back in the first chapter of his biblical tome:

"See how the faithful city
has become a harlot!
She once was full of justice;
righteousness used to dwell in her—
but now murderers!

"Your silver has become dross,
your choice wine is diluted with water.

"Your rulers are rebels,
companions of thieves;
they all love bribes
and chase after gifts.
They do not defend the cause of the fatherless;
the widow's case does not come before them.

"Therefore the Lord, the LORD Almighty,
the Mighty One of Israel, declares:
'Ah, I will get relief from my foes
and avenge myself on my enemies.

"I will turn my hand against you;
I will thoroughly purge away your dross
and remove all your impurities.

"I will restore your judges as in days of old,
your counselors as at the beginning.
Afterward you will be called
the City of Righteousness,
the Faithful City.' "

*****

For more photos from our trip, see my photo page.

Disturbance leaves two men bloody, car burned

Apparently there was some more violence down the hill in Panajachel on Friday. It didn't affect us up the hill here in Sololá, but it made the news again.

It seems someone was accused of being an extortionist, and townspeople got whipped into a frenzy. They managed to chase down (the paper doesn't say how) the two guys' car, pull them out and beat them up.

Some 800 townspeople quickly gathered. The riled up folks started beating the two guys, threatening to take their lives. For good measure, they flipped over the car and set it on fire. Local police managed to intervene (which is pretty rare in itself) and save the guys' lives, transporting them to a jail a couple of hours away.

Fortunately, no one died, but judging by the photos in Nuestro Diario, they received quite a few blows. It looked like they went 15 rounds with Mike Tyson and Evander Holyfield.

Please pray for Guatemala's authorities to fulfill their roles and uphold justice so that people will have confidence in the legal system here. Here's a link to the Spanish-language Prensa Libre account.

*****

A friend wrote an interesting reflection today on death after the passing of her mother-in-law. She and her husband work in Africa among Sudanese refugees.

Visa acquired, Viña inspired in week's planning

SOLOLÁ — A series of speedy bus rides and efficient bus transfers whisked me back here from Mexico in 9 1/2 hours on Monday; since then my mind has had to shift gears as I’ve been immersed in planning and strategizing here at Viña Studios.

I’m happy to have made it safely home, grateful for the bus drivers who were just cautious enough to avoid accidents and patient enough to slow down to bump and bounce across dozens and dozens and dozens of speed bumps in the highways. Fortunately, I accomplished what I needed to on the trip — got my visa renewed.

This week, we have been blessed this week with the presence of Ted Hartlett, a Conneciticut-based communications consultant and Chris and Margaret Olson, from Albuquerque, N.M., who work with The Seed Company, a Wycliffe Bible Translators affiliate. Ted is the owner of Bridge Communications Group and music pastor at Hope Evangelical Free Church, Wilton, Conn. Margaret is The Seed Company’s strategic planning coordinator and field coordinator for the Americas; Chris works as its church partnership coordinator.

I can’t keep straight all the things we’ve discussed — they seem to be multi-layered —, but one thing the group did yesterday was to identify a list of 12 key projects Viña has been hoping to accomplish, prioritizing them, thinking through ways not only to pursue them, but how to communicate that vision and invite others to join us in pursuing these goals.

Some of top priorities include workshops to develop contextualized theology for the indigenous church, sociolinguistic projects including a history of Bible translation, translating a key book “Communicating Christ to Animistic Cultures,” producing contextualized videos of parables in indigenous life situations, contextualized videos of pastors teaching in animistic contexts, translating a 64-episode audio panorama of the Bible into indigenous languages and more.

We hope these projects will help remove barriers to biblical understanding and transform lives for the glory of Christ. One of the challenges we face is implementing all this good planning. We’d appreciate your prayers for wisdom and that these projects would further the kingdom of God here in Guatemala.

*****

Walking back to town, I noticed a view I hadn't seen before. Here's a Kaqchikel farmer spraying his crops.

Meandering across town ends with direct word

SAN CRISTOBAL DE LAS CASAS, Mexico — Wandering the picturesque streets of this tourist town this morning, I had real trouble discovering an evangelical church to attend.

I visited the Catholic church, but I wanted to attend a church where the preaching might be somewhat more familiar. Finding no evangelical church, I stopped and asked an older gentleman, who pointed me to the other side of the town’s fruit and vegetable market.

Eventually, I found the Iglesia Emanuel del Nazareno. During the Sunday school class, an elder taught on Acts 20:24, where Paul says,

“But none of these things move me, neither do count I my life dear to myself, so that I might finish my course with joy, and the ministry, which I have received of the Lord Jesus, to testify to the gospel of the grace of God.”

The teacher asked us four questions: 1) Who called you? 2) Why did he call you? 3) For what purpose did he call you? 4) What are you doing with this calling? (Wow! Do you ever feel like God is singling you out in a sermon, giving you a wake-up call?)

At the end of his life, Paul faced imprisonment and death, yet he counted his life as nothing. His call drove him to finish well. His purpose and passion was to give testimony to the grace of God in Jesus Christ — the good news.

Today, there are somewhere around 13 million illegal aliens in the United States. Most are Mexican. An estimated 1.6 million are Guatemalan. Many live in fear of being kicked out of the country at any moment, losing their chance at the “American dream.” What if President Bush granted amnesty to whomever would claim it at a local county clerk’s office during, say, the last week of August?

Do I count my life, my interests and my time dear (my first priority to meet my needs), or do I go out of my way to testify to God’s grace, telling people who may not know of the “week-long” amnesty before judgment? I’m not good at this. It’s not something I do. But why not? It’s good news!

I spent the afternoon reading and thinking about Ephesians chapter 1, a treasure-trove of truths explaining God’s incredible calling for those who believe. He has adopted us as sons and daughters, washed our sins in Christ’s blood to make us perfectly clean without any blemish, given us his Holy Spirit and granted us an inheritance that lasts forever. Why? For the praise of his glorious grace. I don’t deserve any of this. I deserve God’s wrath and judgment, yet his grace in Christ is for anyone who believes.

God is awesome.

*****

Here are a few of the photos I took while I wandered around yesterday and today. There are more at my Flickr page, which you can also find by clicking on the slideshow on the right column. San Cristobal is quite a picturesque town, and the indigenous women wear colorful outfits (the men wear western attire).

Road trip takes me to San Cristobal, Mexico

SAN CRISTOBAL DE LAS CASAS, Mexico — A car, a van, a pickup, two minibuses and an hour of wandering the streets brought me safely here to a cheap hotel, having departed Huehuetenango about eight hours earlier.

I had only planned on crossing the border and going back, but border officials expect folks to be here at least a day, if not longer, so I headed to the closest town. At Comitan, Mexico, I met a nice young Mexican man who wanted to practice his English with me. He convinced me to push on here to San Cristobal, an older city with more character, just two hours down the road.

I spent Friday at the home of David and Helen Ekstrom in Huehuetenango, a city in northwest Guatemala. The Ekstroms are missionaries with the Central American Mission (CAM), and have worked among Mayans since arriving here in February, 1951, translating the Bible into several local languages. They were gracious hosts, and I enjoyed eating Helen’s tasty western food, including biscuits. It was interesting to hear Dave’s stories, and I hope I get the chance to write them up someday soon.

Saturday morning, I hitched a ride nearly to the Mexican border with Dave and Helen’s neighbor, Jeff Nelson, who works with SEPAL in Guatemala. Jeff and two SEPAL associates were headed to a remote Chuj Mayan village north of Nenton, near the border. As we traveled windy roads, the Mayan women’s changing colors and styles of clothing indicated we were passing through different language and people-group areas. Jeff and his friends were planning to meet some Chuj church leaders to discuss promoting and using some MegaVoice players. The digital players have the audio Chuj Bible stored inside. Audio Scriptures are especially important for people who don’t read and write their own language.

I’m here in Mexico to renew my Guatemalan visa, allowing me to stay three more months. Lord willing, I should return to Oregon on Nov. 12, for those readers who like keeping track of that sort of thing.

I have no idea how many San Cristobals there are in Mexico, but I believe there are at least six in Guatemala. More than six years ago, I moved to San Cristobal Verapaz, Guatemala for four months to tutor the three eldest boys of Boris and Beth Ramirez, linguists and Bible translators among the Poqomchí Mayans. They have been living in Pennsylvania for a few years, but they plan to return to San Cristobal this November to finish the New Testament translation. Please pray for them, the Poqomchí churches and the Lord's blessing on that important work.

Ixil Bible dedicated amidst pomp, ceremony

NEBAJ — Music, speeches and Bible readings accompanied Tuesday’s four-hour dedication of the Ixil New Testamant of Nebaj.

Four men who worked on the translation — Ray Elliott, Andrés Velasco Brito, Gabriel Raymundo and David Henne — gave speeches, thanking God for his blessing on their work.

Thirty minutes after the dedication began, nearly half of the seats sat empty and I began to wonder if many Ixil people were too occupied with their week-long town celebration. But just then, the floodgates opened and for the next half hour, Ixil Mayans continued to stream into the auditorium filling it beyond capacity.

As different people read from from the new Ixil translation, many Ixil believers followed along in their newly purchased New Testaments. For several years, Sharon Rosenwald has worked with Ixil Mayans here — especially with Benito Brito and Jacinto Cobo Cobo — to teach the Ixil to read their own language.

I had anticipated many more quotations than I managed to capture, but as it should be most of the speeches were given in Ixil, pronounced e-SHEEL. Diego Cedillo Velasco, director of Radio Ixil, a Christian radio station, expressed gratitude over having the New Testament in his own language: “We rejoice to have the gift of the work of many brothers in our hands, and now we will be able to study it,” he said.

As the hours rolled by, enterprising young shoe-shine boys entered the hall offering their services. Several of us got a fresh “lustre,” although I cringed at paying a bit of an inflated price (nearly 70 cents).

While we listened to the Ixil speeches, I chatted with Bob Gunn, SIL International’s regional director, who arrived here from Panama for the dedication. He has attended dozens of such ceremonies, and each one is different, he said. Sometimes, organizers invite indigenous speakers of all ages to read from the newly published text. Sometimes, they include responsive readings. From there, the festivities can go many different directions.

Lord willing, this Ixil translation will not only be revered but used by the Ixil. Much depends on this: acceptance of the translation by pastors, literacy, successful promotion and distribution. Ray Elliott told me last week that he was encouraged to meet several different people who were already using the new translation. One fellow, however, a former translation assistant, rejects it, insisting the Spanish Bible, specifically the Reina-Valera translation revised in 1960, is the true Word of God.

Please pray for the Ixil who now have the New Testament in their own heart-language to grow in grace and knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ, being fed with regular study of God’s word, allowing it to transform their hearts and lives for the glory of God.

Elliott's saga: midwest pastor to Ixil translator

NEBAJ, Guatemala— When Ray Elliott and his wife, Helen, took the job of student pastor at a small church in northwest Oklahoma, he had no idea he would one day wind up here in this small, fertile valley where people speak a strange language.

But just as Elliott and his wife were trying to make a good impression on the townspeople, God sent an itinerant preacher from Arkansas riding into town on horseback. The preacher had lived a hard life and was dying of syphilis, having converted to faith in Jesus Christ late in life.

But the preacher recognized the difference between do-good religion and faith firmly placed in the work of Jesus Christ on the cross. So the preacher kept after the Elliotts, trying to persuade them. He annoyed them, but God used his persistence and one evening they both came to faith in the true Gospel of grace.

“After we were led to the Lord by this preacher, the Scriptures took on a whole new meaning to me,” Elliott told a dinner crowd of more than 100 people here Monday to attend Tuesday’s dedication of the Ixil Bible translation. “It still amazes me.”

Meanwhile, the Lord had sent a blind man to Nebaj. The man, a follower of Jesus Christ, desired to share God’s Word with the people, but he didn’t speak Ixil and knew he wasn’t the man to do the job of translating the Scriptures. So he began praying.

After Elliott received Bible training at Wheaton College, he planned to go to China and become a missionary, serving with Hudson Taylor’s China Inland Mission. “As it turned out, 1949 was not a good year to go to China,” Elliott said.

So on the fourth of July, 1953, Elliott and his wife stepped foot in Guatemala, heading to Nebaj to answer the blind man’s prayers, having heeded the pleadings of the dying, horseback preacher.

Still bemused at his first faltering attempts to master the strange sounds of Ixil, Elliott related how much trouble he had trying to learn to say the Ixil word for “dog” correctly. First his language helper said the word; then he tried it. No, that’s not it. He tried again. No, that’s not it either. “No, that means to eat meat or bite somebody,” the man told Elliott.

“It went along that way for quite a while,” Elliott said. “Finally, I said ‘chit’ and he said, ‘Yeah, that’s it!’” Elliott said he thought to himself, “What did I do different?”

After three years of studying the Ixil language, Elliott decided to try to translate a Bible story. Then he traveled to Chajul, one of the three towns in the so-called “Ixil Triangle.” There, he told the story to a man, anticipating a good response. After he finished, the man said, “That sounded pretty good, but when are you going to do that in my language?” About that time, Elliott began to realize just how profound the differences are between the languages spoken in the three towns: Nebaj, Chajul and Cotzal. He compares them to Italian, Spanish and French, saying, “I don’t know anybody who says those are the same language.”

In 1960, he translated the Gospel of Mark. Though he later felt embarrassed at how it read, he said God amazed him by using it to start new congregations of believers in places he had never visited.

As he continued his work, Elliott encountered new problems. When Jesus called Andrew and Peter, who were along the Sea of Galilee, which one was the oldest? When Jesus turned over the tables and chairs in the temple, did the chairs land on their sides or with the legs pointing up?

He hit more rough water at I Peter 5:7, where Peter writes, “Cast all your cares on God because he cares for you.” As Elliott doggedly attempted to state the idea several different ways, his Ixil co-translator continued to refuse every version. Finally, Elliott asked, “Well, if we say that, what would an Ixil person think?”

“Well, if we said that, people would get the idea that God was individually interested in them, and we can’t say that,” the man answered.

Elliott said, “That’s exactly what it says and what I’m trying to say.” Hearing that and finally understanding it, the man leaned back in his chair and started to laugh.

“The God who created the universe is interested in me?!” the man asked. Elliott added, “He couldn’t get over it.” When the man returned home, he told his family the new things he had learned and it revolutionized their lives, Elliott said, noting, “It reminded me how God’s word can change lives when people hear it and obey it.”

*****

Note: Through a series of events and the untimely deaths of at least two translators, the Nebaj Ixil translation later involved about a half dozen different linguists, including David Henne, Dwight Jewitt, an Ixil woman named Juana, and Tim Carey (some are pictured here). It was finally finished last year and published this year. Viña Studios recording team came here in February and March to record it. Locals should be able to hear it later this year when it becomes available through Faith Comes By Hearing.

Musicians pictured above accompanied Monday evening's dinner. Primarily, they are the family of Benito Brito, director of the Centro Educativo Cristiano Ixil. The dinner was organized by Sharon Rosenwald, an SIL International worker, whose webpage has more information about the Ixil here in Nebaj.

It was touching to see all eight of Elliott's children in attendance at the dinner last evening. They all arrived here for a week together and to attend the dedication today, touring Viña's offices last Thursday and praying for our ministry.

This week Nebaj holds its annual celebration with lots of fireworks and beautiful princesses. Above there's a photo of a young Ixil princess ready to be carted off to the stage for pomp and ceremony.

For Spanish readers, there's a lot of information about Nebaj and the Ixil on this website.

Viña says good-bye to summer volunteer

SOLOLÁ — We celebrated the pending exit of another Viña Studios volunteer Friday morning.

Kaye has been a great addition to our team at Viña these past few months, a rose among thorns. Her official role was to review Viña’s entire video library and produce a catalog for distribution. Her second role was to keep us entertained and to inject social levity and cohesion to this bunch of guys.

All of the employees at Viña are men, which explains why the men’s restroom is about three times larger than the women’s. Marcia Wellser, the wife of Matt Wellser, who works in administration, is the only other woman here at Viña; Marcia works in scripture-use programs. Matt and Marcia knew Kaye from their years working together at SIL International’s Dallas offices.

Kaye told me she was happy to work among so many men here. “Kati,” as she was known to us here, often added more flavor to the social mix than we usually achieve here with her frequent exclamations of surprise, joy or welcome. Kaye formerly worked in SIL’s offices in Colombia so she is quite comfortable speaking Spanish. During our morning devotionals or the morning coffee break, Kaye often added welcome words of encouragement, advice or humor.

It’s easy to surprise Kaye. So easy, in fact, that we knew it would be no disappointment for her to check ahead of time and ask if she could come in a little earlier Friday for a “surprise” breakfast at a local restaurant. Sure enough, Kaye was just as enthusiastic as ever when we “surprised” her with a few going away gifts. She seemed to especially enjoy the empty box and the Dedito soldier from our upcoming episode about Joshua and the fall of Jericho.

Kaye’s usual exclamation of surprise is a loud, “What?!!!!” A few weeks ago, while I was still on my raw-garlic-prevents-stomach-bugs health kick, I decided to shave my beard. That morning, Kaye arrived late for the start of the devotional and she snuck in, head down, taking an open seat beside me. After the reading, I made a comment and Kaye looked up at me. “What?!!!!!” she exclaimed at seeing the stranger with the clean-shaven face. Kaye said she knew it was me because of the garlic odor, but otherwise I guess I shocked her.

For the last few months, Kaye has reviewed Viña’s dubbed Christian videos, such as the “Jesus” film and dozens more, in all the different languages of Guatemala that we have on hand. Over three months, Kaye viewed hundreds of VHS videos, noting the content and the master tape’s quality — whether they are good enough to digitize on a DVD. We knew it was a big job, and it turned out to be a bigger project than anyone imagined, I think. It’s not over, but we hope to build on Kaye’s work and eventually have Viña’s entire catalog available online and in print to help us better promote and distribute all the materials Viña has produced over the past 25 years.

On Tuesday, Kaye flies to the states for a month and then back to Guyana, just north of Brazil, where she assists a Bible translator. The Lord bless you and keep you, Kaye. We’ll miss you. It’s going to be a lot quieter and duller around here without you.

*****

Note: I called Kaye a summer volunteer. Actually, it's summer where most of my blog's readers are (the U.S.), but here it's rainy season. It's usually sunny in the mornings and often rainy in the afternoon and evenings, today included.

Lampeter team finishes week at Viña Studios

SOLOLÁ — We bade farewell to the Lampeter United Methodist Church team from Lancaster County, Penn. yesterday, enjoying two cakes with them in the morning and exchanging gifts in the afternoon.

Appropriately, the LUMC team gave soccer balls to several of the Viña Studios’ crew. Several members of the Lampeter team work at Wycliffe Bible Translators’ regional office there in Lancaster County. So the soccer balls they gave have the phrase, “Jesus Loves You,” written in 40 different languages from around the world. The Viña staff, soccer afficianados to a man, was quite excited over those gifts.

Pastor Dave Nissly received a “Dedito” finger puppet mounted on a block of wood with a Guatemalan flag as a memento from their week working with us here. I didn’t realize just how much painting was going on till I stepped out on the roof and saw Youth Pastor Mike Yowler and Carl Campbell painting. When Mike blew his nose and red paint came out, he realized just how much the air-gun paint sprayer was dusting it up.

One enjoyable aspect of the team’s stay was their eagerness to try some of the local fruits and snacks. We shared pitaya, a cactus fruit with purple meat and small black seeds, similar to kiwi fruit (but a lot less hassle to eat); lichi fruit, a hairy little red ball (native to Southeast Asia) which has sweet white flesh inside and “rellenitos,” platano stuffed with black beans and rolled in sugar.

The team left us here yesterday to work at the Eagle’s Nest Orphanage, where they have been staying. Tomorrow, they’re headed across Lake Atitlán to San Pedro La Laguna where they’ll visit a church and tour around a bit.

It was a pleasure to have the team here, and their eagerness to finish as much work as they could was a welcome blessing. Mike, Carl and Dave were pounding away late afternoon Friday, trying to install a stubborn wooden box they had constructed to cover unsightly overhead piping. The staff was quite pleased here with the quality of the Deditos characters and set work done by Sue Hoiland and her daughter Heidi, along with Kelly Becker and Linda Nissly. The new curtains look great, too, ladies!

It had been nearly a decade since Sue had visited Guatemala, but she told me she hopes it won’t be nearly so long before her next visit, perhaps even next summer.

Thanks, you guys, for the lift you gave us this week! May the Lord bless and keep you and make His face to shine upon you. See you next year?

*****
While the team was here, Sue’s daughter, Heidi, acted as the team’s designated photographer. I thought she did quite well. Here are a few of the photos she shared with me.