Word Alive Magazine - Spring 2013

Bible Translation Milestone Reached + Scriptures for 31 Languages + Catching Our Breath for the Final Sprint

Nomads No Longer

Spring 2013

Wycliffe Bible Translators of Canada

Settled in a community of their own, the Naskapi people of Quebec deepen their spiritual roots with help from the translated Scriptures.

2 Word Alive • Spring 2013 • wycliffe.ca

Spring 2013 • Volume 31• Number 1Word Alive, which takes its name from Hebrews 4:12a, is the official publication of Wycliffe Bible Translators of Canada. Its mission is to inform, inspire and involve the Christian public as partners in the worldwide Bible translation movement.Editor: Dwayne Janke Designer: Cindy Buckshon Senior Staff Writer: Doug Lockhart Staff Writers: Janet Seever Staff Photographers: Alan Hood, Natasha Schmale

Word Alive is published four times annually by Wycliffe Bible Translators of Canada, 4316 10 St NE, Calgary AB T2E 6K3. Copyright 2013 by Wycliffe Bible Translators of Canada. Permission to reprint articles and other magazine contents may be obtained by written request to the editor. A donation of $20 annually is suggested to cover the cost of printing and mailing the magazine. (Donate online or use the reply form in this issue.) Printed in Canada by McCallum Printing Group, Edmonton.Member: The Canadian Church Press, Evangelical Press Association. For additional copies: [email protected] To contact the editor: [email protected] For address updates: [email protected]

Wycliffe serves minority language groups worldwide by fostering an understanding of God’s Word through Bible translation, while nurturing literacy, education and stronger communities.

Canadian Head Office: 4316 10 St NE, Calgary AB T2E 6K3. Phone: (403) 250-5411 or toll free 1-800-463-1143, 8:30 a.m.–4:30 p.m. mountain time. Fax: (403) 250-2623. Email: [email protected]. French speakers: Call toll free 1-877-747-2622 or email [email protected]

Cover: Naskapi parishioners make their way home following a Sunday morning service at St. John’s Anglican Church in Kawawachikamach, Quebec. Now more than ever, the Naskapis’ expressions of faith are being shaped and strengthened by Scripture in their mother tongue..

Foreword

Gathering stories for this issue of Word Alive was an unusual assignment filled with “firsts” for senior staff writer Doug Lockhart. For starters, Doug (with photographer Alan

Hood) travelled on assignment to Eastern Canada. Secondly, he visited a First Nations community—another thing he had never done before for Word Alive. Thirdly, the story took him to a remote community in Quebec, a province he had never visited.

In other ways, though, Doug’s visit to the town of Kawawachikamach [KA-wa-wa-CHIK-ah-match] was similar to previous assignments he has been on with Word Alive photographers over the years.

Like people in Africa, South America and many other regions of the world, the Naskapis are discovering God’s Word in their mother tongue, with the involvement of Wycliffe personnel—in this case, Bill and Norma Jean Jancewicz.

And like many other language groups where Bible translation is underway, or completed, they’re learning how to read their language and apply the translated Scriptures to their everyday lives.

“Over and over again,” Doug says, “Naskapi people told us, ‘This (Scripture in their language) is important to us as a people. Our language is part of who we are, part of our identity.’

“The more we learned about their past, the more we appreciated how much they have suffered,” he adds. “There were times they nearly perished as a people, but today you can see and hear the pride they have in their language and culture, and the renewed

hope they’ve found through Bible translation and language development.

“It was a real privilege to spend a week in their community, and to see what God is doing among them.”

Of course, God is advancing His Kingdom among language groups everywhere. Read Janet Seever’s “Translation Update” story (see pg. 30). It gives a more global perspective of Scripture completions this past year that involved Wycliffe personnel. Janet works hard all year tracking the progress of Bible translation projects, highlighting Canadian involvement and giving a summary and statistical overview of finished work in the far reaches of the world.

And speaking of global progress, don’t miss reading about an important imminent Bible translation milestone in the lead news item of our “Watchword” section on page 4. Spoiler alert: For the first time ever, the number of languages in the world with Bible translation underway is greater than the number of known languages that still need work to begin in them!

Now that is an unusual “first” that’s difficult to top. But given that our God is smack in the middle of giving His Word to Bibleless peoples, I’m sure there will be other heaven-sent, surpassing firsts coming our way.

Lord willing, we here at Word Alive will be ready to report on them.

Unusual FirstsDwayne Janke

From Quebec to the far reaches of

the world, God is advancing His

Kingdom among language groups

everywhere.

In Others’ Words“I shall give myself no rest until my people have the whole of the Word of God in their hands.”

—Bishop John Horden (1828-1893), first Anglican Bishop of Moosonee, Ont.; Bible translator of

Moose Cree Scriptures, also used by the Naskapi people until recently (see stories, pgs. 6-29)

mailto:[email protected]





http://www.wycliffe.ca/

3Word Alive • Spring 2013 • wycliffe.ca

Contents

FeaturesArticles by Doug Lockhart · Photographs by Alan Hood

6 Nomads No Longer Settled in a community of their own, the Naskapi people of Quebec deepen their spiritual roots with help from the translated Scriptures.

18 Northern Composure After a rough start, a Wycliffe Canada couple persevered to help a remote First Nations community receive God’s Word in their language.

26 A Prized Opportunity An internship with Wycliffe helped one Ontario student understand the impact of Bible translation on a First Nations community.

30 Singing in Celebration The Sabaot Bible was one of 31 New Testaments and Bibles dedicated for more than 14 million people, with Canadian involvement, this past year.

By Janet Seever

Departments2 Foreword Unusual Firsts

By Dwayne Janke

4 Watchword Bible Translation Reaches Key Milestone

32 Beyond Words Translating the Gospel, Parts 5 & 6 By Hart Wiens

34 A Thousand Words Devotion in Motion

35 Last Word Catching Our Breath for the Final Sprint By Roy Eyre

6

30

18

26


50CHINA

MYANMAR

THAILAND

KAMPUCHEA

BHUTAN

VIETNAM

LAOSBANGLADESH

MALAYSIA

PAPUA NEW GUINEA

BRUNEI

SINGAPORE

PHILIPPINES

TAIWAN

MALAYSIA

INDONESIA

AUSTRALIA

Port Moresby

TURKEY

GREECE

CYPRUS

KENYA

ETHIOPIA

ERITREASUDAN

EGYPT

SOMALIA

LIBYA

CHAD

TANZANIA

ZAIRE

CENTRAL AFRICANREPUBLIC

UGANDA

BURUNDI

RWANDA

DJIBOUTI

JORDAN

ISRAELLEBANON

KUWAIT

QATAR

U. A. E.

OMAN

YEMEN

SYRIA

IRAQ IRAN

OMAN

SAUDI ARABIA

TURKMENISTAN

Addis Ababa

Americas14%

Africa34%

Asia32%

Pacific region

17%

Europe3%

Americas4%

Africa40%

Asia31%

Pacific region

21%

Europe4%


For the first time ever, languages in the world with active Bible translation

projects actually outnumber those that still need work to begin in them.

According to new statistics from the Wycliffe Global Alliance, Bible translation is currently underway in 2,075 languages, while only 1,967 languages still need translation to start. A year ago, the figures were 1,976 in progress and 2,040 in need respectively.

The milestone in the global Bible translation effort reflects the ongoing acceleration that has resulted since Vision 2025 was adopted by Wycliffe and others in 1999. It aims to see Bible translation in progress in every language needing it by the year 2025. In 1999, 3,000 languages still needed translation to begin.

Breaking down the current 2,075 in-progress figure, 717 Bible translation projects are in Africa; 672 in Asia; 350 in the Pacific region; 282 in the Americas; and 54 in Europe. About three-quarters of the Bible translation projects underway involve Wycliffe personnel.

Of those languages still needing Bible translation to begin, 790 are spoken in Africa; 616 are in Asia; 404

are in the Pacific area; 81 are in the Americas; and 76 are in Europe.For all of the 2012 Bible translation statistics, visit <www.wycliffe.net>

and click “Statistics.” See also the related “Last Word” column on page 35.

GILLBT Marks Golden AnniversaryBible Translation Reaches Key Milestone

B.T. Projects in Progress (by region)

B.T. Projects still needed (by region)

Former Wycliffe Canada Director Dies

From Torture to Triumph

Ethiopia’s Gamo people arrived by the thousands at Chencha town square this past June to celebrate the launch of the New

Testament in their language.The celebration was a far cry from the years before and during

the communist regime in the African country. Many Gamo Christians were brought to the same square then to be beaten, tortured and martyred for their faith in Christ.

The Gamo are located in the southwestern part of Ethiopia, home to 88 languages. Personnel with six organizations, including Wycliffe, are part of a joint venture to translate the Scriptures into the nearly 30 languages that still need them.

Ray Nicholson, a former director of Wycliffe Bible Translators of Canada, passed away this past October.

He was 82.Nicholson (pictured at left) led Wycliffe Canada from

1972-74. That post was part of a career of service with Wycliffe that spanned 56 years.

Nicholson and his wife Ruth began their work with Wycliffe in 1957 in Papua New Guinea (PNG). Ray was

involved in translation and literacy among the Fore people and spent six years as director of the PNG field orientation program. He later served the branch in relating to the PNG government (1974-76) and held the position of regional area director in PNG (1980-89). Most recently (from 1990 to 2012), the Nicholsons worked as Wycliffe representatives in the Mount Forest, Ont., area.

Nicholson was known as a gentle man who loved Jesus and had a heart for Bibleless people. He is survived by his wife Ruth, five adult children, 19 grandchildren and five great-grandchildren.

Watchword

Wycliife Global Alliance’s member organization in Ghana, Africa, has wrapped up a year-long celebration of its

50 years of service. The Ghana Institute of Linguistics, Literacy and Bible Translation (GILLBT) held a two-day conference in Accra this past September, on the state of Bible translation and use. It was a time of reflection on the past, present and future of Bible translation in the languages of Ghana and all of Africa.

GILLBT was established in 1962, with the participation and help of SIL International (Wycliffe’s main field partner). Since then GILLBT has been doing Bible translation, language work and mother-tongue lit-eracy promotion in many of Ghana’s nearly 80 language communities.

Through GILLBT’s efforts, the New Testament has been translated into 28 languages, and the Old Testament into five. GILLBT currently has four New Testament and 11 Old Testament projects in progress.

Traditional dancers celebrate giLLbt’s golden anniversary.

GIL

LBT

Courtesy of Ray Nicholson family

Source: Wycliffe Global Alliance, September, 2012

http://www.wycliffe.net


50CHINA

MYANMAR

THAILAND

KAMPUCHEA

BHUTAN

VIETNAM

LAOSBANGLADESH

MALAYSIA

PAPUA NEW GUINEA

BRUNEI

SINGAPORE

PHILIPPINES

TAIWAN

MALAYSIA

INDONESIA

AUSTRALIA

Port Moresby


The Bible Translation Association of Papua New Guinea (BTA) is rejoicing that it now has a core group of trained personnel

to expand the Bible storytelling movement in their Pacific nation.A Wycliffe Global Alliance member, BTA held the final part

of a three-year Oral Bible Storytelling training project this past September. The 28 graduates (such as the one pictured at right) were from nine language groups.

Graduates demonstrated they can learn a Bible story thoroughly in English (one of PNG’s official languages); tell it in their own language; test the story with other speakers of the languages; and check the revised story with a person with good Bible knowledge. The storytellers will go through this rigorous process for each Bible story because they don’t yet have God’s Word translated into their own languages.

Bible storytelling is a growing strategy in Wycliffe to systematically present the Bible’s message in oral form so people in oral cultures, like many of PNG’s 860 language groups, can understand it effectively.

Software Prepared for Sign Language Translation

Wycliffe personnel are creating dictionary software for use in Bible translation among the world’s estimated 400 sign

languages used by the Deaf.The computer software is designed so Deaf people will be able

to record their sign languages, learn how to write what they can sign (using several different options) and create dictionaries. Hearing people will also be able to use the software to learn and analyze sign languages.

Because the Deaf are very visual, the program uses icons with few written menu items.

The software is set for field testing in Deaf translation projects in Asia and the Pacific. Developers are hoping this will yield plenty of helpful feedback for improving the tool and releasing it more widely.

PNG Bible Storytellers Get Rigorous Training “before We Die” Mozambique’s Takwane Bible

translation team has completed a three-year project recording the Genesis Film in their language.

In addition, The Takwane mini-Bible (the books of Genesis, Exodus, Mark, Luke, Acts, Ephesians, 1 Timothy and Hebrews) has been prepared and is in use among the language’s 180,000 speakers.

But the team in the East African nation is not resting on its laurels: it is now translating in Matthew and Revelation.

“Everyone has been healthy and we have had few interruptions so we have enjoyed good progress,” reports a team leader. “As one of our colleagues said today, ‘We want to finish this before we die!’

“We are all feeling the momentum build as chapters slide into the ‘done’ column fairly regularly these days.”

Tool in Works for Translation Among 500 Bantu Languages

An important manual is being prepared to help

Bible translation efforts for the 500 Bantu languages of eastern

and southern Africa, where work is ongoing or yet to start.The manual is one of the tools of the so-called Comparative Bantu

Narrative Discourse Project. It will explain to translation teams and consultants how Bantu languages typically differ from the biblical languages of Greek and Hebrew in their grammar structure.

Steve Nicolle, translation/linguistics consultant with Wycliffe’s partner, SIL International, in Africa hopes the manual is completed by year’s end. It will be based on 15 Bantu languages spoken in Democratic Republic of the Congo, Tanzania, Mozambique and Kenya.

Bantu languages of sub-Saharan Africa share many similarities. Developing tools and materials for Bible translation and literacy will make the work more efficient.

Source: Wycliffe Global Alliance, Sept. 2011

SIL – PNG/©Tim Scott

Word CountOrigin of the nearly 10,000 personnel serving with Wycliffe and partner SIL International around the world (besides the 6,550 from North & South America):

EuropeAsiaPacific regionAfrica

1,442855840295


Settled in a community of their own, the Naskapi people of Quebec deepen their spiritual roots with help from the translated Scriptures. Stories by Doug Lockhart • Photographs by Alan Hood


No Longer

Long before European explorers and traders began arriving in northern Quebec and Labrador, the Naskapi people followed their main food source, the caribou, across the barren tundra from Hudson Bay in the west to Labrador’s

east coast. Then in 1831, the Naskapis pitched their tents near the Hudson’s Bay Company (HBC) trading post at Fort Chimo—beginning a long trading relationship with the then storied British company. But over time, the Naskapis grew increasingly dependent on the HBC for food and supplies.

Ironically, the HBC’s role in providing physical food for the hardy northern band led to the Naskapis’ first taste of “milk” from God’s Word. Anglican clergy attached to the HBC posts introduced the Naskapis to the gospel, teaching some of them to read and write from a Cree translation of the New Testament. Eventually, the band embraced Anglican forms of worship, using Cree Scriptures, prayer books and hymns. For more than 100 years, the Naskapis relied on literate elders to read aloud from the Cree texts and interpret “on the fly” whenever they gathered to worship.

Then in the late 1960s, a Wycliffe-initiated language survey of northern Quebec identified the need for a Naskapi translation of the Bible. The survey opened the door for a long-term language project that resulted in the publication of the Naskapi New Testament in 2007 (see Word Alive, Spring 2008). Furthermore, the project has helped spark renewed interest among the Naskapis in their own history and culture, as well as mother tongue literacy.

(Left) Flanked by photos of their nomadic ancestors hanging in the Naskapi Development Corporation office, two young girls do some texting while perusing the Naskapi New Testament. In their rapidly-changing world, Naskapi youth have an advantage their ancestors never enjoyed—the ability to read and write their own language. Vernacular literacy, a byproduct of a Bible translation project in this community, is helping a new generation of Naskapis—and their elders (top, right)—get their hands on biblical and cultural materials written in their heart language.


http://wordalive.wycliffe.ca/


turbulent History Today, more than 1,100 Naskapis live in the community of Kawawachikamach [KA-wa-wa-CHIK-ah-match] (abbreviated Kawawa), a 15-km drive northeast of Schefferville, Que. A mining town built in the mid-’50s by the Iron Ore Company of Canada (IOC), Schefferville is accessible only by air or a 550-kilometre train ride from Sept-Iles.

Kawawa’s name means “by a winding lake,” but the picturesque community, surrounded by verdant forests and endless muskeg, has only been the Naskapis’ home for the past 30 years.

After Fort Chimo closed in 1842, the Naskapis trekked southwards to be near another HBC trading post, Fort Nascopie. Thus began a long and turbulent history that included three more major upheavals, until 23 families left Fort Chimo by canoe in the summer of 1956 and headed for Schefferville.

While details are disputed, it was reported that officials in Schefferville had no idea the Naskapis were coming and had to scramble to find a suitable place for them to settle. In any case, for the first time in their history, the Naskapis began living in houses, at nearby John Lake.

They endured one more forced relocation until finally, after negotiating agreements in the 1970s with both the federal and provincial governments, they moved for the last time in 1983 to their own community of Kawawa.

More than 1,100 Naskapis now live in Kawawachikamach (or Kawawa, for short), near the mining town of Schefferville, Que. The Naskapis, who once roamed throughout northern Quebec and Labrador following vast herds of caribou, numbered fewer than 400 when they began settling here in 1983.

Current location Former range

QueBeC





Called by godIn 1987, God was preparing a young couple from Connecticut, Bill and Norma Jean Jancewicz [yan-SEH-vitch], to work among the Naskapis (see “Northern Composure,” pg. 18). Bill had just completed a linguistics course taught by SIL, Wycliffe’s main partner organization, but expected that he’d be serving in a support role like graphic design or running a print shop.

“We had been praying, ‘Lord, what do you want us to do?’ ” Bill says. “We had thought about serving in Canada or Alaska, so we were kind of leaning that way.”

Bill visited Kawawa that year with Wycliffe’s Don Hekman, who had done language survey in the area. They met with members of the band council, who invited Bill to return with his family and live in the community of 300-plus.

Sensing that God was calling them to help translate Scripture for the Naskapis, Bill and Norma Jean moved with their two young children to Kawawa in 1988. The family’s transition into community life was aided by the use of English as the second language in Kawawa and also in nearby Schefferville (along with French). As Norma Jean cared for their children and got to know their neighbours, Bill concentrated on learning the Naskapi language. Fortunately for him, Wycliffe’s Lana Martens and Carol Chase had done some foundational language analysis during the ’70s and linguists affiliated with Memorial University of Newfoundland were working on a Naskapi dictionary.

In the early ’90s, the Naskapi Development Corporation (NDC) invited Bill to help edit, check and transcribe words for the dictionary. A typographic font he designed to format and print Naskapi syllabic characters using computers, called BJCree, was used for the three-volume lexicon, published in 1994, and for subsequent publications—including the New Testament (see sidebar, “One Big Language Family,” pg. 11).

(Above) A Kawawa street sign reflects the linguistic diversity found in this region of Quebec. The Naskapis speak their mother tongue and english primarily, while French is commonly spoken by a neigh-bouring band, the Montagnais. (Left) Bill and Norma Jean Jancewicz began working among the Naskapis in 1988, learning their language and helping them to devel-op a writing system in preparation for Bible translation. Many local people, including George Guanish (below) helped them translate the New Testament, published in 2007.


Linguists classify the Cree-Innu-Naskapi (formerly referred to as Cree-Montagnais-Naskapi) languages as part of a larger family of languages known as Algonquian.

Speakers of Algonquian languages stretch from the east coast of North America all the way to the Rocky Mountains. In Canada, First Nations within this language family reside in the Atlantic provinces, Quebec, Ontario and the Prairie provinces.

The syllabic writing system now used by the Naskapis has its roots in the script developed in the 1830s by Methodist missionary James Evans.

Working among the Cree who lived near the north end of Lake Winnipeg, Evans taught some local Cree hunters how to read the syllabics; they in turn spread that knowledge to other Cree groups they encountered in their vast hunting and fishing territories.

Beginning in the mid- to late-19th century, missionaries arriving in remote northern communities sometimes found people who already knew how to read and write using syllabics. Such was the case for Bill and Norma Jean Jancewicz.

“When we came to Kawawa in the ’80s,” says Bill, “most older Naskapis could read and write their own language in syllabics. Several of the elders were also very fluent reading Moose Cree and James Bay Cree syllabic literature.”

However, it was not being taught to schoolchildren in a systematic way, and in church services, the Cree New Testament was not easy for many Naskapis to read and understand. Elders like Joe Guanish had to interpret passages as they read them, and provide oral translations for their audience.

In the late 1960s, a Wycliffe language survey determined that the Naskapi language differed enough from surrounding Cree languages to warrant its own Bible translation program. Using the Cree syllabic characters as a starting point and in consultation with Naskapi readers and writers, Bill developed a new syllabic typeface for the Naskapi language called BJCree, which has also been used by other related languages across Canada. This font was used to produce the Naskapi New Testament and other publications. With its keyboard input method, it is also being taught to local schoolchildren, adults enrolled in literacy classes and Naskapi students studying by extension through McGill University. To view a sample of the Naskapi script, see “Joe’s Prayer,” pg. 17.

One Big Language Family

A Naskapi lay leader serves communion during an Anglican church service in Kawawa.

The lighting of candles is one of many church traditions adopted by the Naskapis since they were first introduced to Christianity in the 1830s.

Handcrafted caribou-hide moccasins.


Nourished by the WordMany Naskapis contributed to the translation of the Naskapi New Testament, which was published and dedicated in 2007. While Bill facilitated the project, several Naskapis served as mother tongue translators and various Naskapi elders checked their translations for accuracy, clarity and naturalness.

During church services, Naskapi Scripture is read aloud from a Naskapi-English lectionary, which contains systematic Scripture readings used widely by the Anglican Church. Available in book form since 2011, the lectionary provides a three-year pattern for Sunday readings—including significant Old Testament passages. The congregation also uses a Naskapi prayer book and sings from a book of hymns in their language.

Other Scripture publications include Walking with Jesus, an illustrated series on the life of Christ adapted by permission from the Canadian Bible Society, and the book of Genesis, which has been checked by readers in the community and was published earlier this year.

Like other First Nations in Canada, the Naskapis are fighting to preserve their mother tongue. Many Naskapi people never learned to read their language, because it was not taught systematically until after the language project was underway in the ’90s. And while the local school began

teaching Naskapi children to read and write their language about a dozen years ago, the Naskapi spoken by the young generation is being shaped by modern culture and other factors.

“When I came here, I noticed that most of the kids are speaking Naskapi,” says Kawawa school principal, Curtis Tootoosis, a Cree man originally from Saskatchewan. “But when I spoke to some of the adults about it, they said they’re not speaking pure Naskapi. They said it’s kind of a ‘watered down’ version.

“Satellite TV and the Internet influences their vocabulary,” he adds. “And it’s often diluted with a mix of English, French and Innu (formerly known as Montagnais, spoken by another First Nation in the area).”

For those reasons and others, it’s clear to see that the availability of vernacular Scripture is making a difference for people in their homes and in church. Ruby Sandy Robinson, an NDC administrator and grandmother who is just beginning to read her own language, says having the New Testament in Naskapi is a blessing.

“It’s very important to me, and I think to my nation, my community, that there’s finally a book—God’s Word—in our everyday language.”

(Above) On a warm Sunday after-noon this past September, family members and friends of a Naskapi man who disappeared in the bush more than 30 years ago gather at a roadside shrine commemorating his life. Beyond them in the forest, others search—unsuccessfully—for the missing man’s remains after one elder dreamed where they might be found. (Right) At the Jimmy Sandy Memorial School in Kawawa, teacher Lynn einish drills her sec-ond grade students in the Naskapi alphabet. Naskapi children are taught in their mother tongue from kindergarten through Grade 2, before switching to english instruction in third grade.

“Satellite TV and the Internet influences their vocabulary.”

More on the Web: Read about a church music specialist’s visit to Kawawa at <exclusives.wycliffe.ca>.


http://exclusives.wycliffe.ca/

13


growing influenceThe Bible was part of Ruby’s everyday life growing up. Her late father, Joseph Sandy, was a devout man who loved God’s Word. In their home, he read the Cree Scriptures and interpreted them for his wife and children.

Others, like former chief Joe Guanish, have also valued the Word of God. Back in the ’80s, Guanish helped pave the way for Bible translation to begin in Kawawa and later became involved in checking translated Scriptures. He also became the voice for Scripture readings that are played daily on the community radio station.

Guanish, now 82, loves his people and wants to see them follow God’s ways. Several years ago, after waking from a vivid dream, he penned a prayer for his people (see “Joe’s Prayer,”

pg. 17). Highly respected by the Naskapis, he is generally regarded as the senior adviser for all language-related questions. If translators struggle to find the right Naskapi words or aren’t quite sure of their meanings, the usual recourse is to “ask Joe.”

If Ruby could read Naskapi like Joe, she’d be thrilled. But when she attended school as a child, the Naskapi language was not taught in school. For now, she struggles along with some of her co-workers in the Naskapi

Development Corporation (NDC), who gather regularly to practise reading from the Naskapi New Testament.

In this, she has found inspiration from her grandson, Kyle. “He was six, in Grade 1. I was keeping him one night, and when

we were passing by a poster on my door . . . I heard him mumble something. It sounded like he was reading it . . . and I turned

around and said, what did you say? He was reading . . . so I said, ‘Can you read it again?’

“Sure enough, he did. He said he learned it at school. . . . I couldn’t believe it—I was so dumbfounded. But also it really touched me—I cried. I’m a grandmother and I didn’t know how to read Naskapi, yet this little boy of six years old could read it just like that.”

Former chief Joe Guanish has been a strong advocate for Bible translation in Kawawa and his voice is still being heard through daily recorded New Testament readings on the community radio station. Now retired, Guanish puts his knowledge of Naskapi language and culture to good use, volunteering a few days a week in the curriculum development office at the local school.

Ruby Sandy Robinson is just beginning to read and write her language. She regularly practises reading from the Naskapi New Testament with co-workers in the Naskapi Development Corporation office.

“I’m a grandmother and I didn’t know how to read Nas-

kapi, yet this little boy of six years old

could read it just like that.”



Returning to university classes in Saskatoon, Michael Sandy (left) enjoys a chat with fellow traveller Kathleen Tooma during the 13-hour train ride from Schefferville to Sept-Iles. Tshiuetin Rail Transportation Inc., owned by the Naskapis and two other First Nations in Quebec, is the chief mode of transportation for most Naskapis travelling to and from Schefferville.

Preserving Language and CultureKyle learned to read Naskapi at the Jimmy Sandy Memorial School in Kawawa, where about 200 students attend classes from kindergarten through Grade 11. From kindergarten through Grade 2, students are taught in the Naskapi language before transitioning to English instruction in third grade. By learning their mother tongue first, they are more likely to become literate in Naskapi and be more successful in all their other English-language classes.

Adults in the community are taking advantage of literacy classes, which Bill Jancewicz teaches using the New Testament as a textbook. And 12 Naskapi young people are enrolled in an advanced Naskapi-language extension course taught by Bill, as part of a McGill University teacher-training program. A few of Bill’s students have received training as mother-tongue translators; one is currently working on the book of Exodus, and another is working on the book of Esther.

A growing library of Naskapi literature is fuelling this growing interest in literacy. Publications so far include children’s stories like Little Lost Caribou (illustrated by the Jancewicz’ daughter, Beth), and another illustrated by Bill, titled I’ll Take You Goose Hunting Next Spring. Also in the works is the “Naskapi Wolverine Stories,” a series of traditional Naskapi legends and stories commissioned by the NDC.

Michael Sandy, Ruby’s brother and a candidate for chief in a recent election, is pleased to see Naskapi children learning how to read their language.

“Language is one of the most beautiful gifts the Creator has given us,” says Michael, who is currently studying at the First Nations University of Canada campus in Saskatoon, Sask. “When you use the language, the community will function better. . . . Everything’s linked to the language when it comes to culture.

“I just hope that other First Nations realize this; that’s how we survived for thousands of years. When the language goes, a lot of things disappear.”



Naskapi chief Isaac Pien looks for a suitable place to set his fishing nets in Iron Arm, part of Attikamagen Lake, northeast of Kawawa. Surrounded by numerous lakes and forests abounding with wildlife, the Naskapis no longer need to depend on the rapidly-declining caribou herds for their survival.

On First groundThirty years ago, when more than 300 Naskapis established their tiny community of Kawawa, some may have wondered if the

group was in danger of disappearing. Since then, their population has nearly quadrupled and they now control their own future.

In 1984, Naskapi leaders were signatories to the Cree-Naskapi (of Quebec) Act, Canada’s first Aboriginal self-government legislation. As a result, the Naskapi Nation of Kawawachikamach enjoys greater autonomy than other bands still under the Indian Act.

Through a previous land claim settlement (The Northeastern Quebec Agreement) signed with the provincial and federal governments, the Naskapis lay claim to nearly 4,200 hectares of land and live with few restrictions on hunting, fishing and trapping.

Their days of wandering long behind them, the Naskapis have put down roots. Better yet, God’s Word in their heart language is helping them build even stronger spiritual foundations for future generations.

Better yet, God’s Word in their heart language

is helping them build even stronger spiritual foundations for future

generations.



Joe’s PrayerBack in the 1970s and 1980s, Joe Guanish was chief of the Naskapis and a key advocate

for Bible translation among his people. After a dream one night several years ago, Guanish composed a prayer for his people and wrote it down using the Naskapi script.

Almighty and everlasting God, who created everything and who created us and who supplied everything for us to use, we thank You for treating us well, especially for giving us Your Son to die for us so that we should not perish. Help us to do Your will, for we want to do what You ask of us and the way we should live our lives. Help every nation of this world and people of all ages.

Help all who suffer and who are sick. Heal those who need healing and renew their minds. Forgive all their sins and purify their minds to serve You only all their lives.

Also help our grandchildren, children and our great-grandchildren and also our friends. Help them to have healthy bodies and spirit.

. . . Also help us all who are elders, forgive us also of all our sins we have committed against You all our lives and deliver us from evil. Help us to serve You for the rest of our lives.

Through Jesus Christ our Lord,

Amen.


After a rough start, a Wycliffe Canada couple persevered to

help a remote First Nations community receive God’s

Word in their language.

Conditions were less than ideal when Bill and Norma Jean Jancewicz [yan-SEH-vitch] arrived in northeastern Quebec in 1988 to launch Bible translation for the Naskapi people.

With a baby girl and a five-year-old son in tow, and no place to rent or buy in the village of Kawawachikamach [KA-wa-wa-CHIK-ah-match] (abbreviated Kawawa), they shared a three-bedroom house with an older Naskapi man named Noah.

It snowed, too. For four straight days—in June.Inside Noah’s house, the young family faced further challenges.

“There was no fridge or stove, no washer and no dryer,” says Norma Jean. “So I started to pray—but the prayer went unanswered for a couple of weeks.”

To get by, the couple kept their perishables in a neighbour’s refrigerator. While praying about the situation one night before bedtime, Norma Jean remembers thinking that things couldn’t get much worse.

“However, Noah came in that night . . . and slipped in the bathroom, breaking the toilet. So after that, we didn’t have a

toilet either,” she says, laughing.But the next morning, a young Naskapi man arrived to install

a brand new toilet. “And then a dump truck pulls up, and there’s a washer, and a

dryer and a stove in the back. And the Naskapi guys come right in carrying the appliances, and put them in place. And then that afternoon, a refrigerator arrives.

“So in one day, it all worked out according to God’s plan and timing.”

The Jancewicz family lived with Noah for nearly a year—and with three other Naskapi hosts before the birth of their third child, Nick, in 1990. After he arrived, there was no longer any housing available at Kawawa, so Bill and Norma Jean rented a house in Schefferville, 15 km away.

Despite such trials, and other hardships they endured while living in the rugged borderland between northeastern Quebec and Labrador, they have persevered for more than 24 years so the Naskapis could receive the life-changing Word of God in their language.


As autumn approaches in northeastern Quebec, the setting sun casts a glorious palette of soft colours and shadows across waters called

“Sunset Lake” by locals. Serene at times, the area can be buffeted by fierce blizzards and plummeting temperatures once winter arrives—creating challenging and sometimes life-threatening conditions for the hardy residents of nearby Schefferville and Kawawa.

A camera-shy Naskapi girl hides behind her friend as the pair travel the muddy streets of Kawawa on an all-terrain vehicle. The region’s cool, wet conditions in spring and fall, and heavy snowfall in winter, can create challenging travelling conditions throughout much of the year.

A Shared PathBill and Norma Jean first met while both were in high school, through their hometown church youth group in Connecticut. They dated for a short time, but when they both went off to college, their relationship cooled.

Then a few years later, during spring break, they saw each other again and Bill asked Norma Jean if he could write to her. Their courtship revived, they began seeing each other during holidays and summer vacation.

Ironically, both had begun exploring service with Wycliffe Bible Translators, independently. Norma Jean was thinking of serving as a teacher, while Bill was leaning more towards graphic design.

Following their marriage in 1981, the couple prepared

for service with SIL, Wycliffe’s main partner organization, by enrolling in courses at the University of Washington in Seattle. There, Bill excelled in linguistics, earning straight A’s.

“I can’t say I was hooked on linguistics,” says Bill. “But I thought, this isn’t so hard.”

“I found it hard,” Norma Jean adds with a chuckle. “But he didn’t.”

When the time came to consider where—and how—they would serve in Bible translation, they talked with Roger Gilstrap, director of SIL’s North America Branch and more recently director of Wycliffe Canada. Aware of Bill’s proficiency in linguistics, Gilstrap encouraged the couple to consider leading a Bible translation project in northern Canada.

“I can’t say I was hooked on linguistics. But I thought, this isn’t so hard.”



Slow StartAlthough neither Bill nor Norma Jean had felt a strong calling to native ministry when they started their path with Wycliffe, Gilstrap’s advice didn’t catch them by surprise. They had already given some thought to serving in Alaska or Canada, among a First Nations group.

“The Lord has often provided guidance to us through our leaders,” says Bill, “so we thought, Let’s have a look at the Naskapi situation, and pray about it, and see what the Naskapi people themselves think about it.”

That openness to God led Bill to visit Kawawa in 1987 with Don Hekman. Don and his wife Martha had spent 14 years in a Bible translation project for the Innu (formerly Montagnais) people of northeastern Quebec and more recently, Don served as president of Wycliffe Canada.

A year later, Bill and Norma Jean arrived in Kawawa with five-year-old Ben and their one-year-old daughter, Elizabeth (Beth). After overcoming their initial trials with missing appliances and a broken toilet, they focused on getting to know their neighbours—and Noah, who could often be heard singing along to his favourite country music on the Naskapi radio station.

The five of them managed to live together amicably, but frequently Noah would seek refuge in his bedroom.

“With a family of four moving into his house, he must have

felt that we kind of took over,” says Norma Jean. “So he would sometimes just retreat to his room.’”

Initially Bill concentrated on learning the language and building relationships, but some of their Naskapi friends still weren’t real clear on what he was trying to accomplish.

“People would say funny things,” Norma Jean says. “Like, ‘You know, I could get Bill a job here, they need a construction worker on the houses.’ Because during the language-learning phase we would go and talk to people . . . and visit all the time—so they must have thought, maybe it would help them if Bill had a real job.”

Then in the early ’90s, a team of linguists from the Memorial University of Newfoundland, who were working on a Naskapi dictionary project, asked Bill for his help. He readily agreed and his work on the three-volume dictionary, published in 1994, helped to establish his credibility along with his role among the Naskapis. Shortly after, the Naskapi Development Corporation offered him some office space and made sure he had the computers, software and other supplies he needed to move ahead in Bible translation.

As much as possible, Bill sought to facilitate translation by training the Naskapis themselves. Then-chief Joe Guanish provided invaluable insights into the Naskapi language and customs, while three mother tongue translators (MTTs) worked with Bill on translating Scripture.

“They must have thought, maybe it would help them if Bill had a real job.”



(Left) In her home pottery studio in Schefferville, Norma Jean adds decorative touches to a small pitcher while listen-ing to her favourite music. Such times of creative solitude have helped her cope with the stresses of life in a sometimes harsh, remote area of Quebec.

(Right) Looking every inch the hardy northerner, Bill jots down a few notes in his office in the Naskapi Development Corporation. A gifted artist, he once thought of becoming a graphic designer. But God had other plans—plans that included using Bill and Norma Jean to give His life-giving Word to the Naskapi people.

Family NeedsIn 2004, the Jancewicz family had to return to Connecticut so Bill and Norma Jean could care for his elderly father. While in the U.S., Bill stayed engaged with the language project and the three MTTs kept translation moving along.

“For the Naskapis,” says Bill, “it was a wonderful thing for them to understand that we went away to take care of my dad, because that is a high value in the culture.

“But it was also a good opportunity for our children to go to high school outside the community,” he adds. “Our daughter Beth went to high school in Connecticut, and Nick finished high school there too.”

During their five years in the U.S., Bill worked on the Bible translation in Connecticut and would return to Kawawa two or three times a year to keep the project on track and support the

mother tongue translators. In 2007, he and Norma Jean attended the dedication of the Naskapi New Testament.

And though they had been considered for a change of assignment, after Bill’s dad passed away in 2009 they decided to return to Kawawa.

“Every home had a New Testament,” says Norma Jean. “More and more people were learning to read and using the Bible as their text for reading the language. It’s great . . . because reading God’s Word changes your life.”

“Which is why we came back,” adds Bill. “People here need to learn how to read the Scriptures, and now, more than ever, they want to.”

Mama Jean and Mr. BillWith their own kids now grown up and living in the U.S., Norma Jean works at the Kawawa school, helping to develop mother tongue curriculum.

Bill oversees ongoing work on Old Testament translation, including the book of Genesis, while finishing translation of a Naskapi lectionary, teaching literacy classes, and facilitating publication of various Naskapi-language materials.

And that’s just “at the office.” At home, the couple continue to serve as foster parents, too—something they’ve been doing for years. Whether they lived in Kawawa or Schefferville, their home was always filled with Naskapi or Innu children.

“Mama Jean and Mr. Bill”—as they’re affectionately known by dozens of youngsters—estimate they have cared for more than 25 kids over the years. Some were repeat visitors who stayed for only a few weeks or months; the longest stayed for three years.

The three Jancewicz kids agreed early on to share their rooms with friends and classmates who needed some support, often at a moment’s notice.

“Now, our youngest son Nick is considering a career as a social worker,” says Norma Jean. “He’s witnessed what it’s like for children not to have the security that comes from a home to come to after school, or not to know when the next meal will be provided.”

All three of the Jancewicz’s kids still maintain strong ties to the Naskapi community and Beth, an artist, sometimes returns to her northern home to teach art in Kawawa’s school.

“God’s Word is alive and it’s going to move you. And that’s what I feel is happening with the Naskapis. It’s changing their lives.”

More on the Web: For details on the dedication, see Word Alive, Spring 2008 issue at <wordalive.wycliffe.ca>.

“They must have thought, maybe it would help them if Bill had a real job.”



Domino EffectWith so much invested, Bill and Norma Jean aren’t eager to leave Kawawa. But they also want to remain open to God, should He call them somewhere else.

In the meantime, they’re excited by recent developments in Natuashish [Nat-TWA-shish], the Naskapis’ sister community in Labrador. It’s home to more than 1,000 Mushuau Innu [MOO-shoo-aw IN-new] people. They were relocated from Davis Inlet in 2002, in a much-publicized effort by the federal government to help them overcome crippling social problems.

“People from both communities originally came from the same group of nomadic caribou hunters,” Bill wrote to financial and prayer supporters this past fall. “But their histories that diverged around the beginning of the 20th century resulted in two very different writing systems and some dialect differences that we are just learning about.”

Last September, Bill and Norma Jean travelled to Natuashish for the second time in two years, to hold a translation workshop with help from the three Naskapi MTTs. Norma Jean conducted workshops for Innu-speaking classroom assistants interested in improving mother tongue education in the local school.

The couple are hopeful that the Mushuau Innu people, who are predominantly Catholic, will choose to follow the lead of their Naskapi cousins by initiating a language project and translating the Scriptures.

If they do, that could well lead to transformed lives—now and for eternity.

(Above) A lighted cross overlooks the mining town of Schefferville, where Bill and Norma Jean live in a small house they purchased for $500 in the early ‘90s, after a major downturn in the mining industry. Over the years their home has been a refuge for dozens of Naskapi youngsters (below, left) who know them as “Mama Jean and Mr. Bill.” (Below, right) Chief Isaac Pien and Bill prepare for a fishing trip on Attikamagen Lake this past September. Friendships Bill and Norma Jean have forged with their Naskapi hosts have gone a long way to endear them to the community and to win acceptance for their work in Bible translation.


As in any translation project, translators working on the Naskapi Scriptures had to wrestle with innumerable words and concepts that didn’t translate easily.

“Because the Naskapis were used to hearing the Cree translation, they were familiar with biblical terms like righteousness, peace, humility, and sanctification,” says Bill. “Now that they have the entire New Testament, they’re learning more about what those words mean . . . now it’s a word in the context of a whole sentence.”

With the translation of Genesis now finished, the MTTs have struggled at times to translate words they’re encountering in the Old Testament.

“We had to do a lot of explaining,” says Bill. “The word ‘firmament,’ for example, translates as, ‘sky skin’—like a caribou skin.”

“Garden” was another term that had no Naskapi equivalent.

“There are no gardens here,” Bill explains. “So what word do you use for ‘Garden of Eden,’ and have it communicate something logical in Naskapi? We finally came up with a word that means ‘a place for things to grow,’ like a park.

“For ‘camel,’ we just used the Cree word. When Naskapis read that word, they know it’s an animal with a big hump on its back.”

Word Wrestling

Current Programs

Project Location Status*Mi’kmaq N.S. Lectionary readings, oral stories and children’s Bible storybooks.

Atikamekw Que.New Testament nearing completion; partnership with Canadian Bible Society (CBS)

Naskapi Que.NT 2007; Old Testament in progress. Dictionary, lectionary, various cultural stories

James Bay Cree, Northern Que. New Testament nearing completion; to be published by CBS.

Stoney Alta. Scripture videos and oral translation of numerous other NT books

Programs Completed

Project Location Scriptures publishedAlgonquin Western Quebec NT & OT portions published in 1998

Beaver East Central B.C. NT portions

Blackfoot Central Alberta NT portions

Carrier Central B.C. OT portions, NT 1995

Carrier, Southern Central B.C. OT portions, NT 2002 Genesis 2006

Chilcotin South-central B.C. Genesis and Mark’s Gospel

Dogrib N.W.T. NT 2003 Genesis 2006

James Bay Cree, Southern

Southeastward fromJames Bay, Que.

NT 2001

Gwi’chin Old Crow Yukon New Testament 2011

Inupiatun, North Alaskan NWT, Yukon NT 1968

Mi’kmaq Quebec NT 1999, OT portions

Montagnais St. Lawrence River, Que. NT portions

Sekani Central B.C. NT portions

South Slavey Alberta, N.W.T. OT portions & NT portions

Tlingit Northern B.C.,Yukon OT portions & NT portions

Bible Translation for First Nations in CanadaWycliffe personnel serving with partner organization, SIL (Americas Area), have had significant involvement in translating God’s Word into the languages of First Nations people in Canada. The Canadian Bible Society has partnered with SIL in many of the programs listed below.

*Wycliffe Canada is helping to support the Mi’kmaq project. For more information and how to donate to the effort, see the enclosed reply form.



A Prized Opportunity

An internship with Wycliffe helped one Ontario student understand the impact of Bible translation on a First Nations community.

After Andrew Langaert won two cash prizes in last winter’s Race to 2025 adventure fundraising event, he had some decisions to make. The 23-year-old Newmarket, Ont. resident won a $2,000 individual prize towards a short-term mission trip with Wycliffe, after his three

teammates nominated him for the draw.Then Andrew’s teammates elected to share their portions of a $2,000 group

prize with him. But when it came time to decide what to do with the prize money, the McMaster University engineering student didn’t see a good match for his interests and abilities.

“I always wanted to do native ministry,” says Andrew, “but Wycliffe had all these other organized trips that sounded like they’d be great—good opportunities to learn and to serve—but they weren’t really what I wanted to do long term.”

So instead, Wycliffe Canada staffer Sarah Barnes began exploring internships in a First Nations language project. A few months later, Bill and Norma Jean Jancewicz [yan-SEH-vitch] invited Andrew to help out in the Naskapi language project near Schefferville, Que.

“I want to do native ministry in the north,” says Andrew, “so I thought this sounded perfect.”

A Heart for the HinterlandAndrew has been interested in Canada’s First Nations for as long as he can remember. And although he struggled with shyness while growing up, it didn’t hold him back from serving others or leaving his “comfort zone.”

In his teens, Andrew spent a week with his church youth group on the Sagamok reserve near Sudbury, Ont., helping run a Vacation Bible School for Ojibwa children.

“I was the youngest person who had ever gone on this annual trip to a reserve,” says Andrew. “It was my first exposure to any native group, because there weren’t

many near where I lived, where I grew up. And seeing the social problems on that reserve, I had a lot of compassion for all the things that were happening.”

For Andrew, the idea of spending a month in northeastern Quebec among the Naskapis seemed intriguing.

“I’ve always had a fascination with the north; I don’t know why, but I’ve had this fascination since I was a kid. I love the outdoors. I always try to do a few backcountry trips every summer, and the Naskapis have lived in the bush for generations.”

“i want to do native ministry in the north, so i thought this sounded perfect.”

More on the Web: For details about Wycliffe Canada’s Race to 2025, see Word Alive, Spring 2010 issue at <wordalive.wycliff.ca>.




During last February’s Race to 2025 near Nordegg, Alta., Andrew sets the pace for fellow contestants as they press on towards the next challenge in the grueling course. Andrew’s teammates nominated him for prizes that led to his four-week internship in the Naskapi community of Kawawa. Although he didn’t see any caribou there—except the one hanging in the Jancewicz’s kitchen (opposite)—he enjoyed learning from the Naskapis and witnessing how Bible translation is impacting their community.



Modest goalsLast August, Andrew left Sept-Iles, Que. by train, travelling 13 hours through terrain that included forests, lakes and muskeg to reach the mining community of Schefferville. Lodging with Bill and Norma Jean in their Schefferville home, Andrew drove with Bill and/or Norma Jean almost daily to the Naskapi reserve at Kawawachikamach—or “Kawawa”—some 15 km away over winding gravel roads. Knowing that four weeks would pass quickly, he had a few modest goals in mind.

“Not having a linguistic background, I was just expecting to help out wherever I could,” says Andrew.

In Schefferville, that included helping Bill to replace a hot

water heater in their home and chopping firewood. At the translation office in Kawawa, he helped out where needed, cleaning floors or doing office work.

“Bill and Norma Jean are very busy,” Andrew says, “so I was glad to be able to help in those ways.”

At the same time, he worked on learning some Naskapi words and building relationships. He was even able to help out in an election, when the people of Kawawa voted in a new chief and council.

“Helping with the election was a good way to meet more people,” says Andrew, “and see the way people in the community interact as a whole.”

Most weekdays, Andrew accompanied Bill to his office in Kawawa at the Naskapi Development Corporation. Besides working on some computer-related tasks, Andrew assisted with the band election and even helped Bill replace the water heater in his home.



Course ConfirmedAndrew has since returned to his engineering studies at McMaster—but he has some specific ministry goals in mind.

“Doing my engineering degree, more than anything else, was a way to potentially be able to support myself doing ministry in a remote community.”

The way Andrew sees it, he would then need to get his engineering licence, and possibly attend seminary to prepare for long-term ministry in the north. Serving in the Naskapi language project has stirred him to consider some training in linguistics, too.

“I really like what Wycliffe does with linguistic ministry, and I enjoy linguistics too, so I might look into some kind of degree along those lines.”

Looking back at his month in Kawawa, Andrew says he had the chance to see and better understand some of the challenges,

joys and practical everyday work involved in native ministry. A highlight of his time there was participating in some reading sessions held in the Naskapi development office.

“The staff would sit together in the meeting room and read Bible passages in Naskapi. They were using materials produced as part of the translation project, reading God’s Word, and improving their literacy skills all at once.”

Although his time in Kawawa was short, Andrew feels the internship provided some valuable cross-cultural experience as well as some good insights into missionary life in northern Canada.

“I really enjoyed seeing the culture and I gained a better understanding of the struggles these communities face,” says Andrew. “I learned that Bible translation is a huge task that can take a very long time to finish. I learned that the work can often be mundane, but I also saw that the completed work meant a great deal to the Naskapi people.

“It was great to hear . . . how people are growing in their faith and how lives are being changed. The internship has confirmed for me that I want to continue my involvement with ministry in First Nations communities . . . and to consider future involvement in Bible translation.”

Andrew picks wild blueberries in the forest, during a Sunday afternoon outing with Bill and Norma Jean. In early September, the ground is blanketed with the berries as well as the light-coloured caribou moss (inset, above) that has fed the region’s caribou herds for untold generations.

“i really like what Wycliffe does with linguistic ministry . . . so i might look into some kind of degree along those lines.”



Songs and shouts of celebration rang out across the slopes of Mt. Elgon in Kenya, Africa, as a huge crowd—up to 8,000 people—gathered for the launch of the translated Sabaot Bible on Sunday, June 10th.

The participants were jubilant, as they anticipated the sight of the new Bibles, and they were not disappointed. They received their Sabaot New Testament in 1997, but now they have the entire Book in their mother tongue. After a long afternoon of speakers at the celebration, a number of Sabaot people, including a girl of about 10 and a teenage boy, read from the Bible. This Book is now available to 150,000 Sabaot people.

Tribal conflict has been part of the lives of Sabaot people for generations, prompting a prayer for peace by the BTL (Bible Translation and Literacy) general secretary, Peter Munguti.

“[I pray] that many of you Sabaot people, who have not known peace for years, will read these Scriptures in your language and know the Lord of peace,” prayed Munguti. “May this book become a uniting tool between [one] neighbour and another. May it bring healing to those that are hurting, restore hope to those that have been devastated by the tribal clashes that have dominated this community for years.”

“if only we had the bible”Although the Sabaot people speak Kiswahili as a second language, it was never sufficient for their understanding of God’s Word. During the festivities, the story was told of one frustrated Sabaot man struggling to share the gospel in Kiswahili with his people in years past. In his frustration he called out to God,

“Oh, if only we had the Bible in the Sabaot language!” “The Sabaot people have great thirst, but the water they have

to drink has many impurities,” he went on to tell God. “They need clean water so that their thirst will be quenched. . . . If the message was in the Sabaot language, the people would understand it and their thirst would be quenched.”

The completion of this Bible was the result of a number of partnerships. OneBook, a close partner of Wycliffe Canada, raised funds through Canadian partners across Canada to assist the national translation organization within Kenya, BTL, to do the translation. A new partner, The Gideons Canada, paid for the printing of this Bible. Two representatives from The Gideons Canada as well as two OneBook staff members from Canada attended this very special event.

Because of many years of work and several key partnerships, the thirst of the Sabaot people has now been quenched.

New testaments for the bagh* peopleThe Sabaot Bible, launched in Kenya, was one of 31 New Testaments and Bibles dedicated for 14.5 million people, with Canadian involvement, this past year (see sidebar, opposite page).

Another group that had a Scripture launch ceremony recently was the Bagh people of South Asia, who number 25,000.

Living in villages nestled in a rugged mountain range, these people lead very isolated and difficult lives. Most families subsist on small plots of land where they grow rice, corn or wheat. Travelling outside of the community is a challenge for the Bagh people, so accessing basic health care and education is difficult. Most children do not complete their formal education; instead, they follow their parents into a life of deep poverty. With no hope for the future, many young people are leaving Bagh villages.

*Pseudonym used due to sensitivity of the religious and political context in the area

The Sabaot Bible was one of 31 New Testaments and Bibles dedicated for more than 14 million people, with Canadian involvement, this past year.By Janet Seever

Singing in Celebration

Rach

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New Testaments*

Location Number of Groups Combined Total Populations

Africa 14 2,434,184

Asia 6 10,051,200

Pacific 3 6,280

Americas 4 98,250

Total 27 12,589,914

Whole Bibles

Location Number of Groups Combined Total Populations

Africa 1 279,000

Asia** 3 1,590,000

Total 4 1,869,000

Combined Totals 31 14,458,914

* Three New Testaments in Asia, Pacific and Africa had, in addition to the New Testament: Genesis, Genesis and Exodus, and Old Testament portions, respectively.

** The complete Bible in one language in Asia combined the vernacular New Testament with the previously completed Old Testament in the national language.

The church among the Bagh is small and dispersed. Although by law, Christians are free to worship, they face much hostility and strong community pressure to conform to traditional practices.

Eager for their families and neighbours to read the Bible for themselves, a group from 10 local churches ventured to the nation’s capital 10 years ago to ask for help in translating the New Testament into Bagh. Now their dream has become a reality with the dedication of the New Testament. This, too, was a project sponsored by OneBook with funding from interested Canadians.

Believers are now excited to have God’s Word in their heart language. They can use it as a tool to introduce other Bagh people to God and help believers grow strong in their faith. Bagh believers know firsthand the freedom God’s Word can bring.

god’s translated Word for the Nawuri Under the supervision of GILLBT (Ghana Institute of Linguistics, Literacy and Bible Translation), team leader John Adinyah pulled together a team of assistants to translate God’s Word and bring literacy to the Nawuri community of Ghana, Africa. The team oversaw the work that has now been completed and the use of the Word in Nawuri in church services is increasing.

In fact, non-Christian Nawuri sent their children to Sunday school to hear God’s Word and learn to read. However, pastors still need to be trained to use Nawuri texts in church services and Bible studies.

The Nawuri project has undergone many challenges and difficulties since it began, often caused by tensions between various ethnic groups. This OneBook project, begun in 2000, has made God’s Word available for 14,000 Nawuri speakers.

At the grand finale celebration of GILLBT’s 50th year, the paramount chief of the Nawuri people of northern Ghana received the first copy of the New Testament in Nawuri.

“When we go to politicians, we are not known,” he said. “But when we go to God, we are known.” With tears in his eyes, he exclaimed, “We have now been counted among God’s people.”

Other Canadian involvementIn Chad, Africa, the Kenga and Dangaleat New Testaments, dedicated in late November 2012 (as this issue of Word Alive was being designed), brought God’s translated Word to groups numbering 40,000 and 45,000 respectively.

These New Testaments represented years of hard work and perseverance by many people. Canadian linguist Jackie Hainault (see Word Alive, Spring 2007) worked as a consultant for both New Testaments, and checked about one-quarter of the Kenga New Testament and one-third of the Dangeleat New Testament.

World Translation SummaryScriptures translated with Wycliffe involvement were dedicated for 31 languages, spoken by more than 14 million people, since we prepared our last “Translation Update” in the Summer 2012 issue of Word Alive. This table gives a regional global breakdown of the affected language groups with their populations.

Singing in Celebration




Beyond Words

Part 5Primary and Secondary Senses“ For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life.” (John 3:16)

“The world”—this phrase is challenging for Bible translators because the Greek word kosmon (κόσμον) is used with at least five different shades of meanings in the New Testament. Depending on the context, it may mean “the universe,” “the earth,” “the

inhabitants of the earth,” “the way people live in the world,” or “everyone and everything that is alienated from God.” John 1:10 illustrates three of these meanings in one verse.

When translating words used in a variety of ways, we must distinguish between primary and secondary senses. For example, the English word “run” has the primary meaning of “motion with quick steps on alternate feet.” It also has literally dozens of secondary senses. When used with “nose,” “motor” or “stocking,” it has three very different meanings—none of which would be translated by the word for “run” in French, Spanish or most other languages. It is the secondary senses of words that create the most challenges for translators, because they are rarely transferable from one language to another.

In Scripture, words are commonly used in such a way that the whole stands for one of its parts. For example Luke uses “Moses” to stand for what Moses wrote (Luke 16:29), and in Acts 2:4 “tongues” represent the languages spoken with the

tongue. The technical name for this rhetorical device is “metonymy.”

The Greek word kosmon (κόσμον) as used in John 3:16 is a clear example of metonymy. Here “the universe” stands for the people who live in it. God’s love is focused on people rather than on the universe as a whole. The book of Genesis pictures the Creator expressing pleasure with all of creation (“it was good”), but not expressing love. The agape love in John’s Gospel focuses on people, the only beings capable of responding to God in faith.

Translators who fail to consider the secondary sense of the Greek word kosmon (κόσμον) used here may end up with a rendering that represents God’s love as focused on the earth, a lifeless lump of clay, rather

than on the people with whom he identified supremely in his incarnation. The Contemporary English Version, for example, ensures that the intended meaning of the original is conveyed clearly with the rendering, “God loved the people of this world so much that. . . .” Although “the people” are not stated in the literal Greek text of the original, they are clearly the intended objects of God’s great love.

Translations of the Bible that carefully consider primary and secondary sense meanings help the reader to understand more clearly what the original authors wanted to communicate.

Editor’s Note: This is the third in a series of articles reflecting on the verse John 3:16 word by word. The series illustrates some of the challenges Bible translators face as they seek to present God’s Good News in every language spoken on earth.

It is the secondary senses of words that create the

most challenges for translators, because

they are rarely transferable from

one language to another.

Translating the GospelBy Hart Wiens

Depending on the

context, the Greek

word kosmon may

mean “the universe,”

“the earth,” “the

inhabitants of the

earth,” “the way

people live in the

world,” or “everyone

and everything that is

alienated from God.”

Cindy Buckshon



Part 6Collocation Clashes“ For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life.” (John 3:16)

Here we concentrate on the sixth element in this fabulous message, “he gave.” The verb “to give” in its primary sense, has to do with transferring possession or ownership and normally implies material objects. In contexts such as the abhorrent institution of slavery, people

can also be objects of possession and transference. In English, “his only Son” as the direct object of “he gave” is not incomprehensible. However, in

many other languages it would constitute a serious collocational clash—two elements that do not naturally go together.

The unusual nature of this collocation highlights and draws attention to the statement. To readers steeped in

Bible knowledge, it helps to evoke images of Jesus’ birth and His death as a sacrifice for the sins of the world. Readers familiar with Old Testament Jewish history are reminded of Abraham and his willingness to sacrifice his only son Isaac. Most contemporary readers may

need an explanation such as those offered in study Bibles.In other languages, the clash between “he gave” and “his only Son” may be

even more pronounced. In the Kalinga language of the Philippines, there is no context for readers to understand the concept of giving one’s son. In this case it was decided to borrow the verb “sent” from John 3:17, while not retaining the rich

imagery of the original, is necessary to help readers who have very little biblical background.

Perfect translation is not possible, and even very good translation requires difficult choices. Sometimes the choice is between two or more possible renderings, each of which provide only an imperfect representation of the originally intended meaning. At other times the choice may be between a rendering that is not quite accurate and one that would convey no meaning at all.

As Bible translators, we need the prayer support of God’s people so that the choices we make will help people understand the message in a way that will draw them to Jesus—God’s communication wrapped in humanity (John 1:14).

Reprinted with permission from the Canadian Bible Society’s “Translating the Gospel” article series, written by Hart Wiens, CBS director of Scripture translation. Hart and his wife Ginny served with Wycliffe Canada in a Bible translation project among the Kalinga people in the Philippines for 19 years. More recently, Hart has been a Wycliffe Canada board member.

Perfect translation is not possible,

and even very good translation requires difficult

choices.



A Thousand Words

Devotion in Motion

Each morning before leaving for his office in Kawawa, Bill reads from his Bible while working out on the treadmill. With desk jobs and few opportunities to exercise outdoors during the bitter winter months, he and Norma Jean find the machine helps them keep their hearts in tune—as do the daily readings from God’s Word.



Last Word

Catching our Breath for the Final SprintBy Roy Eyre

I remember where I was when I first heard the news. As a young graphic designer and relatively new member of Wycliffe, I was full of optimism but had been around long enough to be jaded by

talk of new vision and radical change. We were the kind of organization that did great work, but we were meticulous and careful. We were founded on pioneering and loved change and innovation, but on a small scale. Yet here I was, sitting in a staff meeting and hearing how the organization’s leaders had just overwhelmingly voted to change everything. Everything.

It was the summer of 1999, and our leaders had just voted for Vision 2025, committing to do everything we could to put Bible translation in motion in every language in this generation (literally, by the year 2025). That was the year I fell in love with Wycliffe all over again.

I wasn’t in the room at our international conference to cast my vote. I represent the next generation of leaders, the ones who would carry out that vision and be in positions of leadership at the year 2025. But in 1999 I signed up for life. I wanted to be around when Bible translation in the final language was started. It meant everything to me, and I hear the same thing from our applicants today.

At the halfway mark of Vision 2025, we’ve seen unfathomable changes. During the past 13 years, projects have been started in more than 1,000 languages. The pace of Bible translation has tripled. Bible translation has become a movement rather than an organization. Perhaps “wildfire” is a better way to describe the 56 organizations in South and Central America that are now stirring up prayer, people and funds for Bible translation. Almost all of the growth in sending missionaries is coming from organizations

outside North America, and without “Wycliffe” in their names (though, like Wycliffe Canada, they are part of the Wycliffe Global Alliance).

Recently, Wycliffe tabulated that the number of languages with translations in progress has exceeded the number of languages in which translation still needs to begin (see the “Watchword” item on page 4 for details). Think about that for a minute. We have reached an absolutely incredible milestone. We knew that day

would come. In a sense, it’s the peak before the rush down the second half of Vision 2025.

Here’s where we catch our second wind. While the pace has tripled, we need to double it again. All of our best efforts have gone into the progress we’ve seen, but it’s not enough. Our own effort won’t see this vision happen. So, while we’re catching our breath for the final

sprint, we need to get on our knees and pray. Much of the Bible translation still needing to begin is for languages in many of the most closed and difficult spots. There will be pain and loss ahead. Satan is serious about protecting his territory, and the battle will be fierce. Are we willing to face that?

While the growth may have moved to other parts of the world, Bible translation still needs the Canadian Church. If the rest of the world is going to take its rightful place as leaders in the Bible translation movement, let’s not let it happen because we stopped. As the leader of Wycliffe Canada, I intend to do everything I can to help the Canadian Church build kingdom friendships with the minority language communities we serve. I intend to stir this generation and the next to not only start work in every language, but finish that work. And I intend to mobilize the prayers and funds of Canadians to fuel the Bible translation movement.

Won’t you join me?

Roy Eyre is the president of Wycliffe Bible Translators of Canada.

At the halfway mark of Vision 2025, we need

to keep stirring the Canadian

Church to finish the work.

Laird

Sal

keld


a glimpse into the heroism of the cross

Del

iver

to:

PM 40062756

RETURN UNDELIVERABLE ITEMS TO WYCLIFFE CANADA CIRCULATION4316 10 ST NECALGARY AB T2E 6K3

At the Foot of the Snows tells the inspiring story of an American family serving and living among the virtually

unknown Kham Magar people of Nepal. They developed a deep bond of friendship that transcended their cultural divide.

Through years of study and hard work, they translated Scripture into the Kham language, igniting a spark of interest in the gospel that would fan to life through years of persecution. Through it all, David Watters (the author) and his wife Nancy struggled to demonstrate that gospel to these people who lived, in the words of the Khams, “at the foot of the snows.”

Want to see a sample from this insightful book? Visit store.wycliffe.ca, and follow the links.

Softcover.

$24.42 (includes shipping and GST) Use the reply form in this magazine to order. Or, visit store.wycliffe.ca, or call 1-800-463-1143, ext. 283.

http://store.wycliffe.ca/

http://store.wycliffe.ca/

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Word Alive Magazine - Spring 2013

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