Wycliff e Bible Translators of Canada • Fall 2008
Translated children’s Bible stories and an audio New Testament speak the heart language of a communal people.
Wycliff e, PAOC Sign Agreement Bogota Meeting Encourages Scripture Use Reshaping Missions COVER BY Hutterite Tony Waldner strides home from Down to the teaching Sunday school at Forest River DWAYNE Fall 2008 • Volume 26, Number 3 Colony, N.D. With help from Wycliff e Bible JANKE Shirt Collar Translators, Tony is translating an audio New Testament in his Hutterisch mother tongue. Before I interviewed Arnold Hofer for this issue of Word
Photograph by Alan Hood Alive, the Hutterite minister of Acadia Colony, west of
Winnipeg, Man., showed us the colony’s church.
Aside from padded oak pews, the sanctuary is
FEATURES unadorned—no cross, no fancy pulpit, no stained glass. Arnold Articles by Dwayne Janke • Photographs by Alan Hood took us to the long table at the front, where he later led the daily, pre-supper Gebet (worship or prayer) service. Showing us a Hutterite German songbook, Arnold focused in on one example of what Hutterites sing in colonies across the Canadian and U.S. prairies and plains. It is a song written in 1557 by Hans Kräl, a They’re Here! Hutterite elder, about being imprisoned for his Anabaptist faith. 4 Bible stories, written in their Authorities caught Kräl, identifi ed as a hated Anabaptist, while he mother tongue, come to the travelled in Austria. Th ey tied him behind a horse, dragged him to Hutterites for the fi rst time. prison, interrogated him and put him in a dungeon for several years. “His shirt rotted off ,” Arnold told me. “Only his collar was left .” “God helped him to testify and he was willing to give up his life,” Arnold continued. While being escorted elsewhere, Kräl escaped from a drunken guard. He returned to his community, but was so skinny Finding An Open Door and ragged that his wife fi rst mistook him for a vagabond. 14 Wycliff e discovers interest for “Th is is the kind of story we tell our children,” concluded Arnold. “So, we sing this song once a year, or once every other translation among Hutterites. year, to be reminded.” It quickly became obvious on our visit that Hutterites greatly value their faith, history and tradition. Th ey know of their forefa- thers’ religious steadfastness in the face of persecution and even death, which they met with a deep trust in God.
The e-Book is Coming Part of the Hutterites’ history and tradition is using German in 18 Aft er an uncertain start, translation church services, including Luther’s Bible as the authority. But another for an audio New Testament in important piece of Hutterite heritage has been the day-to-day use of Hutterisch moves steadily forward. Hutterisch, their mother tongue for more than four centuries. With this in mind, Wycliff e has helped Hutterites translate children’s Bible stories into Hutterisch—the fi rst-ever Hutterisch printed material for wide distribution. Wycliff e is also helping to translate an audio New Testament Alan Alan Hood Tony The Translator into Hutterisch. Some Hutterites, like Ruth Kleinsasser at Milltown Viewed from high atop grain bins, Forest 26 Colony near Winnipeg, are eager to see the fruit of this labour. As . . . and German teacher, and River Hutterite Colony, in northeastern DEPARTMENTS North Dakota, is patterned after a layout gardener, and historian, and we visited in her kitchen, Ruth told me she is aware of how a Bible common to the 475 colonies in western translation for the Mennonites in their Plautdietsch mother tongue archivist. North America. Hutterites have lived in 3 Focus Down to the Shirt Collar has been of spiritual help to them. such communal, largely agriculture-based “I was so amazed,” Ruth said. “How much could it do for us?” settlements on this continent for more than a century. Th at is one of those questions only God can answer—and I’m 30 Word Watch Wycliff e, PAOC Sign Partnership Agreement sure He will. As God promises in Isaiah 55:11 (NIV): “My word . . . will achieve the purpose for which I sent it.” 31 Eureka! Reshaping 21st-century Missions
Word Alive, which takes its name from Hebrews 4:12a, is the official publication Word Alive is published four times annually by Wycliffe Bible Member: The Canadian Church Press, Evangelical Press Association Wycliffe Canada Vision Statement: Quoteworthy of Wycliffe Bible Translators of Canada. Its mission is to inform, inspire and involve Translators of Canada, 4316 10 St NE, Calgary, AB T2E 6K3. For additional copies: media_resources@wycliff e.ca A world where translated Scriptures lead to “The gospel is a joyful message from God the Christian public as partners in the worldwide Bible translation movement. Copyright 2008 by Wycliffe Bible Translators of Canada. Permission To contact Word Alive editors: [email protected] transformed lives among people of all languages. to reprint articles and other magazine contents may be obtained For address updates: circulation@wycliff e.ca Canadian Head Office: Editors: Dwayne Janke, Dave Crough and Christ . . . a word of liberty that sets people by written request to the editors. A donation of $12 annually 4316 10 St NE, Calgary, AB T2E 6K3. Designer: Laird Salkeld Note to readers: References to “SIL” are occasionally made in is suggested to cover the cost of printing and mailing the Phone: (403) 250-5411 or toll free 1-800-463-1143, Staff Writers: Janet Seever, Doug Lockhart, Deborah Crough Word Alive. SIL is Wycliffe’s key partner organization, dedicated free and makes them devout and blessed.” magazine. (Donate online or use the reply form in this 8:30 a.m.–4:30 p.m. mountain time Staff Photographers: Dave Crough, Alan Hood to training, language research, translation and literacy. issue.) Printed in Canada by McCallum Printing Group, Edmonton. Fax: (403) 250-2623. E-mail: [email protected] Web Version Designer: Kenji Kondo —Peter Riedemann, early Hutterite leader, —25 Years | Fall 2008 | www.wycliffe.ca 3 in Hutterite Confession of Faith, 1565 hey’ve enjoyed a hearty supper of home-canned Tchicken, french fries, green beans, salad and carrot sticks; book-ended by prayers of thanks said by their minister,
Bible stories, written in their Rueben Hofer. mother tongue, come to the They’re Here! Now, many of the 100 Hutterites at Elm River Colony walk Hutterites for the first time. briskly home to their homes from the centrally located com- munal dining hall. Darkness has replaced the final glow of ARTICLES BY DWAYNE JANKE sunset that earlier ignited wispy clouds lashing the flat horizon PHOTOGRAPHS BY ALAN HOOD (at left). The frigid sub-zero air during this wind-chilled first week of March reminds these Southern Manitobans, an hour’s drive west of Winnipeg, that spring has not yet arrived. One of them is Linda Maendel [MAN-del], who arrives home before most of her family. She makes a beeline for the large sitting room with its multiple couches and rockers on the main floor of their long, eight-bedroom house, which like everything else, is owned by the colony. As her mother, sisters and sister-in-law join her, Linda repeats some exciting news: “The books are here!” Linda has opened a small cardboard box, brought from a Hutterite bookstore at neighbouring Baker Colony, through a sort of informal Hutterite courier system of travelling friends and family. Her glasses barely wiped of condensation after coming in from the cold air outside, the rosy-cheeked, middle- aged woman leafs through the much-anticipated contents. Here, at last, are several copies of a blue paperback book, its cover featuring a painting of animal pairs entering Noah’s Ark. It’s entitled “Hutterischa Bibl Tschichtlen 1.” The newly printed volume of illustrated children’s Bible stories, with accompanying narration on CD, represents an important step for the Hutterites and their mother tongue, called Hutterisch. Five centuries into their existence, these 45,000 communal people have printed material for wide dis- tribution in their mother tongue for the first time. And this is only a beginning—three hours’ drive south of this area, in North Dakota, the New Testament is gradually being trans- lated into Hutterisch (see “The e-Book is Coming”, pg. 18). Our Own Language Linda carefully scrutinizes the colourful book, with its single sentences of Hutterisch accompanying each page’s drawing. This teacher’s assistant in Elm River’s colony-run, K-12 school spent many hours in front of her classroom computer working on 30 Bible stories for this and four yet-to-be-printed volumes. An overseeing Hutterite Education Committee that supports the project assigned her to the job. Dick Mueller, a linguistic/translation consultant with Wycliffe Bible Translators, assisted her at a distance, via Internet telephone and e-mail from his home in Denver, Colo. Dick, acting as our guide on a visit to several Hutterite colo- nies west of Winnipeg, is here too. He eagerly thumbs through the finished product that still smells of fresh ink. In a sense, tonight’s living room session and the next few days represent an informal launching of the book. Dick boards at the colony commercial woodworking shop. He sits beside Karen, and is immediately prodded by the vocal female majority to give the Hutterisch text a try. It’s his first time. But in just minutes, the dark-bearded, spectacled young man reads it fluently. Like a nervous author finally seeing her work in print, Linda expresses a little apprehension about the book: how people are going to take it. “But it’s good to see that people can actually read it,” she says, with a bit of relief in her voice as her brother smoothly advances through the stories. On a couch across the room, Linda’s sister Lorena skims through a sample of the book. Always quick to share her opin- ions, she’s at a loss for the correct word, explaining the volume represents perhaps a kind of “evolution” for her people. “This is a big thing for us—having our language written down,” she says. “You never know where it will take us.” Entranced with the Text The next morning, Linda gives us a tour of the Elm River’s Brennan School, named after the family from whom the colony purchased land when it was founded 75 years ago. Their own colony teachers, most with degrees earned through Brandon University’s Hutterian Education Program, teach 26
“It’s awesome. It’s our own language. It’s the language we first heard Bible stories in.” —Karen Maendel
students here. The tidy, well-equipped school, led by Linda’s sister Elma, follows the Manitoba government curriculum as a guideline, adding biblical principles and Hutterite culture into the mix. Linda sees another opportunity to test the Hutterisch Bible More on the Web For a Hutterite history storybook. Three Grade 6 and lesson, created by Brennan School students (Above) Wycliffe’s Dick Mueller (on the and Linda begin to show it off among the Schmiedeleut 8 students in German class are and illustrated with glass mosaic art, visit left) and Karen Maendel enjoy her hus- [SHMEED-light], the less-conservative branch of Hutterites. writing German Easter songs
6 —25 Years | Fall 2008 | www.wycliffe.ca —25 Years | Fall 2008 | www.wycliffe.ca 7 This is a big thing for us—having our language written down,” she says. “You never know where it will take us This is a big thing for us—having our language written down,” she s she says. “You never know It amazes me that you can just hand the books to anyone and they can read them. It amazes me that you can just hand the books to anyone and they can read them. It amazes me that you can just read
“We can understand everything. We understand it better than this German,” Caleb says, referring to the text he has been writing in his scribbler. “Of course,” replies Linda. “It’s your language.”
Day-to-day Value Next day, after a half hour’s drive to the southwest, we arrive at Baker colony, founded in 1982 and home to 89 Hutterites. Here, Kenny Wollmann works at the Hutterian Brethren Book Centre, publisher of the Hutterisch Bible stories. Before telling us about his support for the project, the lanky, clean-cut young man gives us the obligatory colony tour. We leisurely work our way through Baker’s economic engine: the Kenny Wollmann, who works at the Hutterian Brethren Book Centre, Better Air Ventilation Systems factory. We see “God” there—or recommended Linda Maendel to the Hutterite education committee, which supported translating the Hutterisch Bible stories. He is an at least Daniel Waldner, the young man who narrated God’s advocate and visionary for publishing Hutterite books, including those voice in the CD version of the Hutterite Bible storybook— in Hutterisch. Kenny calls it “the language of our heart,” borrowing a running a high-tech injection plastic moulding machine. phrase from Dick Mueller. During the colony’s post-lunch break, Kenny explains his interest in the Hutterisch stories, over coffee and cake. One of the boys, Caleb Hofer, tells Linda in Hutterisch that The book centre supplies colonies, primarily in Manitoba, he has no problem with the text. Indeed, he has become so with storybooks, Hutterite chronicles, history books, theology comfortable reading the stories that he is adding emphasis. In More on the Web To order the book or hear a books and songbooks in sample audio clip from its accompanying CD, visit German and English. But the story about the Tower of Babel, for example, he draws out
A team of students at Elm River Colony does trick rope skipping at other colonies and non-Hutterite schools to heighten awareness of heart dis- ease, and raise money for heart and stroke research. Increasingly, some Schmiedeleut Hutterites in Manitoba reach beyond their communities, by sewing clothes for Haitian orphans, repairing hurricane-ravaged homes in New Orleans, or singing songs of faith in travelling concert choirs.
At Baker Colony, Man., Daniel Waldner, who narrated God’s voice in the CD version of the Hutterisch Bible story- book, runs a computerized injection plastic moulding machine that makes laundry baskets. Some communities A student at Elm River Colony’s Brennan School rolls a marble at 10 toy bowling pins as have turned to manufacturing as a way part of a math equation exercise. This school, on a colony among the more progressive to supplement income. Schmiedeleut branch of Hutterites in Manitoba, offers K-12 education that is well equipped with computers. When Hutterite children start school they are monolingual in Hutterisch. 8 —25 Years | Fall 2008 | www.wycliffe.ca —25 Years | Fall 2008 | www.wycliffe.ca 9 In the hands of parents and our teachers—I hope that they will have a positive impact; that people will be talking in our dialect about spiritual things In the hands of parents and our teachers—I hope that It amazes me that you can just hand the books to anyone and they can read them. It amazes me that you can just hand the books to anyone and they can read them. It amazes me that you can just read
“When I first heard of the [Hutterisch Bible stories] project,” “I didn’t really want to be a Hutterite. I didn’t want to speak says Kenny, “I felt like this could really go a long way in raising Hutterisch. I spent a lot of time getting rid of my Hutterisch awareness of . . . our language and its value and place in our accent intentionally because, you know, it wasn’t ‘cool.’ ” day-to-day lives. That the project would encourage people to When Kenny was 14 he had “a bit of a personal renaissance” think and talk about their dialect. And I think it has done that towards his Hutterianism. “I started realizing that we’ve got quite a bit already.” something. If I rejected my Hutterianism, there would be a lot Kenny says Hutterites need to spend the effort preserving of holes in who I am, and I’d probably spend the rest of my life Hutterisch. trying to fill them with something else.” “It’s not only a part of our cultural heritage. I think it is part of He lightheartedly refers to his work at the book centre as our faith heritage. Our spirituality is tied to our mother tongue, “penance” after spending a lot of time and energy trying to or as Dick once put it—and I really love this—‘the language of bury his Hutterite heritage. our heart.’ Hutterisch really is the language of our heart.” “So my work, in my mind, is to set out to change that. To Kenny says the Bible storybooks in that heart language can help other people realize that there is something really, really play a valuable role. special in our dialect and in our culture. That each person “In the hands of the right people—in the hands of parents needs to have that type of foundation to grow from.”
Impromptu TV Interview Frances Maendel, principal of the Baker Colony school, finishes her “It amazes me that you can just hand the With the colony springing back to activity after the post-lunch “To me, the educated person is simply easier to get along Internet-based, multi-colony virtual English class by interviewing Dick break, Kenny tours us through the K-12 school, where we walk with,” Frances says later, explaining the value of education to Mueller about his consultant role in translating the Hutterisch Bible books to anyone and they can read them.” in on principal Frances Maendel. The articulate young woman, Hutterites. “That’s one of the biggest challenges of community storybook. She says the stories can be invaluable for adults teaching wearing a traditional black kerchief, is teaching in front of living. My education is helping me deal with those challenges.” younger children. —Dick Mueller, Wycliffe consultant empty desks. Her classroom is a virtual one, spread over about After asking the students some questions about the 15 Hutterite colony schools, all networked with an Internet- Mockingbird movie, Frances invites Dick Mueller to join her and our teachers—I hope that they will have a positive impact; based, interactive video/audio system, called IITV. at her desk, located in front of a camera and TV monitor. In that people will be talking in our dialect about spiritual Today she is showing the 1962 movie version of “To Kill this impromptu interview, she wants her students to learn things,” he explains. “Combining these two—the spirituality a Mockingbird” to Grade 11 English pupils. It’s a follow-up about Wycliffe and the new Hutterisch Bible storybook, which and our dialect—we’ll be building Hutterites who are more to the students having read the Pulitzer prize-winning novel she calls “invaluable” for adults teaching younger children. aware of who they are, where they come from and where they about prejudice and injustice in 1930s Alabama—and thinking are going.” about how its themes apply to interpersonal relationships in a Getting “Dindla” and “Mandl” Right Hutterite community. Frances encourages her students to include Hutterisch words Personal Hutterite Renaissance Frances was one of the first high school graduates in the in their creative writing assignments. However, consistency in Ironically, there was a time when Kenny disdained his colony after it began to emphasize more education for its spelling is a problem, even for simple words, like Dindla for Hutterite heritage and his mother tongue. He experienced a young people. She went on to earn a degree from Brandon girl and Mandl for boy, she explains. “So Linda, I guess, in this kind of identity crisis as an older child. Like all young people, University’s Hutterite Education program. Her father book was struggling with the same thing.” teenage Hutterites struggle to establish an identity. Some even- Jonathan Maendel, a visionary for improved education among Dick informs her that a Hutterisch dictionary is on the tually leave colonies, and sometimes return. Hutterites, was instrumental in getting the program started. to-do list.
Hutterites At a Glance C a n a d a
Name: Officially, “Hutterian Brethren.” Named Italy/southern Austria), who settled in Moravia Language Use: SIL Ethnologue - Mother separateness from the world; thrift, craftsman- B.C. Alberta Sask. Man. after Jacob Hutter, early martyred leader. The (today’s Czech Republic). tongue for all ages is Hutterisch, a dialect of ship and cleanliness; self-sufficiency; simple, 2 174 64 107 three branches of Hutterites are: Dariusleut, German from the Austrian province of Carinthia. uniform dress; mechanization for economic History: Started as a communal group of Lehrerleut, and Schmiedeleut. They vary in English is taught in colony public/private advancement; few personal possessions. Anabaptists in the late 1520s. Due to persecution, conservativeness. schools. Colonies give religious instruction in Wash. Hutterites migrated from what is today the Czech Governance: Colonies headed by men, including a 16th-century Biblical German (used in most 5 Population: 45,000, on 475 colonies in Republic to Slovakia, Romania, Russia, the United minister and steward, as elected by adult baptized church services), or teach Standard German. Canada/U.S. States (1874) and then Canada (1918). males. Oregon Montana N. Dak. Some Hutterites have limited comprehension of 49 6 English and German. Livelihood: Primarily mixed farming on large 1 Minn. Location: In rural settings on the Canadian and Religion/Traditional Beliefs: Hold basic 10 U.S. prairies/plains. Nearly three-quarters of all Protestant Christian beliefs and specific tracts of land; some colonies have turned to S. Dak. Values/Lifestyle: Community; God-ordained U. S. A. Hutterite colonies are in Manitoba, Saskatchewan Anabaptist doctrines: adult believer’s baptism, manufacturing to supplement income. Colonies hierarchy of relationships; respect for order 57 and Alberta. pacifism, church-state separation, etc. Unlike sub-divide and form new colonies when popu- and authority; communal over individual will; other Anabaptists (the Amish and the lations warrant it. Origin: Founders were Anabaptist refugees from Mennonites), Hutterites live communally, based, This map indicates how the 475 Hutterite colonies in western North America Switzerland, Germany, and the Tyrol (northern in part, on their interpretation of Acts 2:44. Primary sources:
“A dictionary. Wow,” says Frances, “that would be nice, the book centre. There we wait for supper to be served in the because I know I get the strangest spellings.” dining hall, indicated by a colony-wide digital chime signal Frances asks her students if they have any questions or com- spread by intercom. ments. A male student from one of the colony schools is quick Kenny unpacks more of the 500 printed copies of the Bible to give his opinion: “It’s exciting to hear that our language is storybooks and glues a narrated CD in a paper sleeve inside actually getting somewhere, being put in the written form and each back cover. stuff.” The book centre is going to promote “Hutterischa Bibl “Yes, and it’s one of the ways that we are going to preserve it, Tschichtlen 1” wherever possible among the Hutterites, includ- right?” replies Frances. ing at a formal launch at a conference of about 400 Hutterite “We really appreciate what your people are doing at Wycliffe,” colony teachers in Canmore, Alta. Frances says, as she wraps up the session. “So thank you.” The books are here. Now it’s time to get them out there. As the low, setting sun begins to stain the colony’s snowy landscape a pale orange at day’s end, Kenny takes us back to
Like all Hutterites, residents at Baker Colony eat their three daily meals, men sitting in front of older ones to bridge the generation gap. The prepared by a crew of women, at the communal dining hall. Men and youngest children also eat together in their own dining room, with boys women are seated separately, positioned by age, usually with younger and girls seated separately.
“This is a big thing for us— having our language written down. You never know where it will take us.” — Lorena Maendel
Hutterites communally raise as much of their own food as possible, but sell the majority of larger crop yields, such as these potatoes at Elm River Colony, to outside food manufacturers. It took several days for —25 Years | Fall 2008 | www.wycliffe.ca 13 transport trucks to haul away the spuds in this large storehouse. In the hands of parents and our teachers—I hope that they will have a positive impact; that people will be talking in our dialect about spiritual things In the hands of parents and our teachers—I hope that Wycliff e discovers interest for translation among Hutterites.
For years, Dick Mueller and others in Wycliff e wondered if Never Gave Up Mueller and his wife Susan worked for three decades in a Bible they would ever fi nd Hutterites supportive of translating Bible translation project among the Gwich’in people in northeast Alaska, starting in 1959. He later joined Wycliff e’s eff orts for materials or the Scriptures into Hutterisch. Hutterisch translation while serving as associate director for “Th ere was just no open door,” says Mueller. language work in North America. Several years ago, says Mueller, some Hutterite women in Over several decades, various Wycliff e personnel did South Dakota were willing to help translate the children’s Bible language research among the group. Surveys showed that, storybooks. However, a Hutterite leader quashed the printing between themselves, all age groups of Hutterites speak their of the stories, saying the text had errors. Hutterisch mother tongue. Mueller never gave up. In late 2006, he and Wycliff e However, Hutterites conduct their daily church services Germany’s Martin Knauber (who was hoping to help trans- in what some describe as an archaic form of High German, late the New Testament into Hutterisch—see “Th e e-Book including several hundred sermons used regularly each year. is Coming,” pg. 18) approached a Hutterite Education Luther’s German Bible is considered the standard Scripture. Committee at a meeting near Winnipeg. Th is group gives In school, children are taught in English, while High German oversight to education policies and standards for a more language instruction is generally limited to two hours or so a progressive segment of Schmiedleut Hutterite colonies in the day, and it also usually includes religious teaching. region. “Th e leadership we talked to said, ‘Everybody understands Mueller and Knauber asked the committee to approve trans- High German. We’re not interested. We don’t have any need lation and publishing of the Bible stories and New Testament. for it [translation in Hutterisch],’ ” Mueller says, recalling the Th e committee decided to support the stories and assigned fi ndings of Wycliff e’s Hutterite surveys. Linda Maendel to write them. Th e Hutterian Brethren Book “But many of the lay people in the same surveys said, ‘We Centre, a supplier of German, Hutterite and Anabaptist books don’t really understand German that well, and if the Scriptures to colonies and their schools, would publish the stories (see were in our language, we’d listen more in church.’ Th ey weren’t “Th ey’re Here!”, pg. 4). understanding.”
A Hutterite girl takes her turn polishing the communal dining room door panels at Acadia Colony west of Winnipeg, Man. Why do Hutterites keep things so spotless? Minister Arnold 14 —25 Years | Fall 2008 | www.wycliffe.ca Hofer says it is based on a philosophy: “Reinlichkeit ist ein Stück von Saligkeit” – “Cleanliness is a part of salvation.” Divine Provision Committee head Arnold Hofer, a Hutterite minister, had ini- tial doubts about the idea of translation into a language that is used in everyday life. As well, he says, more Hutterite colonies are greatly upgrading school instruction of German. However, Hofer eventually warmed to the proposal from Mueller and Knauber for the Hutterisch Bible storybook series. “After visiting with them, and also hearing the interest of some of our people . . . I could see that we could use it,” says Mueller sees God’s the minister. “It could uphold a language which has been used for almost 450 years. I feel we should support it, to help us to communicate on our colonies, and also it could help to provision of these strengthen our faith.” Mueller sees God’s provision of these relationships to sup- port production of the Hutterisch Bible stories. “I’m sure it was the Lord’s timing,” says Mueller. “Now we relationships to are working with a group that is backing the work and a group that’s handling the publishing and the distribution.” Hofer has been asked to be on a translation committee of support production Hutterites who will help check the translation for an audio New Testament (see “The e-Book is Coming,” pg. 18). Still, he is somewhat leery about moving away from Luther’s Bible. of the Hutterisch “I would be very cautious with this. Yes, I would,” he says. “When you look at modern translations, even German mod- ern translations . . . some of them are quite different. So the danger could be that interpretation of Scripture could change. Bible stories. “I don’t feel that it will be necessary for us to use it in Sunday school or worship,” he says of his own Schmiedeleut It has taken Wycliffe personnel, such as Dick Mueller (left), many years of group. “I feel it will be more necessary for our homes and kin- patient relationship building with Hutterites to find interest and support for dergarten, and also in our elementary level of German school.” Hutterisch translation. Though at first unsure, Arnold Hofer (right), who heads an education committee for a more progressive segment of Schmiedeleut Mueller says it is understandable that many Hutterites, Hutterites in Manitoba, now welcomes translation of Bible stories. known for being very traditional, are hesitant about Hutterisch Scriptures. “It doesn’t really mean much to you until you see Scripture in Hutterisch, and see if it can be helpful or not.” Members of Acadia Colony attend the daily evening church service led by their minister, Arnold Hofer, in German. In research done by Wycliffe, many Hutterites will soon get that opportunity. Hutterite lay people indicated they don’t understand German very well, hence the suggestion for Bible translation into their Hutterisch mother tongue. After an uncertain start, translation for an audio New Testament in Hutterisch moves steadily forward.
Two bearded men, wearing checkered shirts and suspend-
ers, hover over three desktop and laptop computers hum-
ming along on a Saturday evening. They are working in the
crowded, wood-paneled basement office of a long row house
in Forest River Community, a Hutterite colony near Fordville, North Dakota. While a large Bulova pendulum wall clock behind them swings away the minutes, Hutterite Tony Waldner (fore- ground, at right) and Wycliffe’s Martin Knauber are putting in time on another session of translating text for an audio, e-book version of the New Testament in Hutterisch. Tony, a German teacher, gardener and bookbinder on his Hutterite colony (about three hours drive south of Winnipeg), has already drafted several of the Gospels into his mother tongue. He e-mailed the text to Martin, an exegetical transla- tion consultant living with his family in St. Petersburg, Fla. Wycliffe consultants review translations, checking for accu- racy, clarity and naturalness, looking for omissions, extraneous thoughts or possible misconceptions. In this case, Martin has reviewed Tony’s work and inserted comments and questions into his draft document. Now, in person, they are painstak- ingly going through each item to improve the translation of the Gospel of Matthew. The computers display Tony’s draft with and without Martin’s notes, questions and suggestions; the original transla- tion in Greek; Martin Luther’s German Bible; and the King James Version. Tony and Martin swivel their office chairs from side to side and their eyes dart from computer to computer, as they carefully do more research and redraft the translation. They interact, sometimes in English, sometimes in standard High German. On some matters, Tony accepts Martin’s suggested changes. On others, he successfully explains why his draft wording should remain unchanged—at least until a translation com- mittee of Hutterites reviews the work. The issues that Tony and Martin ponder run the gamut. “We get into theology, we get into the sentence structure, we get into word order—a whole variety of things we have to discuss,” explains Tony. Because Martin is from southwest Germany, he knows sev- eral German dialects, including his Badisch mother tongue. This equips him to question Tony’s translation in Hutterisch, also a German dialect. “I grew up with the Black Forest dialect,” explains Martin, “and I also know the Swiss and Austrian dialects, so between
18 —25 Years | Fall 2008 | www.wycliffe.ca —25 Years | Fall 2008 | www.wycliffe.ca 19 the three I can work out what this says. But many times, there are exactly the same words, the same vocabulary, but there are changed word meanings. So it sounds wrong to me, from my background, but in Hutterisch, it’s actually correct. Sometimes we get into discussions until we figure out what it means.” Almost Walked Away That these discussions are happening at all is somewhat of a miracle. About a year ago, Martin and his wife Beate nearly walked away from trying to help translate Scripture into Hutterisch. The couple had served in Papua New Guinea (PNG) for almost two decades in a Bible translation project among the Dawawa people, and then did translation consultant work and laboured on a multi-language project. In 2005, the couple “I found out pretty wanted to move to Canada to support their eldest daughter, quickly that some attending university near Vancouver, B.C. More on the Web To learn about the amazing While looking for a new Hutterites’ High experiences of the Knaubers in the Dawawa assignment in their new project, visit
Kathleen Waldner, Tony’s wife (top), leads children’s Sunday school at Forest River Colony, N.D., as Wycliffe’s Martin Knauber (beside Kathleen) and Beate Knauber (bottom) listen in. Children took turns reading from the just-printed Hutterisch Bible storybook. “Is it better than English?” 20 —25 Years | Fall 2008 | www.wycliffe.ca Kathleen asks. “Jo!” (“Yes”), the kids say in unison. “Do you understand what you read?” she asks. “Jo!” they say again. “It’s the first language we learn; it’s still our “Everywhere I called, people thought, ‘Oh, yes, that might be a good idea.’ And when I introduced it around various main language of places, people had ideas. They said, ‘We could use that on the combine, when the guys sit there 20 hours a day. They could communication within listen to that.’ Everybody seems to like it so far.” There are several reasons the audio Scriptures are more the colony. . . . Why acceptable to Hutterites, with their highly traditional views about Bible use and entertainment. not have the Word of “First of all, it’s not written,” explains Martin, “so it’s not a God in this mother threat to the Bible that’s used in the church services. And sec- ondly, it’s not an MP3 player, which will ensure that the Bible tongue?” cannot be changed once it is on the audio device. The narrated Scriptures are burned onto a chip and you can’t add to or —Tony Waldner, delete from it.” Hutterite Tony’s Motivation New Testament The Knaubers found more encouragement after Dick Mueller translator suggested they contact Tony Waldner. Years earlier, Tony had told Dick that he would welcome a Hutterisch translation on cassette tape. In 2007, Tony accepted Martin’s proposal that he be the one to do the translation. Lost in Between “Tony developed a real heart for this after we really got “The more that English words creep into our language,” he started with translation,” says Martin. “Today, he is quite pas- explains, “the more we have to work to increase our vocabu- sionate about the work.” lary in German. I would say it’s an uphill battle.” The 50-year-old father of seven has been steadily translating Tony says many Hutterites do not want to read English ver- the New Testament after his colony working hours, often late sions of the Bible. As well, their grasp of High German is not into the evening. Equipped with a laptop computer—many high enough to totally understand the Scripture, “especially times perched in front of him while he sits in his living room when it gets technical,” such as in the epistle to the Romans, rocker—Tony has translated at a pace of about half a chapter a for example. Beate Knauber (left) takes advantage of some sunny March weather to day since this past fall. “We’re borrowing from society, which is English, and the take a stroll around the colony with Kathleen Waldner (right), and her MegaVoice to the Rescue But Tony emphasizes that this is his winter pace. In the language of our history, which is High German . . . and the visiting sister, Betty. Though not as involved in the Hutterisch transla- Frustrated, the Knaubers felt they should forget about summer, his long hours of supervising work on the colony’s Word of God maybe gets lost in between.” tion project as her husband Martin, Beate has developed some impor- Hutterisch translation, return to Germany and then resume 15-acre garden will postpone more translation until next win- A good way to change that, says Tony, is to provide the tant relationships with Hutterite women. work back in PNG. Their daughter was settled and married in ter (see “Tony, the Translator . . . ” pg. 26). “I feel that this is Scriptures in Hutterisch. The Hutterisch New Testament translation project is providing text for Canada, so they realized they could move on. going to be a five- to six-year project.” “It’s the first language we learn; it’s still our main language of the script that will be recorded on the “MegaVoice” digital audio player. However, Dick Mueller and his fellow Wycliffe leaders over- Despite the many hours involved, Tony says translating the communication within the colony. . . . Why not have the Word seeing translation in North America urged the Knaubers to Scriptures into Hutterisch is interesting work. of God in this mother tongue?” stay. They reiterated the need for Scripture translation in the “I’ve always loved the German language and I’ve always “If you take the New Testament as a whole, I think Hutterites’ heart language and how ideally suited the couple was. loved working with words,” he explains. “Of course, I consider Hutterites would grasp it best in their own language,” he says. Not wanting to be too hasty, the Knaubers agreed to pray myself a dedicated Christian and this motivates me as well.” “If we understand the Word of God extensively, it will also Ober er hot ongwuertet, about their decision again. Beate decided to re-read the For 26 years, Tony has done his best to teach German to influence us spiritually. That is what I contend.” “Es steat gschribm, ‘Der reports Wycliffe had prepared on Hutterisch over the years. It young Hutterites in school so they can understand the old Tony was curious to see how his Hutterite brothers and Mensch sul nit vun Brut was then that God impressed upon her the oft-repeated sug- High German used in church services, a practice that seems sisters might react to the Scriptures in Hutterisch. So this past elan lebm, ober vun jedn gestion in the files for Hutterisch Scriptures in audio form. traditionally entrenched for the foreseeable future. Christmas, he simply stood up unannounced at a colony feast Wuet wos vun Gut sa “MegaVoice” came to mind. From their time in PNG, the But Tony stresses that Hutterites are getting just two hours in the dining hall and read his draft translation of Christ’s Maul ausn kumt.’ ” Knaubers were already familiar with this compact, digital a day of German instruction, in an otherwise English-based birth story from the Gospels of Matthew and Luke. Matthew 4:4 Hutterisch audio player. Solar-powered and about the size of a deck of school curriculum. That leaves them much less equipped in “They have never experienced somebody reading Hutterisch (2nd draft translation) cards, the tool is used by organizations such as Wycliffe to play German than their forefathers were before coming to North from a piece of paper,” explains Tony. “So here I am reading the entire narrated Bible, usually to oral societies. America in 1874. In centuries past, Hutterites lived in host soci- the Christmas story. More on the Web To learn more about Martin telephoned and vis- eties that weren’t German speaking—including Czechoslovakia, “Everybody was intent. You could hear a pin drop. Some of MegaVoice, visit
22 —25 Years | Fall 2008 | www.wycliffe.ca —25 Years | Fall 2008 | www.wycliffe.ca 23 “I don’t think Hutterites realized that you can express the “I would hope,” says Martin, “that it would be used by a lot “I think we’re dedicated to see this through to the end, until explains Tony. “She coached her daughter to ask for the head Bible stories using just about 100 per cent Hutterisch words,” of families and enable people to get an even deeper spiritual the New Testament is on here,” Martin says, pointing to his of John the Baptist.” he adds. “They understood it very well, and I got just positive insight into what the Word of God is saying. And that God MegaVoice demo player. “Okay,” says a convinced Martin. “Let’s leave it.” feedback.” would use this as a door among the Hutterites for sparking Tony reads the complete verse aloud again. Tony is also getting positive feedback from Martin, who has interest in using and preserving their own language. Stop at John’s Head “That is very nice Hutterisch,” he says, with contentment in checked translations of many books of the New Testament “Who knows what else God might do with this. The Lord Saturday evening’s translation checking session is winding down. his voice. during his time as translation consultant in PNG. usually has a way of turning a small thing into something (There will be several more days of this, averaging five hours He is obviously satisfied that he and Martin have drafted a “This is the best first draft I’ve ever seen,” says Martin. “It’s significant for the benefit of His kingdom. Let’s just wait and each day.) Tony and Martin conclude their checking at Matthew good rendering of God’s Word. really well done.” watch Him work.” 14:8. This verse tells of Herodias prompting her daughter to ask It’s their hope that the Hutterites will be satisfied, too—satis- Martin says Tony is able to work from good German and The Knaubers may relocate to Germany to connect with King Herod for John the Baptist’s head on a platter. fied when they finally hear the Scriptures in the centuries’ old English translations, he’s a clever, college-educated man, and their supporting churches and even PNG to serve there again. Martin questions Tony’s use of the word onglent in his draft for language that speaks to their hearts. he does thorough research using commentaries and transla- Still, Martin foresees continuing to work with Tony remotely, this concept of being prompted. Is it an appropriate Hutterisch tion helps. Tony is also highly respected among Hutterites. using e-mail and telephone, and making frequent trips to word to explain how Herod’s wife influenced her daughter? North Dakota for checking sessions. “Well, this means she was prodded [by her mother],” Watch God Work For his part, Tony has increasingly realized Martin’s impor- tance to the project, even as the Wycliffe worker started help- ing review and improve the translation of Matthew. “I’m impressed with the kind of things that he’s finding behind me, the type of problem areas that he’s finding,” says Tony. “He will be indispensable in this project. We could not do this without him.” Beate is assisting Dick and Bible storybook translator Linda Maendel (see “They’re Here!,” pg. 4) with alphabet and spell- ing-related issues, since as an oral language, a Hutterisch writ- ing system is still being standardized. Of course, the Knaubers want the translation to be more than just technically sound. They also share Tony’s desire that the audio Hutterisch New Testavment will bless Hutterites.
“I would hope that it [the translation] would be used by a lot of families and enable people to get an even deeper spiritual insight into what the Word of God is saying.” —Martin Knauber, Wycliffe translation consultant Children at the Forest River Colony in North Dakota sled down the snowy hills of the shallow valley surrounding the centre of their community. Though Hutterite youngsters have plenty of opportu- 24 —25 Years | Fall 2008 | www.wycliffe.ca nities to play in the rural settings of their colonies, they begin to contribute to community life by doing chores at an early age. “As a boy growing up,” he recalls, “we always had our chores says Tony. “Basically, I do the tractor work, irrigating and to do.” spraying, as well as helping with the harvest. My wife is in . . . and German teacher, It’s fitting that Tony Waldner is the Hutterite translating the Tony helped gather eggs in colony chicken barns, and at charge of organizing the hoeing, harvesting and canning.” 14 assisted with grinding feed for 10,000 chickens and 10,000 Half of the produce is used by the colony. The other half is Good Seed of God’s Word into his native Hutterisch. geese. He also worked in the cow barn. sold to outside customers, much of it at a farmers’ market in “We had German school and English school. There was a lot Grand Forks. Tony organizes and attends those weekly markets. and gardener, One of his day jobs at Forest River Colony, in North Dakota, of time to play, but you knew when you were growing up, you During the less hectic winter schedule, in the four hours couldn’t just play,” he recalls. “A work ethic was instilled in us. between teaching German classes, Tony also works as the col- also involves seed—the literal type, that is. That was important to me.” ony’s bookbinder. It’s a skill he learned in 1983 from another However, on two occasions, Tony’s dad struggled with being Hutterite craftsman, supplemented by his own self-study. and historian, Tony is the colony’s head gardener. a Hutterite and decided to take his family and leave colony “Bookbinding,” explains Tony, “has always been important for He’s also the German teacher, and bookbinder, and amateur life: when Tony was aged 11, and again at 15. “I think social Hutterites because they have always hand-written [hand-cop- historian, and archivist—all positions this college graduate interaction was a problem in his life.” ied] their sermons. These sermons have never been published acquired after living for a formative period of his life outside and archivist. While living outside Hutterite colonies, Tony’s family in the sense of being taken to a printing press and being bound. the Hutterite community. attended non-Hutterite churches. So they have always been bound within a Hutterite colony.” Born in Forest River in 1957, Tony has also lived in two Tony also binds the several types of songbooks that Manitoba Hutterite colonies. Wherever he was, he gathered Sentimental By Nature Hutterites use. Some Hutterite churches, including Forest River, good memories of being raised a Hutterite. After graduating from high school in Minnesota, Tony went to do line singing. The minister dictates each line of a song, which university in that state for three years before graduating from the group then sings, a centuries-old practice that likely began the University of North Dakota, in Grand Forks. His degree when Hutterites didn’t have enough songbooks to go around. included a major in elementary education and a minor in German and history. “I loved the chance for an education, but socially, I never assimilated with the outer society.” In fact, Tony hoped to teach at a Hutterite colony. “I still loved my people and my culture and my heritage,” he says. “I’m sentimental by nature.” Tony and his family eventually returned to colony life, and in 1979, Tony decided that he needed to get serious about fol- lowing God. In 1981, Tony was elected to be a German teacher at Forest River. He has been working with children five to 15 years of age ever since. This role in Hutterite society goes beyond teaching the language. “In addition to teaching German, I have to teach students all of the religious training that we have. So the German teacher is responsible for teaching the children the doctrines and the Bible stories. Even our songs are passed down from one gen- eration to another. It’s my job to teach them the songs.” And when schoolchildren leave their homes, the German teacher is the one to discipline them should they do anything wrong in the colony at large. It sounds like a big responsibility. Tony’s wife Kathleen finishes up some sewing on a homemade quilt as the final weeks “Well, it’s doable,” he says, laughing. of winter draw to a close. In the summer, she shares the responsibility of colony head gardener with her husband—a 12-hour-a-day job. Berries and Books From mid-April to early October, Tony is busy as the gardener in the 92-member colony. It is a responsibility he shares with his wife Kathleen, an energetic and hospitable woman who is always quick to smile. They supervise production of all the vegetables and fruit (including 1,500 gallons of mostly berries, with some apples “A work ethic was annually) on the colony’s 15-acre garden. It’s a 12-hour-a-day job all summer. instilled in us. That was “The ladies and single girls help with all the garden work,” important to me.”
Tony Waldner clamps the glued spine of a book he is binding. He spends about four hours a day during the less hectic winter months as the bookbinder for Forest River Colony in northeastern North Dakota. It is during the same season —25 Years | Fall 2008 | www.wycliffe.ca 27 that he does most of the translation of the New Testament into Hutterisch. The bookbinding shop contains an interesting array of equipment that Tony has collected, usually from printers and bookbinding companies in the Winnipeg area that went out of “Bookbinding business. Tony does bookbinding primarily for Hutterite colonies, but has always been half of his work is from outside, non-Hutterite business. Those projects can include well-worn childhood textbooks with important for Hutterites sentimental value, antique family Bibles with broken spines, and other books with torn-off covers. The oldest book he has because they have rebound was a volume of essays from the colonial U.S., printed in the early 1700s. always hand-written “It’s very satisfying,” he says of the craft. “You see your fin- ished product [progress] from something that’s dilapidated to [hand-copied] something that’s really nice—it’s really rewarding.” An old Bible might take about four hours to rebind, at a their sermons.” charge of between $10-$20 per hour. Tony emphasizes that Hutterite bookbinders use higher quality materials than most commercial counterparts.
A work ethic is instilled in Hutterites even from a young age, with History Buff older ones sharing and modeling colony life to the younger ones. Hutterites play, work and worship in community—the backbone of Tony’s love for books extends beyond binding them. He studies their religious doctrine. Scriptures in their mother tongue will soon and collects volumes historically important to Hutterites. nourish that teaching. If you visit his home, one minute he will produce a photo- copy of a hand-written Hutterite church chronicle. Begun in 1581 when Hutterites lived in what is today the Czech Republic, it lists hundreds of names of Hutterites and Anabaptists who were martyred for their faith and for doing missionary work in German-speaking Europe. The next, he shows church records, started in 1775 during the Hutterite sojourn in Russia, that “Our forefathers that died a were kept by his forefather, a Hutterite minister. Or next, his great-great-grandmother’s original Christian songbook that she martyr’s death . . . we won’t be hand-wrote in beautiful calligraphy to be used by her family after she married and had children. saved by their merit . . . only Though recognized as an amateur historian and archivist within the broader Hutterite community, Tony is careful not to Christ as our foundation overplay Hutterite history’s importance. “When I teach Sunday school, I emphasize this point: our will enable us to endure.” forefathers that died a martyr’s death, it’s all well and good. But we won’t be saved by their merit, by what they did. “If we’re tested in this way, only Christ as our foundation As a young Hutterite boy, Tony gathered eggs and fed chickens. Others at Forest River Colony, like this young man, now help run a relatively small will enable us to endure.” 28 —25 Years | Fall 2008 | www.wycliffe.ca 60,000-laying hen operation that produces 40,000 eggs daily—all of which —25 Years | Fall 2008 | www.wycliffe.ca 29 have to be inspected with light (candling) before hitting the store shelves. Wycliffe, PAOC Sign Partnership Agreement New Boat to Benefit Reshaping 21st Wycliffe Canada and the Translators in PNG By Dave Pentecostal Assemblies of A 38-foot custom-built boat is serving century Missions Ohlson Canada (PAOC) will formally Wycliffe language teams working in the work together to help start Milne Bay Province of Papua New Guinea Bible translation in languages (PNG). The province is comprised of more Mission leaders from around the world are acutely aware that the Church of Jesus Christ must engage in as a part of that need it by 2025. than 100 small islands, scattered over six God’s mission in the world in the 21st century: To that end, Wycliffe’s major island chains. that God is doing a new thing in this century as He contin- Executive Director Dave The new boat, called Kwadima II, • Meeting the spiritual hunger of the world’s people by the Ohlson (right) signed a part- replaces the M/V Mark, in service since 1991 but now considered unsafe. The new vessel proclamation of the gospel, including giving all peoples nership agreement with Dr. ues to build His Kingdom. The mission of the Church in boasts greater speed, improved safety features and more flexibility for passengers and access to God’s Word in their heart languages. William Morrow (left), PAOC cargo involved with work in up to 40 different language groups. Funding for the boat today’s world is increasingly different. Mission is beginning General Superintendent, and was provided by JAARS, Wycliffe’s partner for technical support. M • Helping to provide education to fight illiteracy.
Courtesy Courtesy PAOC Murray Cornelius (not pic- PNG represents one of the greatest remaining needs for Bible translation. Of its 820 to look more and more like the description of heaven found tured), PAOC Assistant Superintendent, International Missions, at the PAOC’s Mississauga, languages, at least 340 have no Scripture and no translation projects underway. • Preventing infectious diseases including HIV/AIDS Ont., head office in early March. in Revelation 7:9 (NIV): “ . . . there before me was a great and malaria. “Being able to partner with the largest evangelical denomination in Canada where we multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, find PAOC directly engaged in the Bible translation movement,” said Ohlson, “is from our Historic Bogota people and language. . . .” • Improving the status of women. perspective one of the most exciting partnership agreements that Wycliffe Canada has made Wycliffe’s international triennial convention, held this past in recent history.” Consultation • Providing clean drinking water. May in Thailand, was truly a microcosm of this future heav- Under the agreement, existing Wycliffe PAOC members will be recognized as official PAOC • Reducing infant-child mortality. missionaries and more will be recruited for the task of Bible translation. The PAOC will carry Encourages enly picture. More than 500 Wycliffe member representatives, the main responsibility to assist new Wycliffe members from the denomination in raising their Scripture Use from 120 entities around the world, gathered to worship, fel- • Increasing economic opportunities for all peoples. financial and prayer support in consultation with local sending churches, and place them on lowship and discuss such topics as diversity, synergy, building Latin American church and the PAOC payroll. capacity and funding the Bible translation movement. • Making a concerted effort to deal with environmental Wycliffe will facilitate, assist and resource the PAOC and her churches wherever needed in mission leaders have committed sustainability. themselves to promote the use The current missionary activity of the Church is sometimes
an effort to recruit more workers for Bible translation, and will provide service opportunities, Hurst Chris Photo expertise and supervision for Wycliffe PAOC personnel on the field. of Scriptures in vernacular lan- described as “from everywhere to everywhere.” The Church is • Addressing corrupt leadership and governance issues. guages for ethnic communities exploding, particularly in the Global South. (In academic cir- Meanwhile, the PAOC also signed a partnership agreement with Global PartnerLink, the • Reducing civil wars and ethnic tensions. division of Wycliffe Canada that raises money for national Bible translation-related projects in the region. cles, the nations of Africa, Latin America/the Caribbean, most Participants from 13 Latin American countries and 29 ethnic groups (like those in the around the world. PAOC’s goal is to fund as many GPL-sponsored projects as it can over the of Asia and parts of the Pacific are collectively known as the • Eradicating extreme poverty and hunger. next eight years. photo) agreed to boost Scripture use in the mother tongues of people groups in Latin America, by issuing a “Declaration of Bogota.” It was named after the location of an his- Global South.) We are witnessing, as never before, the erasing of boundaries and borders in almost every aspect of the world- There have been times in history when the Church did not Leonard (Len) Ernest Newell, 82, died April toric March meeting in Colombia’s capital, attended by 140 representatives from various st wide Church. Wycliffe and our partners in the Bible transla- see its mission in so broad a context. The 21 century is not Former 10 in Chilliwack, B.C., after a brief illness. The church denominations, mission agencies, Indian organizations and Bible institutes, as well as Wycliffe, The Bible League and the United Bible Societies. tion movement are a vital part of this dynamic work of God. one of those times. To meet this broader mandate, the world- Wycliffe former administrator, linguist and Bible trans- wide Church must work in Kingdom partnerships, character- lator, who helped translate the New Testament The declaration will be promoted in diverse sectors of the Latin American Church “as a We live in a post-colonial world where the gospel of Canada for the Batad Ifugao people of the Philippines, reference for missionary work among ethnic communities.” Jesus Christ is increasingly welcomed in the Global South. ized “as a covenant of friendship and mutual co-operation also served as director of Wycliffe Canada from The eight-point declaration acknowledges that God’s Word has been translated into of unconditional relationship.” For us in Wycliffe Canada it Director many languages in Latin America, with a wide-ranging impact. However, “we recognize Ninety-one per cent of new Christians in the world today 1974 to 1976. are found in the Global South. And, this vibrant, growing means we want the translated Scriptures to transform others Dies Born Jan. 7, 1926, in Edgerton, Alta., Newell that in the past we did not sufficiently value the work of translation and the translators. and expanding Church is highly missional in nature. We are and us. Bible translation is not simply a task. It is a call to a married Doreen Wade in 1950. The couple joined Wycliffe a year Neither has there been sufficient effort to encourage reading, study and distribution of the Scriptures in vernacular languages.” seeing new global plans for mission that are initiated and lifestyle where the gospel is incarnated and lived out holisti- later and moved to the Philippines in 1954. cally by the translator of the Word of God. In 1974, Newell was appointed director of Wycliffe Canada. Following Doreen’s death in 1975 Consultation participants, who attended various helpful seminars, agreed to work led by Christians in the southern hemisphere (the so-called Wycliffe Canada’s slogan is “Translating Scripture, from leukemia, he married Johanna (Jo) Schipper, a colleague in Wycliffe’s Calgary headquarters. together more closely. Southern Church). In the publication Missiometrics 2008 - “Our hope,” said Edna Headland, a Wycliffe Americas Scripture Use coordinator, “is that Newell served in a variety of leadership positions, including a stint as director of SIL Reality Checks for Christian World Communions, by Barrett, Transforming Lives.” We see ourselves in partnership with Philippines from 1978-82. He also worked on a Bible translation project for the Romblon the ideas exchanged at the consultation will be put into practice, and many will come God and His Body, the Church, for all of the world’s people, to know our Lord as a result of reading, studying, hearing and seeing the Scriptures, and Johnson and Crossing, we find the following statement: “The people of the Philippines. perception of Christianity as a western religion is disappear- especially those 2,250-plus people groups who still lack Newell is survived by his wife Jo, five children, four grandchildren and six great-grandchildren. applying them to their lives.” ing.” The entire Body of Christ is now more closely reflecting access to God’s precious Word, and the hope that it brings, in John 17:23, where Jesus in His high priestly prayer asked the the languages that speak to their hearts. We are committed Bible Translation Agencies Spawned in Africa, Central America Romanian Wycliffe Partner Father that His followers be brought to unity. Why? To let the to change, innovation, creative strategies and partnerships to see the promise of Isaiah 55:11 (NIV) fulfilled: “. . . My Word Two new Bible translation organizations have been located in French-speaking West and Central Africa, an Organization Formed world know that He, the Father, sent Jesus into the world so that goes out from my mouth: it will not return to me empty, started in Cote d’Ivoire, West Africa, and Guatemala, area with one of the world’s greatest concentrations of An agency with a vision for Bible translation has been formed that all people might know the love of the Father for Jesus, Central America. languages still needing Bible translation. in Romania. The Word for the Nations will become a partner orga- His mission and for all of mankind. but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for Forty delegates from several church denominations In Guatemala, a national organization for Bible nization of Wycliffe International. In his book, The Mission of God, Chris Wright defines which I sent it.” and organizations in Cote d’Ivoire met in February to translation mobilization is being developed. The The budding organization already has seven members training, the word mission as “the committed participation of God’s It’s an incredible privilege for us in Wycliffe Canada to be a establish the National Council for Bible Translation. founders are Sergio and Ingrid Sandoval, who have preparing to do field work or actually serving on the field, while part of God’s purposes even in the midst of all of our weak- Wycliffe personnel serving in the nation helped foster met with Wycliffe Americas’ leaders and Guatemala’s people (all of God’s people) in the purposes of God for several others are applying to join. nesses. “But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that the new movement. branch of COMIBAM, an international organization for the redemption of the whole of creation.” With that view in These Romanian members have been linked to Wycliffe Austria this all surpassing power is from God and not from us” The new agency is considered strategic because it is mobilization of missions. until The Word for the Nations is fully registered in Romania and is mind, Kirk Franklin, the new executive director of Wycliffe up and running as a Wycliffe partner organization. Bible Translators International, addressed the topic of God’s (I Corinthians 4:7, NIV). Shalom at our May convention. Kirk identified 11 challenges Dave Ohlson is executive director of Wycliffe Canada.
30 —25 Years | Fall 2008 | www.wycliffe.ca —25 Years | Fall 2008 | www.wycliffe.ca 31 Deliver Deliver to:
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ace to 2025: Cameroon bridges the gap between the pas- Rsionate adventure this generation desires, and the extreme mission to which Jesus calls His Church. This is Wycliffe Canada’s third Race to 2025 event, in partner- ship with Frontier Lodge. The event will include a two-day race for four-member teams who face off against each other in whitewa- ter canoeing, extreme hiking, mountain biking, rock climbing and a variety of linguistic challenges. Teams will raise a minimum of $2,600 each to help train student pastors in Cameroon, Africa, to use mother tongue Scriptures. Help release the power of God’s Word for mission in the African Church. Participate in Race to 2025: Cameroon—the adventure fundraising race with eternal impact! To register your team or become a sponsor, contact us at: (403) 250-5411, ext. 325, or
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