Seedlinks 2010-8

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AUGUST

TELLING GOD’S STORY :

Oral Bible translations 6

PRAYER SEEDS:

Join our work in prayer! 8

Empowering Emerging LeadersKwame Nkrumah and the next generationof international Bible translators

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Get your church involved! For more

information visit blankbible.org

For 353 million people, the Bible is an empty book.

They speak one of 2,200 languages that don’t have

even one verse of Scripture. Perhaps equally shocking

is the fact that although most Americans have access to

multiple Bibles, 66 percent rarely or never read the Bibl

That’s why churches across America are taking up

The Blank Bible Challenge and changing the statistics.

Get Your Church Involved Today!

Together your church can spend 28 days engaging

with God’s Word in a fresh way. Church members

will go on a Scripture journey from Creation to the Earl

Church when they sign up to receive FREE daily e-mail

Multimedia resources bring Scriptures alive. Discussio

points keep people talking, drawing them deeper into

God’s Word. These 15-minute daily e-mails are great fo

personal study, family devotions and small groups.

And, together your church can open up a whole ne

world for others. By partnering with a local translatio

team, your church will help a specific people group

receive a first-time Scripture translation. The impact

will be eternal as God’s Word transforms lives, churche

spring up and communities begin to thrive.

Enrich Your Bible Experience and

Share It With Others

*Center for Bible Engagement

Words From Roy

*Edward M. Bounds (1835-1913), American minister and author.

ccel.org/ccel/bounds/weapon.toc.html

As a man seasoned in

spiritual warfare with hard-

won victories under his belt,

the Apostle Paul wantedbelievers at Ephesus—and

us—to know how to pray

effectively. “Put on all of

God’s armor so that you

will be able to stand firm

against all strategies of the

devil.” Paul also stressed

the importance of knowing

God’s Word and explained

that prayer was essential in

winning each battle: “Pray

in the Spirit at all times and

on every occasion. Stayalert and be persistent in

your prayers for all believers

everywhere.” he said. (See

Ephesians 6:10-18, NLT.)

Paul’s admonitions ring

loud in our hearts as Seed

Company staff members join

together each day, lifting up

urgent prayer needs, praying

for you and other partners,

our national translation

teams and The SeedCompany staff. As we pray

for people groups around

the world, I am so deeply

thankful to God that you are

praying for them as well. Your

prayers are paving the way

for millions of people to hear

and understand the Good

News of Jesus’ coming.

We are launching a new

prayer movement to mobilize

even more targeted prayer

for people groups andtheir translation projects.

We know the enemy is not

sitting still, so we are on the

advance and increasing our

prayer arsenal to win spiritual

battles on every front.

In his book The Weapon of

Prayer , E. M. Bounds, a man

of intense prayer, stated the

need for such prayer when

he said, “In doing God’s work

there is no substitute for

praying. … The life, the vigor,

the motive-power of God’s

work is formed by praying

men [and women].”*

Please watch for more

information about our

new prayer initiatives. We

appreciate your vital prayer

support as together we share

God’s Word with people

worldwide.

For God’s glory,

Roy L. Peterson, President

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“We learned about OneVerse while at a Passion Conference

in 2007. Shortly after that event, we decided we wanted

to participate in translating the Bible for others around the

world,” said Susan Swafford. Susan and her husband David

have been project partners with the Jamaican Patois project

since 2008, so they decided to visit the translation team.

Soon after they arrived, they accompanied the translators to

Meadowbrook High School in Kingston. The team members

spoke to the student body during a large assembly and

shared some Jamaican Scripture verses. “The students

were very receptive,” Susan observed. “I think the majorityof the students would agree that [Scripture in Patois] was

easier for them to understand than what they usually hear

in English, in church.”

Next, they traveled to the Bible Society of the West Indies

headquarters in Kingston, the bustling capital city, where

the translators work. Project coordinator Bertram gave them

an office tour. He demonstrated the software they use

and showed them the team’s reference resources.

Bertram also explained how he has divided the work and

described their translation procedures. He invited David

and Susan to observe the team in action. The translators

discussed at length how to ensure

the accuracy and understandability of

the translation of the first two verses

in Galatians. Amazed, Susan commented, “How often

do most people thoroughly study and think about God’s

Word in this way?”

Then the group went to a local bus stop where students

waited to begin their afternoon commute. The translators

shared their drafts with several people. Susan notes,

“And how cool to begin reading their own language for the

first time from the Word of God!”

As David and Susan said good-bye to the team, the

translators gave them two bookmarks containing Jamaican

Scripture. But as they interacted with other Jamaicans,

the couple gave away their Scripture souvenirs. Now their

passion for Bible translation is stronger than ever.

SEEDLINKS, AUGUST 20

“How often do most people thoroughly study and

think about God’s Word in [the way the team does]?”

—Susan Swafford

Get involved! Go to oneverse.org

to learn more about helping Bertra

translate the Bible for his people.

OneVerse par tners learn about God’s Work in Jamaican Patois project.

Translation team members with partners

Susan and David Swafford (right)

Above and below: Jamaican

translation team members in action.

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Chief KotopeOpens the Door MOZAMBIQUE, AFRICA—

God is changing hearts in

Mozambique among the

Meetto community where many are still wary about

turning to Jesus. Recently, Meetto project personnel

distributed Genesis, Jonah, the Gospel of Mark

and James. When the Muaruwa village chief, Chief

Kotope, received them, he liked the audio cassette

so much that he turned it over each time it finished

to listen again.

Finally he declared, “I like these words that I read in

the book and listen to on the cassette. Therefore, I urge

you to bring the church to my people. I won’t go to church

myself because I belong to another religion. But my

nephews and others will get converted because this

Word is good. We must not be without it!”

“Tat burial ceremony belongs in the past. People must

put confdence in the one Almighty God o our Lord Jesus

Christ!” — Courageous Yambetta believers

CAMEROON, AFRICA—

The Yambetta people of

Cameroon are seeing cultural

change with the arrival of portions

of God’s Word in their language.

An elderly sorcerer requested that

when he died the secret societycalled “Ulumu” bury him. The

ceremony included rites devoted

to spirits. The sorcerer’s secret

society did so, but not without

protest from some courageous

Christians. They passionately

argued, “That burial ceremony

belongs in the past. People

must put confidence in the

one Almighty God of our Lord

Jesus Christ!”

The significant resistance camfrom believers who had previou

been members of the Ulumu.

They want to cut ties with the

previous beliefs since they’ve

been made new in Christ.

God at Work:

Stories From Around the Worl

Christian Resistance to Sorcery

“My nephews and others will get converted because this

Word is good. We must not be without it!” —Chief Kotope

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Read more about these and other projects

round the world at theseedcompany.org

SOUHEAS ASIA— Each time

project advisor John* gave

Lem a Scripture portion in hisKobas mother tongue, John

felt like he was throwing God’s

Word into a black hole. But

recently, Lem came to the local

church, confessed his sin and

recommitted his life to Christ

after 20 years of devious,

immoral living. Lem

shared later that the

Scripture portionsJohn had given him had saved his

life, leading him back to the Lord!

*pseudonym

Lem shared later that the Scripture

portions John had given him had saved

his life, leading him back to the Lord!

Lem’s Change of Heart

Useless Epistles?

SOUTH ASIA— Christians

n a sensitive South Asia

project had decided the

Epistles were useless.

They were just too hard to

understand in the national

anguage. But when they

tudied the newly translated

book of James in their

mother-tongue language,

hey changed their minds.

For the first time, they could

understand the Scripture

passages! Now they’re eager

or more of God’s Word to

be translated.

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Datano* leads a Bible study

for 15 men in their remote

region in Southeast Asia.

But only four of them are

literate enough to actually

read Scripture. In their

eagerness to learn, group

members often plead for

methods that don’t require

them to read. Datanowondered what to do for

these people of few means

and little spare time.

Today, The Seed Company

is helping national

translators like Datano

pioneer new methods

that center on the clear,

accurate and consistent

storytelling that has

retained important

cultural information

for generations. These

storytelling methods

can be used to quickly

communicate Scripture

stories that provide clear

and applicable truths to

a community in urgentneed of God’s Word.

So Datano was excited

to travel with his two

friends from a remote,

mountainous region of

their island homeland

to a recent InStori

translation workshop.

Their trip involved

one day of travel by foot

or motorcycle, a second

day’s eight-hour bus

ride, and then a final

day to fly to the capital

city and negotiate the

overcrowded transit

system. But for them,

the arduous journey was

worth the effort.

At the workshop, Datano

and his colleagues

prepared an initial set of

stories in their language.

They carefully worded the

stories, memorized them

and learned to retell them

accurately to teach others.

One workshop participant

noted, “We are an oralculture. We have a

carefully prescribed

process by which the mostimportant, significant

aspects of our culture are

entrusted to those whose

responsibility it is to pass

it on faithfully to the

next generation.”

Now, before a written

translation would be

complete, Datano and his

friends study and learn

from God’s story. They

long to tell others the

most important story

of all.

EEDLINKS, AUGUST 2010—6

Telling God’s Story

(*pseudonym)

Partner with us in prayer for the InStori

IG project. Visit theseedcompany.org/project/instori-ig for more information.

The InStori translation

team’s three-day journey

to the translation work-

shops is well worth it.

“ell your children about it in

the years to come, and let your

children tell their children.

Pass the story down rom

generation to generation.”

—Joel 1:3, NL

Translators teach enthusiastic

believers in isolated communities

to share God’s Word by telling

Scripture stories.

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Kwame testifies, “When I

see where I come from—the

son of a witch doctor livingin a farming community—I

never thought that I’d get this

position. God found me …

it’s by His grace.”

Today Kwame, who is

fluent in nine languages, is

just one of many nationalcolleagues with whom The

Seed Company works. All

Seed Company projects

provide training for national

translators. In the course

of translating Scripture,

pastors and teachers learn

more about God’s Word,

deepening their personal

ministries. To date, Kwame

has served more than 30

Bible translation projects

throughout Ghana.

The Seed Company comes

alongside high-energy

national Christian leaders

like Kwame to empower

them for the work God has

called them to do.


The Seed Company’s

National Consultant

Training Program equipsmen and women to

qualify as consultants for

translation projects. Inter

develop individual growth

plans that include academ

preparation as well as han

on apprenticeship. Curren

39 consultant interns are

completing their training,

and nine more plan to beg

before the end of this year

Another facet of equippin

is The Seed Company’s

Facilitators, Advisors,

Coaches and Trainers (FAC

program. Through FACT,

experienced mother-tongu

translators learn project

(Continued on page 8)

God raises up a new generation of Bible translation leaders

Empowering Emerging Leaders

But when he was young, a

couple started translating the

Bible for his Ntrubo peoplen Ghana. Kwame put his

faith in Jesus and asked the

ranslators if he could work

with them full-time.

Kwame Nkrumah grew up surrounded by the ancestor idols his shaman father served.

Above: The Seed

Company’s Passaal

New Testament

project was an early

partnership that

national leaderslike Kwame (second

from right) were

influential in.

Left: Kwame is a

passionate advocate

for projects such

as the Avatime New

Testament in Ghana.

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Empowering Emerging Leaders (Continued)

management skills that allow them

to facilitate translation programs and

offer peer-coaching for new translators

from neighboring language groups.

With 2,200 languages still waiting

for God’s Word, there is a dramatic

shortfall of translation consultants

and mentors.

The Seed Company proactively seeks

to help equip people like Kwame who

have tremendous leadership ability.

Through partnerships with the local

church like this, God is making it

possible for those He has called

to serve their people effectively in

Bible translation.


Because of your prayers and partnership, God’s

vision for The Seed Company is being fulfilled.

Together, we are impacting the lives of more

people in more places through the Good News

of Jesus Christ.

Thank you for joining with us in the work of

the ministry. Please add your prayers to ours as

we ask the Lord to:

Bless and protect our national consultants,

both those serving and those in training

Raise up additional qualified people to become

national translation consultants

Open doors and hearts through Bible

Storytelling

Ignite a greater appreciation for Scripture

through The Blank Bible Challenge

Greatly bless and encourage our investorsand prayer partners and their families

Deeply impact lives through the newly

published Takuu New Testament

Prayer Seeds

3030 Matlock Road, Suite 104, Arlington, Texas 76015-2934Toll-free: 877-593-7333 • Fax: 817-557-2393www.theseedcompany.org • A Wycliffe Bible Translators affiliate

The Seed Company VisionGod’s Word transforming lives inevery language in this generation

God’s Word For Every Language—In This Generation

Join us! Help build Bible translation

capacity around the world. Learn more ab

the efforts among the Avatime of Ghana

theseedcompany.org/project/avatime-nt

Become a prayer partner for a specific

project or pray daily for special requests

at theseedcompany.org/why-become-a-

prayer-partner

The earnest prayer of a righteous person has

great power and produces wonderful results.

James 5:16, NLT

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Seedlinks 2010-8