PDF - Wycliffe Bible Translators

Wycliffe Canada • Spring 2004
Along with her husband David, Henny
Thormoset faces her son’s tragic death—
through a deepening dependence on Christ.
ALSO:
Training Trainers
Dogrib & Mennonites Get Scriptures
SIL Helps Fight HIV/AIDS
Spring 2004 • Volume 22, Number 1
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F
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A
T
U
R
E
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An All-Sufficient Grace
Their son’s tragic death draws David
and Henny Thormoset into a deepening
dependence on Christ.
By Doug Lockhart
Photographs By Dave Crough

Training Trainers—
While It’s Still Day
A dedicated team in Cameroon equips
national colleagues, mindful of the
turmoil in neighbouring countries.
If art is a lasting gift, then Andreas Thormoset left the
world a richer place. This drawing, done when he was
16, is a portrait of an elder among the Aghem people
of Cameroon, and reveals Andreas’ observant eye and
sensitivity. “He was a gentle soul,” says his mother,
Henny. Andreas’ death three years later gripped his
family—as did God. (See article, page 4.)
D



Quoteworthy
“These are the ‘springs of salvation,’ so that anyone
who is thirsty may be satisfied with the messages
contained in them. . . . the ‘Good News.’”
—Athanasius, Bishop of Alexandria
(writing about the New
Testament books, 367 A.D.)
2
| Spring 2004 | www.wycliffe.ca
E
Focus
P
By Doug Lockhart
Photographs By Dave Crough
A
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Living Forwards
Word Watch
Eureka!
SIL Helps in Fight Against HIV/AIDS; etc.
Wind, Waves and Whispered Prayer
Word 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.
Editors: Dwayne Janke, Dave Crough
Staff Writers: Janet Seever,
Doug Lockhart
Design: Laird Salkeld
Cover
Henny Thormoset and her husband David,
Wycliffe Canada members serving in
Cameroon, confront the situation feared
by all parents (missionary or otherwise)—
the tragic death of their child.
BY
DWAYNE
JANKE
Living Forwards
“W
“Why not then—when he was in my arms? Why now,
Photograph by Dave Crough
when he was alone in a pick-up truck, and us a ‘million’ miles away?”
Wycliffe Canada member David Thormoset uttered
In the town of Njinikom, Cameroon, these Kom school children learn how
to read and write in their Kom language and in English.
Kain Enables
Godfrey Kain and his team of literacy supervisors
are helping Kom children learn their language.
Doug Lockhart
Photographs By Dave Crough

“Now It’s Our Turn!”
Translation Update: The Dogrib and the
Plautdietsch-speaking Mennonites are among
21 more groups with God’s Word in their
mother tongue.
By Janet Seever
Corrections: An article in Word Alive (Spring 2003) incorrectly said that
metal type from an old offset press formed the desk nameplate of type
designer Peter Martin. The type was actually from an old letterpress. Also,
we apologize to French speakers for several spelling and grammatical
errors in our bilingual calendar issue (Winter ’03).
Word Alive is published four times annually by Wycliffe Bible Translators of Canada, 4316 10 St NE, Calgary, AB T2E 6K3. Publications
Mail Agreement No. 40062756. Printed in Canada. Copyright 2004 by
Wycliffe Bible Translators of Canada. Permission to reprint articles and
other magazine contents may be obtained by written request to the
editors. A donation of $10 annually is suggested to cover the cost of
printing and mailing the magazine. (Use the reply form in this issue.)
Printed in Canada by McCallum Printing Group, Edmonton.
Member: The Canadian Church Press, Evangelical Press Association
E-mail Word Alive editors at: editors_wam@wycliffe.ca
those words after hearing that his son Andreas back in Canada
had died in 2001. Three years earlier, Andreas had survived
a critical illness while living in Cameroon, where his parents
were serving in Bible translation. We featured that story in
Word Alive (Summer 1999). Then, it was an article about how
Christians prayed for David and Henny’s severely ill son, and
how God spared him from death.
This issue’s cover story about the Thormosets is entirely different. Andreas died—and not accidentally—leaving his family
with many unanswered questions, like David’s.
Andreas’ death raised other questions too: Is God good? Does
He help us in our suffering? Should we keep serving Him so
others can receive His Word?
Fortunately, David and Henny have clear answers for those
questions. They are just difficult answers to keep in focus when
your heart is aching and longing for what can never be.
To paraphrase 19th-century Christian thinker Soren
Kierkegaard, life can only be understood backwards, but it must
be lived forwards. Many of our experiences don’t make sense at
the time. Years later, we may see why God allowed certain events.
My favourite illustration of this is Joseph’s story (Genesis
37-50). In the end, Joseph looks back on his brothers selling
him to a caravan of Ishmaelite traders. Now a powerful leader
in Egypt, he concludes: “You intended to harm me, but God
intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the
saving of many lives” (Gen. 50:19 NIV).
Not all tragedies—like Andreas’ death—are understandable
in this way. The book of Job has reminded me lately that only
the Lord really knows the reason behind any specific suffering.
God may not clearly show in our lifetime why He allows certain
things to happen. We must wait until heaven for understanding.
In the meantime, though, God asks us to believe He is trustworthy and that we continue to serve Him. Only by abandoning oneself to God’s all-sufficient grace is this possible.
Wycliffe Canada Vision Statement:
A world where translated Scriptures lead to transformed lives
among people of all languages.
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
(Francophone: sans frais 1-877-201-1123). Fax: (403) 250-2623.
E-mail: info@wycliffe.ca. Web site: www.wycliffe.ca.
To find the Wycliffe office nearest you, visit our Web site or call
1-800-463-1143.
E-mail address changes to: circulation@wycliffe.ca
| Spring 2004 | www.wycliffe.ca
3
B Y D OUG L OCKHART
P HOTOGRAPHS BY D AVE C ROUGH
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| Spring 2004 | www.wycliffe.ca
Their son’s tragic
death draws David
and Henny Thormoset
into a deepening
dependence on Christ.
W
When the phone rang at 7:30 that Saturday morning—
Overcome by emotion, David and Henny embraced
their daughter as they all wept for Andreas. When he was
September 29, 2001—Henny Thormoset was in her
finally able to speak again, David filled in the details.
Nineteen-year-old Andreas, who had been living with
kitchen in Yaounde, Cameroon, making coffee.
relatives in Calgary, had taken his own life. No one really
knew why. Perhaps Andreas’ occasional struggle with
Her 15-year-old daughter Sonya, who had also risen
depression had intensified and finally overwhelmed him.
early that day, picked up the handset in the living room.
The devastating news plunged each member of the
On the other end, she heard the familiar—but subdued
Thormoset family, including twins Nathan and Stefan,
voice—of her uncle back in Canada. Bypassing the usual then 16, into a deep chasm of pain and sorrow. But for
friendly banter, he asked for her father, David.
Henny and David, Wycliffe Canada members serving
A few minutes later, David came into the kitchen and with SIL in Cameroon since 1997, the call from Calgary
wrapped his arms around Henny. Tears welling in his
was not entirely unexpected.
eyes, he cried, “Andreas is dead, Henny. Our boy is dead.”
Earlier that summer, they had all said goodbye to
| Spring 2004 | www.wycliffe.ca
5
“I remember having a
very desperate sense that we
needed prayer—lots of prayer.”
—David Thormoset
T
H
E
Andreas’ tragic death in 2001
was the most dramatic of a litany
of trials to beset the Thormoset
family. They’ve experienced sickness, burglars in the night and
more—including great joy amid
the heartache. Through it all, the
Thormosets remain thankful for
God’s amazing grace to help
them keep going. What follows is
a summary of some of the highs
and lows they’ve experienced
over the past 28 years.
6
L
O
Andreas at the end of their yearlong home assignment in
Canada. David had spent the year working on a master’s
degree at the University of Calgary, while Henny served in
Wycliffe Canada’s head office. Their four teenagers attended
Calgary schools and worked at various part-time jobs.
Andreas, a gifted artist, found work in an arts and crafts
store. He devoted any spare time he had to sketching, “jamming” with friends on the piano or making plans to restore his
’75 Chevy Impala.
When the time came for the family to return to Cameroon,
Andreas remained in Canada.
Difficult to Let Go
Like most parents, Henny and David found it difficult to let
go of their son. They recognized that Andreas was struggling.
His winning smile and love for people masked a growing tendency towards depression. Furthermore, they were beginning
to suspect that his difficulties handling everyday life might be a
result of Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD).
Growing up in a structured environment with regular routines, Andreas’ ADD had not been evident. But with so many
changes now happening in his life, he seemed more agitated
and depressed.
N
G
R
1976
1982-1986
1991-1992
David and Henny
marry in Canada,
move to Holland
for two years.
Thormoset’s four
children born—
Andreas, twins
Nathan and Stefan,
and daughter Sonya.
Continue studies
at Simon Fraser
University (SFU) and
the Canada Institute
of Linguistics
(CanIL). Henny
graduates from SFU
and teaches in local
schools.
1978
Attending college in
Canada, they hear
about Wycliffe and
sense God’s calling to
be involved overseas.
| Spring 2004 | www.wycliffe.ca
1985
David and Henny open
Coquitlam Bakery with
goal of supporting themselves financially in missions. Ends in bankruptcy
five years later.
(Clockwise from
top left) Stefan,
Andreas, Nathan,
David, Henny
and Sonya.
O
A
D
“Satan throws it in your
face: ‘Who are you to
be a missionary?’”
—Henny Thormoset
Concerned that the demands of being independent would
place added pressure on their son, David and Henny encouraged Andreas to seek counselling so he could learn to develop
coping strategies.
In the spring of 2001, Andreas headed to northern Alberta
to start a roofing job. A few months later, the rest of the family returned to Cameroon. But before long, David and Henny
learned that Andreas had quit his job and that his hopes to
get work on an oil rig hadn’t worked out; he had returned to
Calgary and was living with relatives.
The news reinforced Henny and David’s conviction that
Andreas urgently needed counselling.
On a Tuesday morning in late September, they received
a call from David’s brother-in-law Mike, informing them
that Andreas was missing. Half way across the world, the
Thormosets could only wait and pray that their son would
soon turn up.
That same week, Henny attended a meeting on the topic of
suicide, organized by a close friend whose daughter had tried
to take her own life. As the speaker described some of the
signs and symptoms of a suicidal person, Henny’s concern for
Andreas began to escalate.
“The next day,” Henny recalls, “I told her, ‘After what you
said I just wanted to get on the next plane back to Andreas.’”
T
O
C
A
Too Late
After much prayer and with the blessing of their SIL leaders,
the Thormosets decided that David would return to Calgary to
help Andreas. But it was too late.
Around midnight on Sept. 28, four days after he had gone
missing, Andreas was found in his uncle’s garage in the cab of a
truck that he and his cousin were in the process of overhauling.
In Cameroon, the Thormosets broke the shocking news to
sons Nathan and Stefan, then called friends and coworkers.
“I don’t really remember all the details after that point,” says
David. “Many of our SIL and Cameroonian friends and colleagues came to the house and just sat, prayed and cried with us.
“At one point, I sent out an e-mail to everyone on our mailing list because I remember having a very desperate sense that
we needed prayer—lots of prayer.”
Their director offered to help by booking airline tickets to
Calgary. Providentially, five seats were still available on that
evening’s scheduled flight to Paris.
When their plane touched down in Calgary some 30 hours
after leaving Yaounde, a group of friends, relatives, pastors and
Wycliffe colleagues met the exhausted family.
“I never felt so much pain—and love—as I did over those
next few weeks,” recalls Henny.
Such expressions of love helped sustain the Thormosets
M
E
R
1993
1996
1998
After David graduates
from SFU, the couple
joins Wycliffe Canada.
Begin forming a support team from their
network of friends,
family members and
churches.
Work at Wycliffe’s Calgary
office, then fly to Cameroon
to attend SIL’s Africa
Orientation Course.
In July, David visits the DRC and arranges for his
family to move there. Three days before he is to buy
plane tickets, civil war breaks out again. For the sake
of family stability, Thormosets settle in the North
West Province of Cameroon and begin work in the
Mundani and Aghem language projects. In August,
Andreas is airlifted to a neighbouring country for emergency
medical treatment.
1994
Continue studies
at CanIL.
1997
War erupts in the Democratic
Republic of Congo (DRC), the
country to which Thormosets
were assigned. They go instead to
the other Congo, to begin learning the Lingala language. There,
too, war escalates three months
later, forcing the family’s evacuation to Cameroon.
The Thormoset family lived in the town of Wum among
the Aghem people of northwest Cameroon for 18 months.
Here, in 1999, David teaches the sounds of the Aghem
language using a phonetic alphabet.
O
O
N
“I want my son. I want to
undo history and to have
a second chance. I want
it desperately, and God’s
answer is a resounding
NO. It is final. I have no
second chance.”
—Henny Thormoset
88
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Spring2004
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www.wycliffe.ca
The Bottom Line:
God is Good
“Twenty days ago I buried my son [in
Calgary]. So much I don’t understand.”
So starts Henny Thormoset’s diary entry for
Thursday, October 25, 2001. Over six typewritten pages, Henny recounts her son Andreas’
struggles and wrestles with the last days leading up to his death. And then, in conclusion,
she expresses her own personal bottom-line
beliefs. With Henny’s blessing and permission,
we present her own words below, a testimony
to a love for God by one of His own.
Here I am now, for the first time in my life,
not being able to get what I want more than
anything else. I want the past three weeks to be
undone. I want my son. I want to undo history
and to have a second chance. I want it desperately, and God’s answer is a resounding NO. It
is final. I have no second chance. I can throw a
fit or pray till I am blue in the face. But I cannot
and will not ever get this thing that I so desperately want. Now I am put to the test. Can I say
that yes, God, you are good, all the time?
Yes, God, you are good. I know it. I believe
it. You are good, even though this spoiled child
cannot have what she wants. You are good,
because you have provided everything we
need for salvation, for our best, for our eternal
future. You are good because you forgive us
for all our sins, including our failures to be
perfect parents. You are good because you give
us what we don’t deserve—grace and mercy.
You are good because you never leave me; you
give me peace and comfort in my darkest hour.
You are good because you give me hope, the
certainty of resurrection, both Andreas’ resurrection and mine.
You are good because your love is constant,
unconditional; not petty like mine. God, I
declare that you are good to me. You are good
to Andreas. He is safe. You took care of him
by bringing him safely into your Kingdom. You
rescued him from hell. You saved him. Thank
you God. You have kept your promises to me.
You took care of my son, when I was out of the
picture, not able to control the situation . . . I
praise you God. You are a good God. I love you.
through Andreas’ funeral. However,
some wondered if the tragedy would
ultimately prove too much for a family
that had already experienced so many
trials and setbacks (see sidebar, “The
Long Road to Cameroon,” pages 6, 7).
“It’s incredibly humbling to be a missionary and to have your child commit suicide,” says Henny. “Satan throws it in your
face: ‘Who are you to be a missionary?’
“Part of the reason we’ve been able to
make it is . . . the non-judgmental attitudes of our supporters and colleagues.
“People were compassionate.”
Leaning on Christ
The Thormosets say the prayer support they received, through a network
spanning 45 churches across Canada,
became a tangible expression of God’s
all-sufficient grace.
“It’s because people prayed for us,”
Henny says, “that we’ve been able to stay
and carry on.”
“Andreas’ death,” adds David,
“abruptly brought me face to face with
what I am—weak and dependent. Every
day I need to lean heavily on Christ, to
experience His power, rather than trying
to work from my own minute strength.”
Furthermore, he and Henny came
to realize that the same grace that covers them also covered their eldest son.
Knowing that Andreas had received
Christ as a young boy brought them
much comfort.
Still, they were disturbed by the idea
that their son had committed suicide.
On the flight back to Calgary, David
sensed God speaking to him.
“David,” the Lord seemed to ask him,
“what works have you, or Henny—or
Andreas—ever done to earn salvation?”
“None, Lord,” David answered
inwardly.
“Then why do you imagine that [suicide] could take away Andreas’ salvation, if salvation comes only by grace?”
That simple exchange brought tears
to David’s eyes—and a profound sense
of peace.
“All I could do was say, ‘Thank you,
Jesus, thank you for your grace.’
“Andreas’ death
abruptly brought
me face to face with
what I am—weak
and dependent.”
—David Thormoset
| Spring 2004 | www.wycliffe.ca
9
Comfort in the Word
While many of their questions about Andreas may never be
answered this side of heaven, Henny and David have found
comfort and hope in the Word of God. That steady sense of
peace has dispelled any thoughts of giving up their work in
Cameroon.
“I can’t live without God’s Word,” says Henny. “And if I can’t
live without Scripture, how can the people of Cameroon live
without it?
“I just want to be a part of helping them get it.”
To that end, both remain committed to their respective roles
in SIL’s Cameroon Branch. David serves as a linguist, computer
technician, and as an adviser to the Aghem translation project.
Henny develops curriculum and helps staff training courses
for nationals working in various aspects of translation projects.
(See article, page 12.)
Ultimately, they both want Cameroonians to know the
Bible’s Author—the One who has sustained them and their
children through some dark and difficult times.
At the same time, they seek to balance work with their relationships with God, one another and Sonya, their only child still
at home. They’ve also taken time out for family and individual
counselling, as they deal with the fallout of Andreas’ death.
“Knowing that Andreas is in heaven is a great comfort to us,”
Henny says. “But the sadness and pain of missing him never
goes away.”
Still, there’s work to be done. On a Sunday evening last
February, Henny and David hosted several SIL staff and
Cameroonian literacy workers in their home. On the eve of a
training workshop she was co-leading, Henny welcomed participants and shared some words of encouragement. When she
spoke about the challenges of persevering through life’s trials,
no one stirred.
“Our primary calling is to be like Christ,” she reminded her
guests. “These things are to form Christ in me.”
Then, turning to a CD player, she played a song based on
Scripture from the first chapter of James:
Consider it joy, pure joy
When troubles come
Many trials will make you strong. . . . *
Some days, joy seems elusive as the Thormosets grieve the
death of their much-loved son and brother. But to the many
who know them, their growing strength in Christ—and His gift
of grace—is plain to see.
* From “Consider it Joy” Written by Graham Kendrick, © 2001 Make Way Music,
PO Box 263, Croydon CR9 5AP, UK. Administered in USA & Canada by Music
Services Inc. Used by permission.
“If I can’t live without Scripture,
how can the people of
Cameroon live without it?”
—Henny Thormoset
Living but a short distance from her workplace
in Yaounde, Henny heads out for another day
of teaching at a training workshop (see article,
page 12). Her walking companions this day,
and every day, are God and His grace.
10
| Spring 2004 | www.wycliffe.ca
A dedicated team in Cameroon equips
national colleagues, mindful of the
turmoil in neighbouring countries.
B Y D OUG L OCKHART
P HOTOGRAPHS BY D AVE C ROUGH
I
Imagine you’re leading a class, attempt-
ing to teach a dozen adults all about
achievement-based learning objectives,
dialogue and monologue approaches and
the 4Cs model for designing learning
modules.
Now imagine trying to teach these
concepts in English, to students whose
first language is Kom or Metta.
Some of the subjects sound pretty
abstract. Yet they translate into some
basic, but creative, teaching techniques
that help students advance translation
and literacy projects in various regions
of the country.
These subjects and many more are
part of Learning That Lasts (LTL), an
education workshop organized by SIL
Cameroon for national and expatriate colleagues from the Cameroon
Association for Bible Translation and
Literacy (CABTAL), the National
Association of Cameroonian Language
Committees (NACALCO) and SIL. All
are involved in training others in language-related work, such as Scripture
translation and literacy.
Teaching LTL concepts is a big
challenge for those working in SIL’s
national training department. There’s
also a sense of urgency behind their
work. Conscious of colleagues who try
Cameroonians and SIL workers become students
together in Learning That Lasts workshops. Henny
(at blackboard) is part of a team of instructors
for this course held in the capital city of Yaounde.
12
| Spring 2004 | www.wycliffe.ca
Learning—good to the last drop. Henny and
Pauline Eyire, a course participant from the
Metta language, continue discussion during
pause-café (coffee break).
to carry on their work in countries affected by civil war or political unrest, the team
is making the most of peaceful times. Now is the time to provide quality training for
as many nationals as possible.
Changing Learning Styles
Developed by SIL’s Dr. Roland Walker, LTL has been used around the world with
encouraging results. The curriculum is based on materials by popular educator and
author Jane Vella, who asserts that education is most effective when teachers involve
students in the learning process.
During the LTL workshop, participants work in pairs to design and teach two 40minute classes to fellow students and staff, using some of the training techniques
acquired in class. As they plan lessons, they must assess the needs and strengths of
learners and set measurable objectives.
Trainees then design interactive learning activities that engage as many physical
senses as possible. Methods include the use of skits, role-plays, videos, music, writing, reading aloud and more.
For many Cameroonian students accustomed to lecture-based learning, the
approach is unfamiliar and at times, uncomfortable.
“The first day…we try not to put them ‘on the spot’ too much,” says trainer
Henny Thormoset. “They come to our class thinking, ‘I’m going to sit here and take
notes’. But within a few minutes, they’re interacting with the other students.”
They are equipped with practical tools, as well.
Godfrey Kain, literacy coordinator for the Kom language committee, uses skills
learned in LTL and other workshops to train his team of five literacy supervisors in
the country’s North West Province (see article, page 15).
Another workshop participant, Peter Kidio, passed on lessons he learned in LTL to
his Kom colleagues. Together, they designed a 56-lesson Sunday school Bible study
curriculum. Several Baptist and Catholic churches are now using the study guide.
Barriers and Benefits
Organizing and running effective workshops is an enormous challenge. Although
Cameroon’s two official languages are French and English, their use in the classroom
still presents some difficulties for students whose mother tongue is one of the country’s 286 “living” languages.
For students, just attending a workshop may involve considerable personal sacrifice. Some must travel great distances to attend, increasing the costs involved.
Finances are a deciding factor for many, even though SIL tries to keep costs low.
Despite these and other hurdles, Henny and her coworkers keep going so that
Cameroonians will benefit from improved literacy and the translated Scriptures.
“They’ve got to have [God’s Word] in their own language,” she says.
Meanwhile, department staff work hard to provide as many training opportunities as possible.
“I’ve always wanted to see more nationals involved in the task of Bible transla-
Too Big for One
SIL’s Cameroon Branch is committed
to Wycliffe International’s goal of seeing a Bible translation project started, for
every language that needs it, by 2025. In
Cameroon that translates into more than
100 languages that still need the Scriptures.
But SIL realizes that finishing the task is
too big a job for it, or any single organization, to complete.
That is why the staff of SIL Cameroon’s
national training department are working
to equip Cameroonians as translators, linguists and literacy specialists, and to help
them effectively train their countrymen.
“We are working towards a comprehensive approach,” says training director Nelis
van den Berg, “where we begin with a
language that doesn’t have any translation
work started yet and train [Cameroonian]
people to take responsibility for the first
aspects and move that language along,
step by step, through training.”
Besides workshops such as Learning That
Lasts, van den Berg’s staff organize training
events such as one held last September, in
which nine Cameroonians involved in Bible
translation attended graduate level courses.
“In the future, I think we [SIL] may
measure our accomplishments differently,”
says SIL Cameroon Director George Schultz.
“We won’t think in terms of completed
New Testaments . . . but of the number of
people we’ve trained and mentored and
what they are doing to develop their own
languages.”
| Spring 2004 | www.wycliffe.ca
13
“
The more we’re
training, the better
the legacy we’re
leaving behind.”
—Henny Thormoset
tion,” says SIL training director Nelis van den Berg. “I hope sometime soon to have a
Cameroonian in this department, helping us write curriculum so we can overcome
some of the [language and cultural] barriers and get more of a Cameroonian perspective on things.”
For Henny, there’s an underlying urgency to training initiatives that comes from
knowing how unpredictable life can be. Health issues, family circumstances and
other factors could interrupt her work, and memories of their family’s sudden
evacuation in 1997 from Congo—because of war—motivate her to press on. (See
sidebar, page 7.)
“We just don’t know how long we have left to work in Cameroon,” Henny says.
“We don’t know what the future might bring.
“The more we’re training, the better the legacy we’re leaving behind.”
To that end, Henny and her coworkers keep busy writing curricula, planning
future courses and teaching in workshops. They strive for excellence in their own
teaching skills and aim to model a keen commitment to the gospel.
That kind of passion speaks volumes to their national colleagues. Who knows—it
may even stir up their cognitive, affective and psychomotor functions.
For more details on Learning that Lasts, visit:
<www.wycliffe.ca/wordalive/exclusive>.
Godfrey Kain (left), a literacy coordinator for the Kom language development committee, finds that
the LTL workshop provides lots of one-to-one interaction time. It won’t be long before he finds
practical application for what he’s learned. (See article, page 15.)
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| Spring 2004 | www.wycliffe.ca
Godfrey Kain and his team
of literacy supervisors are
helping Kom children learn
their language.
B Y D OUG L OCKHART
P HOTOGRAPHS BY D AVE C ROUGH
I
In a rustic classroom in Cameroon’s North West
Province, a young boy stands before a colourful chart
as Godfrey Kain and his companions proudly look on.
As the teacher points to various letters, the child confidently reads the alphabet in his own language—Kom
[pronounced comb].
Not so long ago, local educators had abandoned the
use of Kom in favour of English, one of Cameroon’s
official languages. Since 1991, however, Kom has been
making a comeback in both elementary and adult
education. And Kain, who attended SIL’s Learning
That Lasts (LTL) workshop (see article, page 12), has
played a key role as literacy coordinator for the Kom
Language Development Committee.
Currently on leave from his literacy coordinator duties
to study applied linguistics, Kain helped coordinate a
bilingual education program involving nearly 6,100
students in 60 schools. At the government-run school
in Baingeh, for example, students study the Kom
language extensively during their first three years of
elementary education.
“This [strategy] helps children . . . in learning phonetics especially,” says headmaster Jacob Wulba, “. . .
making it easier for them to learn other languages,
especially English.”
(continued on pg. 18)
Visiting with Kom teachers and school officials is a key
part of the job Kain (on right) does. Some early missionaries to the area used the Kom language in schooling—a
practice now being revived by education officials.
| Fall 2003 | www.wycliffe.ca
15
16
| Spring 2004 | www.wycliffe.ca
at rear) observes
a Kom
| SpringKain
| www.wycliffe.ca
17
2004 (seen
language class at a school in Baingeh.
Partners in Pedagogy
An experienced teacher and literacy specialist, Kain
has provided training and ongoing support for his
team of five regional literacy supervisors. In 2002, the
team oversaw the work of 93 adult literacy teachers
and 97 elementary teachers.
Kain believes bilingual education promotes selfconfidence among students and helps them acquire
English faster in later years.
“If children are freely expressing themselves,” he says,
“you find that they have no fear in them. They understand better and the learning process is quickened.”
But most importantly, the program will equip this
generation of Kom children to read God’s Word in
their heart language. The Kom New Testament translation is nearing completion and typesetting will
begin early this year.
Through reading the translated Scriptures, many
Kom children may well develop a relationship with
God, through Christ, and receive His gift of eternal life.
Now that’s learning that lasts.
How do you spell ‘intrinsic worth’? By using your own alphabet.
Footware outside a Baingeh
elementary classroom where the
Kom language is taught. How
do you know which sandals are
your own? By claiming and using
them. The same is true of your
own language.
Bilingual education
promotes self-confidence
among students and helps
them acquire English faster
in later years.
Canadians Helped Fund Kom Literacy Project
There is a Canadian connection to the Kom
literacy project. Since 1983, the Canadian
International Development Agency (CIDA) has
been a partner in the project with Wycliffe
Canada’s Literacy, Education and Development
department (LEAD) and the National Association
of Cameroonian Language Committees
(NACALCO).
In 2003, CIDA and LEAD provided $18,000
and $40,000 respectively to Kom and 39 other
Cameroonian language programs to help
establish mother tongue literacy for grades one
through three. Funding went to train primary
schoolteachers and prepare teaching materials.
The project promoted literacy for more than
6,000 Kom elementary school children (above).
(It also impacted about 1,600 adults, 75 per
cent of whom were women.)
CIDA and LEAD funding is now finished.
However, NACALCO and other partners, as well
as the national education system, will continue
to support Kom literacy.
For more information about LEAD and its
projects, visit: <www.wycliffe.ca/LEAD>.
| Spring 2004 | www.wycliffe.ca
19
T R A N S L A T I ON U P D A T
The Dogrib and the Plautdietsch-speaking
Mennonites are among 21 more groups with
God’s Word in their mother tongue.
B Y J ANET S EEVER
I
It’s taken a long time, but the 3,100 Dogrib (Tlicho) people
living in the communities surrounding Great Slave Lake in
the Northwest Territories finally have God’s Word in their
own language.
A standing-room-only crowd of more than 300 people packed the auditorium of the Elizabeth Mackenzie
Elementary School in Rae-Edzo for the August dedication
of the Dogrib New Testament. (The school is named after
Dogrib elder Elizabeth Mackenzie, who made a significant
contribution to the translation and who also spoke at the dedication.) The event was scheduled to coincide with the Annual
Dogrib Assembly, raising its significance among the Dogrib to
the highest level.
“Today is history making,” said Mary Siemens, a Dogrib
speaker who has been involved in the translation project over
the years. “It’s God’s timing [for us] to receive the Bible. Other
nations received their Bible. Now it’s our turn!”
After the dedication ceremony, celebrants lined up
to receive their own complimentary copies of the New
Testament, purchased by the Dogrib council at the request of
all of the Dogrib chiefs. The first run of 650 copies proved so
popular that the Canadian Bible Society, which printed the
New Testament, received an order to print another 200 copies
prior to the dedication.
“The celebration is not an end, it’s a start,” said Marie
Louise Bouvier-White, a Dogrib speaker who has worked on
the project for eight years. “We will all become strong together
by reading and writing together.”
Getting the Community Involved
Attempts at translation for the Dogrib date back more than
100 years, when the first Catholic missionaries worked on
Bible stories for the Dogrib people. Later, three SIL teams
contributed to the work over a period of 30 years.
In 1985, Jaap and Morina Feenstra began working on the
project (see Word Alive, Summer ’03). The Dutch/Malaysian
20
| Spring 2004 | www.wycliffe.ca
couple working with SIL, Wycliffe’s partner organization,
sensed a need to get the community more involved. Jaap
approached the community elders in 1995 and told them he
was still a “child in understanding their culture” and needed
their help. This request resulted in the formation of a committee to work on the translation. The entire New Testament
was drafted and checked by the community and a translation
consultant between 1995 and 2000.
“Local ownership made all the difference,” says Jaap. It
helped open doors for the project.
The work was a partnership in the truest sense, involving
many organizations, the community and the translation team.
The Canadian Bible Society (CBS) played a key role by providing some funding and assisting with translation checking.
CBS set up a special program called Paratext that allowed the
translators to access Bible texts in various windows on their
computer screens. CBS also typeset, printed and subsidized
the Dogrib New Testament.
Nearly all of the SIL teams involved in the work over the
years attended the dedication: Vic and Anita Monus (who gave
a special impetus to the translation in 1997) and Gillian Story
with Wycliffe
Canada; Contance
Naish with
For more information about Dogrib translation
Wycliffe UK; and
work visit: <www.wycliffe.ca/wordalive/>.
Judy and Herb
Zimmerman (now retired). (Bill and June Davidson, the first
SIL team to work among the Dogrib, died in an auto accident
some years back.)
Plautdietsch Speakers Receive Bible
Plautdietsch speakers around the world now also have the
entire Bible, De Bibel, in the language that speaks to their hearts.
Plautdietsch is a Germanic language (low Saxon) that
evolved over a period of 400 years as Mennonites, fleeing
persecution in northern Europe, sought refuge first in Prussia
and later in Russia. With a pioneering spirit, these people held
on to their religious beliefs in the face of intense persecution.
Today Plautdietsch-speaking communities are scattered
Mary Siemens proudly displays a
certificate of appreciation for her
contribution to the Dogrib New
Testament. Seated beside her is
Morina Feenstra.
“Now the Word of God can
find a home in the hearts
and lives of our people.”
—Hart Wiens, regarding
Plautdietsch Bible
Janet Seever
throughout the world—from Siberia through the Ukraine and
Europe, across North America and as far south as Argentina.
Canadian Plautdietsch populations can be found in southern Manitoba, southern Ontario, and northern and southern Alberta. Of an estimated 300,000 Plautdietsch speakers,
100,000 live in colonies in Mexico and Bolivia.
Wycliffe Canada member Peter Fast assisted with the translation of the Plautdietsch New Testament, which was published in 1987.
Working in Mexico, Ed Zacharias, a native Plautdietsch
speaker, took the first step toward translating the Old Testament
in 1996. Wycliffe member David Henne, working from the
Wycliffe Canada office for
three years, served as one of
the consultants for the Old
To learn about the November
Testament translation. Viola
dedication ceremonies for
Reimer Stewart, a Wycliffe
the Plautdietsch Bible, visit
<www.wycliffe.ca/news>.
Canada member and a
native speaker, also helped
as a consultant. Later a number of other members joined the
team, working in diverse places, from Manitoba to Paraguay.
Finding a Home in Hearts
Hart Wiens, former Wycliffe Canada member and now the
director of Scripture translations for the CBS, is also a mother
tongue speaker of Plautdietsch. He was the CBS consultant.
“I grew up speaking Plautdietsch at home,” said Wiens,
remembering a time before the language was written. “People
said our language couldn’t be written and most thought it was
too coarse to be used in prayer or in the Bible.”
De Bibel is published jointly by the United Bible Societies
(of which CBS is a member) and by Kindred Productions, the
publishing arm of the Mennonite Brethren Conference, which
has strong ties to the Plautdietsch community. Five thousand
copies were printed in November, and dedicated November
22-23, in Winkler and Steinbach, Manitoba.
“It is beautiful to see the Bible written in the language, in
our mother tongue,” said Wiens. “Now the Word of God can
find a home in the hearts and lives of our people who are
most comfortable communicating in Plautdietsch.”
To order copies of the Plautdietsch Bible, see the back cover.
The Dogrib and the Mennonite Plautdietsch speakers are
among 21 people groups who received Scripture since our last
update in the Spring 2003 issue of Word Alive. Wycliffe translators and literacy workers have served these groups, with
their combined population of 700,000 people. See sidebar
below for further details.
Global Translation Summary
This a brief list of the 21 language groups who received Scriptures since
our Spring 2003 issue of Word Alive.
New Testaments
Location
Africa
North Eurasia
Pacific
Americas
Mini-Bible*
Location
Pacific
Whole Bible
Location
North Eurasia/
Europe/Americas
No. of Groups
2
1
4
12
Combined Total Population
66,000
80,000
23,900
229,700
No. of Groups
1
Combined Total Population
1,500
No. of Groups
1
Combined Total Population
300,000
* A Mini-Bible contains the basic story of redemption as found throughout the Scriptures.
| Spring 2004 | www.wycliffe.ca
21
SIL Helps in the Fight
Against HIV/AIDS
SIL International is using its expertise in local languages and translation to play an increasing role in
the global battle against HIV/AIDS. Under a recently
adopted policy, SIL will now include AIDS education
when translating health care materials.
“AIDS is devastating a whole generation, impacting many thousands of villages and communities
around the world,” explains John Watters, SIL
International’s executive director. “Our organization will help bring life-saving information to them
in local languages to fight the disease.”
With more than 60 million people worldwide
infected with HIV, experts believe the answer to
stopping the pandemic is to inform and educate
the healthy, and encourage change in human
behaviour.
Recognizing this, SIL plans to work with other
organizations, agencies and governments to translate HIV/AIDS-related
materials into local languages. It will also offer translation training to local people to
prepare their own media, and help national translators or mission agencies develop AIDS
materials from a Christian perspective for local churches.
SIL and affiliated national organizations have already translated HIV/AIDS-related literature. Booklets (see example above) about the spread and prevention of the horrific disease
have been published in at least 43 different languages, spoken in 15 countries.
New CanIL Building Slated for May Opening
Completion of the Canada
Institute of Linguistics’
(CanIL) new $3.7-million
training centre is on target
for occupancy this spring.
The project has moved
along well and the building should be open by
May, says CanIL Director
Mike Walrod.
“Our staff and students
have been hoping and
praying for the day when
we will see that building completed,” adds
Walrod. “We will be able to serve our students
much better there, and recruit many more.”
CanIL, Wycliffe Canada’s training program,
located on the campus of Trinity Western
University in Langley, B.C., has operated for
years out of a severely overcrowded facility
in need of major repairs.
The unique linguistics training provides
students with the skills necessary to learn
A Typeface for
the Nations
any spoken language and then create written
materials in those languages. It is foundational for work in Bible translation projects.
As this magazine was going to press, less
than $600,000 had to still be raised for the
new 32,000-sq.-ft. building.
For updates on project and details about
CanIL, visit www.canil.ca/beyondprice.
An SIL designer
has created a typeface (see example
at right) that enables diverse ethnic groups, who
use Latin, Greek and Cyrillic alphabets, to produce
readable, high-quality publications.
Victor Gaultney calls it Gentium, Latin for
belonging to the nations—aptly named because
it brings better typography to thousands of languages around the globe, especially those from
Africa, Asia and the Americas. It has won two
of the type industry’s most prestigious awards,
22
| Spring 2004 | www.wycliffe.ca
250 Bantu
Languages
Receive
Increased
Attention
SIL International is partnering
with other agencies to accelerate Bible translation among
the Bantu minority language
communities in Africa.
More than 30 representatives of SIL, Wycliffe, the
United Bible Societies and
Pioneer Bible Translators met in a “Bantu Initiative”
consultation this past fall in Kenya. They agreed
on more ways to develop Bantu language projects,
strategies and resources.
Fourteen million people, speaking one of over 250
languages in the Bantu family of 500 languages,
still have none of God’s Word. Living south of the
Sahara Desert, they represent about 10 per cent of
the world’s languages where translation must still
be started.
John Watters, SIL’s executive director, closed the
consultation by emphasizing that many Bible agencies have a role to play in meeting the Banatu need.
“But ultimately it can only be met if the church
in Africa increasingly has a vision . . . [and] becomes
engaged in helping meet that need.”
East Europeans, Latin
American Spanish
speakers and Frenchspeaking nationals are
now receiving better
training to equip them to join the worldwide Bible
translation task.
Wycliffe and SIL International have set up a
scholarship fund to help low-income students from
such countries as Russia, Poland, Romania, Hungary,
Slovakia, Ukraine and the Czech Republic. The scholarship is offered to pay for the training necessary to
do Bible translation and literacy work.
In Lima, Peru, SIL is conducting linguistics and
literacy courses—taught in Spanish for speakers of
that language—at the Ricardo Palma University. Dr.
David Weber, the course director, calls it “a strategic
program for engaging Latin Americans.”
Meanwhile, SIL is compiling and distributing
compact discs filled with Bible translation reference
materials in French. Many of them are destined
for national translators living in French-speaking
countries, where between 400 and 500 indigenous
languages need God’s Word.
Better Trained
and Equipped
for Translation
resulting in its exhibition in Italy, Russia, Japan
and at the United Nations headquarters.
Many ethnic communities who use the Latin
and Cyrillic alphabets have to adapt them for
their particular language by adding new letters or
diacritics. Computers offer little support for these
extended alphabets and few typefaces include the
extra symbols. This had excluded millions of ethnic
people from the publishing world. Gentium helps
to overcome these problems.
For details, visit <http://scripts.sil.org/gentium>.
Wind, Waves and
Whispered Prayer
I
In pre-dawn darkness we stumbled from our village
home, walked to the beach and crawled into a little
B Y K ATHY T ABER
WITH K RISTIN
E LKINTON
canoe that would take us to a motorboat. My hus-
and Elizabeth, were on our way back to the district
capital of our island province in Southeast Asia.
My heart sank when I saw the boat. About eight
feet at its widest point and 25 feet long, it seemed
too tiny to battle ocean waves still swollen from the
passing of a fierce storm. But this boat was our only
available choice. The east wind season had begun,
and more storms would be coming. We couldn’t
wait for a better option.
Weeks earlier, our family had travelled to the village in a boat this size. We’d had one problem after
another. First the engine quit. We got it started
again, but then the rudder broke. One of the crew
hung a plank over the boat’s rear edge, as a substitute, until we could get to a beach to fix the rudder.
When we got going again, the boat was leaking so
badly we had to bail through the night to keep from
swamping and sinking.
Harrowing Trip
With those memories still fresh in my mind, I
dreaded getting on this boat for another 10–12
hour trip. But we prayed and climbed aboard.
Outside the reef the waves rose higher and higher.
We were travelling against the wind and the boat
was rolling sideways. It would climb each wave, roll
over the crest and then, tipped almost on its side,
slide into the valley between. Although our excellent “boat driver” was used to such seas as this, I
was terrified.
I tried to hide my fear as I held the kids close to
me. They were throwing up, and Mark was desperately seasick too. My oldest daughter, Sheri, and I
held hands and sang to keep our fear at bay. Every
few minutes we prayed.
Silently I asked the Lord, “Why are we here? What
are we doing this for? I don’t ever want to do this
To learn how water travel is made safer for all translators,
check out <www.jaars.org/water_safety.shtml>. Or,
to discover ways to pray, visit <www.wycliffe.ca/pray>.
Laird Salkeld
band Mark and I, with our daughters, Sheri, Karen
again.” Slowly my fear began to subside. In time,
God brought us safely home.
Reassuring Revelation
A few months later, we were in Dallas, Texas, relating to our supporting partners. After an excellent
church service, I was talking with a friend, Kazuko
Scott, when she astonished me.
“One day earlier this year,” she said, “we women
gathered to pray for the church. Suddenly, I had a
vision of your family in a boat. It was rocking back and
forth. I knew you were in trouble, and I prayed for you.”
Tears came to my eyes as I told her our story. “We
really needed your prayers. Thank you so much.”
The work of Bible translation is not only a challenge because of the many hours of linguistic effort
and the careful attention needed to choose phrases
in the language that correctly convey biblical terms.
Often it is difficult for practical reasons, like dangerous travel.
But because of the prayers of people like Kazuko
and you, we have courage to stay focused on our
task. Despite the danger, we know God has a reason
for us to be there—people need to know how much
He loves them.
Kathy Taber, her husband Mark and their three daughters, are part
of a translation team working in a language project in Southeast
Asia, which cannot be named due to sensitivity there. Translation of
the New Testament is nearing completion. Kristin Elkinton is editor
of Beyond, a publication of JAARS, Wycliffe’s technical arm.
| Spring 2004 | www.wycliffe.ca
23
Deliver to:
If undeliverable, please return to Wycliffe Bible Translators of Canada, 4316 10 St NE, Calgary AB T2E 6K3. Return postage guaranteed. Publications Mail Agreement No. 40062756. Printed in Canada.
Did You Know
God Speaks
Plautdietsch?
Are you one of several hundred thousand Canadians
with a Mennonite heritage? Did you, your parents,
or grandparents speak Plautdietsch (Low German) in
daily conversation? Do you know someone who could
finally understand God’s Word in this centuries-old
Mennonite dialect?
If so, Wycliffe Canada is pleased to offer copies
of De Bibel, the complete Bible in Plautdietsch, published and distributed by Kindred Productions and
the Canadian Bible Society. This historic book is a
major achievement in what some have called a
Low German revival, evidenced through production
of Plautdietsch dictionaries, fiction, poetry, stage
plays, singing concerts and recordings.
De Bibel contains a revised translation of the
New Testament (first published with Wycliffe
involvement in 1987), as well as the first-ever
Plautdietsch translation of the Old Testament.
Hardcover. 1275 pages. $35.99 each, plus
GST and shipping.
To order, use the enclosed
reply form, or visit our Web site
(www.wycliffe.ca/resource).
Web site features a selection of stories and photos from Word Alive
magazine. Check it out today at <www.wycliffe.ca/wordalive>.
Visit us online! Our