Pray for Panama

Hopes for the Kuna Bible translation to be completed in 2013 are fading. The consistency checks and read-throughs could not be completed as soon as hoped. Then lead translator Keith Forster became ill in December. The Forsters must stay in the US for a while. Please pray that God will heal Keith and restore him to the checking process. Ask God to protect every aspect of the review process, the manuscript, the checking, and each person involved. Pray that the manuscript will be ready for printing in God's perfect time, and that He will increase hunger for His Word in the Kuna people's hearts.

KUNA , SAN BLAS; Panama; 57,100. Despite obstacles, God enabled the team to complete the revision of the Kuna New Testament last year. In addition, the team was able to lay out the Old Testament, which had been completed the previous year. The Bible goes to press this year and should be available for distribution by October. Ask God to protect it as it is printed in Korea and then shipped to Panama. Pray for God’s provision and encouragement for the translation team—one of the translators, in particular, faced personal loss and many challenges last year. Also lift up the Kuna community, that there might be joyous celebration and hungry hearts when the Bible arrives.

The audio recording of the Buglere New Testament is finished.  It was very gratifying to see the happiness of all of the indigenous brothers involved in the project. The project was complete two weeks earlier than planned thanks to the effort of all the participants, who endured long workdays, far from their homes and families. Pray for renewed strength for them and also for the steps of the process that lie ahead, as they work to get the finished recordings into the hands of those who for some reason, are not able to read the Scriptures. May theire be fruit produced to salvation, transformation of lives and the hope of eternal life among the Buglere.

KUNA, SAN BLAS; Panama; 57,100. The team hopes to have the entire Old Testament checked and approved by the beginning of 2012. Pray that God will speed any last-minute corrections so that the team can have the Old Testament completely finished. At that point, they will turn their attention to revising the New Testament which was published in 1995. The goal is to have the manuscript for the entire Bible ready to go to press in early 2013. Ask the Lord to go ahead of them and take care of anything that might delay the project so close to the finish line.

In July, indigenous leaders met in Panama. The objective was to give them tools to face their challenges, to think of appropriate solutions to apply in their own contexts, to make proposals for the work in each ethnic group and between ethnic groups, and to express their need for supportive help from other organizations and denominations. A desire to work together emerged, resulting in the formation of a provisional committee of indigenous Christians who will be in charge of promoting this initiative in each one of the ethnic groups, and to later formalize this work for the use of the Scriptures in every language. This is an historic event in the indigenous churches of Panama. Pray that the Lord will strengthen this committee and give them grace as they share the vision with other leaders.

The Organization PAAM,*  will hold an intensive course with Dr. David Rising (linguist and Bible translator), from July 25 to 29. To those who attend, he will teach useful tools for the learning of any language. PAAM is encouraging those who work with ethnic groups, and others who desire to go as missionaries to other countries, to come to this course. Pray that God will send all those who will benefit from these lessons to come to the course,  for the extension of the Kingdom of God among people of every language.

PAAM - Panamanians Reaching the World

Dramatized audio recordings of the various New Testaments is a major project at Viña. Working in partnership with Hosanna – Faith Comes By Hearing, technicians Carlos and Isidro spend six weeks in each target language area setting up a temporary studio and recording the entire New Testament with approximately 20 different voices.  Most recently they are working on the recording of the Northern Embera language in Panama. More than 30 such recordings of this type have been completed by Viña. May God bless the delivery of his Word in audio format.

Praise God for the growing number of Latin American organisations involved in Bible translation. Sixteen students from Argentina, Chile, Peru, Bolivia, Colombia, Venezuela, Panama, Guatemala, Mexico and the USA will complete their training at Ricardo Palma University, Peru in December, and are seeking God’s leading and financial provision. This is the largest group of trainees so far.

LETRA* Panama is promoting the use of Scripture in various languages by means of a brochure which is being distributed to church denominations and Christian organizations. They ask for specific prayer for the Kuna people group, that God will guide them as they seek to work cooperatively with those who minister to the Kuna, hoping to improve the use of the Scriptures in the Kuna language.

*LETRA - Latins in translation and literacy.

Tito is one of the Teribe men who worked as part of the translation team with Wycliffe translators. He continues to grow in his faith. In late 2009, he wrote to the Wycliffe translation worker that he has learned the three most important elements of the Christian walk: prayer, prayer, and prayer. Please pray for Tito and his family as they continue to live out their faith in Christ.