Home Resources Prayer Wycliffe World Day of Prayer – 11th November 2021 Meditations Stepping up to the Challenge

Stepping up to the Challenge

Stories to encourage and strengthen – Wycliffe World Day of Prayer 2021

Lugue, Paraguay - After more than three years of hard work, Josema is only one year away from becoming a full-fledged Bible translation consultant. He also currently serves as a professor at the Evangelical University of Paraguay.

Josema recently learned that pandemic delays can often have the opposite effect—in his case, accelerating his training. Chris, one of Josema’s translation consulting mentors, will soon be reassigned to another location. To be ready for that transition, Josema must keep up with his studies so he is ready to step into independent consulting when Chris moves on.

Using Zoom, Josema led his first translation checking session of Acts in the Mixe del Istmo Guichicovi language. He also continued gaining expertise in Paratext and Logos, two innovative translation software technologies. In fact, he learned them so well that he was able to lead a Zoom workshop in Paratext and solve issues within both systems.

When Josema isn’t consulting, he teaches Hebrew, Old Testament exegesis, and missiology at the Evangelical University of Paraguay (UEP). But even while teaching, Josema is working for the Bible translation cause. “My main goal in teaching is recruiting people from my classes to be part of the Bible translation movement,” Josema shares. This summer, he recruited two of his students to serve as exegetes, checking the Ache and Ñandeva translations against the original Hebrew and Greek texts.

Working steadily toward the mission of Bible translation requires patience and a vision for what the church can accomplish with time. When he began his consultancy training, Josema asked himself, “How can I fully enjoy being part of missio Dei [God’s mission]?” This year, he discovered his answer: “I have realized that dedicating your entire life to the mission is living one day at a time, enjoying every moment. That is my main prayer today: Enjoy God's mission every day.”

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A course developed by the Wycliffe Global Alliance, called 'Language and Translation in the Mission of God', is capturing the imagination of church leaders worldwide. A first-hand look at how the course impacted attendees in Bogotá, Colombia How the Alliance and YWAM discovered common ground: 'I'm finally understanding that translation is about people' In Brazil, a dozen seminaries are using the course. And Deaf communities in that nation have found a deeper connection A funding opportunity for Alliance organisations and partners VIDEO SHORTS 'My theology was transformed' A Broader Perspective Impacting Hearts & Communities 'You have to come hear this!' Leaving a Legacy More Perspectives on the Course's Impact If you are interested in learning how Language and Translation in the Mission of God might benefit your particular organisation and context, please email us at info@wycliffe.net and we will put you in touch with Bryan Harmelink, the Alliance’s Director for Collaboration. ••• Stories reported by Gwen Davies of the Wycliffe Global Alliance Communication and Prayer teams. Title illustration is AI-derived from a photo showing Sagrada Familia Cathedral in Barcelona, Spain. Original photo: Marc Ewell. Alliance organisations are welcome to download and use photos from these articles.

'I'm finally understanding that translation is about people'

How the Alliance and YWAM discovered common ground