The Fruits in Translation

Keith is off to Germany again to work on recording the last bits of the New Testament in the Sinti Romani language. Ah, but there is no single standard for the Sinti Romani. Imagine there were no standard English of any sort. You had a text which had been translated into English in rural Texas. However, most of the people who were willing to help you record it came from Australia. A few others were Boston aristocrats, with one or two stray Canadians thrown in. If all these people were in a room together, they could carry on a perfectly lovely conversation. But they are not. They are in separate locations, trying to read English written down as it is spoken in rural Texas.
This leads to a lot of interruptions in the recording process.
"You could say it that way," the reader will say, "but really it should be . . .." Or, "I've never even heard that word before." Or, "I'm not saying that! That's incredibly rude (in my dialect)--what's it doing in a Bible text!?!"
The Spirit must be very active in every translation and recording project or they will never bear any fruit. Without love, peace, patience, kindness, faithfulness, gentleness, or self-control, they could not even be completed.
(Oh, yeah, sometimes the heat goes out, too.)

Gypsy Smith School - January 2012

What a way to start the new year! 25 Roma leaders from across Romania came to Bucharest for a week of training. Since the Ruth School students were still on winter break, it was a quiet week for studying, contemplation, and accordion playing!

Our professors for the week were Dr Bruce Gentry and Dr Josh Stowe from Missouri. They were accompanied by Harold Phillips, Coordinator for CBF MO.

The highlight of the week was the Tuesday night worship service led by the GSS students and the Thursday night graduation recognition.

These men are learning what it is to be a leader and then taking that information back to their ministry setting to put it to practical use. Please pray for God's blessing on their lives.

And... Thank you CBF MO!

National Human Trafficking Awareness Day

National Human Trafficking Awareness Day  

   11 January was National Human Trafficking Awareness Day in the United States.  The global statistics are staggering with Sex or Labor Trafficking impacting the lives of 600,000 to 800,000 children, women and men who were taken across international borders into forced servitude.

   I met Julius on 11 January.  He is the face of one of those who were trafficked for labor.  Desperately needing a job to provide for his wife and four children, he accepted work which required him to travel from Slovakia to England. 

   “They were nice at first,” he stated before sharing how his passport and identification papers were taken.  The pay they promised, a generous $50 a day, stopped after the second week.  After three months abroad, doing work for which he was never paid, he was able to get back home.  He never sent any money home and returned without any money in his pocket. 

   We were put in contact with Julius because of a house fire which destroyed all their belongings.  Dianne was able to collect a load of used clothes in just a matter of hours after making contact with parents from the school where she volunteers.  We are thankful that we were able to assist this family and share with them the message that God loves them. Julius’s story of being trafficked is a reminder that not every tragedy is accidental – like the fire.  Human Trafficking is a man-made evil which destroys lives.

Happy New Year!

A new year is here!  First, we look back on 2011 and see so many wonderful things that God did among the Roma.  Just take a look through last year's blog entries.  Thank you to all who partnered with us by praying, serving, and giving. 

Then we look forward to 2012.  Join us in praying for wisdom as this new year unfolds.

Happy New Year!