To Be the Stranger

You probably see them in the grocery store or at your children’s school, those people who look foreign and act like they come from somewhere else.  

Do you know what it is like to be a stranger in a strange land? Let me tell you. If you were the foreigner, you would buy the wrong thing at that grocery store because you wouldn’t understand the difference between “self-rising,” “pastry,” “whole wheat,” and “all purpose” flour. You would also wander around the aisles for a long time, looking for things that are not there (cornmeal?  baking soda?) or things that are not where you expect them to be.  Sugar is not by the baking supplies. Instead, it is by the coffee. And why are those crackers by the breakfast foods and these others in the snack aisle?

You would take a bilingual dictionary with you when you went to the doctor. You and the doctor still have difficulty understanding each other, partly because the approach to treatment and the governmental regulations relating to it are not what you expect.

 You would be mystified by notices from the government. You would hope for a friendly neighbor to help interpret these things. You would ask your school-aged children to look over and correct your replies.

When your child’s teacher asked everyone to bring an old t-shirt to school, you would send the child with an old dress shirt. You didn’t understand the difference. You also didn’t understand all kinds of things the teacher and the other parents take for granted. What school supplies does your child need? How is math taught here? Why do they write the numbers like that? Numbers are confusing, anyway. You have trouble finding the right hymn in the hymnbook at church. You have trouble writing down phone numbers and addresses.

You also have trouble with time. What do people mean when they say, “Come by tomorrow afternoon”? Why are they surprised when you show up at 12:30 PM? Or 5:30 PM? And when it is obvious that you do not understand the language completely, why do people speak louder instead of simply slowing down?

You understand enough to take part in local Bible study. You can follow most of the discussion but do not get most of the jokes. When you confuse the word for “horse manure” with the one for “apartment,” everyone laughs. You do not appreciate the humor. You do appreciate people who are patient enough to let you practice speaking their language with them.

You wish those patient people would remember to include you on holidays. Some holidays that are special to you are not celebrated here. Others are celebrated in very different ways.  You are far from your own family and traditions. You feel even more sharply that you are a stranger in a strange land. I know first-hand. We are foreigners here. We bless everyone who makes us feel even a little more at home.

The Tie That Binds . . . In a New Way . . .

Many people from the Romany village of Vulcanesti cannot afford to heat their houses for the winter. Instead, they have gone abroad to work for the winter. They still want to be in contact with each other, though, and encourage one another in the faith.

One of them is working in Russia. He earned enough to provide the church with a video camera.
Another one worked on the church's Facebook page (Bethlehem Baptist Church, Moldova).

Now, no matter where their church family has scattered, they can still hear songs and sermons, often in their own Romani language.

Opportunity: STUDENT.GO

Student.Go, the student missions program of the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship (CBF), provides opportunities for both undergraduate and graduate students to serve in the United States and around this world with our field personnel (missionaries) and ministry partners as they live out CBF Global Missions’ commitments—cultivating beloved community, bearing witness to Jesus Christ and seeking transformational development. By the way, as a bonus to serving around this world, students also get paid a stipend ($1200 for summer assignments and $1700 for semester assignments), and some students can even receive class credit for their term of service!

Whether it’s for a summer or a semester, students provide crucial assistance to the ministries of CBF field personnel and engagement partners. By serving with Student.Go, students also have the opportunity to discover their place within God’s mission to change the world.  Undergraduate students completing their first year of college and at least 18 years of age, as well as graduate students of any age, may apply. Furthermore, Student.Go is not just for Baptist students, but is open to all Christians looking to serve.

Not only do you get a stipend for your term of service, your housing, local transportation and food are typically covered as well! And as a bonus, you can even get class credit for it! If you are interested in finding out more, please check out https://cbf.net/studentdotgo where you can view the current Student.Go opportunities, as well as apply online.

Now is Not the Time

Beauty and political opinion--everywhere in Barcelona

There is a time and season for everything. For example, there is a time to do a recording project in Barcelona and there is a time not to do a recording project in Barcelona.

After prayerful consideration, three trips to Barcelona, and lots of conversations with Catalan Christians there, it has become apparent that this is not the time to record the New Testament in Catalan. Here are some photos from our recent trips to Barcelona, the capital of Catalonia. Note the many yellow ribbons (in support of Catalan leaders imprisoned by the national government).

The political situation is just one of many factors involved in this decision. Sometimes it is just not the right time.

We trust that God will prepare the way when it is the right time and season to record the Catalan New Testament.

More to Translation than Meets the Ear . . .

A Bible memory verse here, a parable there . . . for years Christians in Moldova have been helping us translate bits and pieces of Scripture into their own Ursari Romani* language.

For the past several years, some of them have wanted to begin translating more. The brother to our left started Ephesians; the brother below started Titus. 

But there is more to translation than meets the eye--or the ear. What did the original text actually mean? Not the Romanian or Russian (or English) translation you are used to, but the text originally written in some form of Greek?

And what kind of translation are you aiming for? A scholarly version? A literary version (King James comes to mind)? A contemporary version?

And do you plan to write it down or use story-telling and audio recordings? And if you plan to write it down, and your language is generally unwritten, how do you plan to represent the sounds of your language in print? Will you use the spelling conventions of the national language? What if your language uses sounds which the national language does not? How will those sounds be written? And what if the national language has a wacky spelling system (English comes to mind!)?

The most of the other people you see in these photos are members of SIL's Rroma Service Group. They have studied and wrestled with all of these questions--and more which I am not aware of. We are very glad that they are willing to partner with us and with our Romany brothers & sisters in the Republic of Moldova!

*Romany call their language "Romani" or "Romanes."

Romany = Rroma/Roma and Sinti.  

Breaking Bread in Barcelona

The Spirit gives many gifts. 

One of the gifts our brothers and sisters in Barcelona seem to have is hospitality. 

We had not even been in the city for one day when we were invited to Sunday dinner with grandmother, mother and father, two adult children and their spouses. 

It was an extraordinary blessing to us. 

We can share photos of the meal. We cannot capture the fellowship and warmth which fed us even more.

First course:  fresh fruit.

Second course:  salads and bread

Potato salad with green beans and olives, locally known as "Russian Salad"Mushroom croquettes

Tuna and egg salad with halved boiled egg on top.

Mushroom croquettes

Main course:  salted cod 

   (de-salted) in creole sauce 

   over rice

Dessert:  Panettono (Italian specialty), 

   chocolate bonbons, coffee or tea,

   blessings and warm farewells . . . .

Share the Warmth

It's that time of year again. Last week Keith turned on the heat in our house. It was easy to do--he just adjusted the thermostat. We have a stable income and a contract with the local energy company. The heat came on.
For some reason, it didn't come on in our church last Sunday. They even had the energy company take a look at it, but we ended up keeping our coats on during the service.
Our brothers and sisters in the Romany village of Vulcanesti often do that during the colder months, as you can see in this photo from the women's Wednesday night meeting this past week. There is finally some sort of heat in the church, so the building can be used in the colder months, but it is not toasty warm in there.
Heating in general is more of an issue in the village. When I saw that this week's collection in our Dutch church was designated for Romany work in Moldova, I asked Pastor Petru Ciochina what the funds should go towards.

He suggested two things:

Living in the Romany village of Vulcanesti becomes increasingly difficult, especially in the cold period of the year (6 months). In the Republic of Moldova most people heat houses with firewood. But this has become very expensive, even for those who have financial possibilities. We are talking about the poor: elders, widows and families with many children.

In order to be able to heat the stoves, women with power walk a distance of 4 km in one direction (total 8 km) to collect wood from the forest. Some who have the opportunity to have a stroller is their joy, but for other women they carry up to 40 kg of wood. Carrying 30-40 kg 4 km behind is a huge pain. We need help to help with fire wood 15-20 families: elderly, widowed, families with many children.

2. In the local church recently began the work with women.They need many things necessary for their lives.
- Relationship with God
- Prayer time (some sisters have difficulty praying in public, and this because of the context in which they grew up)
- Learning Bible verses
- Raising children and their involvement in school
- Relationship with their husbands.
- And many other problems.
The wife of the pastor of the local church, Olesea Ciochina, took on the responsibility of helping these women eager for such a fellowship. But this requires support.Transport, some important needs of the women group (medicines, food, etc.).

If you feel led to move to Moldova for 2-5 years to work towards a sustainable solution to this heating problem, let us know! If you feel led to contribute in some other way, feel free to add to the collection through the Baptist Church in Arnhem-Centrum (baptisten-arnhem.nl) or These ladies will not be the only ones who thank you for sharing the warmth. through our programming fund .
These ladies will not be the only ones who thank you for sharing the warmth.

Thinking of James 2:15,
Mary & Keith.

Thanksgiving in September

When do you celebrate Thanksgiving?

On the fourth Thursday in November (U.S.A.)?
On the second Monday in October (Canada)?
Or on a Sunday in September?

That's when our brothers and sisters in Moldova gather to thank God for the harvest.

This year in the Romany village of Vulcanesti, they thanked God for three whole hours!

And then they had a feast and celebrated some more!
The pastor and his wife went home after two hours; they don't know how long the rest of the people stayed, singing and communing with each other.

A few years ago a couple of friends and I had the privilege to be there over Thanksgiving. (That's what this photo is from.)

No matter when--or how--you celebrate Thanksgiving, I hope your hearts are as generous and grateful as our brothers and sisters in Moldova.

Keith (no longer) in Curacao: Recorded, Reviewed, Returned!

This is us, praying a prayer of praise and thanksgiving once every one of the 260 chapters in the New Testament had been recorded, reviewed, corrected, and approved. (Whew!)





This is Keith, some days earlier, recording the very last line of the New Testament.

This is Keith, a number of days later, glad to have been in Curacao but now glad to be back home in the Netherlands (where the weather is much cooler!). 

Also grateful for the entire recording team in Curacao, the folks at Faith Comes By Hearing,  and for the prayer support which made that recording possible. God is good!

Keith in Curacao: Women at Work

There are so few roles for women speakers in the New Testament that our partners at the Antillean Bible Society added two. 

One woman, a biologist by profession, came after work to record the chapter headings for the entire New Testament. In Papiamentu-speaking culture, the grandmothers are the storytellers, so this seemed particularly appropriate to the local recording team. 

Another woman read the book of Hebrews. She did an excellent job with what can be a difficult book. "Some people will understand that passage for the first time," one of the proof-listeners noted after one recording session. Thank God that many more people will hear and understand His Word.

Keith in Curacao: 100%!!!

One of the proof-listeners

The lady is smiling. The butterfly is smiling. We are smiling. This morning we finished the recording phase of the New Testament in Papiamentu!

Smiles from proof-listeners, readers, and recording team!

Now just to listen and approve each of the chapters in that New Testament!

Keith in Curacao: Listening to Ensure Hearing

The volunteers in the foreground here are proof-listening. They read along as we record to make sure a) the reader says exactly what is in the printed Bible; b) the reader says it correctly; c) there aren't any mistakes in the printed text.* They sometimes do this for two hours at a stretch. Tedious? Many do not think so.
"This is a great job, you know," one proof-listener told me after a two-hour session of Revelations. "It fills you every time. You read and you read. It fills you."
Thank God for proof-listeners, and thank God that His Word has impact, even in through a task like this.


*Proof-listeners find one in every New Testament recording project. So far, they've found a missing word and a switch in an apostle's name.

Thank God for Children . . . and For Volunteers!

This is the season of vacation Bible school clubs at home and abroad. 









A huge THANK YOU to all of you who invest in your own children and the children of others!

Photos from previous children's programs.

Keith in Curacao--CELEBRATION!!!

Why do these people look so happy?

Because today we reached the half-way mark of this recording project. We have recorded 50% of the New Testament in Papiamentu. 

We are rejoicing at reaching this benchmark. 

We've only been at it for 3 weeks. Keith has never made such progress on a New Testament recording before. 

A huge thank-you to all who have worked so hard to make this possible. 

And an even bigger 

PRAISE GOD!!

P.S. "These people" are A. Pepito Elisa, head of the Antillean Bible Society; Gwenny Emers, project coordinator; "John;" and in the last photo, the studio with its full compliment of workers.

Keith in Curacao--Hearing the Word

"John" reads really well.

He hears really poorly. 
So poorly that he could not hear comments from the proof-listeners or directions from Keith without taking off his headphones. 

If he takes off his headphones, his mic has to be readjusted all over again. 

So one of the proof-listeners moved into the recording booth with him to explain things at a level he could hear.



As you can imagine, this is not an optimal arrangement. Meanwhile, Keith got out a playback mic which he had never had to use before. Now everyone is back sitting where they usually do.
Except when taking a break, of course!

 

Keith in Curacao--Meet "Paul"

"Jesus" and "Paul" have the most lines in a recording of the New Testament. We had begun recording "Jesus" without knowing who would play "Paul." This became a chief prayer point for a whole week.

Dennis came as a proof-listener for "Jesus" that entire week. This was especially interesting since "Jesus" is Dennis' son-in-law. They worked together well, though.

During the course of that week, several more men came to audition. None of them were right for the part of "Paul," though. Either they did not have enough time or enough skill or a "Paul" sort of voice. Folks at the Bible Society had been saying that Dennis could do it. After the last audition, they asked him to consider it.

Dennis is well-known to the folks at the Bible Society. Several of his Christian novels are even for sale in the bookstore here. Dennis had originally planned to spend the summer writing his next one. But he was quite willing to consider "Paul." In fact, he was beaming when he came out of his conference with the Bible Society folks. Then he immediately went somewhere private to share the good news with his wife by phone.

Shortly after Dennis became a Christian, he ended up in the hospital for an extended period of time. He used the opportunity to read through the entire Bible! In the years since then, he has read the Bible through at least another 17 times. He has preached, spoken, and studied. Now he writes novels to illustrate spiritual truths. And today he read through the first two chapters of Romans. We thank God for "Paul."

Keith in Curacao--Many Gifts; Same Spirit

Mary, yesterday, willing but not smiling

Faith Comes By Hearing trains recording teams in pairs. Keith and a friend of ours were trained together as one such team. They each learned how to operate both computers--meaning all of the technical aspects of the recording. 

Ellen on left

After two recording projects, however, our friend’s life took a different turn. Our daughter Ellen worked with Keith during one recording and decided that this was not her life’s work, either. Since that time, Keith has trained someone local on each project to do the second computer.

Wavy lines on Keith's computer; local on other computer

Doing the basics of that aspect of the recording is not difficult to do. Even I, who has trouble manipulating a cell phone, have been doing it. I look over at what Keith is doing, though, with the wavy lines and the cut-and-paste of sound files, and shake my head.

Mary in Moldova, willing AND smiling

I could learn it, but it would be an exercise in frustration for both the teacher and the learner. There are reasons not all are called to be prophets, not all are called to teach, not all are called to do technical things . . . though some of the non-technical are happy to go to Moldova . . . 

Keith in Curacao--How to Create a Studio

1. Order Bibles printed in South Korea. Keep the modular packing crates that they arrive in.

2. Clear out building behind the Bible Society office and bookstore. Building is far from traffic and other noises.

3. Assemble modular packing crate pieces into recording booth.

4. Build small table in booth; cut window.
5. Insulate walls of studio building and walls of recording booth with curtains.
6. Lay carpet on floor; use carpet scraps to further insulate booth.

7. Add padded "ceiling," held up with webbing of string.










8. Move tables and chairs into studio building

a) for recording team

and

b) for proof-listeners.

9. Begin recording!