Archive for the ‘Life’ Category
Thursday, August 5th, 2010
Amidst all our packing and preparations to move at the moment, it’s exciting to see what is happening in the west of Tanzania. Currently some of our colleagues are in the town of Mpanda in Rukwa Region, meeting with church leaders to discuss whether there is a need and a desire to start language development and Bible translation projects among the various language communities in the area.
The thing that makes this particularly exciting for us, is that this is the area where we may potentially be working when we head to Tanzania in a couple of years!
Louise (who used to be Mark’s boss when he was in Tanzania and is currently one of the team meeting with church leaders) has written today:
We have ‘discovered’ a new language or possibly 3. Of course they’ve been there for a very long time, but just not on any lists produced by academia. We could possibly have up to three new ones to add to the Ethnologue (www.ethnologue.com), but my guess is that they will be considered dialects of neighboring languages. It’s also possible that we might remove one language from the list.
In Tanzania, face to face meetings with individuals are very important to have before gathering in a meeting where decision are to be made. So, for 9 hours today Pastor Joey and I continued to visit the leaders of the Tanzania Assemblies of God, the Evangelistic Assemblies of God of Tanzania, the Lutherans, the Anglicans, and the Africa Inland Church of Tanzania. Every one of the church leaders continues to be very positive about starting a language development and Bible translation project. Some could do a commercial for Bible translation. We’ve talked about it requiring sacrifice from the churches, yet they insist they are ready for that. One good sign is that without asking for it the Lutherans are going to give us use of the meeting room free of charge. read more
Yesterday Louise had the chance to meet with one pastor in particular who has a real heart for Bible translation for his people:
“It’s about time!”
He didn’t say that, but I couldn’t help but think it. We did sociolinguistic surveys of the Bende and Tongwe peoples in 1999! Since then pastor Kasanda has written a couple of times, asking for our assistance in translating the Bible for his people. Today – 11 years later, we drove the 3 1/2 hrs down to his village to meet him and to tell him that things are underway – finally! His family obviously has little, but yet they generously prepared us a fancy lunch. It was a special visit for me as although I didn’t go on those surveys many years ago, I have had these people on my heart since then.
Pastor Kasanda
In the morning Joey and I visited the Roman Catholic offices and had an excellent conversation with the parish priest.
Everyone seems to be so ready to partner in this work! I can’t help but wonder if they will all really come to the meeting on the 16th to commit to going ahead together with the language development and Bible translation project. read more
Please join with us in praying for this part of Tanzania, and particularly for the potential opportunities to serve the language communities in helping them to translate the Bible. If you’d like to keep an eye on what happens over the next few weeks you can join us in following Louise’s blog!
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Saturday, July 24th, 2010
Change is in the air… After 3 and a half years in England where we have been living and working with Wycliffe Bible Translators UK, it’s almost time for us to move on. We’ll still be very much working with Wycliffe, but moving to a new continent and starting new jobs!
Originally our plan after getting married in 2007 was to stay in the UK for a year before heading back to Tanzania, where I was before we were married. Mostly for visa and residency reasons for Laura, that year turned to two… three… and a bit… but now Laura has her British passport and we are free to leave the UK knowing that she doesn’t ever need a visa to return!
Instead of heading straight to Tanzania, we decided for several reasons that we should spend some time in the US with Laura’s family first. One of our aims whilst there will be to share with individuals and churches the things that God has put on our hearts, in the hope that they will join with us and support us in prayer and financially over the coming years.
At the same time we will both be studying, for the first time in a while! Laura will be taking a course in Psychology and Family Studies from Corban University in Oregon, which she hopes will give her a good background as she desires to help and support people in Tanzania who are working cross-culturally.
I’ll be working towards an MA in Bible and Mission from Redcliffe College in the UK, as well as working part-time for the Uganda-Tanzania branch of one of Wycliffe’s partner organisations, SIL International.
We’ll be starting our new jobs in August, at first based here in the UK, and hopefully moving to Oregon sometime in the autumn. At the moment we are waiting for Mark’s US visa which is still being processed, but we’re praying that that will be completed in the next few months so that we can fly to the States.
We’d really appreciate your prayers as we transition into this new stage – for all the practicalities like the visa, moving house, finances, and also that we would enjoy and do well in our new jobs and studying.
Our hope is still very much to move to Tanzania in the future, possibly sometime in 2012, to be involved in a new translation project with several language communities in the west of the country. If you’d like to find out more about what God is doing through Bible translation in Uganda and Tanzania at the moment, take a look at thetask.net
We’d also love for you to consider how you can also play a small but crucial part in translating Scripture into some of the 2,300 languages that don’t have any of the Bible. If you would like to support us in any way, do take a look at how you can do that.
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Saturday, March 20th, 2010
As you may know, my homeland is not the grand country of England – but rather the small and discreet pocket of the world called the United States of America. For those not familiar with this country, it is broken up – not into districts – but states and my home is in a somewhat large state on the west coast, in a humble area natives like to call So Cal {short for Southern California}. In this region there is a strikingly rich heritage of sun and we endeavour to see that this tradition continues to be celebrated by successive generations into our future. The traditional fare is vast, but the most notable are the burrito and burger and I have yet to find a comparison. Our people are uniquely kind and courteous and have a unequivocal way of making themselves known to the world – primarily through their modest and demure temperaments. Hobbies include laying on the sand, staring in movies, going to the local gymnasium and perusing the Gap on a slow Monday morning. Somehow the natives make do.
Although I find the above amusing and slightly true – California is a bit more diverse and 3D than I allowed for in my description – {somehow} over my three-year stay in England, I am not as embarrassed of my State as maybe I once was. Just last night I was talking to Mark about how I may not like all of the aspects of my culture – yes, aspects of it are blatantly uncaring of other people in the world, the environment, and my general moral standards – but my culture is something I know and find predictable and because of that I really like it. I am starting to miss that particular aspect of life – knowing what to do and how to interpret situations. I guess that’s how most people feel in a different culture when they are missing their own.
So, I am looking forward to moving back to the west coast of America. We’ll be moving to Oregon in the north west, a place I’ve never lived but have visited a few times as my family are there now. Hopefully sometime in August of this year we will be hauling all our earthly possessions onto a large bird across the Atlantic {and many other states} to our new home. The thing that I am hoping to find when we settle in there is a renewed confidence in my surroundings, maybe some missed comforts, and to be able to draw on my experience in this culture here in England. I am hoping my time here has made me a more well-rounded Californian. I will find it interesting to see which cultural values I have gained whilst being in England in contrast to Oregonian and Californian values. It’s not easy to see that from my vantage point now, but I am expecting bits to come out as we adjust there.
Whilst ‘proud’ is not usually my favourite term to use when describing my patriotism…I am feeling slightly more in that direction as I look forward to slipping back into some of the norms I am used to. Just as I said that last line, REVERSE CULTURE SHOCK came catapulting through my head…any tips?!
Until next time…have a nice day! 
(This is a cross-post from Laura’s crafty-type blog, Little Wood Bird)
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Monday, March 15th, 2010
OK, well it’s not quite summer yet, but the last few days have finally felt like spring after a looong and often white winter here in southern England! We actually missed the heaviest snow when we were in the US, but for the first few weeks we were back it felt like it snowed more often than it rained… which isn’t normal for England!
But now the daffodils are just starting to come out, and we’re enjoying what will probably be our last British spring for a few years. Our plan is to move to Oregon in the US at the end of the summer, where we’ll be based for the next year or two, raising support and preparing to eventually move to Tanzania. If you’d like to know more about our plans, you can take a look at our March 2010 prayer letter (pdf, 1.1MB).
There are still various things that we have to work out over the next few weeks and months. Laura’s UK citizenship is now almost completed, and on 21st April she’ll swear an oath to the Queen and can apply for a British passport!
I’m currently in the first step of applying for a US visa, which will take a few months but we’re hoping will be finished in time to leave for the States. The process involves Laura first petitioning the US embassy in London (which we’re doing at the moment), and then me collecting various documents, including police clearance from the UK and Tanzania, to take to a visa interview in London, where I’ll also undergo a medical. After that, hopefully I’ll receive a visa which will lead to a Green Card, and permission to live and work in the US.
Over the next few weeks we’ll be looking into more of the practical arrangements for moving to the US, like working out how much extra financial support we’ll need to raise, as well as planning a possible short-term trip to Africa this summer.
We’re also talking with the Uganda-Tanzania branch of our partner organisation to see if there is anything that I can do remotely to support Bible translation in Tanzania while we’re living in Oregon, so… watch this space!
But for now I’m trying to concentrate on my current recruitment job – finishing off well, and also helping my new boss to transition well into his role!
And of course, enjoying our last English spring for a while…
Abingdon last Saturday when we visited my Aunt and Uncle
The aforementioned Uncle Peter and Auntie Chris
My little sister, Lizzi
A beautiful walk in Christmas Common last week
A towering Red Kite keeps an eagle (or Red Kite) eye on us
Tags: Citizenship, Spring, Summer, Tanzania, USA, Visa, Wycliffe
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Tuesday, January 26th, 2010
The last couple of months have been quite hectic for us, so we haven’t posted here for a while! At the beginning of December we left the UK to spend 6 weeks in the US, visiting Laura’s family, some of our friends, and also catching up with our supporting church.
Whilst in the US we had the privilege of speaking to one group of young people, and two regular church meetings which was exciting. We were able to share some of what we are doing with Wycliffe, and I had the opportunity to share something of what God has been teaching me lately too. If you’re interested you can listen to my talk from Calvary Chapel Petaluma on the account of Peter and Cornelius, and why God uses ordinary people to take his good news to all nations.
Being based in cold, frosty and occasionally snowy Oregon for most of the time, it was a welcome relief to make a trip down to northern, and then southern, California for a few days, although we had to battle the snow to get there!
Putting chains on the car tyres/tires…
…so we didn’t slide back down this hill!
Our new best friend – Janoah!
Laura with her good friend Amber
And her husband Glenn and their daughter Mia
The southern California beach… ok it was December, so not quite beach weather…
We really enjoyed seeing friends and family again in both northern and southern California, and felt particularly at home at the church in Petaluma, despite the fact that we’re there so seldomly!
After traveling back up north again we had a relaxing Christmas with Laura’s family, and were able to see a bit of wintry Oregon!
Guess what we all got for Christmas!
At the beautiful Silver Falls
And the even more spectacular rapids at Sweet Creek
Sadly it was time to leave all too soon, but we did have a few days at the end to visit some of Laura’s extended family on the east coast of the US – again a fun and relaxing time, and a great opportunity for me to get to know them a bit better!
Jellyfish at the Georgia Aquarium
I’m glad there was glass between me and him (not just because we’d have been very wet if there wasn’t…)
Our last evening, celebrating Aunt Peggy’s birthday!
If you want to see any more photos from the trip, take a look here!
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Tuesday, October 6th, 2009
After a month of teaching phonetics to new European Wycliffe members, we were able to have a lovely week’s holiday on the North Somerset coast. It was great to get away on our own for a week after a very action-packed summer!
We even had some lovely sunshine which allowed us to explore the coastline, the hills and some little old villages. Dunkery Beacon, Dunster Castle and the start of the South West Coastal Path were especially picturesque, but we also enjoyed the little village of Selworthy, as well as Porlock Weir on the one grey drizzly day.
A big thank you too to our friends who gave us the caravan for a week!
Sunset on the first evening
The start of the South West Coastal Path, just west of Minehead
The navigator tries to work out which way to the sea…
The beautiful Dahlia garden at Dunster Castle
What more could a guy want…? A steam train running every hour past the end of the caravan park!
Porlock Weir. Grey but somehow quaint
Us on top of Dunkery Beacon, taken by a lovely but crazy group of old Welsh rugby players!
Stopping off at Montacute House on the way back
If you’re interested in seeing a few more photos you can take a look here
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Tuesday, September 29th, 2009
In August after a week recovering from the Burkina Faso trip, we were excited to entertain Laura’s parents and sister for a short visit! It was great to see them again after 18 months, and to show them a little bit of our life here in the UK.
The 9 days that they were here (and the extra 9 days her sister stayed on) went by all too fast, but here are some highlights from the time…
Laura with her parents and sister
Visiting the Queen’s house… unfortunately we didn’t see her
Visiting my parents in Wiltshire
Laura and her sister in the village of Lacock
In Bath… by the posh houses
And a traditional English pub meal on our last evening
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Friday, June 19th, 2009
A couple of weeks ago we had the Wycliffe UK annual conference, with staff from the UK and some from further afield coming together to be encouraged and challenged about the work we do.
There were various people sharing about their work from different parts of the world, and I was impressed by the variety of things that God is doing through the work of Bible translation. It’s exciting for me to see the innovation that is happening in different places, as people of diverse cultures and backgrounds work in partnership to see God’s word changing the lives of individuals and communities.
In our discussion groups, it was also encouraging to learn from staff with over a hundred years of experience between them, but still a humility and openness to try new things and join in with the new ways that God is working.
After that we had Laura’s cousin here for ten days, which was a lot of fun! As well as having a good time with her, we also had an excuse to do all the touristy things that you don’t normally do when you’re living in a place! Here are a few photos…
Laura and Kristen, with St Paul’s Cathedral in the background
A nice artistic view of St Paul’s, from Laura
We found a Tanzanian flag in London!
The Houses of Parliament from the London Eye
And Tower Bridge from the ground
We thought we should go to Oxford for a day… Cambridge is infinitely better though…!
We went to Lacock, and found that the BBC were filming the next series of Cranford…
…to be aired at Christmas, hence the June snow!
Bath on a beautiful sunny day
And the even older Stonehenge
If you’d like to see some more of our photos from when Kristen was here you can take a look at our picasaweb album.
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Sunday, February 15th, 2009
The last couple of weeks have been very white here at the Wycliffe Centre, with snow that fell almost two weeks ago only just disappearing now. Thankfully the travel disruption in the UK seems to have passed, which is good as we’re looking forward to two recruitment events in the next week!
This coming week (15-21 February) is the Window on Wycliffe course here at the Wycliffe Centre. We have 24 participants signed up for the course, mainly from the UK and the Netherlands. The aim of the course is to give the participants an overview of Bible translation – both in terms of the biblical reasons of why it is important and how it should be done, and insights into some of the things that happen from day to day throughout the world.
The course will have a different focus this time compared to previous courses, with the emphasis hopefully changing from viewing Bible translation as a task and the target as languages, to seeing it much more in terms of God’s overall mission, and the individuals and communities that he is reaching out to.
Then on Saturday we have a “Check IT Out” event, which is aimed at people with IT and computing skills who are interested in Bible translation. IT plays such a huge role worldwide in a huge variety of ways, so we’re always wanting to encourage people with those skills to think about whether they should be involved in Bible translation, either in the UK or overseas.
As the WOW course has been revamped and Check IT Out is a new event, myself and others are planning and presenting quite a bit of new material for the first time, so we’d really appreciate your prayer as we do that.
Here are some photos of the pretty snow, especially for those of you who aren’t in the UK and aren’t tired of snow photos!
The office snowman, ironically rather camouflaged in the snow
Snowy plant pots
Who’s been walking in our garden?
Big feet, little feet
And again
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Saturday, January 24th, 2009
This summer Wycliffe UK has three Engage Summer Teams going overseas in July and August, to Burkina Faso, Cambodia and Cameroon. We may end up leading the Burkina Faso team, which would be both exciting and slightly scary!
One of the main challenges would be the fact that I never learnt French at school, or any time since then for that matter! So the last few weeks Laura has been faithfully teaching me some of what she knows, and also making use of books and the internet.
I am now fairly good with parts of the body (la jambe, le bras, l’ongle etc…), and we have done fruit and veg, and a few verb conjugations. We have a pile of several hundred flashcards sitting on the bookshelf, which I find are a good way for me to learn vocabulary.
I have to say I think the only way to learn a language properly is through immersion with speakers of that language, but my hope is that I can at least get a headstart this way! There are also a few native French speakers here on the Wycliffe Centre, so when I get brave enough I think I’ll try to practice with them!
Another great resource we’ve found is the Livemocha website, where language learners from around the world can interact with each other. As you take lessons in your chosen language (there are only 11 to choose from at present…) you submit mini assignments, which are then checked by other community members, as you also check assignments submitted by others learning your mother-tongue!
Livemocha
So at the moment we’re trying to use these various methods to learn this strange language, while at the same time praying for the right applicants for the summer teams so that we actually have a team to lead!
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