“Hard pressed on every side… but NOT crushed”. Oct/Nov 2024
A few weeks ago one of our staff in Myanmar sent us this urgent prayer request: “The country is facing civil war in many areas, along with devastating floods, creating unimaginable suffering for so many people. Please pray for peace, protection, and provision for all those suffering. May God bring comfort and hope in this time of great need”. Following the 2020 general election in Myanmar the military seized power in a coup, and this led to widespread protests across the country. These protests have been met with violent political repression by the military, and this has led to a larger outbreak of the civil war. Villages have been destroyed, protesters imprisoned, houses burnt down, property confiscated, enforced conscription, along with frequent internet blackouts. Added to this are the devastating floods which have hit parts of the country.
Amidst this turmoil, however, there are glimmers of light. TWFTW has faced many challenges working in Asia due to the attitude towards Christianity but, despite these difficulties, our translation teams in Myanmar are pressing on with perseverance to translate God’s Word. TWFTW is currently involved in 9 Bible translation projects in the country, and just a few months ago, thanks to a number of funding partners, the UK support base was able to send its largest-ever gift to 5 of those projects.
In one of those translation teams, there is also much joy for one of our translators who has been praying hard for her father over the past 6 years. He had been involved in helping to check some of the gospel translations, and in the process found himself drawn to the light of Christ. This is what we’ve been told: “The Lord has now answered this prayer! The translator’s father has accepted Jesus as his saviour on the last day of a conference, and after a day of counselling, he decided to get baptised”! We give thanks to God for this good news; a glimmer of light in a very dark situation, showing us that God’s Word is very much alive and bright, touching the hearts of those involved in the whole translation process. This man “living in darkness has seen a great light; on those living in the land of the shadow of death, a light has dawned” (Matt 4:16).
Facts & Figures:
At the recent leadership conference in South Africa, the founder of TWFTW presented the delegates with a copy of his book, describing the history of TWFTW over the last 40 years. It was a time to reflect on what God has done….and also to rejoice at what God is currently doing through the organisation. The movement began with 1 project in Zimbabwe back in 1981 – and now we’re privileged to be involved in 358 translation projects! If you would like a copy of the book, please get in touch and I’ll put one in the post for you.
Also, although slightly delayed and now somewhat out of date, TWFTW has produced a Global Impact Report which is designed to update our supporters on where TWFTW was at the end of 2023. It’s full of facts and figures, along with pictures and charts highlighting our Bible translation projects, our literacy work, and are indigenous translators. Again, if you would like to receive a copy of this 12 page brochure, please do get in touch at admin-uk@twftw.org
For now, I’ll leave you with some of our recent stats which, by the time you read this, may well be out of date; such is the current growth in the world of Bible translation!
- In 2018, TWFTW passed the milestone of over 100Bible translation projects.
- 6 years later, we are now involved in over 358 translation projects.
- We’ve been involved in completing 83 New Testaments and 9 full Bibles.
- We now have 1060 indigenous translators.
- We’re working in 29 different countries, and knocking on the door of 17 others.
- We’ve been involved in helping to facilitate 145 orthographies; the process of creating a writing system for languages that have never had a written language.
We give thanks to God for his blessings and his leading. The words of Psalm 126:3 are fitting: “The Lord has done great things for us, and we are filled with joy”. To those who pray and give, we thank you for your partnership with us in this work.
Out & About Diary Dates for UK Director Oct/Nov:
- Sun 13th Oct: Preaching at Metro Christian Centre, Bury
- Sun 27th Oct: AM. Preaching at Hesket Newmarket Free Church, Cumbria
- Sun 27th Oct: PM. Preaching at Castle Sowerby Chapel, Cumbria
- 31st Oct – 10th Nov: Bible teaching on Oak Hall trip to Japan
- Sun 17th Nov: AM. Preaching at Ladyfield Evangelical Church, Chippenham
- Sun 25th Nov: AM. Preaching at Sanderstead Evangelical Church, Croydon
Praise & Prayer Points:
- Pray that God would strengthen & protect our teams in Myanmar; that this new believer would grow strong in his faith.
- The “Do Impossible” Conference, held in South Africa 18-24 August, was a great success, providing an opportunity for leaders to come together for a time of reflection, praise & thanksgiving, and planning. All went well.
- TWFTW is setting up a new regional office for Northern Africa. Pray for a smooth transition as this office is set up. The knock-on effect of this is that the Ethiopian office is now looking for a new National Director! Pray this will happen soon!
- Please pray that in all my preaching appointments that “I may correctly handle the word of truth” (2 Tim 2:15) and, in terms of my everyday work, that I may “be diligent in these matters, giving myself wholly to them” (1 Tim 4:15).