I recently received an email from a team leader in a country which we’ll call MM, where TWFTW is heading up 8 translation projects. Here’s what he had to say: “When we think about the situation in this country, it looks hopeless. There has been economic collapse, villages destroyed, power outages, farmers not able to sow their crops, and people losing their lives. This year will be even harder than last. The country is still facing political turmoil, economic struggles, human rights issues, and civil war. Our translation teams were not able to start the planned 6 new projects, but we were able to continue with our existing projects – and we’re thankful that God has sustained our lives”.
As the New Year began, the team leader had encouraged his embattled teams with some words from Zechariah Ch 4, and in particular, three verses; V6: “Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit, says the Lord Almighty”. V7: “Before Zerubbabel you, O mighty mountain, will become level ground”. V10: “Who despises the day of small things?” The prophet Zechariah had been told by God to speak to Zerubbabel, who had been commissioned to re-build the temple in Jerusalem. And that wasn’t an easy task! The rebuilding work had been hampered, progress had been slow, and the builders were being mocked and threatened. There was the possibility of tools being downed because of opposition.

Trying to work in these circumstances was indeed tough – as it is for our translation teams in MM, but just as Zerubbabel was encouraged to persevere in the daunting task of rebuilding the temple, our folks in MM are also being encouraged to continue their Bible translation work, despite the seemingly insurmountable challenges they face on a daily basis. They’ve been reminded that, in God’s strength and power, they will be enabled to carry on with their task, that God will back them up in their work, and that they should continue to build. And although the work of these translation teams might seem small and insignificant in a land filled with massive turmoil, let’s not underestimate what God can do with people who are committed to following through on their difficult task.
The closing words of the email are not only applicable to the teams in MM, but can also be applied to the difficult circumstances in which we may find ourselves. “For those praying and working towards peace and justice in MM, this passage calls for steadfast faith and reliance on God’s Spirit. It encourages hope that God will make a way, even when the situation appears impossible, and that righteousness will ultimately prevail. We may be facing a lot of obstacles and challenges, but we believe that, in the strength of the Spirit of God, we shall overcome”. Please pray on for our teams in MM.

“Selah”: to pause/to ponder. A reflection on 2024:
Earlier on this month the trustees met for a board meeting, and we took some time out from looking at reports and agendas to give thanks to God for last year’s growth. As I reflect back on Year 24 I’d love to give you 24 highlights, but I’ll settle for just 6!
Foundation Funding: We submitted 88 applications to a variety of Christian trusts and foundations, with 15 responding positively! Our trust total exceeded last year’s amount, which meant we were able to send more support than ever before to various translation projects overseas. One Trust that I featured in the December newsletter (The Stuart Hine Trust) even decided to give us a double portion of what we asked for!
Office Opening: After 16 years of working from ‘home’ with AIM I had the opportunity to move into a dedicated office – and that move has been a real blessing to me. Not only does it give TWFTW UK a fixed base, but the historical surrounds of Hartham Park have somehow made me more productive! It also feels great to be able to leave work at work, and leave home for home!
Albania in April: You don’t have to go to Africa and Asia to experience Bible poverty. Did you know that there are 315 languages in Europe, but only 75 of them have a full Bible?!! I was able to travel to Albania to meet with the Aromanian translation team in Tirana. It was great to see work being done on one of those forgotten languages, and I was encouraged by their enthusiasm to get the Gospel translated. See the following link for a report of that trip: https://twftw.org.uk/index.php/2024/07/01/bibles-in-the-balkans-may-2024/

- Management Meetings! I had the opportunity last year to travel to Hermanus in South Africa on two occasions. Whilst the words ‘management meeting’ normally fill me with dread, to my surprise, these didn’t! At the large August gathering we met with our largest funding partner, the Seed Company, and they blessed the UK office with more funding to help us to continue building up our capacity. The meetings in December were a lot smaller and also more intense, but real progress was made as we made plans for 2025. The bonus attached to these meetings is that I get to meet people from around the world who are passionate about Bible translation, and I also get to hear firsthand of the progress being made in over 30 countries. To give you an idea of that progress, take in these stats: TWFTW began with 1 BT project in Zimbabwe back in 1981. In 2018, we passed the milestone of being involved in 100 Bible translation projects. At the end of 2024, we were involved in over 376 translation projects, with over 1060 indigenous translators beavering away, verse by verse, translating God’s Word! We give thanks to God for this growth.
- Additional Advisors: We also give thanks to God that the UK office has received additional help during the last year, much of it in a voluntary capacity. We gained a new board member (Brent Mahoney), and ‘signed up’ a couple of board advisors! We’ve also blessed to have a friendly development consultant, and an accounting firm who have enabled us to get our accounts to the Charity Commission on time!
- Fun with Facebook! This might seem an odd one for someone who is not the world’s biggest social media fan, but again it is a sign of our growth! Until now the UK office didn’t have the capacity to run our Facebook page, and so we had to ask the US office to run it for us. Last October we were able to contract someone here in the UK to do that for us – so we’re now able to give more of a UK perspective on the work.
In all of these areas we give thanks to God for the growth that we’ve seen in the last year, and for His generous provision. We’re able to echo the words of Psalm 126:3 – “The Lord has done great things for us, and we are filled with joy”.
Diary dates for UK Director in Feb/Mar:
5/6 Feb: Bedford. Meeting with TWFTW USA Director of Finance
9th Feb: Hanham Baptist, Bristol (am)
9th Feb: TWFTW Presentation at Corsham Baptist (pm)
16th Feb: Oak Hall Church, Caterham, Surrey (am & pm)
23rd Feb: Send Evangelical Church, near Woking, Surrey (am)
2nd Mar: Orrell Park Baptist, Liverpool (am & pm)
6th Mar: Oxford. Meeting with Mission Mutual/ETEN representative
8-15 Mar: Bible teaching on Oak Hall skiing trip, Andorra
17-22 Mar: TWFTW Europe Conference in Albania
Praise & Prayer Points:
- Due to our growth as a support base, we are now advertising for a part-time finance manager to join our UK team. Please pray that the process would be as smooth as it can be, and that God would guide us to the right person. Enquiries to admin-uk@twftw.org
- Please pray for our translating team in Goma, DRC Congo: One of our team members told us: “The situation in Goma is terrible. We have been living under fighting for the last week, and as well as shootings and explosions, we lack electricity, water and internet. The war has destroyed power lines. This will have a negative impact on the flow of translation activities in Goma. We need prayers since our military governor was shot dead on the battlefield. Now we are living under terror, and we have been warned to stay in our homes. All hospitals are over their capacities and there are a lot of injured soldiers and civilians who need medical attention. We trust that God will protect us“.
- The next few months are busy on the preaching front! I’m preaching 11 times, with another two opportunities to ‘present’ the work of TWFTW at churches. Please pray for safety on the roads and in the air, for clarity as I preach and present, and for our support base to continue to grow.
- Thank you to those who prayed for my trip to South Africa in early Dec for management meetings. All went well and I absolutely felt very much uplifted! A new financial policy was approved, as were the 2025 budgets for over 50 TWFTW entities!