Committing to Faithful Men

Marina and I have been waiting anxiously to return to West Africa to visit the Loron people, but the complications of Covid have made that very difficult. We thank the Lord that a door has now opened for us to make a two-week trip to Ivory Coast. We’re scheduled to leave Northern Ireland on Friday morning (Nov 19). We are currently working our way through a maze of travel forms, Covid tests, declarations and a myriad of other arrangements as we comply with the regulations of the four different countries in which we will be travelling. Red Zone Due to ongoing terrorist attacks in the region in which our village is located we will be unable to visit there at this time. So, we have invited a group of Loron church leaders to meet us in Ivory Coast’s economic capital, Abidjan, for fellowship, Bible teaching (with a focus on 2 Timothy) and prayer. We plan to pass on to them three suitcases of Bible teaching materials, commentaries and Scripture portions that we have developed in the Loron language during the past 18 months of Covid lockdown. Future Plans We would appreciate your prayers as we travel to Ivory Coast, and as we work on strategy with the leaders. The northern region would appear to be off-limits for us for the foreseeable future, so we need to improve our lines of communication through technology with the Loron leaders in order to continue our involvement with them. With the increasing threat from extremists in the Loron region, it is a challenging time for all the believers. Please pray for their safety and protection from wicked men. Pray that we will be a help and encouragement to them during our visit. We are so thankful, despite some health issues over recent months, for this opportunity to visit the work. Please pray that we will remain healthy during the trip.

Sight without vision

Sight without vision

Larry Johnson was one of many special people we met when we went through our Bible and missionary training with New Tribes Mission forty years ago. He had a loving and generous spirit, and was a wonderful encourager.

All the end of classes each day, (at the NTM language institute that we attended in Missouri, USA), he would make the announcements. Larry was almost blind, so he had to hold his notes right up to his face in order to see them.

One day, after bringing us up-to-date with current events on campus, he led the singing of the little chorus:

    Lord give a vision, burning within,

    Of sinners dying, lost in their sin.

    We’ve a commission, Jesus to preach.

    I’ll do my part, Lord, others to reach.

It was a poignant moment, and I’m certain he approved the words of Helen Keller, who said: The only thing worse than being blind is having sight but no vision!

Spot the difference!

A lot of Christians and churches can see, but they have no vision.

They may know that 2,500 tribes around the world have never once heard the Gospel in their own language, or that billions of people have never heard the good news of Christ in any language, yet they remain unmoved and apathetic. Transient, materialistic needs immediately receive their undivided attention, while eternal issues are ignored and dismissed.

Sight is a function of the eyes, but vision is a function of the heart and the mind. Sight is bound by time and distance; vision is bound only by the limitations of our perception of God, and who He is, and what He has done for us through His Son.

God has given His children the responsibility of going into all the world and preaching the gospel to every creature, but we have become so caught up in local, passing things that we find every excuse in the book to ignore His clear command to go: ‘to the regions beyond’; ‘to the ends of the earth’; ‘into all the world’; or to the places where ‘Christ has not been named’.

Sight is seeing only what is right in front of us. But vision looks beyond all the distractions and the mundane and sees how God wants us to worship Him, and serve Him, and bring glory to His name.

‘Declare His glory among the heathen, His wonders among all people!’ the psalmist heralds forth, but we are far too engrossed in all our activities and busyness to hear it.

We live in an age when we can witness the carnage and cruelty on the other side of the world, in real time, and we reckon things are hopeless, but vision allows us to see beyond, and to view people for whom Christ died.

Grasshoppers in their sight!

Sight sees things as they are on the surface but vision sees deeper. It sees things as they really are, or as they could be. The 10 spies in Canaan saw only obstacles, and became downcast and fearful. They could see, but they were blind to the promises and power of God. Joshua and Caleb, on the other hand, had a clear vision of what God could and would do, and stepped out with purpose and with a focus on faith.

CS Lewis once said: every leaf of the New Testament rustles with an expectation of eternity. Sadly, many believers are so engrossed with this digital age that submission to the Word of God and living for eternal values counts for very little.

Sight refers to what our eyes capture, but our vision reveals whether or not our hearts have been captivated by an awesome God who reigns over heaven and earth.

May the Lord give us a vision, burning deep within. And may we respond in obedience and faith to His command and call to proclaim to the lost the unsearchable riches of Christ.

New Website in the Loron Language

The name of the new website for the Loron people is Grace and Truth and is based on verses from John's gospel (1.14 & 17). 

The website address is zawgiiye.com - in English: grace.com. The banner on top has the words Zawgiiye and Kparyay - Grace and Truth.

Click here for more information: New Loron Website

Casting Bread and Sowing Seed

Some very encouraging things have been happening in the Loron work,  especially in Burkina Faso and on social media. Click on this link for more

Open Doors

The work among the Loron and Lobi people groups is entering a new phase. This month, evangelism outreach will be taking place in two new Lobi villages where some folks have expressed an interest in hearing the Gospel. 

Pray for the Loron Bible teachers as they engage with village leaders, and as they endeavour to communicate the love of Christ to those who have never heard. 

The Loron and Lobi peoples have a very similar culture, but their languages are completely different. A number of Loron believers have Lobi and Loron parents, so there are openings to bring the Gospel to new families and locations. 

The Lobi are a large ethnic group of around 180,000 people scattered over three countries: Ivory Coast, Burkina Faso and Ghana. We praise the Lord for the expanding work among the Lobi people. 

Donald, the lead Loron Bible translator, together with the other members of the translation team, continue to make good progress on the Loron New Testament project. 

There are numerous steps in Bible translation, and it’s encouraging to have a large and enthusiastic team involved. 

Pray especially for Donald, Samuel, Joel, Gerard and Victor as they methodically work with others through the various steps. 

The book of 2 Corinthians has gone through all the necessary checks and is now ready to print. The team is currently preparing for the final verification on the books of Philippians, Colossians, and 1&2 Thessalonians. The check with a Bible translation consultant is scheduled to take place in June in Burkina Faso. 

Our daughter, Laura, and her kids helped us last week to put together some copies of Galatians and Ephesians in the Loron language. We hope to bring these, along with other Scripture and literacy materials, out to Ivory Coast later on in the year. 

Both Marina and I have received the first part of our Covid vaccination. We are due the second part in May. We keep busy with developing Bible teaching and literacy materials, as well as being involved in various aspects of the Bible translation checking processes via an internet-based translation software programme. 

We are in regular contact by phone, email, and WhatsApp with the believers in Ivory Coast. Despite the distance, we still feel very much part of what the Lord continues to do among the Loron people.

Thirty Five Years in West Africa

 

Thirty five years ago, just before noon US Eastern Time on January 28, the space shuttle Challenger exploded 73 seconds after takeoff from Cape Canaveral, Florida.

At that same moment, Marina and I, and our children, Peter (6), Laura (3) and Kyle (6 months) were on an Egypt Air Airbus A300, flying over the Mediterranean Sea on the first leg of our very first journey to Ivory Coast, West Africa.

We spent that first night in Africa sleeping on a rickety old bed at Cairo airport, Egypt. The following day we continued our trip south, along the River Nile and across the Sahara desert, to Ivory Coast.

Looking back over the past 35 years, we praise the Lord for His faithfulness to us as we have lived in three different countries in West Africa and ministered in several others across the continent. We thank Him for His care, and for all that we have witnessed as He builds His church among many African people groups.

We are disappointed that we cannot be in Ivory Coast at this time, but we are thankful for several means of communication that enable us to continue to be actively involved in various aspects of the work among the Loron people.

The Loron Bible translation team recently had a successful check on the book of 2 Corinthians. They are now preparing for another check in June when they hope to get four of Paul’s shorter epistles verified and ready for printing.

Crazy Year

2020 may have been a crazy year, but the work among the Loron people continues to move ahead!

We had a wonderful time among the Loron in our Ivory Coast village from January to March of this year. We are so thankful for the things we were able to accomplish during that visit which, unknown to us at the time, helped prepare for the rest of the year, when we could not be there in person.

Despite the problems with Covid, a violently disputed presidential election, and the growing threat of Islamic terrorism in Ivory Coast, we thank the Lord that the work among the Loron people is growing and maturing.

Here’s a brief summary of some of the main events…

Bible Translation The books of Galatians and Ephesians in the Loron language were completed in March, and copies were printed and distributed among the believers. Lord willing, the Bible translation team will travel to Burkina Faso in January, 2021 to do the final check on 2 Corinthians with a Bible translation consultant.

Evangelism Loron evangelists and Bible teachers continue to be engaged in Gospel outreach to unreached areas. Pray especially for the village of Keero where the people are from the Lobi ethnic group, so the message has to be translated into their language.

Literacy During our time in the village earlier on in the year, Marina had another training week with a large group of literacy teachers. They returned to their villages with new or updated teaching courses, and several newly-made blackboards.

Please pray for literacy classes as they continue in 18 locations throughout the region. Marina is developing new books and teaching materials for the literacy course while we are here in NI.

Loron Church Leadership In September, two of our African missionary colleagues travelled many miles to our village to give a group of Loron church leaders some Bible and missionary training. We are so thankful for their involvement and interest in the growth and welfare of the Loron church. We keep in regular contact with the Loron believers by phone, emails, and, with some, by Facebook!

Bible commentaries in the Loron language During our time in Northern Ireland, I have been working on writing commentaries in the Loron language for the books of Galatians and Ephesians. The one for Ephesians has already been printed, and we’re hoping to complete the one on Galatians sometime early in the New Year.

Security We are currently unable to return to our village in Ivory Coast because of the growing threat of violent attacks and kidnapping of foreign citizens by Islamic terrorists. The British and French embassies have placed our village in their Red Zones, and the Ivorian authorities have put the region under military control.

God’s faithfulness Despite the obstacles of a rampant pandemic, political instability, and the threat from extreme jihadists, the Lord’s work continues to go forward in Ivory Coast. Christ is building His church, and nothing is ever going to stop it.

Loron Legacy Photos

Video: Loron Folks 1985-2010

Gaeltacht Ireland

Marina and I spent five wonderful days exploring three counties of western Ireland which have Irish-speaking communities: Mayo, Galway and Sligo. 

We didn't actually hear much Irish spoken, but the scenery was stunning.

Hope you like the photos.

New Commentary for Ephesians

We have just received 100 copies of a new 250-page commentary on the book of Ephesians in the Loron language.

It has taken years of work to get to this point, and we are thrilled that the Loron Bible teachers now have another resource to help them as they teach biblical truth to the Loron people. We are trusting that the Lord will use this effort to help the Loron believers grow and mature in their walk with Him.

The book is entitled 'The unsearchable riches of Christ', taken from Ephesians 3.8, where Paul says: unto me, who am less than the least of all saints, is this grace given, that I should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ.

We are hoping to be able to make a trip to Ivory Coast in a couple of months to deliver these books, along with lots of other Bible and literacy materials that we have been developing.

Thank you for your prayers for this project. We are now working on a commentary for the book of Galatians.