Here is our release this month on work being done in Cameroon.
Thanks!
Donn Hallman
http://www.wycliffeassociates.org/news/pressdetail.asp?id=643
Wycliffe Associates Providing Support to Cameroon Bible Translators Living in the Shadow of Extremist Violence
(Orlando, Florida, USA)—In northern Cameroon, where the threat of attack by extremists is very real, Wycliffe Associates is supporting indigenous Bible translators who live and work in a climate of fear and violence.
Because of danger and instability in one area of the region, the work of Bible translation was slowed down. The government had closed roads in the area, and as a result, some translators had to pass through as many as seven checkpoints to reach the language groups with which they work.
Yet despite the obstacles, Wycliffe Associates is continuing to support Bible translation efforts in northern Cameroon for more than 3 million people who speak more than 100 languages.
“Cameroon is on the front lines in the mission to advance the gospel in Africa, and the dangers are real,” says Bruce Smith, president and CEO of Wycliffe Associates. “Extremists threaten to sweep in from the north at any time. Christian communities face challenges to their faith without the Scriptures in their heart language.”
Wycliffe Associates is providing assistance by forming relationships with communities in spiritual need; helping to direct translation efforts; training local translators to use MAST (Mobilized Assistance Supporting Translation), which gathers groups of national translators together to work in parallel—and accomplish Bible translation faster than ever before; and by translating God’s Word in areas where extreme persecution of Christians is taking place.
Additionally, Wycliffe Associates has installed Bible Translation Acceleration Kits for a number of translators. The kits include a laptop computer, satellite communication terminal, solar panel, battery, and power supply, so that Bible translators can work safely, remotely, and communicate with translation consultants thousands of miles away.
Wycliffe Associates is currently raising $100,000 for a regional translation and training center in Northern Cameroon, where translators are at the greatest risk of violence from extremists.
“In a climate of great fear and violence, translators are risking their lives to share God’s Word,” says Smith. “The need is pressing . . . as our window of opportunity for this work may close at any time.”
About Wycliffe Associates
Organized in 1967 by friends of Bible translators, Wycliffe Associates empowers national Bible translators to provide God’s Word in their own language, partners with the local church to direct and guard translation work, harnessing their passion and desire for God’s Word, and engages people from all around the world to provide resources, technology, training, and support for Bible translation.
Because millions of people around the world still wait to read the Scriptures in the language of their heart, Wycliffe Associates is working as quickly as it can to see every verse of God’s Word translated into every tongue to speak to every heart. Last year, 2,544 Wycliffe Associates team members worked to speed Bible translations in 73 countries.
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