2008 Year End Celebration

Every year JAARS celebrates the Bibles that have been completed during the year with a “Year End Celebration”. The photos above display some of the Bibles. We thought it would be interesting to publish the list for you to view (below). It is humbling to look at the Word of God in many different heart languages. What an accomplishment on the part of many dedicated to the work of Bible translation. We are honored and humbled to use our skills to support this great task.

We have met several translators and language consultants that have been a part of these translations. We hear the stories of people changed by hearing the Word of God in their heart language for the first time. Then we hear the gradual transformation that takes place in an entire culture as they learn to apply the Scriptures in daily life. These translations could not take place without the JAARS Center and its support work for Wycliffe.

In any given book there is usually a list of people who contributed a great part to its publication. You probably skip this part but if you’re the type who reads ‘cover to cover’ no doubt you’ve read through the list. The author also adds another clause that thanks “many that could not be named”. The author will say, "without all these people the book could not have been written". The same is true for Bible translation. When you read through the list of Bibles below, if the translator could give a list of names to thank, your name would be there.

We can never express enough thanks to all who support us in this work. Your prayers, encouraging words, and financial gifts made this possible. We hope the list serves as a reminder that you made a difference; you made it possible for many people to have the Word of God in their heart language for the first time, for now and generations to come. This is not just about Mike and Kathy Smith. This is about you, partnering with us, to complete the work of Bible translation.

May you be blessed this coming year.
Mike & Kathy Smith

List of New Testaments, Bibles and scripture portions translated during fiscal year 2008

Note: This is just a partial list. These are representative of the 70+ that were published and dedicated this year.

Africa
Mofu-Gudur – Cameroon – New Testament
Farefare – Ghana -- Entire Bible
Moba / Ben – Togo – New Testament

Americas
Kaxinawa – Brazil – NT
Cakchiquel sur Central – Guatemala – NT
Ixil de Nebaj – Guatemala – NT
Mixteco Tezoatlan – Mexico – NT
Zapateco de Rincon – Mexico – NT
Ticunna – Peru – OT Selections
Ma’heonemoxe’estooo – Cheyenne – USA – NT

Asia
Kupang – Indonesia – NT
Isnag – Philippines – NT with Genesis and Exodus
Kagayanen – Philippines – NT and Genesis
Tboli – Philippines – Bible

Pacific
Kriol – Australia – Bible
Auhelewa – Papua New Guinea – NT
Ipili – Papua New Guinea –NT
Kuman – Papua New Guinea – NT
Ramoaaina – Papua New Guinea – NT
Tabo, Fly River – Papua New Guinea – NT
Natqgu – Solomon Islands – NT, Ruth and Psalms
Pijin – Solomon Islands – BibleWala – Solomon Islands – NT
North Tanna – Vanuatu -- NT

WE PRESS ON...............

Greetings everyone,

As we move forward with challenge and blessing at JAARS, many of you prayed for more staff in the auto shop. We have been blessed with some answers. Jim Patterson arrived at JAARS after serving a number of years in the Philippines and Columbia, South America. It was determined that he would fill the role as an office manager. With Jim answering the phones, scheduling, and processing the paperwork, Mike has been able to devote more of his time to training those serving here at JAARS and those headed overseas. Jim occasionally is able to assist Mike in the shop as well.

Jim and Mary Alice Patterson

If ever there was a great partner for Mike it would be Jim. They balance each other in many ways and share the same vision for Bible translators’ land transportation needs. Both are passionate in their work and quality standards. As big as their work load is, they still find time to share a few laughs and have some fun.

Jim and Mike

Another answer to prayer brought us Bryan Frye, a graduate of diesel school. Bryan spent a good deal of this year tutoring under Mike’s supervision. Working side by side with Mike, he completed preparation for his first overseas assignment in Papua New Guinea. He and his wife are now in Papua New Guinea, serving at the SIL Center there.Brian Frey


Brian and Susan Frey. Susan is a translator, serving in Papua New Guinea as a language consultant.

Recently Mike completed a technical evaluation of another person who will be joining Wycliffe. He too will be required to spend a time of training at the auto shop just as Bryan did.

Several years ago another young man worked with Mike at the shop, early in our arrival here. Josh Mills felt the call to serve missions in the role of mechanic. Josh has completed auto mechanic school and is beginning his application with Wycliffe. We will write about him in another update but his journey will result in providing another qualified mechanic to serve in Bible translation.

This training has a dual purpose. It meets the needs of Wycliffe members to have reliable transportation during their assignments here. Second, it allows a graduate mechanic to receive further training in the specific skills needed to function in an overseas environment.


A recent challenge for Mike and the guys. Oil + Antifreeze = This Stuff

With Bryan and Jim both arriving, the JAARS Automotive Department has been extremely busy this entire year. Since Bryan left, things have not slowed down. We are thankful that Jim will be here long term. He and our son, Sean, help Mike keep things going. Sean combines college at a local community college with his work at JAARS. Sean shows great mechanical ability like Mike. He has chosen Computer Science as his major. But who knows? Perhaps he will end up combining both to serve in missions.

As we all know, the global economy is in a muddle right now. But we know God is our ultimate provider and will be faithful to His work. To our financial supporters, we say a big thank you for your faithfulness during this time of economic uncertainty. May the Lord bless you with the peace that comes from knowing that He is your provider as you share your generosity with us.

To our prayer partners, we thank you. As you can see God is answering your prayers. Qualified mechanics are so needed and God has given us the ability to prepare them for overseas service. Pray that God will bring us more. Continue to pray for our physical strength and spiritual strength, to keep our eyes focused on Christ and rest in Him with His peace that passes all understanding.

Serving together,

Mike & Kathy

What Exactly Do You Do?

Dear Family and Friends,

Welcome to our new blog! It’s taken some time to learn but we are giving it a try. Our purpose is to help you read our updates without a lot of the ‘computer congestion’ that takes place in email. Using this will allow more photos in our updates. Let us know what you think. Our first topic will be a bit lengthy but hang in there! Future updates will be more brief.

The first topic we’d like to address is a refresher in what we do here at the JAARS Center. For review, JAARS is an organization that falls within the Wycliffe Bible Translator’s family of organizations. Wycliffe’s mission is to translate God’s Word into every language in the world; many do not even have a written alphabet. Our translators are trained at SIL in Dallas, Texas. The Graduate Institute of Applied Linguistics is there. "SIL" originally stood for the Summer Institute of Linguistics. Wycliffe's founder, Cameron Townsend, held the first classes in the summer. The name has stood.

Explore the weblinks on the sidebar for more detailed information.

To do Bible translation effectively, translators need to live with people groups. They have a variety of needs to function in this environment such as housing, computers, transportation, etc. JAARS provides this much needed technical and logistical support. We fall in the category of transportion, specifically land transportation.

When we mention the word “missionary” there is probably a particular image that comes to mind. Maybe we don’t quite fit that image. To explain the complex role we play we’re going to give you an example that would be easy to understand.

To get an idea of the job just take a look at the families, say, in your church. Maybe you have 50, 100, perhaps 400 or even more. Imagine two or three (at the most) mechanics keeping all their vehicles running. Here at JAARS we have 600 families at any given time. They are here for a variety of reasons. Their lives always include long road trips. Reliable transportation is a necessity.

Imagine, too, the families in your church have older model cars, because it just isn’t practical to purchase newer vehicles. This may be due to lack of funds or a furlough spent here in the U.S. Does this help you see the picture? Mike and his mechanics do their best to keep 600 families on the road. Plus, there are the 30 vehicles the JAARS Center uses for various tasks.

Now, imagine you are serving as a mechanic overseas in a remote location. The vehicles you work on are not like American cars. They have different, what we call, ‘specs’. They require different manuals and quite a bit of research. Sometimes you have to place a call to the JAARS Auto Shop and talk to Mike via computer or telephone. You may send an email with photos attached. Your parts place may be a several hour drive so you need to make sure you get the exact information you need.

Another facet of the job may require a trip to an SIL Center overseas. Mike has made two trips thus far; Ethiopia and the Philippines. These trips enabled him to experience firsthand the obstacles faced by mechanics overseas. He was able to provide valuable updated training. The training involved translators, several of whom were women. He recently heard that these women are now doing their own maintenance checks under the hood of their vehicles before traveling back to their assignment. This is a result of the training they received from Mike.

These are just a few details but we hope this gives you an idea of what the ministry is like here. It is a busy and full life. There are many Wycliffe translators right here at JAARS working on many language projects via computer and we get to see the progress of Bible translation firsthand. It is a complex and very interesting task and we get to see translation take place with the latest technology JAARS has developed. In our daily living we mix with those who are on the front lines as well as others in support roles such as ours. It is a blessing to see our part in this wonderful process and the eternal hope given to those who have received the Word of God in their own language.

Regarding Ethiopia we may have an answer to prayer for someone to go there long term. There is a mechanic here that served long term in Kenya and is interested in returning to Africa. Mike suggested the need in Ethiopia and he is interested. With his experience in African culture he would be a great choice to go. We will keep you posted on this. This mechanic would like Mike to write updated training manuals before he goes. Pray God provides Mike with the time to do this.

The Chad trip was cancelled this year due to political unrest and an evacuation of the SIL Center there. The situation is still unsettled. We have a pdf file from a colleague we can email to you if you would like more information on that. The SIL Center there continues to be in the midst of much political turmoil.

Pray for us about a trip to Papua New Guinea in the future. The SIL Center at Ukarumpa is Wycliffe’s largest overseas center. The automotive shop there is quite large and they could use some updated training.

We welcome any comments regarding this blog (use the link to our email for this) and we’d like to end with a question. How many languages do you think are currently spoken in the world? Let us know if you have an idea. Go ahead and guess. You might be surprised! We'll have the answer in our next post.