The time between finishing up my last day of recruitment work at the Wycliffe Calgary Office and the beginning of summer training at the Canada Institute of Linguistics has been packed with PD (prayer and financial support raising) for Lauren and me! One of the events that I am especially excited to be a part of is a radio program that will occur this coming Sunday at 7pm! While I have never been on the radio before, I am looking forward to the hour-long broadcast where I will be able to share about the work that Lauren and I will be doing, as well as the vision of Wycliffe as a whole! It is a great opportunity to promote the work of Bible translation and so if you are in Manitoba near Portage La Prairie at 7pm on Sunday, May 31st, tune into CFRY 920 AM & CFRY 93.1 FM if you would like to hear me speak.
Finally, I wanted to share a neat story that occurred recently when I was sharing about my life and mission at a small, rural church near where I grew up in Manitoba. I spoke with many different people after the service, but one interaction stood out the most to me. A lady was talking to me and saying how much she appreciated me coming out and sharing about Wycliffe, and then she said, “When I’m supporting you and your wife, I don’t feel like I’m supporting missionaries.” That took me aback and I started thinking, “what does she means she doesn’t feel like she’s supporting missionaries? How are we not missionaries? We work for a Bible translation organization and we are moving to Tanzania!” Luckily before I had a chance to say anything back to her, she continued. She said, “I don’t feel like I’m just supporting missionaries. I feel like I’m supporting people being able to receive the Word of God. I feel like I’m supporting the Gospel reaching the ends of the earth.” I was stunned and humbled. What a great God we serve that we get the privilege of helping the Gospel reach the ends of the earth!
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AuthorChristopher and Lauren Merke have joined Wycliffe to help fulfill the goal of seeing the scriptures translated into every language of the world! Christopher and Lauren live and work in Mbeya, Tanzania doing linguistic, language survey and vernacular media work. As a linguist, it will be Lauren’s responsibility to analyze and evaluate the linguistic and cultural data that is collected by language survey workers. Her role is very important because it speeds up the Bible translation process and makes translators for effective, ensuring the Good News of Jesus Christ reaches people as quickly as possible. Christopher will be fulfilling two roles as a language surveyor and as a vernacular media technician. As a language surveyor, Christopher travels to remote villages in order to gather linguistic and cultural data about various people groups and language groups. This is critical information, as it lays the foundation for Bible translation work through seeking answers to critical questions in the first stages of the Bible translation process. As a vernacular media technician, Christopher’s role will be to help translate various materials, such as the Jesus film and Christian radio programs, into other languages in Tanzania to ensure that the Gospel reaches as many people as possible. Christopher and Lauren are thrilled to be able to use the gifts that God has given them and would like for you to prayerfully consider partnering with them in this journey! Archives
September 2016
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