Archive for the ‘Features’ Category

God Speaks Cuvok

Thursday, June 10th, 2010

Sam Luscombe reports on the ongoing legacy of SGM Lifewords’ Power to Save programme, as the Cuvok people of Cameroon celebrate their first encounter with the Bible’s life words in their own language.

Eight years ago, I sat in the gloom of an African dusk, and listened as a Nigerian pastor shared his passion for God’s Word, his unswerving belief in its transformative power, and his heart for his people. Like millions of others around the world, Pastor Samuel was still waiting to receive the first words of scripture in his mother tongue.

It was an experience which touched me profoundly, and which has stayed with me ever since. So I’m always thrilled to hear about SGM Lifewords’ ongoing contribution to the task of making the Bible available to people like Pastor Samuel, who hunger and thirst to receive these life giving words in their own language. The SGM Lifewords global family is passionate about helping people to engage with and be transformed by the Bible’s life words: words for every human being on the planet, whatever language they speak. It’s this passion which has led to SGM Lifewords’ long partnership with Wycliffe/SIL. Joint initiatives, including Power to Save and Pioneer, have all been aimed at making God’s Word available in languages where access to the Bible is limited or nonexistent.

Both Power to Save and Pioneer provided translators with portions of Scripture which were easy to translate, in a format which could be quickly and economically reproduced. Simple sentence structures ensured their suitability as literacy aids. Illustrations were deliberately multicultural, and designed to be easy on the eye for those unfamiliar with printed visuals. SGM Lifewords has partnered with hundreds of Wycliffe translators around the world to typeset manuscripts, and to organise and fund printing.

As the needs of translation teams and the nature of Bible translation have evolved, SGM Lifewords’ role in these initiatives has changed. We’re no longer directly involved in the production of Power to Save and Pioneer materials. But we continue to make the manuscripts available, and translation teams can now adapt and print the booklets for themselves. Both Power to Save and Pioneer are still in use around the world – and it’s exciting to hear about the lasting legacy of these projects, and the difference “God’s Word in my language” can make.

The Cuvok people of northern Cameroon received God’s Word in their language for the first time this year as a result of that legacy. Ken Hollingsworth, a Wycliffe translator based in Cameroon, shares their story:

“The Cuvok have been part of the Wycliffe Bibleless People’s Prayer Project since at least 1987. Since that time, people around the world have been faithfully praying that God would raise up translators for the Cuvok people and give them his Word.

“A young man from a different language group in Cameroon had a burden for the Cuvok. He studied linguistics at Yaounde University and did a linguistic analysis of the Cuvok language, with the aim of preparing the way for Bible translation in the future. At about the same time, a Cuvok evangelist was taking part in a practical linguistics course for those interested in beginning a Bible translation project. With the support of the Cameroon Association for Bible Translation and Literacy (CABTAL), they began to work together to establish an alphabet and writing system for the Cuvok language. Teachers were trained and literacy classes established. But still the wait for God’s Word in Cuvok continued.

“Eventually, a translation team was identified. According to the plan outlined with CABTAL, they were to start work on the gospel of Luke, rather than the shorter gospel of Mark. But the people were eagerly waiting for Scripture. How could we ensure that they received God’s Word in their language as soon as possible?

“The Power to Save materials provided the perfect solution. I suggested that the team focus on the Luke portions contained in Jesus Christ Saviour of the World. Our goal was to have the booklets ready in time for Christmas, so that the Cuvok could read the nativity story in their own language for the first time. Due to a delay by the printer, they only received it shortly afterwards, but it was received with great joy! Finally, God speaks Cuvok through Power to Save. At last, the Cuvok people can encounter the scriptures in their  heart language.”

Stories like this one never cease to touch my heart. Imagine the impact of reading the Christmas story for the very first time in your own language! And what a privilege for us to be able to play even a small part in making that possible. Please give thanks with us for the ongoing impact of Power to Save and Pioneer. And pray that as the next chapter in this story continues to unfold, many more people will encounter the Bible’s life words in their own language for the first time.

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Where blossoms grow

Monday, February 1st, 2010

21st century India is a land of infinite layers. There are sprawling “mega cities”, where an ever-growing array of multinational companies, call centres, and high-technology firms rub shoulders with teeming slums that occupy every inch of urban wasteland. Meanwhile, traditional ways of life continue untouched in rural villages. There are temples, cinemas, politics, schools … and cricket. And everywhere the age-old struggle between poverty and potential rages on. New visitors find the sheer diversity “overwhelming”.

11 million slumdogs
India has another layer. One that the film Slumdog Millionaire highlighted – though for most real-life slumdogs there is no happy ending. India is home to the world’s largest population of street children. Conservative estimates put the figure at 11 million, but the number is likely to be far higher. Walk the crowded streets of Mumbai, Kolkata or Delhi, and you will meet them – begging, singing, performing for loose change; selling flowers, vegetables, fruit. They are rag-picking, working at tea stalls, playing porter at the railway stations, shining shoes. And they are always prey to exploitation, malnutrition, harassment, abuse.

400,000 children trafficked in one year
The circumstances that trap children in poverty and danger are as simple as accident of birth, caste, and location, and as complex as global capitalism and our insatiable appetite for cheap goods made from cheap labour. In India, as across South Asia, trafficking of children (and their parents) is a significant problem. According to UN sources, at least 400,000 children in India were victims of sex-trafficking in 2004 alone.

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Ten years on…

Monday, January 18th, 2010

I’ve known Carla* since she was eight years old. Now eighteen, she’s a radiant young woman, excitedly making preparations for her forthcoming wedding. A committed Christian, she loves children and teaches in the children’s ministry of her church. It’s hard to imagine that she’s ever had a care in the world.

But ten years ago, Carla was living on the streets, begging for food and loose change from passers-by. Like so many street children, she had suffered sexual abuse. Completely lacking self-worth, she compared herself to an armadillo in a hole that stayed hidden away to avoid being seen. Through Pavement Project, our stories collided.

It’s been ten years now since Pavement Project first hit the streets. This unique Bible-based counselling process has equipped hundreds of street workers with the ability to sow the seeds of hope, possibility and change into the lives of thousands of the world’s most vulnerable children.

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Kenya – a perfect blend

Monday, September 14th, 2009

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“It was a blessed assurance to come across SGM Lifewords‘ Choose Life curriculum: the revolutionary spin of the wheel that marked a new stage in the life of our ministry.” George Thotho, Mathare CDC

The Mathare Community Development Centre offers informal schooling, health care and a feeding programme to children from one of the largest slums in Kenya. Dedicated staff have been running a health programme for a couple of years at the church-turned-educational- centre.

CL-pull-quote-1But when George Thotho, one of the directors, encountered Choose Life for the first time, he was passionate about the opportunity it provided for his staff to minister to the children’s spiritual needs as well. “You are inspired of God to capture this missing aspect of the ministry need at our Centre – the need of the soul!” he enthused. “It is a perfect blend. We can now care for the body, mind and soul of thousands of children in Nairobi.”

Driven by this passion for a perfect blend, George mobilised not only the teachers in the Mathare Centre, but teachers and social workers in neighbouring centres too, to attend a Choose Life Teacher Induction Workshop. Now, 75% of the teachers and social workers at the Centre have been trained, and are working hard to implement the curriculum.

On a follow-up visit to the Centre, Lifewords staff were able to see first-hand that this hard work is bearing fruit in the form of changed attitudes and changed behaviour amongst the children as they are equipped to internalise and act upon the biblical values of love, peace, justice, freedom, and concern for others.

CL-pull-quote-2Eunice, one of the girls attending the Centre, explained: “Although we have many problems, as we progress with the modules, one at a time, the more my eyes are opened and my faith sharpened. I feel like a damaged moti (car) which is being panel beaten and lathed back into shape.”

Choose Life is part of SGM Lifewords‘ work to help people and communities-in-need find life-transforming connections with the Bible. To find out more, visit www.sgmlifewords.com/transform.

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Shoes in the Sand

Monday, August 3rd, 2009

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Rochester Cathedral’s Canon Missioner Jean Kerr shares stories of prayer, hospitality and “shoes in the sand” from all walks of life, at one of the UK’s thriving visitor churches …

Interact has previously reported on SGM Lifewords’ Historic Churches Initiative, which helps churches connect visitors with the Bible’s life words – and ultimately with God – through specially-designed Bible resources as well as ideas for prayer installations and events. Rochester Cathedral in south-east England has used hundreds of copies of the Historic Churches Prayer Cards with visitors. We asked Canon Jean Kerr to tell us more about this unique mission field, and her own experience of God at work as tourists from all walks of life pass through the Cathedral.

“As Canon Missioner, my task is to continually encourage the cathedral to look outside of itself, and to make the most of the endless opportunities that we have over the year to engage with the visitors who come through the door. It’s never just a historical, architectural visit here, never. We try to make sure that the idea of spiritual pilgrimage runs through everything we do. We’re always looking for opportunities to point to something more, inviting people into living, Spirit life. It’s demanding and exciting work.

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Discipleship on the inside

Thursday, May 28th, 2009

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Liberté Harries is prison chaplain at HMP Manchester, (formally known as Strangeways), a Category A male high security prison. Here she shares the realities of life inside and explains why SGM Lifewords’ Inspire resources are an important tool in her ministry.

“There are no door handles in prison: it’s all keys. At every level the men I come into contact with do not have freedom. The reality of freedom is that we can do what we like, but we cannot choose the consequences of our actions. Many here are now all too aware of that. As chaplains we’re not here to judge – the courts have already done that – and of course, it’s not biblical to throw the first stone. My responsibility as a chaplain is to stand for God and truth in a dark and hostile environment.

Some people outside of prison say, “How can you work with these people!” I was told once that “the Bible says we shouldn’t speak to perverts”! How wrong we can be about God’s redeeming love, working in the lives of broken people to make them new creations. The fact that people are in prison, therefore their ‘taste’ in sin is illegal – and yours and mine isn’t – is, I’m sure, a totally irrelevant factor to God. I think chaplaincy ends up being the most realistic department of the prison service because we have a theological understanding of sin.

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Sow in tears, reap with joy

Tuesday, May 12th, 2009

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In previous editions of Interact, we’ve featured the launch of values-based curriculum Choose Life in Kenyan schools. In this article from the latest issue of our magazine, Sam Luscombe profiles the development of Choose Wisdom, a Bible curriculum designed to help children in the war-torn Democratic Republic of Congo encounter the Bible’s life words, and find their place in its story.

The troubled history of DRCongo is well documented. Years of civil war have left the country in humanitarian crisis. Millions have died from violence, disease and malnutrition. In some areas, it is estimated that two out of every three women have been raped. Children have been forcibly recruited into the militia. Hundreds of thousands have been forced to flee their homes. It is into this dark, seemingly hopeless situation that Bible translators Roger Van Otterloo and his wife Karen are longing to let the Bible’s life words speak, bearing the seeds of possibility and of change; paving the way for stories to be reframed, lives rebuilt, hope restored.
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Culture-Flux: The SLOT Art Festival

Sunday, January 11th, 2009

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To imagine a former Cistercian monastery might conjure thoughts of silence or solitude; of prayerful chapels and peaceful gardens. The imagination is less likely to picture punk rock, performance art, or body painting – but this is just what you find at Poland’s old Lubiaz monastery each July. For five days every summer, the doors to the 300-room, 17th century palace are thrown open to host the riotous re-mixing of faith and culture that is the SLOT Art Festival.

Art installations go up in the corridors and the sanctuary. Cafes take up residence in the cloisters. A theatre, stages, and a cinema are set up. Six thousand young people descend on the monastery and camp in the grounds, and a varied programme welcomes them to talks, debates, workshops, and performances.

The SLOT Art Festival is no ordinary festival, but its most distinctive features don’t stop at the unexpected location. This is a festival that is run by Christians, but it isn’t billed as a Christian festival. As one attendee described it, it is “a meeting point of Christian and secular culture, with a lot of significant consequences for both sides.” In its celebration of creativity, music, and expression, the programme crosses over into the mainstream and embraces the best of contemporary culture. This broad mixture of arts, politics, and spirituality means young people feel welcome, wherever they are on their own journey of faith.

slot-quote-1Another distinctive is that while most festival goers are there as consumers of the entertainment, the SLOT philosophy is one of participation. It’s not easy to be just a part of the audience. There are 130 different workshops to take part in, some serious, some fun. “It has an almost carnivalesque flavour,” says speaker Andrew Jones (aka TallSkinnyKiwi), “with people learning to juggle and paint … It creates an atmosphere of humility and learning.”

The festival organisers explain: “We wanted to present a space where young people could not only experience but also express a reality often forgotten in art: that of the Builder/Artist/Creator which is truly the essence of creativity and connects creative, open people.” Learning new skills, playing together and connecting creative people are all goals in themselves, but there is another purpose here too. “We want to help the created meet the Creator. Knowing that we are formed in his image it becomes clear that we also are called to create – music, paintings, sculptures, movement, history … and what’s more we are called to find joy in the process!”

The SGM Lifewords global family share the SLOT vision to connect people to God and to each other, and to engage creatively with our culture. That’s why SGM Lifewords in Poland has been working with the organisers, the Foundation of Local Creative Centres, to help promote the festival. Conversations about further cooperation and partnership are underway, and we look forward to seeing how SGM Lifewords can contribute to SLOT in 2009.

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Silent Witnesses

Saturday, January 10th, 2009

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The phrase ‘not in front of the children’ scarcely applies any more when so many young lives witness extreme violence and war, family disintegration, parents dying from disease and neglect, the effects of poverty and injustice. The children look on, their eyes wide, internalising what they see. Interpreting and making decisions about the way they will view the world. In a sometimes graphic article, Interact learns more about working with children who have seen real-life nightmares.

In Kenya there’s one group of children-at-risk whose numbers have grown faster than anyone could have predicted at the end of last year. The violence that followed last December’s elections left more than 1,300 people dead, caused 500,000 to flee their homes, and devastated farms in the fertile Rift Valley Province.

Disorientation and despair
Pavement Project partners Joy Divine have welcomed thirty internally displaced boys to their small home in Nairobi. The decision to reach out this hand of hope meant that their operation doubled in size in the space of a few weeks. But their intervention is allowing a whole class of Year 8 boys to complete a crucial year of their education. It has also given the children a level of holistic care they would be unlikely to receive in the large internal displacement camps: reliable food supplies, safe shelter, access to school, Christian fellowship, mentoring and the opportunity to work through what has happened.

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