January Prayer Letter

Carolyn's latest prayer letter is available as a PDF download here: January 2010 Prayer Letter.

November Prayer Letter

Carolyn's latest prayer letter is available as a PDF download here: November 2009 Prayer Letter.

Visit with Pastor Mattewos

On Sunday, September 6th, I visited the church I attended regularly in the late 1970s. At that time Pastor Mattewos was single, and few people attended the church. Mattewos spent many hours in prayer and many hours visiting in homes to build up trust so that he could effectively share the Good News about Jesus. In 1982, he married Etaferahu. Through the years they have remained among my closest friends. This photo was taken of them, their three sons, and me in their home, where I enjoyed a lovely meal and visit after the church service. That church has since added several extensions to the original building and has planted many other churches in Addis Ababa and throughout Ethiopia. Mattewos now administers educational centers in several places where needy youngsters are fed, cared for and educated. May God give each of us perseverance in prayer, relationships, and service so that we may enjoy the fruit He will bring in His time for His glory.

In Addis Ababa

Donna and I are still in Addis Ababa. Two of our Ethiopian colleagues plan to drive up here from Alduba (Banna area) September 15th to renew insurance on a pickup truck. They will take Donna and me, along with as much of our stuff as we can fit in, back to Alduba. It will be much less expensive for them and for us than if we hired a truck to take us down. Meanwhile Kafa translators Mattewos and Gezahegn, who lost their advisor to leukemia last year, have given me their translation of the book of Ruth to look over. I hope to meet with them toward the end of next week to do a consultant check on that book. Please pray for the Lord's enabling as this will be my first formal work as a consultant. I feel very inadequate. They have given me a back translation (i.e., they have written the Amharic equivalent of each word or phrase under the Kafa word or phrase). This helps me know what they have said, since I don't know the Kafa language.

God has been so gracious to me. I never would have chosen to stay in Addis Ababa for a whole month, but I see that it was His plan so that I could adjust to the time change and all the changes that have taken place in SIM Ethiopia since I was last here. Please continue to pray for a close walk with the Lord for me, and that I will be an open channel for the expression of His love. Thank youǃ

Banna Literacy

Praise:

1) David (Dawit), the very capable Banna Christian who used to be on our translation team, has been chosen as Literacy Coordinator for the Banna churches. Praise God for this. David is well-qualified for this responsibility, and it means that the church leaders’ confidence in him as a spiritual leader has been restored.

2) Gideon Kiongo, with Partners in Literacy Ministry based in Kenya, has helped us with tutor training several times. He will spend another 10 or 12 days in Alduba toward the end of October to help get a literacy program started.

3) A meeting has been scheduled for October 12th with the tutors and church leaders in order to finalize which people each tutor will teach to read. They will agree on times and locations for the lessons. Then each tutor will receive the needed primers, flashcards and gelboards.

Prayer Needs:

1) That the tutors will enthusiastically carry out their responsibilities, and that those whom they are to teach will be motivated and consistent in receiving the tutoring.

2) That the tutors will teach a few lessons prior to Gideon’s arrival so that they can ask for help with the questions that come up.

3) That David will faithfully carry out his responsibilities as Literacy Coordinator, maintaining a close walk with the Lord and good relationships with His people.

4) That all of the Banna church leaders will grow in their vision for a reading church – one whose members daily commune with God through prayer and Bible study in their heart language.

Hope for Literacy ... and Some Good Photos

The Banna Christians in Alduba are holding special meetings this weekend. One of the Banna church leaders who has a vision for Banna literacy will be sharing that vision with those who are gathered. Please pray that the Holy Spirit will speak through him, moving those who have received tutor training to truly want to teach others to read.

We missionaries realize that God has to put the desire and the burden in their hearts. IF the church as a whole is willing to choose and hire a literacy coordinator, Gideon, the Kenyan believer who has helped us with the tutor trainings, is willing to come and work with that person to get a Banna literacy program going. Since money is always an issue, we will help with the salary of the coordinator at least for the first year - and also provide what is needed for Gideon to come and work with him.

Prayer Requests:

1. That the reviewers (chosen and trained to read our Banna Scripture translation and offer suggestions for improvement) will actually have read the whole of Matthew's Gospel in Banna in time for these meetings;
2. That the reviewers will make good, clear suggestions for improvement of the translation;
3. That God will direct the church leaders in choosing the right person to be Banna literacy coordinator;
4. That the discussions about literacy at the meetings will make a difference and result in cooperation by those who have received tutor training;
5. That the timing and logistics for Gideon's coming will be worked out, and his family's needs will be met while he is away from them;
6. That any problems with the primers will become evident and be worked out so that the tools for teaching literacy are adequate.

Praise:
1. That there is still hope for Banna literacy, and that the team has not given up;
2. That Gideon is willing to come and stay for several months to help us get a literacy program going;
3. That some of the church leaders have a vision for Banna literacy;
4. That God is bigger than the obstacles;
5. That God has provided gel boards for the people to use in learning to read and write - and for the young people in Peoples Church of Fresno who raised the funds for them, and the people who gave;
6. That I am working on the CARLA draft of Revelation, the last book I need to do for the Banna New Testament. (But please remember that this is only a very rough draft. We still have several years of editing and revising to do before the New Testament can be published.)

I was feeling sad that I had forgotten to take my camera on my last trip to Ethiopia, but a friend directed me to a website that has much better pictures of the people groups I work among than I could take. There are some good photos of wild animals, too. Check it out at http://www.gabrielopenshaw.com/EthiopiaMain.html

Off to Ethiopia

Praise:

1) FOR GOD'S PROVISION: Tickets are in hand for my travel to Ethiopia March 1st. Donna, Ayke and Getu will come to Addis Ababa from Alduba (Banna area) so that we can check our translation of Matthew and 1 Corinthians with Consultant Mary Breeze.

2) FOR HELPFUL FRIENDS: Hans Schaumberger, a Wycliffe missionary from Germany, has agreed to train Ayke and me in using the program "Adapt It". We will use the CARLA drafts I've done as our source texts, and "Adapt It" will help us get an even better (more idiomatic) draft that will be easier for Getu and Ayke to revise.

Gideon Kiongo, with Literacy Evangelism Fellowship in Kenya, was in Alduba last week to lead another training using our primers with the new spelling. Now we have several Banna people who are equipped to teach others to read using the primers.

The young people in Peoples Church of Fresno have raised enough money to buy another 100 gel boards (These can be used by literacy students to practice writing. They can write and erase many times over.) and to help pay for printing of more primers.

So many of you continue to partner with me by your prayers and support. I thank God for each one of you.

Prayer Needs: (The first 4 are the same as for my last trip. The last one is more personal.)

1) FOR MY TRAVEL: Please pray for safety, and that I will be a good representative of Jesus Christ in all my travels and relationships with people.

2) FOR GOOD TEAMWORK: Please pray that I will be a blessing to the rest of the Banna translation team. Pray that we will communicate clearly with each other and enjoy the unity that only God's Spirit can give.

3) FOR MY MOTHER: Pray that she will sense God's presence and have all of her needs met.

4) FOR BANNA LITERACY: Please continue to pray for the Banna church leaders to have a vision for teaching their people to read in their heart language.

5) FOR MY SPIRITUAL GROWTH: Pray that I grow in faith so that I am responsible without being anxious, and that I walk in intimacy with the living God.

Update from Ethiopia

I am writing from Alduba, among the Banna people in Ethiopia. Heavy rain kept me from getting here on Saturday, Oct. 26th, as originally planned. I was able to fly to Jinka (the capital city of the area) on Sunday, Oct. 27th, and reached Alduba on Monday, Oct. 28th, despite another day of heavy rain. Praise God that the Banna had good crops this year after several years of inadequate rain.

Praise God for enabling Donna, Getu, Ayke and me to finish going through our translation of Matthew's Gospel together. We now have that ready for a consultant check, which is planned for February.

We are currently working on 2 Corinthians. It is more difficult for us than Matthew, but we are having some good discussions along the way. I count it a privilege whenever the opportunity comes for spiritual input into the lives of our Banna translators. They seem eager to grow in their understanding of God's Word. I am pleased that Ayke frequently refers to some of the translation principles he learned at the training course he attended in September-October.

Thank you for your continued prayers for our health, unity and Holy Spirit-inspired wisdom as we work on the translation of God's Word for the Banna people.

Off to Ethiopia

Praise:

1) FOR PROGRESS ON BANNA MATTHEW: The Banna translation team in Alduba and I have sent drafts of Matthew's Gospel back and forth twice, and this will be the first book we look at together when I arrive there October 28th (Lord willing).

2) FOR MY VISA: This was my first time to handle the acquiring of a visa without help from the SIM Travel Department. Praise God that all went smoothly and I have my visa and tickets in hand. (My travel dates were postponed a couple of weeks so the rest of the team could participate in a translation workshop on Genesis the last 2 weeks of October.)

3) FOR "ADAPT IT": Andy Black, who had trained me in using CARLA to get Banna drafts of Scripture from the Aari translation, suggested I use the CARLA-produced Banna draft as my "source text" instead of the Aari. This works much better and will be easier for the Banna translators to work with.

4) FOR GEL BOARDS: The young people in Peoples Church of Fresno raised money to buy 100 gel boards. These can be used by literacy students to practice writing. They can write and erase many times over.

Prayer Needs:

1) FOR MY TRAVEL: Please pray for safety, and that I will be a good representative of Jesus Christ in all my travels and relationships with people.

2) FOR GOOD TEAMWORK: Please pray that I will be a blessing to the rest of the Banna translation team. Pray that we will communicate clearly with each other and enjoy the unity that only God's Spirit can give.

3) FOR MY MOTHER: Her eyesight is not as good as it was last time I left her. Please pray that help will be there when she needs it. Pray that she will sense God's presence and find all of her needs are met.

4) FOR BANNA LITERACY: Please continue to pray for the Banna church leaders to have a vision for teaching their people to read in their heart language.

Thank you so much for partnering with me by your prayers.

Praise & Prayer Requests

Praise:

1) THE NEW BANNA PRIMERS ARE IN ALDUBA: I don't think they are being used yet because we need to do some training of those who will teach. (New spelling system requires new training.) The Gospel of Mark, a study book on Mark, and a hymnal are at the printing press ready to be printed in the new spelling. Once people have books to read in the new spelling, those who knew how to read the old spelling should be able to quickly get used to the new system.

2) CARLA DRAFTS: In the past month I sent CARLA drafts of Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians and Colossians to the translation team. They have sent me revisions of the CARLA draft of Matthew chapters 8-28, and I have reviewed those through chapter 25, inserting my comments and suggestions.

3) ADAPT IT: I have tried out "Adapt It", the new-to-me program that takes a different approach from CARLA. I think it will be helpful for us, but so far I have only done one chapter of Luke. It is slow-going at first, but it will go faster as more data is stored in the "Adapt It" lexicon.

Prayer Needs:

1) I am booked to leave for Ethiopia October 12th, but I am waiting to hear whether the team wants me to postpone my trip a couple of weeks. There is a workshop on Genesis that would be good for the team to attend the last 2 weeks of October. This will mean that I miss Thanksgiving with my family, but every day can be Thanksgiving when we pay attention to God's goodness to us and give Him thanks. Please pray that He will control the timing of my trip and work out the tickets and other travel details.

2) Please pray for Mother's health. She has not felt well much of the time this summer. Please ask God to show me what I can do to make these later years of her life easier. Pray that He will encourage her. Ask Him to give us direction for any changes that need to be made in our living and working situation.

3) Please continue to pray for the Banna church leaders, especially our "review committee" to have a burden for getting God's Word into the hands of the Banna people in their heart language, and for teaching them to read it.

Thank you so much for your partnership by prayer!