Terry Gibbs, Wycliffe Bible Translators
May our Lord and Savior bless you as you spend this Christmas season with family and friends, remembering this one thing, that by God’s grace we will live with Him forever in a perfect place where there is calm and peace, and no sorrow.
A wedding dinner display in a hotel lobby which reminded me of the wedding feast planned for us in heaven, which will surely be decorated in a breathtaking way, even beyond our immigration.
Red umbrellas are a sign of joy and celebration.
My Christmas plans are to first to fly to Dayton, OH to be with Leilani and Micah, for Christmas, then on to Colorado Springs, CO to be with Jamie, Chris and 4 year old Meilina for New Years, then to Amarillo, TX to be with my sister Bobbie, and her fiancé Jimmy for Mexican food.
Local Happenings
The King of Thailand, who devoted himself to serving his people for 70 years, has now at age 88 passed away. The entire country is mourning this great loss.
King Bhumibol Adulyadej
Terry’s Tales
At a computing conference here recently we heard about many software updates and about some new software that will help translators. One of the more interesting topics is the focus to move away from printing the New Testament to instead distributing it via smart phones.
Some of the benefits of this will be:
- No publishing costs and no shipping costs.
- No cost for obtaining the Scripture.
- It’s easy to carry since it is on a phone.
- The ability to use color pictures at no cost.
- A way to publicize a revised version.
Through the efforts of the Bunong team in Cambodia, and Wycliffe Australia, the Project Video team has made a short video that shows the dedication of the Bunong Bible. Use this link to view the event at: https://vimeo.com/177807766.
We have received an excellent report regarding CVN work in a nearby country and the success they have experienced with having many Godly men among the village people to assist in the translation and preaching work. Also the Jesus film for the NR people will soon be presented to people in other villages for the first time.
One of our fellow U.S. workers who is working here was presented with an honorary doctorate from H.R.H. Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn, for her work at Mahidol University’s Research Institute for Languages and Cultures of Asia.
LS who is a close partner to KW, and is part of our work here, has received official permanent registration in the LS country. This is a major strategic success and with great celebration and praise to God this new work has been dedicated to God’s mercy for this new organization to exist.
On Feb 8, there was an “International Conference on Language Policy in Multicultural and Multilingual Settings” in a nearby country which was sponsored by UNICEF, the Melbourne Univ. of Australia and the University of that country. This was an historic event that brought together over 300 scholars, development workers, and ethnic representatives to discuss the importance of mother tongue education in school.
Regarding my walking around on Saturdays, someone wrote “It will be interesting later on when we are home with the Lord, as to who was influenced for the kingdom by the tracts you give out.” Yes, I agree. A few years ago it occurred to me that speaking to the right people in a crowd and saying the right thing was a not such a simple job. Then there was the ‘after effect’ “did I do enough” or “did I say the right thing”. I soon realized that I didn’t see any way to know what the result would be of what I did, so I just gave up and decided to let the Lord lead me to the people I should talk to and let him work out the results. But it will be interesting to see people I have met, on that Great Day in Glory. By now I have no idea how many hundreds of people I’ve talked to. I only write each month about those people that have an interesting story to talk about. There are many others whom I don’t get a chance to say much to, and others who reject my offer. But I’m sure that God is keeping track of those who have heard His Word either by me speaking to them, or by them reading the tract I’ve given them. In any case, His is to receive all of the credit for this and not me. I’m just having fun walking around and talking to people; it’s actually not that hard to do.
I took a couple of days off and went to a town that is a couple of hours north of Chiang Mai called Chiang Dao. The attraction there is a fairly large cave system. A tour guide took this picture.
MISSIONS
Jamie & Chris’s Journal
Please pray specifically for the health of a new little one that is expected in April next year.
Specific ways you can pray are:
- For a smooth, non-traumatic delivery.
- For the baby to not require a NICU stay.
- For the baby to tolerate my breast milk.
- For healthy growth and development both during pregnancy and after delivery.
- That my birth plan (including some unusual requests, based on our experience with Meilina) would be honored.
- For my body to recover well from delivery this time.
Leilani & Micah’s Lines
Life has been fairly busy here lately. Micah and I took custody of his 5 year old nephew, Parker, at the end of July, so that’s kept us on our toes. In addition to getting him ready for kindergarten, we’ve also had to find his records, set up his insurance paperwork, and take care of everything for the custody paperwork. That said, we wouldn’t trade him for the world. It might take a lot to keep up with his high energy, but he’s a great kid, and we love him dearly.
Parker
Prayer Requests
- That my Christmas travels will all go smoothly.
- That Meilina’s health problems would be less.
- That Chris’s new job continues to go well.
- That Leilani will have the strength to keep up with Parker.