Bakwe Archives - Christ Church

Consultant checking of 1 & 2 Corinthians

Bakwe' Mission on December 31, 2015

Bakwé Translation News

This January the Bakwé team and I will be working with a Wycliffe translation consultant to do a verse-by-verse check of our translation of 1st and 2nd Corinthians. Please keep us in your prayers! Especially pray for health and stamina for us all as we work on this together over 3-4 weeks.

Currently, my Bakwé colleague, Alexis, is working on the second draft of Revelation while I am working on the first draft of Matthew. Matthew is the last book of the New Testament we have to translate! Translation is a joy, and learning more Bakwé as I go along is a lot of fun. Every now and then a Bakwé equivalent will make me chuckle. In Bakwé, to be patient, or to be perserverant, means literally to “scratch inside the stomach.” So, recently when translating Revelation 1:9 the Bakwé say, ‟I, John, your brother and partner in the tribulation and the kingdom and the patient endurance [scratching-inside-the-stomach] of Jesus Christ, …” Of course, to the Bakwé it makes perfect sense!

We should finish up drafting the NT by March. Then it will take another year or more to get all the remaining books checked by a consultant. With the increased number of translations being done in Africa, there is a shortage of translation consultants to go round. Please pray that more consultants become available.

Other Bakwé books published

Every year we publish more Bakwé titles for the Bakwé reader. In our training in literacy we were told that a society will not be a literate society unless there are around 200 different titles available for people to read. This year we published another reading primer for one of the other big Bakwé dialects, a book on traditional funeral proceedings, a book on the history of the Bakwé, and finally a second printing of our bilingual dictionary.

Wishing you a Merry Christmas 2014

Bakwe' Mission on December 17, 2014

As we wrap up the translation of the drafting of the New Testament over this next year we covet your prayers. Pray for the Bakwé people’s salvation, for health, for protection, for wisdom, for our equipment to work, for schedules, for preachers to preach the translated Word, and for open receptive hearts. Pray that the Bakwé become a people totally transformed by God’s Word! Thank you for your faithful partnership in the Gospel over the years in bringing the Word of God to the Bakwé people. We would love to hear from you. Please drop us a short email and tell us how you are doing.

My Bakwé colleague, Alexis, and I have four more books of the New Testament left to translate (Hebrews, Jude, Revelation, and Matthew). Over the coming year, Lord willing, we will complete translating these books and finish up the consultant checking of these and remaining books that haven’t yet been checked by a consultant. Recently we worked with a Wycliffe translation consultant to check 1 & 2 Thessalonians, Philemon, and Titus.

Family trip to visit the Bakwé
This past summer our whole family (all except for Hans and his family) made a trip into the village. Pictures in this letter give you some idea of what it was like. I have been making trips to the village on the average of two trips a year, but this was the first for the family since we were evacuated. Ten years earlier they had been jerked out of their life in the village when the civil war started, leaving their projects on their desks, and all their possessions behind. We are very thankful that we could make the trip. It was a huge encouragement to us, and to our Bakwé friends!

Noai’s engagement
Praise the Lord with us for Noai’s engagement to Kellen Meyer. Kellen is a wonderful Christian young man who is a pilot instructor for a company in California. He and Noai have known each other for a long time since both our families go to the same church. They have been friends since coming to Moscow. He is a perfect match for her and we are proud to have him join the family. The wedding is planned for March 13th.

Please pray with us for:
1. Csaba and Alexis as they translate;
2. the growth of the young Bakwé churches;
3. the Bakwé team (Firmain, Alexis, and Perez) and their families; Firmain just lost his father-in-law;
4. political stability;
5. churches to establish reading and writing classes as part of church life;
6. healing Noai of her MS;
7. God’s blessing on Kellen and Noai.

Thank you for your continued prayers and support!

The Leidenfrosts

Scripture Revisers Seminar

Bakwe' Mission on June 22, 2012

SIL’s translation consultant, Yégbé Antoine, helped us train four Bakwé men as Scripture revisers this week. Here are a few pictures. These four men represent four different denominations in the area and it will be good to have their input as we draft Scripture.

Scripture revisers seminar group photo

Saki Faulet Charles, Sognon Dominique, Toigui Barth, Issa Guillaume

Off to Côte d’Ivoire for month

Bakwe' Mission on June 5, 2012

Leaving Lewiston, Idaho this morning and flying to Salt Lake City. Then on to France and then tomorrow evening I’ll be in Abidjan. I’m looking forward to seeing my Bakwé colleagues again!

November Bakwé Mission Update