The following is an article set to appear in our 2nd quarter newsletter which is about to be released:

This was a CRAZY busy quarter in terms of all the things I’ve been able to do.  Let me begin by addressing the preview items from last quarter’s newsletter.
The Nyakyusa recordings will be tested and distributed. We’re still in the test phase because we found some inconsistencies with the audio compared to the printed Scripture.  I’m waiting until after our branch conference (early July) to schedule some correction recording sessions with four different speakers.  Why so many?  Well, two of them will be coming in for single word recordings.  One said, “cha” when he should’ve said, “kya,” and another said “Abinalamu” when he should’ve said “Aminalabu.”  I caught neither of these things while we were recording nor while I was editing!  Our goal is to distribute a quality, accurate recording so you can see how the work can easily become very intensive.
We will begin a weekly radio broadcast playing Scripture and biblical songs in the local languages. I’ve put this project on hold for the time being.  Not because I don’t think it can happen but because when it does happen, even the very first broadcast, I want it to be done right.  I don’t think I’m to that point yet so I’ll continue to seek advice and feedback on all of my ideas.
The Gospel of Mark will be recorded in the Vwanji language in preparation for a later-in-the-year dedication ceremony.  This task has gone very well.  We’ve only spent one week recording so far and in that short period, we completed 57% of all the lines in the book!  Soon after conference, we’ll resume the recording with all the words of Jesus up next.  After that, we’ll only have to record the short-appearance characters.
The translation department asked for the audio to be ready to accompany [Mark] and other study materials we’ll release that day.  [The Vwanji] will have Ruth and Jonah recorded and made available as well. I’m happy to inform you that both Ruth and Jonah have completed the recording phase!
At least two other languages will have the recordings of Ruth and Jonah begun. Two other languages… not yet.  But, we’ve almost finished one of them.  Jonah in the Malila language has been completely recorded and I am now only lacking the voices of the women in Ruth.  The Nyiha language recording should begin in August.

I had high hopes going into yesterday’s recording schedule. God exceeded them. Pastor/Translator Ahimidiwe arrived at the studio at 9:15am and we went straight to it. We only stopped for a couple of short breaks and lunch. By 4:06pm, we had finished ALL of the narrator’s parts of the text and the book introduction and all of the section headings.

Out of curiosity this morning, I exported the master script into Excel so I could gauge our progress.

57%

We are over HALF way done with Mark already!  Wow, I knew we made some progress yesterday, but to reach that point is amazing… well… it’s God.

~ Mark 15:39

In case you don’t know, Vwanji will be the first langauge to have The Gospel of Mark recorded in it.  I’ve spent the last 4 days recording all but one of the characters for Ruth and Jonah in the language and now we’re gearing up for the ‘big show’.  We plan to begin recording that on Monday.

Mchungaji Nahumu M. speaking the part of Narrator in the books of Ruth and Jonah

Jonah had 58 audio clips.  Ruth had 99 audio clips.  Mark will have 734.  Any guesses on the date I’ll be finished?

Recently, a team from the USA visited Tanzania and Uganda to experience the work of Bible translation.  Some in the group came to compile a feature on the subject for Moody Radio.  One of our guys who worked with the team gave this little blurb:

“If you want to download (rather than listen online) to the Prime Time America pieces from Moody Radio that focus on our work in Uganda and Tanzania, then go to this website:
http://ebenim.libsyn.com/index.php?post_year=2009&post_month=06. Right click on the link where it says ‘direct download,’ and then click on ‘Save link as…’ The files are about 3mb for each 8-minute segment.

Thus far, the segments have been: 1) Wycliffe – Part I : The Impact of Translation Work (the need for Bible translation in the mother tongue, with examples from Uganda, and 2) Wycliffe – Part II : New Approaches to Translation Work (Cluster strategy and use of Adapt It). There are three additional segments forthcoming in the coming three days.“

In an earlier post, I told you how our car is getting demon-pounced, or so it seems.  So, has something broken this week?  No.  Last week?  No.  Hey, 2 in a row is an accomplishment.  Turning to the repairs to be done, I just ordered a new suspension system from Dallas, TX because the cost to get something that’s just okay here, can buy and ship me premium goods from there.  I went with Old Man Emu shocks all around and replacement rear coil springs for our 1994 Toyota Hilux Surf* from Toyota of Dallas for cost AND shipping totaling $740.00.  Big one-time costs are very challenging for faith-supported missionaries.  But, you gotta do what you gotta do, right?

I just hope the parts get here before it’s time to leave for our branch conference.  There’s a two-hour stretch of unpaved, atrociously rocky road just before the Kenya border.  Come on Old Man Emu!

*Just to let you know, the Surf is the Japanese-market 4Runner.

So, we’ve been in Tanzania for over a year and still don’t have a church we regularly attend.  We have options, but they’re…. well… challenging.  All-Swahili all-the-time is very tiring and even getting just the simplest jist of a sermon is an astounding accomplishment.  Spritual nourishment.  Nil.  Headache.  Prominent.  Frustration.  High.  That means making a TZian church our home is pretty much an impossibility.

How do missionaries fill the void that is created when they step out of their culture, their country, their church?  One attempt is a twice-a-month English Christian Fellowship.  We’ve attended a few times and it’s nice to be around other Westerners and connect with them, but the Jesus connection has to be really, really fought for.  The schedule mostly contributes to that as they currently meet on the 1st and 3rd Sundays of the month at 4pm on Sunday afternoon.

Then comes an idea out of left field.  Church online.  Something live.  Something familiar.  Something relevant to us.  I remembered hearing about LifeChurch.tv a few years ago but had no need for it at the time as we were still stateside.  I wanted to check out one of their live worship experience video streams online.  Then, I remembered how we get internet.  Slow and expensive.  No flat fee.  Just, here’s what you pay per MB and hope you can deal with it.  We just got a new deal last week (the internet folks here are actually competing now) that gives us 3GB for about $75.oo over 30 days.  We decided to give it a try.  It came in around 100Mb… affordable!!!!!

Map that was shown of all the countries represented at our first online worship experience

The feeling I got from the ‘experience’, as it is deemed, was one I had long forgotten.  I connected.  I worshipped.  I learned.  All right here in our living room!  We had church with people from 37 other countries all at the same time!  If every week is like what we just experienced as our first, we will have no trouble at all getting our Jesus fix.

For the past few weeks, I’ve been working out of the studio mostly.  And I’ve LOVED it!  It’s a zone, atmosphere, environment that suits me REALLY, REALLY well because I have absolutely everything I need to do my entire job practically within arm’s reach.  I can record today.  I can duplicate tapes today.  I can edit today.  I can print today.  I can e-mail today.  And more all from just right here.

It’s different from working in the office because:

• It’s quiet here
• I don’t feel ‘temporary’ like I do in the office because I was always feeling pulled to the studio due to my work essentially being based there
• I don’t have to lug my laptop, keyboard, mouse, headphones and who knows what else along just to be able to work effectively in the office
• A 1/2-hour lunch is now a long lunch because the travel to eat is about 20 paces into the house
• Dana and Asher can come to see me whenever they want; even in their PJ’s

These are just a few I can think about right now.  There are definitely more!  This relocation to the studio has really encouraged me a lot because the progress I’ve made in May alone is astounding.

I like LOVE my studio.

This post is going to be kinda weird.  What I’m going to write about is our car and the vast number of things that we’ve had go wrong with it.  And ask if you think our car (thus us) is being spiritually attacked.  I’ve never seen anything like this in my life.

We got the car 11 months ago from missionary friends of ours.  For the year they had it, they didn’t have any issues with it.  None.  Since, here’s what’s happened:

• Rear left wheel nearly comes off while traveling to Kenya – 1 lug bolt completely breaks off – repaired
• Rear left shock completely detaches from the frame of the car – reattached
• Left front 4WD axle breaks – not yet repaired
• Radiator springs a leak – welding repair
• Right front 4WD axle breaks – not yet repaired
• Brake pads replaced
• A/C pipe cracks – had to repair and refill gas
• Radiator springs leak – welding repair
• A/C breaks again – repaired
• Transmission loses overdrive – not yet repaired
• Radiator springs leak – welding repair; new radiator ordered from UK
• Left rear window comes off track – repaired
• Battery dies – replaced
• A/C breaks – repaired
• Left rear fender is dented b/c of a visit with a brick wall – repaired
• Right rear fender flare broken by log in the road – repaired
• Minivan-style taxi hits the front left denting in bumper, fender, headlight and breaks out corner lamp – repaired
• 2nd battery dies – replaced
• Power steering springs a bad leak and damages pump – not yet repaired
• Right rear window comes off track – repaired
• Both independent front suspension tie rods break – repaired
• A/C breaks again – not yet repaired
• Steel gate slams the right rear fender flare, breaking it – not yet repaired
• Speedometer breaks – not yet repaired

Is it the optimist in me that leads me to deny the obvious?  Or is this not a constant attack?  Because there hasn’t been a single month in which at least one thing has broken.  Absolutely frustrating.

If you look to the right, you’ll see a new section I added to my blog called “Twitter”.  If you don’t know what Twitter is, here’s a pretty good explanation on Wikipedia.  This addition will now allow me to micro-blog or post frequent short updates about what’s going on in my day in Tanzania.  You can follow what I twit… twitter… tweet… shoot, I don’t even know what to call it.  You can follow what I write (how about that?) either here on the side of my blog or directly on twitter.