Question 1

Where do you serve?

Accepted Answer

We live and serve in the country of Côte d'Ivoire. It is located in the southern part of West Africa. It is roughly the size of New Mexico, yet it has over 75 unique languages. Many of these languages are currently in the process of translating the Bible into their language, but at least 20 have yet to start! The need is great and we are excited to be a part of this mission.

Question 2

What do you do?

Accepted Answer

Jack serves as a linguist. His job is to prepare languages for the task of translation by analyzing them and helping to publish research about them so that the work of translation can be done in the most effective way possible. This work could include things like helping to develop an orthography or helping our translators understand language-specific processes that will be important for creating a good translation of the Bible. You can see a snapshot of our work in this video. 
 
To learn more about what a linguist does or about the process of Bible translation in general, be sure to listen to our podcast, The Bible Translation Podcast, found here on our website or wherever you listen to podcasts.

Question 3

How do I get updates?

Accepted Answer

Check out our latest blog post to see what we are up to and where we are in the world!

Question 4

How can I support you?

Accepted Answer

Pray! The work we are doing is not easy and it is a huge adjustment to move to Africa and adopt a whole new way of life. We are so excited to be following God's call in this way, but we covet your prayers. To know how to best pray for us, you can follow our blog and keep up with us on our social media platforms (found at the bottom of this page).
 
If you'd like to partner with us financially, you can find all the information you need on our Give page. We are truly grateful for any contribution you are able to make.

Question 5

How do your kids feel about this?

Accepted Answer

They are so excited. They love living overseas. And they love to have friends that speak other languages. They have adapted well to all these changes. It has been fun to walk through this with them, but they have lots of questions. Lucy in particular was bummed to say goodbye to her friends, but our response is, "But is it worth it?" "Yes!" she says.
 
We're excited to see our kids being exposed to other languages and cultures at such formative ages.

Question 6

Who do you work with?

Accepted Answer

We are members of Wycliffe Bible Translators. They are involved in 80% of all the Bible translation happening around the globe. They work with local translation organizations to create a team that is working together to translate the Bible into their own local languages.
 
You can find out more about what Wycliffe does on the main Wycliffe website: www.wycliffe.org.

Question 7

How many languages still need the Bible in Africa?

Accepted Answer

There are over 2100 languages on the continent of Africa! And there are active translation projects happening in more than 1000 of those languages. It is an exciting time to be a part of this work, but there are still 597 languages that have never seen the Bible in their own tongue. While a lot of work has been done, the need is still great. We want to be a part of the solution!

Question 8

Why can't they just read a French Bible?

Accepted Answer

While French is an official language of the countries we are going to, not everyone speaks French, and for most it is not their heart language. Our desire is for people to read a Bible that speaks to their heart and doesn't make God feel distant from them because of language.
 
"If you talk to a man in a language he understands, that goes to his head. If you talk to him in his language, that goes to his heart." -Nelson Mandela

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