2 by 2 Teams: Putting the Word into Action

Sorry for no recent update lately; things have been busy, and we haven't had much time to write.  

In our previous post we gave a brief description of what is involved in creating and producing a translation of the Bible into sign language.  These are the roots of DOOR, but several years ago the people at DOOR realized that individuals equipped with a Bible but no training in evangelism, teaching others, and building up leaders who can do the same (in other words, discipleship) will struggle to grow God's kingdom.  That struggle ended up generating DOOR's "2 by 2 teams."

Each country with a sign language translation supported by DOOR also has one or more 2 by 2 teams that are supported for a fixed period of time.  The model for the 2 by 2 teams is based on Luke 10:  "After this the Lord appointed seventy-two others and sent them on ahead of him, two by two, into every town and place where he was about to go.  And he said to them, 'The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few.  Therefore pray earnestly for the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest...'" (Luke 10:1-2)  Each 2 by 2 team consists of two Deaf individuals who have been trained by DOOR in many areas.  Four specific main areas they have been trained in are evangelism, teaching, church planting, and raising up leaders among the local Deaf community, training them in these areas.  These areas match the three series of Chronological Bible Stories that the translation teams have produced.  ("Know God How?" connects with evangelism; "Follow God How?" connects with teaching/discipleship; and "Serve God How?" connects with church planting and leadership development.)  Briefly, here is how each area works:

• Evangelism:  The 2 by 2 teams go into local Deaf communities and begin building relationships with local Deaf in many different contexts.  Eventually after spending some time developing these relationships, the team often holds a camp in which they introduce many of the locals to the Chronological Bible Stories.  Those who are interested in further stories or information are invited to join local fellowships (a bit like "small groups") in their areas or villages.  The 2 by 2 teams then travel from area to area during the week to support these fellowships and teach.  It is through these camps and fellowships that many Deaf people come to know Christ.

• Teaching:  Once someone gives their life to Christ, they need to become grounded in the faith.  These local fellowships help give them exposure to the Scripture (in their own language), solid teaching, and an opportunity to ask questions.  At right is a picture of one fellowship in which participants are watching the DVD of the Scripture (this lesson was on Exodus 19 and 20: the ten commandments).  They later have an opportunity to review the story, ask questions, and apply it to their lives.  

• Church Planting:  Once enough thriving fellowships are happening in an area, there are enough Deaf people to plant a church.  Just as all believers are given spiritual gifts to build up the body of Christ (Eph. 4:11-16), Deaf believers have gifts that contribute to the development of the Church.  These gifts really come out when the Deaf are in fellowship with other Deaf.  In a hearing church, Deaf people are seen as a ministry.  But in a Deaf church, Deaf people are ministers.  Thus, a Deaf church is established in a central location by the 2 by 2 team, and all of the Deaf fellowships that meet during the week are then invited to become a part of the church.  

• Leadership Training:  As in Paul's vision of discipleship in 2 Tim. 2:2, ministry is something that is intended to be passed on.  The 2 by 2 teams are taught how to identify new believers gifted in evangelism, teaching, etc., and then they spend additional time pouring into these individuals, training them for future ministry.  Following this training, these individuals will be ready to go out and begin this process again, raising up more Deaf fellowships and planting churches for local Deaf people.

• National Association:  Once there are enough established Deaf fellowships and Deaf churches, the nation is ready to establish a national Deaf association that helps oversee the health of the churches.  This association is independent of DOOR, and once a country reaches this point, DOOR begins to withdraw and let the association take over the oversight of the further development in the country.  Nationals then own the vision for where the next steps will be, having been trained in how to achieve those steps.

There are so many aspects of this that we love.  Praise God that this "sending out of harvesters" is actively happening already in a number of countries thanks to the work of many people at DOOR and other organizations partnering with DOOR.  Please continue to pray for these individuals, that they would be equipped, courageous, strong, and steadfast, and that the Lord would raise up many more people to go into the harvest.

Sign Language Bible Translation: A Complex Process

Over the past week I've gotten to sit in on several aspects of the sign language Bible translation process.  While I haven't seen everything, I'm certainly amazed at all that is involved.

Here is the basic layout of the process of translation, as I've seen it so far:

• Prayer:  Obviously there is a lot of prayer involved!  In trying to translate a passage, you are setting up the Scriptures for an entire people group!  I've appreciated the amount of prayer I've seen among the staff involved.  The staff get together as a whole on Wednesday mornings to pray, and additionally the translation and 2x2 teams meet on Friday nights for worship and prayer.  Sunday morning church also involves prayer for wisdom and God's guidance.
• Text Selection:  By now this has been determined.  There are three series of stories that the translators translate:  1. "Know God How?"  2. "Follow God How?"  3. "Serve God How?"  Each series has a collection of Bible verses associated with it.  (For instance, "Know God How?" begins with Genesis 1, describing creation.  These series are called "Chronological Bible Stories".)  In the first translation (which was in KSL), they had to decide which stories to pick out.  Now that the KSL series have been completed, each subsequent translation in another language already has the stories determined.  (For those interested, after the translation teams finish their CBS [and some additional topical texts], they go back to their country and begin work on the full Bible under the supervision of SIL or Wycliffe.)
• Source Texts:  The team sits down with several different sources.  All have an English text, as well as the written text from their own country.  (Some of these are very different than English; see, for instance, the Ethiopian Bible.)  In addition, several of the recent teams use some of the previous sign language translations (in other languages... in particular, the Kerala and Kenyan) as source texts, too.  They will sit down as a team and talk through what the text should look like as a signed story.  Keep in mind that native (Deaf) signers are the ones translating, as it is their native language.
• Recording:  Once the story is determined, several recordings will take place.  They will typically record three parts:  an introduction (which explains the text briefly); the text itself; and a deeper description of what is going on in the text.  The signers wear different colored shirts to distinguish which part (introduction, text, or description) they are signing.
• Review:  Once they record the story, it is reviewed, first by the team, then by a consultant-in-training, then by an approved consultant.  (There are very few certified consultants for sign language... really only four globally.  This is a big need.  There are about 10+ people training in this now.)  Each Deaf translation team is paired with both a Deaf and a hearing consultant-in-training (CIT).  The Deaf CIT checks to make sure the translation is natural and accurate (from a sign language standpoint), and the hearing CIT checks to make sure it is Biblically/exegetically accurate.  Each time an issue is found, then entire recording must be redone again.  This is very different than a written text; you cannot simply delete or insert.  The signer must memorize the entire text and sign it precisely in full.  Wow!  (Imagine having to translate, for instance, John 1, and then memorize the chapter and speak the entire thing accurately into a recording.)  As the translation is being edited, it is occasionally brought into the community for community testing.  The translation needs to meet the CANA criteria:  clear, accurate, natural, and accepted.  (I'll talk more about this in a later post.)
• Drawings:  Because the Deaf are visual learners, it helps to provide pictures that show the action visually, especially with concepts that are foreign to the culture of the people watching.  Thus, the recordings are done in front of a green screen, and drawings are inserted behind the signers.  These drawings are created by a team of Deaf artists and animators from India and Kenya.  They have some beautiful work!  These drawings are also used as storyboards for people presenting the texts without technology.
• Editing:  Once the recording and drawings are finished, an editing process begins.  The two must be fluidly merged (and text inserted), and the resulting library of stories organized so that it can be produced on a clickable DVD menu.  This is all done by a Deaf member of the translation team, who is trained in all things editing and computers by a main editing coordinator, Simon, who is also Deaf.  
• Copying/Production:  Once the digital version is ready, the files are copied onto DVD, and a DVD cover is produced.  These are then mass-produced for distribution by the 2x2 team as they work to evangelize and teach other Deaf the gospel.  

I've already gotten to watch some of this process, and I'm looking very forward to getting to know it even more.  There are so many skilled people working here; it is amazing to see the teams of people God has assembled for this task.  Praise Him for the unique ways that he has gifted so many.

"So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ." (Eph. 4:11-13)

Wildlife in Africa

It's hard to believe we've been here a week and a half!  So many experiences, it feels like the rest come crowding in on each other when you sit down and try to describe any one of them.  Perhaps it's best to make several posts and divide them into themes.  Here's a chronicle of a bit of the "wildlife" that we've seen from afar and up close and personal.

Elephant Orphanage:  A few days in, after we'd recovered from our jet lag, our friend Sammy drove us to the Elephant Orphanage, not far from our campus.  Here they care for baby elephants up to two years of age that have either been abandoned or their parents have been killed by poachers.  They need milk up through the end of their second year, and they drink a lot of it.  Once they reach the age of two, they are brought to the main park outside of Nairobi and released.  These elephants pictured are actually gray, and one of them is albino, but you can't tell because they are plastered with the red-ish mud of the area to keep themselves cool.  During the time we were there, one of them filled its trunk and sprayed part of the crowd with mud.  Exciting!

In addition to the elephants, we saw a baby impala grazing nearby.  It was a bit skittish, but it let us take its picture.  Not shown are a warthog that crossed the road on our way into the park, and some monkeys that we saw while leaving.  We'll definitely come back to visit the main park, which is a reserve for wild animals.

Animals Raised on the Campus:  In addition to some of the wildlife outside of the campus, we've gotten to experience some of the home-grown kind.  The DOOR campus also has a farm associated with it, with the purpose of helping raise money for the ministry, provide jobs for some local Deaf people, and provide food for the campus.  In addition to some traditional crops (including kale, spinach, tomatoes, bananas, and corn), the farm raises rabbits and catfish (both pictured) for meat, as well as dogs trained for being guard dogs.  Sammy helps coordinate and oversee this aspect of DOOR, and he's done a great job.

You can also a rooster in the morning.  One family on the campus keeps two hens and a rooster in a small cage.  Luke always wants to go visit them, and he signs "chicken" whenever he sees or hears them.

Surprise Guests:  The campus supports not just rabbits, fish, and dogs, but also other creatures not quite so purposefully brought here.  In the mornings you can sometimes hear the ibis or storks walking around on the roof.  Pictured here is an ibis.  These are fairly good-sized... maybe two feet tall or so.  The storks, however, are enormous... perhaps six feet tall.  Needless to say they make a lot of noise!

Also pictured is a spider that the boys found on the wall in their room.  The spider was the size of my fist, so they were very surprised indeed.  They caught it in a jar, but later let it go free (in the backyard, we were told... we'd better not wake up to it in our bed!).

Feeding the Monkeys:  On Friday we were able to go to the city park and feed the monkeys.  Wow, what an experience!  In fact, simply getting there was quite the experience.  Sammy navigated the city traffic quite well, no problems, and we got there in one piece.  We purchased some peanuts, and walked into the park.  The monkeys have seen this quite a few times, and saw we were coming.  Sammy taught us all how to lure the monkeys up on your back.  The next 15 to 20 minutes were probably the highlight of the boys' time so far.  Here are some pictures:

And, of course, we have some video, too!

We all had an incredible time.  A huge thanks to Sammy for bringing us there!  We have plenty more video as well as pictures, so just ask if you'd like to see more!

Jon is the big animal lover in the family, so he's been so excited to see all of the wildlife here.  Several times he's asked to take home this or that on the plane.  I can only imagine what the ride home would be like with a monkey jumping around the airplane cabin stealing people's peanuts! :)

We're amazed at God's abundant creation!  What an incredible, creative God we serve!

Safe Arrival

"Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear.  Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes?  Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them.  Are you not much more valuable than they?" (Matt. 6:25-26)

We made it!  After a long 30-hour trip, we arrived in Nairobi around 11 pm local time on Wednesday evening.

As we traveled, I couldn't help but remark on all the little ways that the Lord takes care of his people.  Here is a quick overview of our trip so far and how God has cared for us:

• Transportation: We had a friend, Jonathan Wolff, who was able to drive us to Chicago airport on Tuesday early afternoon so we would not need to leave the van in parking there for six weeks.  Praise Him!

• Packing:  It was a snug fit, but we were able to take all the items that people gave for the missionaries we will be visiting while we're here.  Thank you again to all who gave and prayed; you are a blessing and may you be refreshed as you refresh others (Prov. 11:25).  We carefully made sure that our check-in bags weighed less than 23 kg. (about 50 lbs.), but we didn't realize that our carry-ons each needed to be less than 12 kg. per person.  We had to do a fair amount of weighing and rearranging, but in the end we were able to take almost everything with us; the remainder went back with Jonathan, who thankfully stayed with us until we got checked in.  We had no issues with security, and made it to the gate just fine.

• First Flight:  Our flight from Chicago was on time, and even though Luke was officially a lap child (and thus didn't have an official seat), there were a few extra seats available, and one person next to us rearranged seats so that Luke could have his own seat.  He (and we!) were very thankful!  None of us really slept on this flight, which left at around 4 pm Chicago time and got into Amsterdam at 7 am local time.  (It was about a 7-hour flight.)  Luke developed some "intestinal issues," but was generally a very happy guy.  It was then that we realized that in the luggage shuffling, we had moved Luke's back-up pants from the carry-on to the checked baggage.  Yikes!  He spent the rest of the trip in size 5 shorts rolled liberally at the waist. :)  Praise Him that we had some extra shorts at all, though!

• Layover:  The layover in Amsterdam was longer than expected.  It was supposed to be 4 hours, but because our outgoing plane was delayed coming in, it was more like 5.5 hours.  Here's where the lack of sleep began to catch up with us.  We each took turns taking power naps while the others wandered the airport and explored.  We encountered a kids' play area, and an aquarium where (if you pay 10 Euros) you can stick your feet in the tank and allow the fish to nibble off the dead skin.  The boys were intrigued but no one really wanted to do it.  Eventually the three youngest boys fell asleep about 30 minutes before we were to board the plane.  

• Second Flight:  Even though our second flight was delayed, it turned out they still wanted us to get ready to board at the regular time.  They made several calls for us to begin the boarding process (which actually involved going through security again at the gate), and it was Jon who got us out of our sleepy stupor to pay attention and get in line.  More sleep was had by some on the second flight, and yet it felt like a longer flight.  Luke was more restless (and lost his pacifier in the last third of the flight), but we made it without casualties.  The flight left Amsterdam at 12:45 pm and landed in Nairobi around 9:45 pm (with a one-hour time difference between the two cities).

• Customs and Departure:  We went through customs without any significant glitches (Jon's boarding pass got wet and leaked ink on his passport, but the relevant part was still readable).  And praise the Lord, our luggage all made it through!  We neither lost luggage nor had any give out (which was a big answer to prayer, as a couple of the suitcases were pretty packed).  A friend from DOOR, Sammy, had stayed all that extra time to wait to pick us up; what a servant's heart!  The drive to DOOR's campus through Nairobi was quiet, as it was about 11:30 at night.  Very little traffic.  Because of the British influence on Kenya, drivers sit on the right side of the vehicle and cars drive on the left-hand side of the road.  Sammy pointed out a few sights, including the wildlife preserve.  We'll be visiting that later, certainly.

• Settling In:  All of us slept well that night, and the next morning we spent getting items unpacked and organized.  At right is a picture of the complex we are staying in on DOOR's campus.  We are so blessed to have this beautiful facility; the family (the Simons) who usually lives here are on furlough in the U.S. during the time we are here, and they graciously let us use their house.  They have three boys, including one who is almost exactly Luke's age, so we have all the amenities we need (crib, changing table, boy toys, etc.).  We got to meet the Ninans, the family next door, who did so much to help us settle in and feel welcome, including getting us a few groceries to start off with, cooking us dinner that night, and giving us a tour of the campus.  They have three girls, and our kids are already enjoying playing together.  The campus has a playground where the boys can play, and they enjoy the warm Kenyan sunshine.  (It's actually winter here right now, but that means it's in the 60's during the day.  Cool and sunny for us!)  Rob will be spending time with Jojo Ninan, as well as many others working at DOOR, getting to know the ministry and learning more about its various facets.  

Thank you all for your prayers for our travels.  One of our main concerns right now is adjusting to the time change; it's 3:30 am local time as I type this, and all the boys are awake. :)

"Yes, my soul, find rest in God; my hope comes from him.  Truly he is my rock and my salvation; he is my fortress, I will not be shaken.  My salvation and my honor depend on God; he is my mighty rock, my refuge.  Trust in him at all times, you people; pour out your hearts to him, for God is our refuge." (Ps. 62:5-8)