I lo-lo-love Palm Trees!!

Orlando Training before we take off for Spain tomorrow.

De Nyew Testament

De Nyew Testament

“Cause God lob all de people een de wol sommuch dat e gii we e onliest Son.  God sen we um so dat ebrybody wa bleebe pon um ain gwine dead.  

Dey gwine lib faebamo.”

Can you read this Bible verse?

Where is the verse found in the Bible?

What does it say?

What does it mean???

It is John 3:16 in Sea Island Creole English,

and it is spoken primarily in the United States.

Now you can go back and read it again, and it makes a lot more sense.  But what if this was all you had?  What if English was your heart language and Sea Island Creole was the trade language?  Both languages are similar, so you should be able to get “enough” out of Sea Island Creole to understand Jesus died for you to give you eternal life, right??  Some of us don’t like it when someone reads   scripture out of a version that isn’t our favorite, Can you imagine     trying to read and know God by reading this translation?

There are still 2,250 language groups that don’t have one word of scripture in their heart language (the language they learned and spoke as a child).  That represents roughly 350 million people.

That is why Wycliffe’s vision is to have a Bible translation started in EVERY LANGUAGE by the year 2025.  Every day people are dying that have never heard God’s Word.  We don’t want one more generation of people to pass away without hearing the life changing Word of God!

There are several ways you can help.  You can pray, go, or give.

Pray for the translators and those on the field supporting their efforts.  Go on a short-term or long-term mission trip, in the US or abroad, and support the laborers in the field. Give financially to assist with the physical needs of translators and those supporting them on the field.  If you have questions, please feel free to contact me. :-)

Summer Update 2010

Summer and Spain

This has been one of the most adventurous and busy summers of my life!  As I discussed in my last newsletter, during the month of April, I had 3 weeks of Wycliffe meetings and training in Orlando, Florida.  The meetings with Wycliffe Associates (WA) headquarters were encouraging and productive.  The two week “Equip” training with Wycliffe USA was fabulous!  I heard numerous     stories and updates on Bible translations from all over the world.  I knew a lot about Wycliffe, missions, and Bible translation before the trip, but I was just  immersed in it there. My eyes and heart were opened to a world-wide vision for Bible translation, the need for laborers, and the need for in NOW!

A few weeks after returning from Florida, I went on a Partnership Development trip.  I stopped in Borger, Texas; Denver, Colorado; and the Kansas City  area.  It was great to see my family, friends, and ministry partners, share what the Lord is teaching me, and what He has been doing in Bible Translation.

Back in Dallas, I am working with many volunteer high school students, and a church group from Arkansas.  I am also busy preparing for the next “volunteer season,” which begins in October and runs through April of next year.

The month of August I get to do a little bit more traveling, but this time outside the Unites States. I have the privilege of taking a missions trip to Spain!  The translators and missionaries, the “M Groups,” are meeting in Cordoba. “M Groups” represent individuals working is areas that cannot be discussed, for security purposes. Our team will be serving the M Groups and their families, but mostly working with the kiddies.  I am so excited to spend time with these missionaries and to hear about their ministries and area of work - the kids are just a bonus.  I leave for Spain on August 6th and return August 25th.  Our itinerary consists of flying into Malaga where we will have 3 days of training; travel to Cordoba for 12 days of meetings; and then to Madrid for a few more days, before heading out.

Follow my Spain trip on my blog!

paulaoestreich.blogspot.com

Prayer Requests:

1.   Effectual work of the Lord’s     laborers while in Spain.

2. Team unity for the group ministering in Spain. Most of us have not met.

3. Team safety while traveling and during our labors in Spain.

4.  Strength and endurance upon my return. “Volunteer Season”     begins one month after my     return to Dallas and I will be attending a Bible Conf in Kansas City the first week of October.

5.  Financial supporters. I cannot do this alone. I rely totally upon financial partners.

Praises:

1.   It has been a great first year working with the volunteers in Dallas.  They surpassed anything I could have hoped for: the volunteers are wonderful people!

2.  The Spain mission trip and opportunity to work with a   people group for which I have  a burden.

3.  Experiencing Bible Translation up-close and personal; seeing first hand what the Lord is doing through Bible Translation; and being a part of that every day.

4. Finding a good church that has    

     good preaching, is mission       

     minded, and people oriented.

Countdown to Spain ~ 12 days!

When you decide to take a trip, it is always seems to be a loooooong time until you leave.  Then you blink.  Then it is 12 days away.  You have tons to do to prepare for being gone for 3 weeks, lots to prepare for your trip, packing, and the list goes on....




On August 4th, I will be heading to Orlando, FL for a couple of days of training, then on the 6th we take off.  We will arrive in Malaga, Spain on the 7th, where we will have more training for a few more days.  We will take a train to Cordoba and spend 11 nights there, then we will take a train to Madrid August 21st.  The rest of the team is leaving on the 22nd, and I am leaving on the 25th.


This is a missions trip through Wycliffe Associates (WA).  Our job is to work "in support of missionary families working in sensitive countries throughout the region.  As the parents meet for strategic planning, spiritual refreshment, and mutual encouragement we have the opportunity to minister spiritual refreshment and encouragement to their kids." (That's the official description)  


This all came about after "the powers that be" and I decided it is a good idea for me to see what WA (and Wycliffe) do outside the states.  It is time for me to get on the field and see some things with my own eyes.  I started a mental list of all of the places I wanted to go and the "people groups" I wanted to work with and minister to.  It took about 2 seconds because I had thought about where I wanted to go about a billion times.  Spain was not on the short list, it actually wasn't on the long list either. :~)  About 20 minutes after the meeting where we all decided I needed to go somewhere, I was having a conversation with a fellow WA.  We were talking about the places I had traveled on missions trips, and while I loved those places and people, my real burden was with a different people group.  One I won't put on the blog (but is starts with a K).  Right about that time, the guy in charge of some of the ministry trips WA takes walked by and said, "if you are interested in (that people group), I have a trip for you."  I had never met this man and barley knew what he did for WA...it was just one of those God things.  In a little over a week the decision was made - I was headed for Spain in August.  Yay!

Thoughts on 1 Kings 17:2-9

1Ki 17:2-9  And the word of the LORD came unto him, saying,  (3)  Get thee hence, and turn thee eastward, and hide thyself by the brook Cherith, that is before Jordan.  (4)  And it shall be, that thou shalt drink of the brook; and I have commanded the ravens to feed thee there.  (5)  So he went and did according unto the word of the LORD: for he went and dwelt by the brook Cherith, that is before Jordan.  (6)  And the ravens brought him bread and flesh in the morning, and bread and flesh in the evening; and he drank of the brook.  (7)  And it came to pass after a while, that the brook dried up, because there had been no rain in the land.  (8)  And the word of the LORD came unto him, saying,  (9)  Arise, get thee to Zarephath, which belongeth to Zidon, and dwell there: behold, I have commanded a widow woman there to sustain thee.

2 - 3 ~ The word of the Lord told Elijah what to do.  God's word can give us direction. 
4 - 6 ~ God assures Elijah that he will be taken care of.  God provides a brook for drink and the ravens to deliver food.
7 ~ The brook dried up, and Elijah watched it dry up...and he was still there.
8 ~ Then word of the Lord came to him again...
9 ~ God told him to move.


It is noteworthy that Elijah stayed where he was until the Lord told him to move.  God had proven his provision through the brook.....and it dried up!  It is easy to watch things in our lives dry up right in front of us and then question God about why He would let that happen, or wonder if we heard Him right the first time.  We start trying to "make" things happen, stress out, come up with contingency plan after contingency plan, lose sleep, and talk about it until we are sick of hearing ourselves talk about it.


It is best to make sure it is the word of the Lord moving us in the first place; so when things dry up we know we are standing where the Lord put us, and also making sure we are continuing to listen for it just in case He wants to move us.  Per His Promises those are the only two options: provide for us or move us to the provision.
  

The Book You Are Writing

"You ought to live holy and godly lives." 2 Peter 3:11

The only way to have a stainless and beautiful year at its close--is to keep the days, as they pass, all pure and sweet, with the loveliness of holy, useful living.

It is thus, in little days--that our years come to us. We have but the one small fragment to fill and beautify at a time.

The year is a book, and for each day--one fair white page is opened before us.

And we are artists, whose duty it is to put something beautiful on the page.

Or we are poets, and are to write some lovely thought, some radiant sentence, on each leaf as it lies open before us.

"That we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness." 1 Timothy 2:2


(From Grace Gems)

March 2010 Update and Prayer Requests

Wow! Can we say busy? This “volunteer season” (Oct 09—March 10) has seen a lot of changes; new volunteers, and the highest number of volunteers in several years. We have had well over 200 volunteers, plus several groups. In January we had a church group from Geneva, NE for a week (some stayed 2 weeks). Just this week we had over 20 Duncanville High School Students on the campus completing their community service hours, and next weekend we have a group from the Chinese Church of Arlington coming to volunteer. They asked me to speak at their missions conference a few weeks ago and decided to set up a time to volunteer and get their congregation exposed to Bible translation at the same time.

While things are starting to wind down with volunteers a little bit, I will be staying busy for a few months longer. April 7-9 I will go to Orlando, FL for a few days of meetings with Wycliffe Associates. April 10-24 I will be going through an intensive training course with Wycliffe USA (in Orlando), and then vacation April 25-May 2 (in Orlando & Jax– yea!) I will come back to Dallas for a week or two, and then head out again for 2-3 weeks on a Partnership Development trip (raising support and prayer partners). Part of that time I will be in Kansas City, so if you would like to get together while I am there call or email me and we can set up a time!

This is the “campus” I work on. It is called the International

Linguistic Center (ILC).

There are about 700 people that work here year-around. The sole purpose of every

organization on this campus is to support Bible translation in over 70 countries. The linguists are trained here, the finance

offices are here, HR/personnel offices are here, typesetting,

editing, publishing, counseling, IT, apartments for retired

missionaries, and much more...

Praise and Prayer:

1. Praise—I STILL love what I am doing with WA, and it continues to grow & stretch me.

2. Praise—I really like Dallas and I think I have finally found a church to be a part of.

3. Prayer—Raising financial and prayer support.

4. Prayer—For my training and meetings in Orlando, FL next month.(and a week of vacation! )

5. Prayer—That the Lord would continue to open doors to partner with other cultures (like the Chinese Church, WA’s growing Hispanic and African volunteer population).

Information on how you can support financially ~

By Mail: Make check or money order out to Wycliffe Associates and put my name & fund code M08730 in the notes field. Mail to Wycliffe Associates; P.O. Box 620143, Orlando, Florida, 32862

Online: www.wycliffeassociates.org\links\donatenow. Under “program” select “other,” fill in my name & M08730.