Zion welcomed Jared and Bethany Honaker, missionaries with Wycliffe Bible Translators, at Sunday School and worship on September 10, 2006. The recently married couple has entered a difficult area of mission work. Many folks do not know that this kind of mission exists today, but it offers a real challenge for the Honakers.
“This is an exciting time for Bible translation in the world,” Jared and Bethany Honaker would say. “After all, we want to see that Christ is preached throughout the world.” That is why these recent college graduates are going into Bible translation!
We in the United States forget that the world does not automatically speak English. After all, there are 6.5 billion people in the world speaking some 6,912 languages. At least 2,529 need a Bible in their own language. Many people in the “Christian” United States forget that the Bible was not originally an English book. It was translated into our language from Greek and Hebrew. “It was translation that allowed us to understand God’s Word in our heart language,” Jared and Bethany would tell you. 2,403 languages, English being one of them, have some Bible translation, but only 426 languages have a complete Bible. Only 1,115 have just a New Testament, and only 862 have just one book of the Bible.
It is not easy to work as a Bible translator. There is training and fund-raising and a variety of other activities that may seem unrelated to putting God’s Word into the heart language of people. Preparatory work has to take place before a missionary can plunge into translation of an unknown, unwritten language. In the case of Wycliffe, 6,643 linguists are now engaged directly in the translation process and another 708 are preparing for service.
There are 272 million people waiting for God’s Word. There has been some success in getting the Word out. About 623 New Testament translations have come about because of Wycliffe Bible Translators. Those translation languages represent Scriptures for more than 77 million people.
Why would two young people want to do translation work? Where does the idea originate? Could it be in the heart of God Himself? Translation of the Scriptures into "strange" languages is the responsibility of the God’s Church in response to Christ’s Great Commission (Matt. 28:16-20). God lays the task on the hearts of His people. They respond. Their response comes from a good understanding and working knowledge of Scripture. Then comes training for applied linguistic fieldwork, in the case of Wycliffe Bible Translators, in some 13 institutions around the world. Study subjects include phonetics, phonology, grammar, language learning, linguistic field methods, cultural anthropology, sociolinguistics, literacy, translation, and language program planning.
This kind of training is not cheap. How much support do you think a couple like the Honakers would need per year just to prepare for training? Jerod and Bethany would tell you, “When we go to training camp the last two weeks of September, Wycliffe will set up our quota for us. So until then, we do not know exactly how much we will need. We've spoken with other Wycliffe missionaries and quota's vary between $50,000 and $60,000 per year, depending on their situations.” And what happens once Bible translation missionaries get out into the field? “The quota is not set according to the field location. Therefore, it will be the same for here in the States and for overseas. We will however need approximately $6500 extra for linguistics training for January of 2007. We're hoping to have enough support raised by then to be able to afford school, insurances, rent and living expenses.”
But how much preparation would this couple need in linguistics training in Texas? Jared is hoping to complete the certificate program (which is required for translators) in one semester, hopefully January-June, 2007. Bethany will be taking a few literacy classes. Many people, even here in Baldwin County, go on short-term missions with basic skills, but long-term mission commitment often requires specific training before leaving the States. How hard is that kind of training, you ask? Jared will be taking a very heavy course load, and will not be able to work. Bethany may have the option of getting a nursing job (she just got her R.N.), but she would prefer to volunteer at the missionary clinic at the linguistics-training center so that she will be able to take classes also.
Jared and Bethany Honaker have a lot to share about their mission. Their e-mail address is jared-bethany_honaker@wbt.org and their web page describing their mission can be seen by clicking this link. Here is the link to Wycliffe Bible Translators.
