what the evening news doesn't tell you

One of the perks of traveling to so many places is that I get to meet so very many people in so very many places who are quietly working away to translate the Bible into local languages. Like an invisible army moving ahead unnoticed. Like the yeast spreading. Like the mustard seed growing. God is calling people from all over. At our translation workshop in Thailand we had people from Australia, Korea, Thailand, more from Korea, US, Canada, UK, Switzerland, Austria, Holland, and other Asian countries. It was a great time from every perspective: learning, fellowship, laughter. If anything, we worked too hard.

It was also good to have Ralph on staff. Asia agrees with him.

Almost all of the 25 or so participants passed the test at the end of the workshop and the translation manual passed the test of teaching well. Of course there are a few more revisions to insert, but lessons that were hard to get across are teaching without a hitch now. And pressure is coming from all directions to translate it into other languages: French, Spanish, Hindi, Thai, Malay/Indonesian, and other Asian languages. I felt gratitude towards God and joy when I realized that all the hard, painful work over the past 5 years is now bearing fruit.

And, if ever American Airlines offers you a hotel in Bangkok near the airport with shuttle service, be sure to ask which airport. There are two, and they're about 1 hour apart by taxi. Going off into the unknown late at night with a taxi driver who had very minimal English was not on my itinerary. I was thankful I had read Psalm 121 that morning.