Memo from the Mortensens

Translating God's Word
for the Northern Embera People
of Panama and Colombia
August 10, 2011

Dear Family and Friends,

These have been an exciting few months! May saw Chaz go to Misano, Italy, for two weeks for his second residency in the D.Min. program he is pursuing through Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary. This is further training for him as a Wycliffe translation consultant.

One of his comments:

The interaction between faculty and associates from so many parts of the world was the most valuable and the best part of the time in Misano. Some participants came with deep misgivings about Bible translation because it was used to justify colonial rule in many parts of the world. Others saw Bible translation as providing liberation from oppression. The warm, open environment, however, provided a positive venue of understanding and I would like to say that friendships formed at the conference will go a long way toward moderation and even transformation of views.

While he was in Italy, we received word that the printed Northern Embera Bibles had arrived in Panama safely and were moved into storage to await the dedication service. Earlier this summer we finally got to see and hold a copy of this Bible, the culmination of many years of work by many people. Chaz is shown in picture at right examining the finished product. A special thanks goes to many of you who have prayed for us and supported us financially for many years as this translation was being done.

Chaz is in Panama from August 10-23 to attend two dedication services for the Embera Bible translation. The first dedication will be held in an Embera community on August 13. The Bible will be formally presented to the people and they’ll be able to purchase their copies. An audio version of the New Testament has been done by the organization Faith Comes by Hearing, and that will be played on loudspeakers during dedication day. It will be available on CDs and also as MP3 files. “Listening groups” will also be organized so Emberas can hear and discuss the Scriptures together. A missionary from another organization wishes to have a copy of the audio files so he can broadcast it on his radio program. That is a great way to reach the Emberas who cannot read or don’t have funds to purchase a printed Bible. A second dedication will be held in Panama City on August 20 and will be for the general Christian public and for those Emberas who can’t make it out to the first celebration.

Chaz’s partner Doug is already in Panama and he reports that fifty people from one Embera village have prepaid for their Bibles. Another group from an area of Panama where we never really worked has confirmed that they are coming; they have to cross the open water of the Gulf of Panama, a potentially dangerous trip. Word from the Embera church that Doug and Chaz worked with is that there has been a lot of excitement and anticipation building about the dedication, as various church members have traveled a lot to tell people about it. In our next letter we promise a report and pictures.

Chaz asks for these special requests during this dedication month:

• for safe travel for all attendees. Some will walk, some will come by canoe, and some by bus.
• that at least some Emberas will come from Colombia.
• that we sell LOTS of Bibles and that all the Emberas who want a Bible can get one.
• that the accomplishments of finishing the Bible translation and organizing and publicizing the dedication would spur the Embera church on to greater works of faith, such as mission to unreached villages in Colombia
• that the Embera church would be able to handle the new people who believe as a result of the translation.

Now that our role in the Northern Embera work has largely concluded, we have new roles within Wycliffe. Chaz is a translation consultant for three teams working in South America. Recently he has consulted on the books of 1 Samuel, Acts and Romans. Helga is coordinating a team of people working on Spanish Translator’s Notes, commentaries written for indigenous translators working on Bible translation in Spanish-speaking countries. Her team is currently working on helps for Genesis, Ruth, Mark, 1 Timothy and 2 Thessalonians. We remain full members living on donations of support made in our name to Wycliffe Bible Translators.

Over the past year as we have moved into our new roles, our support need has gone up somewhat, due to increased living expenses here in the US. We’ve been told that if we do not receive increased monthly support in the next several months we will need to stop our work and work on full-time partnership development. We certainly hope to avoid that, so please pray with us for increased support, whether from churches or individuals. If you would like to become a monthly partner with us, or if you have been considering doing so, this would be a great time to start! The process is printed below. Do you have any other questions? Please write or call us! All of our contact information is below. We also have a new prayer card. If you’d like one, please contact us and we’ll send you one. Thank you for considering being a part of our team, helping with the cause of Bible translation.

Working together for those without the Bible,

Chaz and Helga Mortensen

Also go to our newly updated blog http://chmort.com/blog with new entries (family life etc) and updated tabs (top of the web page) about how we receive income and how to make financial gifts.

Last update Tuesday, August 9, 2011

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