September 2017

Dear Friends, Family, Teammates, Encouragers, Supporters in prayer and finance and in so many other ways,

I’m writing this from the airport in Mexico City. I spend a lot of time in airports and try to make it productive when possible! Tom is keeping things going at home, the never-ending Web work, plus his vegetable garden and house projects as time allows. 

Mapping the Americas Bible Translation Movement Journey was the theme of our small, informal meeting these past few days. It was a privilege to sit with some of our Americas leaders, past and present, and review how God has led over these past years. So much has changed since the time we served in Brazil in the 1990s. And it is nothing anyone could have planned. Only God can orchestrate in such amazing ways, on such a large scale and in such detail! At the time we were serving in the Americas, there was only one national Bible translation organization, ALEM, the Brazilian organization that served alongside SIL. Today there is an entire network of organizations in Brazil that serve as a part of the Wycliffe Global Alliance.

Celebrating with UNTI,
the Mexican Bible translation organization
of indigenous translators

And it’s not just Brazil by any means (did you know Brazil is the second largest missionary-sending country in the world?). There are now more than 40 organizations, networks and denominations in the Americas that are part of the Wycliffe Global Alliance.  That represents many thousands of people who are leading in Bible translation programs, training, sending, praying, providing funds and other resources. Many of these organizations are indigenous movements. That means the people we were once trying to “reach” are now the primary players in translation and other facets of the Bible translation movement. Translation used to feel rather like producing a product, even though there were many good outcomes and God used His Word to transform lives. But today we are seeing more people involved, relationships built, ongoing discipleship, church growth and changed lives and communities that are beyond what we could have imagined.

Another key shift is the role of the church. In times past there were often no local churches, or where there were churches, mission efforts were left to mission agencies. Today the church leads much of the Bible translation effort. And, together, we are the worldwide Church!

My part in the meetings we had this past week was to walk the team through their journey.   The goal was to document it in a way that would help them discern goals for the future and help other areas of the world as they seek to move forward on their journeys as well. We are taking a different approach from the standard strategic planning model and so far it seems to be helpful. Do keep praying as we continue to explore and discover together as we seek to follow God in His mission and as I find my way in this new role of facilitating strategy in the Alliance.

As we heard the stories of how God has been at work in the Americas, Psalm 40:5 kept coming to my mind. We read it several times during the meetings and it is oh, so true!

“Many, LORD my God,
are the wonders you have done,  
the things you planned for us.
None can compare with you;   
were I to speak and tell of your deeds,  
 they would be too many to declare.”

We have a busy fall coming up with guests, meetings at our house, three more overseas trips for me (UK/South Africa, Singapore, Germany), and trips for both Tom and me to Michigan and Texas. And then there is all the work to be done inbetween! No wonder our house projects are behind schedule. A number of Tom’s tools were stolen from our shed a few weeks ago, so that was sad and a set-back, too.

Our family is doing well. My parents have settled into yet another house. They are still in Tennessee, renting near where they’d been living and trying to sell the other house. So please pray! Kate’s husband, Jordan, has started his last semester of seminary. Kate’s been blessed to have a number of editing and proofreading jobs. Their children continue to grow and are a great challenge and a great blessing! Winslow is now three, Jude almost two and Noah is almost seven months. They will be moving back to the Bronx when Jordan finishes school and would appreciate your prayers regarding the transition, housing, new ministry, etc.

Josh and Heather and the girls are also doing well. Éowyn (Wynnie) at six, is becoming quite the young lady.  I love hearing her practice her reading when we talk on Skype and, a few weeks ago, I watched this very determined child work at threading a needle for more than 15 minutes. She did it! Wynnie goes to classes one day a week and they are home schooling the rest of the week. Aurélie turns three this month and is a bounce-off-the-walls, very bright, self-proclaimed goofball. She often changes her clothes four or five times during the course of my Skype calls with Wynnie. Aurélie rarely settles down for conversation or our book reading but will dash, dance and spin through the room in her tutu, princess dress, bathing suit, etc. combos. Great fun. We were able to see all the family in their respective homes this summer, and Kate and crew also spent a few days at our house in August.

We can’t even begin to thank you for your prayers and support. I hope you find some of the news we share as encouraging as we do. You are a part of the team, a great blessing to us and we want you to know how much that means. Thank you! Let us know how we can be praying for you.

Susan and Tom Van Wynen

P.S.  from Tom.

I wanted to share with you all a recent experience that reminded me that God is working in many ways in our lives and ministries, not just in the ways we are focused on.

In Bolivia, where I grew up from infancy until leaving for college, my parents were part of a Bible translation team focused on the various indigenous language groups of Bolivia. To operate the center where they lived and enable all the translation teams to focus on their work instead of survival, they hired many local people to do maintenance jobs.  Those people became partners in the work, even though many were not believers when they came.  Over the many years of living and working together, deep relationships developed.  Many of the expatriate people provided ongoing technical training and Bible studies to these friends and co-workers. Many of these colleagues became believers. 

When the translation and linguistic work was finished and the expats moved on to new projects in other countries, our local friends moved into new cycles of life as well. I had the privilege of seeing two of them, Ricardo and Anna, this past week, as they came to visit their daughter who lives in Washington, DC.  It had been many years since we’d been together!  It was very humbling to listen to their stories of how God has walked with them over the years.  They were married the year I left Bolivia for college; now, 44 years later, they have 10 children, 30 grandchildren and have been heavily involved in the evangelical church movement in Bolivia.  For many years, Ricardo was pastor of the church in the community that formed on the old translation center. Anna has worked closely with the women’s groups in various churches in the area.  Ricardo is now part of the Obra Evangelica Nacional – a nation-wide evangelical organization.  Some of their children are pastors in the local city and beyond. This couple is just one example of how God has continued to bless relationships begun many years ago. And He has done far beyond what anyone imagined.