Trip to California: San Pedro

So good to be back!!!

It has been about five months since I was last in California in San Pedro. The cool ocean air has been a welcome change from the mugginess lately in Orlando. It has also been wonderful to once again greet my brothers and sisters in Christ at Ocean View Baptist Church. On Wed I was welcomed as the speaker for the high school youth group. The group has grown since I was last here and it was wonderful to see how active and interested the group was. The whole youth ministry is growing and I am excited to see how many of the young men and women there are stepping up and becoming involved.

I was able to speak in both services on Sunday and was interviewed by Jared Kilduf the associate pastor/youth pastor. Outside I set up a presentation of what Wycliffe Associates is and did my best to tell everyone what I had done and am doing as a member of Wycliffe Associates.

Ocean View Baptist Church is a wonderful church. It is a good model of a Christ centered Bible focused church that wants to have a purposeful and positive impact on the surrounding community. They have a heart for their city. While I was there the church held a serve San Pedro day in which they went and cleaned up beaches. When I used to be a Stamps Intern at Ocean View, they would have these serve San Pedro days every so often. The goal to show God's love through service. As you can see I can't say enough about the good people at Ocean View Baptist Church. If you are in the area I would encourage visiting. They will notice you are new and will welcome you with pleasure.

 

http://www.ovbchurch.org/

 

Ocean View Baptist Church

1900 S Western Avenue

San Pedro, CA 90731 

 

 

Want to join the team?

Greetings!

Did you know that of the 6,877 languages in the world, 1,967 languages still need to have Bible translation projects started? This represents billions of people.

My name is Adam Lewis. I am the oldest son of Jon and Anita Lewis. I recently joined Wycliffe Associates, an organization that involves people in the advancement of Bible translation, and I am working with their Technology Advancement team. The goal of this team is to use partnership with indigenous Bible translators and cutting-edge technology to speed up the process of translating the Bible into every language. For example, in May, I traveled to Madagascar to begin training indigenous Bible translators how to use computers as part of the Bible-translation process. In early July, I traveled to Nigeria to install cell-phone amplifiers so that national translators in remote areas could use their cell phones and e-mail to accelerate the translation process.

I joined Wycliffe Associates because I believe the Word of God is important. It is the primary way to learn about and have a relationship with God. As the Bible is being translated into thousands of languages around the world, Wycliffe Associates is in a great place to partner with the organizations that are part of the Wycliffe Global Alliance, which includes many indigenous translation organizations, to bring the Bible into the heart language of everyone. I am excited to be involved.

Going forward, I will continue training indigenous Bible translators in how to use computers as a part of the translation process. I will also deploy equipment that will aid the translation process. I will be a resource for national translators to support their efforts.

I feel God has prepared me well to work in the capacity I am in. I have finished a masters degree in Biblical and Theological Studies from Talbot Theological Seminary, so I can work with church leaders and understand some of the theological issues they are facing. My technical background from being a technology systems coordinator at BIOLA, my work at COMP USA, the problem solving and logistical work I did with Samaritan’s Purse in Sudan, and the training I am receiving at Wycliffe Associates will let me meet their technological needs. Also, the ten years I have spent living overseas has equipped me to work well in a variety of overseas situations.

My goal is to see indigenous men and women equipped so that the Word of God reaches those who do not have it. By enabling national translators, they become leaders ready and able to take the Bibles they have translated and effectively teach and mentor those people for whom the Bibles were translated. The translation process also builds up networks and relationships within the body of Christ, strengthening that Body and allowing more good work to happen.  

I know that many of you partner financially and in prayer with my parents and/or my sister and brother-in-law, Tom and Julie Bolser, in their missionary service; and I am not asking you to change that. Indeed, please continue to support them. However, if you know any person or church who might be interested to partner with me in the work of accelerating the effort to bring every verse of the Bible to every person who does not have it in their own language, I ask you to connect them with me. And if you aren’t a current supporter of my parents or Tom and Julie, perhaps you would consider becoming a partner with me in technology advancement.

The following is my contact information:

 

Adam Lewis

10306 John Wycliffe Blvd. #16

Orlando, FL 32832

Adam_lewis@wycliffeassociates.org

Cell: 562-237-0085

 

Also, here is the link to my support page with Wycliffe Associates:

 

http://tinyurl.com/AdamLewis

 

For more information on Wycliffe Associates, you can visit their Web site at http://www.wycliffeassociates.org.

 

Thank you so much for considering my request .

 

“No eye has seen, no ear has heard, and no mind has imagined what God has prepared for those who love him” (1 Corinthians 2:9).

 

In God’s service,

 

Adam Lewis

 

 

Telling God's Story

I thought I would share an article from the Wycliffe Associates Website showing one way God's story is being shared around the world.

 

Many cultures in Papua New Guinea revolve around oral storytelling. Thanks to you, villagers there are now telling stories of God’s love.

Families and neighbors sitting under the stars, gathered around a crackling fire, eyes wide and ears open as they listen intently to the person who is telling the next story. Jesus was known for telling stories, and this is also a common scene in Papua New Guinea, where oral storytelling is an integral part of the many communities and cultures.

To help reach these people with God’s Word in a way that is meaningful to them, a special storytelling workshop was recently held at the Alotau Translation Center’s new facilities, which was completed last year through the support of generous partners like you. Attendees from seven different language groups learned how to accurately and effectively communicate key stories from the Bible. As a result, people who live in areas where the Bible has yet to be translated are hearing God’s truths before the Scriptures come into print in their languages, and lives are being greatly impacted.

“I have heard that story many times,” said one excited villager. “But the way you told the story in my language, that touched my heart. Now I want to change.”

Your support helped workshop graduates to present God’s Word in this culturally relevant way that deeply touches their lives and moves them to obedience.

   

An Overview and a Look Ahead

Greetings friends,

                About six months ago I launched out on a quest to serve God with Wycliffe Associates. From the plateau and forests of Nigeria, to the warm Eastern Madagascar shore I have already seen a lot. It is evident to me that God is doing many great works around the world and you are directly linked with some of those.

From Sea to Shiny Sea

                In May I stood at Ocean View Baptist Church overlooking the Pacific Ocean and Long Beach Harbor. A short while later I said goodbye to my church, Biola and Talbot friends. I launched off on a drive across the country to Orlando Florida with my mother Anita Lewis. Before leaving my car was given a good trip inspection and air conditioning zap by Integrity Auto. Along the way I visited the Hagbergs. They are long time missionaries with Wycliffe Bible Translators. Wycliffe Associates has worked closely with Wycliffe Bible Translators on many occasions and I respect the work the Hagbergs have done in Mexico greatly. My mother and I also were able to make short stops at the Kennedy Space Center in Texas and New Orleans on our way to Florida.   

                We arrived in Florida, greeted the team and just a day later I was on a Delta flight to Madagascar. I joined up with Russ Perry on our way to attend a Bible Translation Workshop. Our primary effort was to begin training national Bible translators how to use computers as a part of their Bible translation efforts.  We also helped the team there by taking a look at their current computers. We cleaned up the few systems they already had and installed some security programs on them. We also brought some new computers with us to be used by the national Bible translators.

Once the training was done, Russ and I joined a few of the Bible translation team on a short trip inland. Our purpose was to test some finished translation work on the people who spoke that language. We wanted to test to see how effective the translation was and if this translation could also be used on a very similar language in the same area. For this trip we flew into the mountains with Helimission. I have never flown in a helicopter before and can tell you it is really cool.

I made myself memorable by playing a Simon Says game with the kids as well as soccer and Frisbee.  During the whole of that trip, when the kids saw me they would pretend to make motions from the Simon Says game. They really got a kick out of that game.

Unfortunately, it is not known if the Bible translation project in Madagascar will continue. There are a number of operational questions that still need to be figured out. I had been looking at moving to Madagascar to live there a year or two; all the while supporting the project. These plans are on hold now until the program is confirmed or not.

After returning to the US, I found out about a need to set up cell amplifiers in Nigeria. These cell amplifiers amplify the signal from cell towers in remote places. They allow the Bible translation teams to use cell phones and laptops to communicate from remote places with Bible translation consultants and each other.

I accepted the request to go set these up and a few weeks later found myself traveling with Bob Bates. Together we traveled to Jos and then out West to several locations. I was quite pleased with 80% of the roads. However one 90 kilometer stretch took us at least 3 and half hours to cross. This was probably one of the worst roads I have ever been on. One of our Nigerian friends ended up losing his lunch three times.

Despite the long days of driving and many checkpoints, we arrived safely at all four sites where we set up cell amplifiers. When we arrived at the translation sites, these locations had either no reception or one bar of reception on cell service. When we were done, we tested the connectivity and all sources had five bars of connectivity. This improved signal also allowed for data connections through some of the accessible networks; This allows for e-mail to be used. Imagine if you had to walk two hours in order to make a cell phone call or send an e-mail and now you could do so from your office. These cell amps will speed up the process of translating Bibles significantly.

I spoke with many Nigerian pastors and translators who were overjoyed with the new connectivity. They told me these cell amps would make their work a lot easier. In the past they often had to wait months in order to ask questions on their translation work to a translation consultant. Now, they can hop on the e-mail and send a message with a question and get a response back in a day, if not minutes. Their challenge was to learn how to use the new connectivity and become used to it.

I returned to the states and five days later I was on another plane heading to Texas. This time I was working with a team from The Seed Company and Wycliffe Associates to look over a master laptop image.  Wycliffe Associates sends out a lot of computers to various Bible translation efforts. All these laptops have a lot of work that goes into getting them ready. In order to save time a backup image can be created on one computer. This image can then be applied to newly purchased computers bringing them all to the same place. From there they can be individualized with the proper keys, licensing, etc. This trip looked at the current process of creating a master laptop image and discussed the future of this kind of effort.  Many of you may roll your eyes and how boring this sounds. But this kind of work can really help those individuals who receive there computers. When they get their computers, they are already set up and are easier to start using right out of the box. They don’t have to worry about updates, installing programs, etc. All set up is already done.

What is in the future?

Now that I am back in the US I am looking forward to several things.

1.       Working in the Wycliffe Associates office for a while.

2.       Traveling around the US.

While I am in the office I am helping the team with a variety of projects. Most recently I have set up computers to be deployed oversees with Bible translation teams. I am starting to get to know my co-workers and their stories.

Secondly, I am preparing for a support building trip. I am responsible to raise all the support I will need while with Wycliffe Associates. That includes salary, travel expenses, shots, etc. I will be traveling to California in late September.  I have a possible trip to Angola early October; then return to the states for a four state trip to build my support team. This trip will take me through West Kentucky, Tennessee, Alabama, and Mississippi. I currently have three partners and have high hopes to find some more to share in work God is doing.

 

 

Texas imaging and barbeque

I have been doing a lot of travel this year. From California to Orlando, Madagascar, Nigeria and Texas its been a bit of a whirlwind. Last week I was in Arlington Texas for meetings with TSC or the Seed Company. Wycliffe Associates works closely with TSC on many translation projects.







This week was dedicated to working out a new master image to set up the first step of computers going oversees. When you have a lot of computers to set up a master image basically allows you to skip a large chunk of setting up any individual computer. It is like skipping the first seven levels of a ten level game. This puts on software, drivers, removes junk, etc. Once done you can individualize the machines with proper cd keys and the like.

We also talked about what would go into these master set ups. We also talked about a program called Balso which
is a nifty variant of Ubuntu which would make running computers oversees much simpler. It might be used in coming years. Overall it was a productive time and I enjoyed meeting my counterparts in the Seed Company.
Along the way we had some delicious food including Vietnamese and Texas Barbeque. I sampled fried pickles, fried cheese stuffed jalapenos, beef ribs, catfish, sausage along with potato salad and the like. Needless to say it was too much to finish. The picture of BBQ below is from Mark, not my own; but it gives you an idea of what we had. Below are pictures of my co-worker Bob Gray talking with Randal from TSC.

Above is a Texas Longhorn

 

Below is a band playing at the stockades in Fort Worth.

Deploying Cell Amps in Nigeria

Greetings and salutations!

How long would you be willing to walk to get reception on your cell phone? For some Nigerians, they were walking hours over multiple miles whenever they wanted to make a phone call. For some national Bible translators, this was still the best option they had.








In the last two weeks, I was fortunate to be able to travel to with Bob Bates to Nigeria in order to set up cell amps at four locations. These cell amp systems boosted the signal strength of cell networks from nothing or one bar to a full five bars. We traveled to the Northwest and around Jos which is in Plateau state.






Now these Bible translators can call and send e-mail from their office. This saves valuable time as they work on their Bible translations. They can communicate with other translators and consultants by phone with questions they have. E-mail allows more in depth textual questions with consultants. The Nigerian Bible translators were so happy to get these cell amps.

There are three basic parts of the cell amp system. There is an cell amp antenna we mount on the top of a large pole. This attached to the two units in the picture to the left. They are a power regulator and another antenna for rebroadcasting the cell signal in the area. This is all powered by solar power or generators.

Nigeria is an amazing place in terms of languages. It has the second largest amount of languages needing to be translated in the world. There are still over three hundred languages to be translated in Nigeria alone. Hundreds of languages have already been translated or are in the works. The total amount of languages that needed translation in the first place was over 500.

When I went to Nigeria I expected the roads would not be very good. Happily most of the roads I was on were relatively nice. However, one section of road we traveled was beyond bad. The last three and a half hours of a twelve hour road trip took place on an absolutely miserable road. This thirty year old road was not constructed well in first place. If there was a foundation it eroded all over the place, washing out large parts of the pavement. The constant jaw jarring potholes and other obstacles caused some of us to loose our lunch out the side of the car. Many of you would not call this a road at all. In fact a road we took later that was dirt only was a lot better than this one. I sadly don't have a picture of this road. However, I do have a picture of some of the traffic in Jos.

I would like to thank you for your support as I traveled in Nigeria. As you might know there has  been some troubles in the country with regards to fighting and the militant group Boko Haram. Fortunately we did not see any trouble and the hot spots were in different states than the ones we traveled through.
 On this trip I was able to visit two pretty neat groups. The first is called NetAccess and the second is called NBTT. NetAccess is trying to provide internet access to Nigerians in and around Jos. They help by providing internet for Wycliffe Associates and NBTT. NBTT is a Nigerian Bible Translation group Wycliffe is working with. Wycliffe has helped advise NetAccess as they have started. The fellow I am working with in the picture to the left is a technician from NetAccess.

I have a few pictures here from the NetAccess office. In the front they offer an internet café to anyone needing such access. Otherwise, they can beam or run cables to other groups who need them. I stayed at the NBTT guest house for Wycliffe Associates folk while in Nigeria.

Anyway, the trip was a wonderful success. I even was able to meet my father on my way out of Nigeria. He was coming in for some meetings of his own the same day I left. We met in the airport at Abuja and were able to have lunch at a Mr. Biggs close to the airport.

Despite this

To Nigeria

Hello everyone,

I have got some interesting news. I am off to Nigeria. I will be joining Bob Bates as we deploy cell amps and netbooks in a variety of places. We will be gone about a week and a half.