Troy Manning

For those of you who read my previous post about the statistics that present the needs of Bible translation, you will want to read it again, because I’ve had to revise some of the things that I said, based on what I’ve learned recently.  Sorry for presenting the information incorrectly last week.  I really thought that I understood the whole situation, but I guess I didn’t.  I think I understand the situation better now, but then again, I may receive further clarity again in a few weeks. 

I hope my revised post doesn’t discourage anyone from praying hard for this ministry or considering joining it.  The needs are still extremely large.  One thing I didn’t say about the stats in that post is the fact that just because a Bible is published in a language doesn’t mean that the need is no longer there.  There’s always a need for revision, and in other cases, there may be a need for a complete re-translation. 

For those who are interested in the ministry of Bible translation, you might want to read my review of an article by D. A. Carson about the limits of the theory of dynamic equivalence.  See “Translator’s Page.”

When I give my presentation at churches, I like to draw their attention to the back of my prayer card.  I note that many missionaries put prayer requests on the back of their card.  Then I point out that I have over 4,500 prayer requests on the back of my card, because there are that many languages that don’t have a SINGLE verse of Scripture in their own language.  Of course, that makes the impact that I intend.  Then I explain that my greatest concern is for the believers among those 4,500 who have to have a relationship with the Lord through a Bible not written in their heart language. 

While I was in Quebec, I had a guy (an American from BJU, in fact) express his confusion about that number.  He said that Wycliffe Bible Translator’s site notes that there are around 2,500 languages without any portion of Scripture.  In fact, the number is presently about 2,300.  I was just speaking to two representatives of Wycliffe (and SIL), and they said that they derive their number by starting with a rough gestimate of 3,000 languages that they project to have a need for Bible translation.  Then, they subtract out some hard-and-fast numbers of what they are currently doing.  Thus, they arrive at the 2,300 amount. 

I was also able to pick up a Wycliffe brochure to help me better understand their perspective on the need.  According to a graph that they have in the brochure, Bible translation projects are currently underway in around 2,700 languages.  They indicate that there are around 6,900 languages in the world, so that leaves around 4,200 that still have a need.  This is much higher than the 2,300 mentioned above.  However, there are a number of languages among the 4,200 that might go extinct before we are able to provide them with a Bible translation.  But it’s really difficult to know for sure how many of those languages are close to extinction. 

And as I said in my earlier post, a full survey of all the world’s languages hasn’t actually been accomplished.  What a mammoth task that would be!  Thus, the numbers that we can provide are not hard-and-fast numbers.  When we finally get around to surveying them, we may find that there are many more languages that have needs.  Someone said last Sunday that there are around 100 sign languages in the world, but that if we did an in-depth survey, we would probably discover that there are more like 400 sign languages. 

Another person I sat with at lunch last week pointed out that even the 400+ languages with complete Bibles have needs.  In at least one case, the last edition was published 100 years ago and no one knows where it can be accessed. 

Needless to say, there is still MUCH work to be done in the field of Bible translation.  And when one considers the great deal of linguistics work that needs to precede, accompany, and follow Bible translation, we can bank on the fact that there will be no shortage of needs any time soon in this aspect of missions.  It is true that there is not as much of a need as what I had originally thought–i.e., 2,300 is much less than 4,500.  But as I said earlier, we can’t be sure that 2,300 represents the actual need.   In addition, the Bible agencies around the world want to at least begin projects in all of the 2,300 needy languages by 2025.  But remember, this is just the BEGINNING and this is just the languages that have been surveyed. 

Another note about numbers.  I read some tracts in Quebec that spoke of the great diffusion of Bible translation.  In fact, one tract says that 97% of the world can now read at least a part of the Bible in their maternal language.  What are we to make of that?  Well, we should actually adjust the figure to around 93% and we should keep in mind that the remaining 7% represents around 400 million people.  In addition, we need to ask ourselves, “What is the quality of the Scripture that they do have access to?  How much of the Bible do they actually have access to in their own language?  Should we rest content if they have a dozen portions of Scripture from various places in the Bible?  Why can’t they have the same privilege that we do of having it ALL?!”  The Bible is a highly disseminated Book, but this does not mean that there are no more needs or that there are only a few needs here and there around the globe.  There are GREAT needs, and they demand IMMEDIATE attention, because souls are dying without access to Scripture in their own heart language. 

What’s the moral of this post?  Keep in perspective what you read about numbers in this field of Bible translation.  Pray for the Lord to send more laborers.  I’m so thankful that I have been called to this ministry.  And here I have been concerned recently that maybe there aren’t that many needs.  I have the feeling that I am going to look back on these days in the future and laugh at my unwarranted concern. 

I’m so thankful for the time that I spent in Quebec.  The Lord truly met all of my needs and exceeded my expectations.  I praise the Lord that I never had to find my own housing in a hotel, and I had to purchase only two meals the entire 34 days.  Since the churches are so small in Quebec (most have around 20 people, though a few had as many as 70-80), I was praying that the love offerings could at least cover my travel expenses.  But as it turns out, the people gave so generously that the offerings were at least three times higher than my travel expenses, and there are still some gifts on their way!  I’m also very thankful for the church and a young couple who promised to begin supporting me.  Most importantly, I greatly appreciate the ministry I accomplished by God’s grace, the friendships I’ve established, and the prayer supporters I’ve gained.  The people truly gained a vision for the worldwide needs of Bible translation.  One Quebec pastor sent me a message yesterday saying that he sees my prayer card on the refrigerators of the members of his church.  The people continue to pray.  Praise the Lord! 

I began the long trip back to the USA on Thursday morning.  I drove 6 hours south to stay with the Claude Jutras family.  I left bright and early on Friday in order to get back into Grand Rapids before the banks closed.  I ended up missing my target by about half an hour, but I’m thankful for the safety and the good fellowship with the Lord that I enjoyed on the trip. 

That evening was quite hectic as I had to unpack, do laundry, sort through the mail at the office, and re-pack for my trip the following morning, as well as find time to squeeze a supper in.  I ended up finishing all those activities by around 1:30am on Sat.  I was up at 5:20am to make final preparations for my train departure at 7:30.  The Amtrak trip from GR to Chicago was uneventful and enjoyable, but the fun began in Chicago.  I had to walk two blocks to the commuter train, but I never could find it.  After lugging four heavy pieces of luggage around a few blocks on a hot and steamy day, I hailed for a taxi.  The commuter train took me straight to O’Hare airport. 

Because of bad weather in Chicago, we were delayed in leaving.  The delay caused me to miss my second flight, which means I also missed my third flight.  I ended up staying the night in Minneapolis and took a plane on Sunday morning to Grand Forks.  So, after around 28 hours, I finally arrived at my destination, tired but thankful to be here! 

I’ve learned much since I arrived on Sunday, both about the course material and about this program in general.  The University of ND has outsourced their entire linguistics department to SIL (Summer Institute of Linguistics).  Though SIL is a Christian organization, they have to operate within the confines of a secular university.  This interesting mix leads to a unique situation here.  Though most of the 140+ students are evangelical Christian, some are not.  Classes aren’t begun in prayer, and chapel is optional.  There’s much more that could be said, but I’ll leave it at that. 

My schedule is nicely grouped around the middle of the day–Translation of Texts at 9am, Typology and Discourse at 10am, chapel at 11am, lunch at 12pm, and Semantics and Pragmatics at 1pm.  On T and Th I will be taking the students’ kids to the pool for a couple of hours; this is my work assignment to help keep the costs down. 

Please pray that I would be salt and light here.  Please also pray that my studies would not suffer too much as I take a trip to Chicago this weekend for my sister’s wedding. 

Sometimes I wonder if I’ve really left America.  I’m referring to the fact that I have probably spoken more in English than in French.  There has been only one church where I had to speak only French to everyone.  Otherwise, I’m either with missionary or with Quebec pastors who know both languages.  This switching between the languages is messing with my mind; I often revert to French as I think things through in my mind. 

After visiting the Faucettes (American missionaries) in Laval, I went to Lennoxville, a town that is 90% English-speaking.  But the church ministry is to French-speaking people.  After having difficulties in French the Sunday before, I was quite fearful of how things would go in Lennoxville.  Thankfully, the Lord helped me to communicate my message well in French both in the morning and evening services.  I greatly enjoyed getting to know the believers there, and I enjoyed spending time with Pastor Mario Roy and his family, as we played volleyball, football, and soccer; worked on his house; and celebrated my birthday. 

The Lord also gave me good ministry at St. Nicephore the following Wed.  I enjoyed getting to see David Brind-Amour (freshly graduated from BJU) and his family.  It’s a blessing to see how the believers are catching my burden for Bible translation.

I returned to Laval to stay with the Faucettes, so that I could attend Van Gelderen’s meetings on Thur and Fri.  The Lord challenged my heart greatly about having greater faith in prayer and in evangelism.  I look forward to attending the Netcasters seminar in September.

I experienced a change of pace on Saturday (May 24) as I headed to Claude Jutras’ farm in Mt. St. Gregoire.  He grows asparagus, blueberries, rasberries, and grapes; raises piglettes; and makes his own maple syrup.  But his desire is to sell the farm so that he can give his full energies to his church.  The Lord gave me a wonderful day of ministry at his church (see picture of him and his deacons).  Claude had definitely prepared the hearts, because he already has a great heart for Bibles International.  The people showed great interest in my ministry, so much so that I never had to worry about finding someone to talk to at church.  One young couple thanked me personally for my ministry, called me the next day, and then sent an email to the same effect.  What a blessing to see the Lord answering our prayers!

The following Wednesday I headed north to Chateau-Richer, where I enjoyed seeing Raymond Teachout’s family and ministry.  We had a great time touring the area and praying together.  Then I headed up to Rimouski to minister at the Zimmerman’s church.  I was especially encouraged by the Ouellets, a family with 5 lively children who actively support the ministry.  Tomorrow evening I head further north to Matana for my last meeting.

It’s been such a blessing to see the generosity and hospitality of the people here.  The Lord has provided exceedingly and abundantly above my expenses.  Pray for God to continue to raise up my support team.  Pray also for safety as I begin the long trek back to Grand Rapids on Thursday.  I will drive 6 hours back to Mt. St. Gregoire on Thursday and then make the 11.5-hour trip to Grand Rapids on Friday.  I have one evening to unpack, repack, and then get some sleep before heading by car, train, and plane to UND for linguistics school.  It’s going to be quite a weekend.

If you want to see photos of my Quebec trip, check out http://www.facebook.com/p.php?i=613716245&k=6Z136VR2V6XM5BEGYJ25T3. 

The Quebecois call their province “the beautiful province,” and I’ve found it to be exactly that.  I’ve thoroughly enjoyed my travels through this province.  I started in the SW and then headed north along the St. Lawrence River for my second meeting.  My third meeting required that I go SW along the River again.  I ministered in Mike Webster’s church last Wed and then again on Sunday morning.  Dick Teachout, a stewardship representative for BI, pastored this church for a number of years, so it was good to see this work.  I enjoyed getting to know the Websters and their work in this city which is so full of historical significance for Quebec (more on that later). 

As I ministered with the Websters, I quickly came to realize that the composition of this church is quite unique.  Among the believers are 4 missionary families (the Websters, the Garrises, and two families in language school), a Quebec couple working in a translation ministry based in the church, and a former linguistics professor.  So, I enjoyed being able to speak to Americans, linguists, translators, and of course, Quebecois. 

The translation ministry is called “Editions Ekklesia.”  I’ve come to realize that the French people are truly deprived of conservative Christian resources.  They have much more than the minority languages of the world, but that doesn’t say a whole lot.  While I was there, Mrs. Webster, Guy (the former linguistics professor), and Sylvie (whose with EE) were working on the translation of Berg’s Changed into His Image.  I’m thankful for the opportunity to see a translation ministry of a different sort, and I’m glad I was able to offer some suggestions.  This ministry needs prayer that the churches will get behind them fully so that they can produce much needed resources for the edifying of the Body.

On Friday Mike took me to the old area of Quebec city.  We were able to tour the Museum of French America where we learned much about the Catholics’ founding of the city.  The first bishop, Francois de Laval, did much to gain control over the people, even after the French lost the battle to the British.  He founded the University of Laval, the third oldest university in North America.  The greed and emptiness of Catholicism were quite evident.  Many of the Quebecois are so disgusted with this religion that they have jettisoned all religion.  In fact, some of the French swear words evidence this, since they profane even the words for the instruments of worship.

It was refreshing, however, to visit the exhibition of the Huguenots.  After the revocation of the Edict of Nantes in 1685, the Huguenots faced great persecution, but thankfully, some remained true to the faith.  In this exhibit the musuem stated some of the core truths of Protestantism–the sole authority of the Word of God and the equal access of the believer to His God.  What a stark contrast to what we saw in the other exhibits!

While in Quebec city we were also able to visit the Canadian Bible Society, where we came across a treasure trove of technical French resources.  I was able to stock up on some for my use and for the use of our French consultants, and I plan on going back later this month as I travel back through there. 

The Lord gave me a great morning of ministry last Sunday morning in Webster’s church.  I preached on Psa. 19 in the morning service, and then did my Prov 2 lesson in SS.  But instead of teaching out of my French Bible as I do in the US (to give the believers a sense of what it’s like to have to listen to Scripture in another language as many around the world do), I used my English Bible.  Though the French translating was more difficult for me, I think it went well. 

I had to drive all afternoon to head south to Laval, which is near Montreal.  I think the combination of fatigue and pride (because I thought I had this French thing down), I had a hard time preaching.  But the Lord helped me through, and I think I was able to connect with the people.  The Q/A time felt more like a linguistics course, because the people had many language-related questions.  It was a blessing to minister in Paul Pelletier’s church, especially since they support BI and since Paul’s wife’s parents were members of my uncle’s church a number of years ago. 

John Van Gelderen is coming to Laval later this week, so Steve Faucette (I’m staying at his house now and will be speaking at his church on Wed) were able to pass out some literature yesterday.  The Lord gave us a couple opportunities to share the gospel.  Please pray for God’s working in these hearts and in the meetings.

Today I’m going to tour Montreal with some friends.  I’m looking forward to seeing this diverse, cosmopolitan city which is actually situated on a large island.  Tomorrow I get to minister in English in Faucette’s church, since they have an English ministry.  Please continue to pray for the Lord’s strength. 

I’m so thankful for His provision and protection.  It was a blessing to eat with the Rob Spare family yesterday.  I was very encouraged when their two oldest boys (ages 4 and 6) volunteered to give my monetary gifts toward my ministry out of their own allowances.  What a blessing to see their giving hearts for the work of the Lord!  Please keep praying for God’s provision and protection.

I’ve been to Canada before, but that was when I was in high school, and it was a trip to Ontario, not Quebec. I entered into Quebec on Saturday morning and had no delays crossing the border. I drove 9 hours to Saint-Jérome and enjoyed the beautiful countryside, especially since I traveled next to Lake Ontario almost the whole time.

My DVD is, of course, in English, so to show it in Quebec I thought I could just play a music-only version while I read the script live in French. Since I didn’t have much time to prepare my presentation or my sermons before I left Grand Rapids, I had to do most of my preparing Saturday evening. After I settled into where I was going to stay for the night and began preparing, I quickly realized that reading my script in French while also keeping up with the photos on the DVD was going to be basically impossible for me. There were two main problems: I can’t read quickly in French, and what I had to read had grown. I’ve discovered that it often takes a few extra words to say the same thing in French that was said in English. I began to get pretty stressed out about my presentation, especially since I also needed to work on my SS lesson and sermon (thankfully, I was going to preach only once). I was hoping the pastor would volunteer to read it for me, but that didn’t happen… at that moment.

So I went back to the DVD to see if I could learn how to read faster. I decided to cut out a few extra details in the script and I abbreviated some of the names. Then I realized the only other thing I could do was make good use of the pause button. So that’s what I did the next day at church. I believe it went quite well under the circumstances, though it took twice as long to complete, leaving me only a few minutes for my lesson. Thankfully, the Lord also helped me to preach my sermon in French. The people said they understood me quite well.

After the service, the two pastors came to me and volunteered to help me with my presentation. Praise the Lord! The one pastor (Simon Ouellette), who is a BMM missionary and a native Québécois, said he could transfer the music and photos of my DVD onto another DVD and also add the text read in French. The other pastor (Benoit Carrier), who is not a missionary but who is also a native Québécois, volunteered to read the text for me, though Simon read the recommendation by Pastor Minnick (he enjoyed playing that part!). The final product is quite good, and it has the Québécois accent, which the people will understand better than mine.

Speaking of the Québécois accent, I’ve found it to be quite difficult to understand. Though I am a little rusty in my French, I’m not that rusty! But I’ve been having a hard time understanding the Québécois French. I think if I were in Africa, I could pick up on it much more easily. I’ve found the Québécois up north here to be much easier to understand. Pastor Maxime Rioux is the pastor of a small church here in Riviere-du-Loup, and I’ve enjoyed speaking with him. He is also a native Québécois, though he is supported as a missionary, so I can speak to him only in French. The Lord gave me a good meeting with his church on Tuesday night. I leave for Quebec city this afternoon to be with Pastor Mike Webster, who is an American missionary. I will be with him for around a week.

Going back to the first church, I wanted to add that I greatly enjoyed the fellowship at Benoit Carrier’s church. I stayed with him from Saturday to Tuesday morning. He was one of the pastors that I met at the preaching conference at Detroit Baptist Theological Seminary. I stayed at Benoit’s house, but I was also able to enjoy a day of fellowship with Simon. We had a great time fellowshipping about many different things and were able to develop a good friendship very quickly.

I also enjoyed getting to know Jonathan, a new believer who attends their church. He was drafted second in the NHL draft a few years ago. He started training to play for the Florida team, but the Lord took away his heart for hockey. He started playing the guitar, but the Lord removed his desire for that as well. Unbeknownst to him, the Lord was pursuing him for salvation. Someone at his work witnessed to him when he was going through some other tribulations, and the Lord had prepared him for that encounter and was soon after saved. He wants to serve the Lord; in fact, he said he would be disappointed if he couldn’t serve the Lord full-time. But he wants to be sure that the Lord is calling him. Please pray that the Lord would give him clear direction.

Praise the Lord for keeping me safe as I’ve already traveled over 1,000 miles in my yellow rental car. Pray that the Lord would continue to keep me safe, protect me from evil, and bless my ministry. The Lord has already graciously provided through generous gifts from the first two churches.

The Lord gave me a good day of ministry at my church (Westside Baptist Church) on April 20.  The pastor and his wife were out of town for the weekend, so he asked me to fill the pulpit for the day.  It was an honor and a privilege to minister the Word.  The Lord graciously gave us a couple of visitors that morning, so we had 15 in attendance.  The evening service was lower in attendance, but we still had a good time of fellowship in the Word. 

This past Sunday I went to Hope Baptist Church in Hope, MI.  I enjoyed the fellowship with Pastor Neil Wiggins and the people at Hope.  I was able to teach adult SS, give a short blurb in the AM service, and present my ministry in the PM service.  I’m thankful for their generous gift, the increased prayer support, and the opportunity to see what God is doing in Hope.  Please pray for this small, struggling church out in the country.  They need to see the Lord bring to them some young couples to continue the ministry.

The Lord worked it out that I have to go to Lansing only one time this week.  Two of my final exams are take-home exams, so I need only to email them to my teachers.  Thankfully both of them are already done.  I have only one in-class exam and that’s on Friday.  I’m so thankful for how the Lord has met all of my needs and that I can complete this semester with absolutely no debt.  I’m also thankful for how He has protected me over the many miles of traveling back and forth. 

Speaking of traveling and Friday, on Friday evening I’m going to start making my way toward Quebec.  I will stay the night with some friends in Port Huron and then travel the rest of the 9 hours to my first church.  I’m excited about this trip to Quebec, but I’m concerned about how well my French will come back to me.  I’ve already translated my DVD script into French (I will have to read it live each time I show my DVD), and I have some sermons to translate by the end of the week.  Please pray for success in French and for the Lord to burden hearts about my ministry of Bible translation.  Please also pray for safety in travel as I take a rental car across at least 3,000 miles of Quebec.   

I just found out recently that my trip to Haiti has been cancelled.  Dr. Bernard is already down there, and he said certain developments in the country have kept people from being able to travel.  This trip was primarily to meet with people.  So if we can’t meet with them, then there’s no use going.  The tickets for this trip will be applied to my trip in December.  I’m discouraged that I don’t get to go to Haiti, but I’m thankful that the Lord caused it to not happen now, instead of when I was in Chicago, Miami, or Haiti.  In additon to the problems in Haiti, I heard that American Airlines is also having problems–they have cancelled over 1,000 flights today.  I was supposed to go on AA for all legs of the trip.  Who knows what kind of mess I would have faced at the airport today. 

Pray for the translation team down there as they will have to get organized on their own.  They will lack the training we would have given them, but at least the translator, Daniel Telfort, already has the training he needs to begin. 

On a more encouraging note, an African student that I’ve been developing a relationship with noticed that I had an article in my backpack about the NKJV.  So he started talking about a new Bible program he purchased recently.  He is Catholic and does not claim to be born again, but he wants to have a Bible for him and his wife.  I was able to talk to him about what I preached this past Sunday–”man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God.”  In addition, another student came to class today with a NT from Gideons.  She said she has 5 others at home.  Apparently, Gideons comes on campus 3 times a year and are persistent in passing them out.  Pray that the Lord will use the Word that is already in the hands of these students.

Ever since I met Pastor Dan Dickerson at the Baptist Mid-Missions home office, I have been looking forward to presenting my ministry at his church, especially since he invited me to come.  I knew that it would be a pretty intense day of ministry, since I would be teaching the combined adult SS class, preaching in the AM service (that is broadcast on the radio and on TV), and presenting my ministry in the evening service.  Though it was an intense day, it was also very fulfilling. 

The people seemed to be very attentive each time I spoke.  After the morning service, two different people told me that they had specific questions about Psalm 19 that they’ve always wondered about.  By God’s leading, I answered those questions for both of them.  And here yesterday was the first time I decided to use Psalm 19 as one of my main texts for that message that I’ve preached a few times already.  Praise the Lord for His confirmation. 

Since the message is broadcast over the TV, there is a countdown clock on the front pew.  It was a little unusual to have that thing staring at me the whole time.  I felt the pressure to make sure I finished on time.  But lo and behold, I was at my conclusion and there were still 7 minutes left on the clock.  What to do?  Well, I had a point in the message that I wanted to save for the evening service, but I decided I better go ahead and develop it now, because I definitely can’t end a TV service early.  Somehow the Lord helped me through that point–I had gone through the material a few other times at other churches so it wasn’t new stuff.  And somehow things turned out OK for the evening service, even though I stole a little bit of my own thunder. 

I was also looking forward to seeing some friends from my college days.  I enjoyed eating lunch with the Vandenbergs, but I missed seeing two others–one had emergency (minor) surgery recently and the other had to take his daughter to the emergency room yesterday so he couldn’t get back in town soon enough.  But I’m thankful for the other friends I made.  It was a joy to have several substantial conversations with people and to have individual ministry to them.  And they ministered to me too! 

I’m looking forward to my trip to Haiti on Thurs.  Dr. Bernard is already down there.  We plan on making sure everything is in place to begin the translation of the OT into Haitian Creole.  Please pray for a safe and profitable trip. 

Check out my updates on the “Praise/Prayer” and “Where Am I?” pages.

My typical routine for a weekend ministry is to travel over on Saturday afternoon so that I can eat supper with a family in the church and then fellowship with them in the evening.  I was able to do the former this past weekend, but not the latter.  It ended up, however, working out very well.  The church set me up to stay in the Courtyard of Marriot.  I thoroughly enjoyed a chance to have a quiet room to myself, especially since I had a midterm on Monday to prepare for and the lesson for Sunday. Typically, I speak in multiple services on Sunday.  This past Sunday I spoke in only the Sunday school hour, and that happened to be the second hour.  A couple of other unusual things about this church: no hymnals, small fellowship groups that meet for prayer on Sun evenings, and meetings at a school on Sun am and Wed pm.  The church uses powerpoint for the music (and they sing only conservative music!), which proved to be very effective in aiding worship.  They meet in a school because, though they have land, they can’t afford to build on it at this point, since construction is so expensive.

Pastor Brown has given serious thought to how God wants him to lead his congregation.  I can say that I was greatly encouraged by the vitality at the church.  It had a wonderful mix of new converts and mature believers.  The people were extremely attentive as I spoke about the centrality of the Word in the believers life.  Also, the group I fellowshipped with on Sunday evening very actively participated in the discussion as they worked through applying the pastor’s message from the previous week.  All in all, it was a great blessing to see what the Lord is doing in eastern MI, even in spite of all the economic and other pressures. 

This Sunday I will be going to Calvary Baptist Church in Midland, MI, where Dan Dickerson is the pastor.  I’m excited about this opportunity, because it’s one of those very desirable situations that a missionary rarely gets–the pastor asked me to come.  And the church has already proven their heart for Bibles International because of their previous gifts.  I will be speaking in all three slots–SS, AM, and PM.  And I’ll be on TV and the radio.  So please pray for me.  I’m also looking forward to fellowshipping with friends from BJU.