Happy Christmas, Happy New Year

We’re still working on a long-overdue letter of news, thanks to God and requests for prayer, but in the meantime we wanted to send warm greetings from Jos. It’s a little cool now, but we’re enjoying some al fresco meals together, and enjoyed gathering at church. Being a city church it seems quite a few people have travelled back to villages or elsewhere for Christmas, but we enjoyed some good Christmas carols and readings and preaching despite the reduced numbers.

Each year our office here in Nigeria puts together a collection of stories and updates from the various aspects of translation and language work we are involved in.

It’s good to hear some of the wider context.

• Our work in words isn’t immediately visually compelling, but our ethnoarts team have some joyful pictures as they highlight how local culture makes the power of the gospel clearer and more immediate to people.
• Our colleague Nuhu tells about the first ever all-Kamuku language wedding service.
• We hear about how Dadiya writers glossed over vowel distinctions then couldn’t be sure if the letter to the Hebrews talked about Jesus ‘breaking’ or ‘setting aside’ a covenant. Ishɛ has had similar issues.
• Our colleague Marinne writes about an opportunity in multilingual education, chipping away at the superficial tedious irrelevant drudgery of English-first teaching.
• Finally, the Faith and Farming team report how Duya farmers are being helped to look more seriously at scripture and see that farming is still good and part of God’s work for people, rather than being a cursed profession best abandoned for get-rich-quick-schemes.

There’s a certain amount of Covid-19 going around so we may start the year working a bit from home but with somewhat refreshed heads we’re looking forward to getting back into the complex Koro Ashɛ work and a resumption of homeschool.

Thanks for all your prayers for us this past year. Very soon we look forward to filling you in on some of the major milestones we’ve reached. We thank God for progress in work, for carrying us through struggles of various kinds, and refining us all. We thank him for giving us supportive friends and gospel partners like you, and we pray for each of you that God would show you his kindness and give you joy as you trust him and entrust yourselves to his loving care in an uncertain world. We grieve several dear ones we have lost but we know that for them it is better by far to be with their Saviour Jesus the Chosen One.

Greetings from David, Julie, Rebekah, Elizabeth, Abigail and Helen

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