We finished up the proofreading of the Simbari Bible a couple months ago and have been in the process of confirming all the details with the publisher. This week the order was submitted, and the project is now in the beginning stages of production. It has all taken much longer than expected but we are trusting in God’s timing and that He knows best. We are so thankful that the publishing stage has begun, and it won’t be long before the first edition of the Simbari Bible comes off the press!
Bible Lessons
After completion of the proof-reading we started working on Bible Lessons. Shari is working on typing up transcriptions and I (David) am revising the text and formatting of all the previously translated lessons. Some vocabulary and key phrases have been updated over the years in the translation and we want to make sure the text in the Bible lessons will match the text in the printed Bible. We are also updating the formatting of the old lessons. The older lessons were formatted to look good in print form and were made before the days of XML code. There is software for digitizing XML compatible files into eBooks but our old print-driven formatting wasn’t translating into eBook format very well. So we are updating the lesson formatting for better XML compatibility in order for them to look good in print AND export well into eBook format. Even though hardcopies are still the best form for a book we realize that more and more Simbari people are getting mobile phones and want eBooks that they can easily carry with them on their phone when away from home.
Crossing Borders
A couple months ago a small group of Simbari believers hiked over the border into another tribe to visit a new church there. They wanted to be a spiritual encouragement to the young believers in any way they could. It was a very encouraging time for all and we are so thankful to see the body of Christ functioning and members of the body strengthening each other’s faith. After the Simbaris returned to their home village they started a new chronological Bible teaching course. Last we heard there were 10 people attending.
Another Grandchild!
Last week our son Simon and his wife Chandler added a baby girl to their family. Her name is Eisley Sierra Ogg and she is our first granddaughter! That makes 4 grandchildren in all. When we held baby Eisley for the first time we didn’t want to let her go. What an incredible blessing from the Lord!
Thank You
Thank you for your prayers and support for us as we continue developing Biblical resources for the Simbari church.