Perhaps some of you read the same article I did; Volunteers discover 10 Pioneer-era Apple Types, Thought Extinct, in Forgotten Orchards Across the Pacific Northwest. Apparently, there is a team of people who spend countless hours and travel hundreds of miles each year in search of more than 10,000 apple tree varieties that are no longer known to exist. The searchers find these forgotten trees in hay fields and in forests that have grown up around them. This past year they found 10. When they make a find, they work to propagate the variety and make it available to the public.
These bananas are the closest we come to apples here, so you may be wondering why I am talking about forgotten apple varieties. The answer is that the article illustrates where some of my time went last week.
In Ethnos360 and SIL we have dedicated workers who are figuratively tramping around the world searching for translations that were done before the digital age really took off and have never been backed up in a digital archive where they are available for those who need them.
One such translation is the Adasen New Testament done by Mark and Rachel Steffen. A first-rate translation that I find a very useful reference as I translate the Southern Isnag Bible. I was given the Adasen text files years ago, and since then they have resided on my computer. I can’t decide if my hard drive is more like a forest or a hayfield. Probably a forest.
Last week I was contacted by those working with the translation database that Ethnos360 and SIL use to store Bible translation. They were wanting to bring the Adasen translation formatting up to modern standards so they would not get lost over time and they tracked it down to my computer. The challenge for me has been getting the formatting up to modern standards, but thanks to patient help from Terresa Hiebert, we have made good progress and I think we are almost there.
Prayer and Praise:
- Praise the Lord that the Adasen have God’s word in their language and that it is available digitally for the next generation. (Print copies are available as well.)
- Praise the Lord that our pilot, Zach, was able to purchase an airplane ticket out of the country. Please pray that his trip home to his family will go smoothly.
Thank you for your prayers for our safety and the safety of the Isnag people.
God bless,
Jonathan & Heidi