March 2008 - Posts

• Progress

  Pastor Minamida is getting better—bit by bit. He will come to ViBi twice a week for two hours each, signing in front of the camera for only ten minutes a day. So we are really still just limping along in Genesis, but this is better than nothing. You will remember, way back in September, that Genesis 36-42 was almost ready for final recording.  He will start April 3 on the final revisions, and when he finishes, we will begin the final recording. It may take a while at 10 camera minutes a day, two days a week, but we are still determined to get God’s word to the Deaf of Japan.   Please keep praying for his full recovery. Please pray for us as we search for translators. And pray for funding to allow us to hire them. (Just by way of comparison, the Colombian Sign Language Bible translation team has 12 people on staff.) Posted Mar 31 2008, 06:56 AM by The Penner Place Filed under: Translation

• Christ is Risen!

  It was a blessed Easter!  There were 15 adult visitors at Deaf church yesterday and we almost ran out of chairs!  There was not one grain of rice left at the pot-luck!  I  hope you had a wonderful resurrection day also.  Posted Mar 23 2008, 08:52 PM by The Penner Place Filed under: Deaf Church

• PAL

  The wheelchair project is continuing to grow.  We will be sending 20 wheelchairs to the Philippines next month.  Philippine AirLines (PAL) will be flying the wheelchairs from Tokyo to Manila gratis.  We have much to be thankful for.  I was able to meet the director of the PAL Foundation, and went to church with her Palm Sunday.  Posted Mar 23 2008, 08:51 PM by The Penner Place Filed under: Wheelchairs

• Back in the land of good rice and ofuro (hot bath)

  Mary Esther and I are both home safe in Japan. She came to the Philippines from Bangkok, so had to go back that way too, while I got a straight flight home (and a trip to the airport early the next morning to pick her up.) We are settling back into the routines and playing catchup in a lot of areas.   Thank you for praying us through a strategic two weeks of Sign Language Bible translation consulting practicum. For Mary Esther, it was her first exposure, but working together, we were able to find ways that our gifts and abilities complemented each other.   Mary Esther writes:  It was the very first time for the Deaf Filipino team do any translation work, and it was tough going over their very first draft, wanting to encourage them and yet needing to be thorough. It is exciting that new translation teams are forming and working on a Bible in their own language.  We so easily take our own Bibles for granted, and watching them discuss the meaning of what the Scripture says renewed in me a love and appreciation for my English Bible.    I spent my time watching the work, and learning how to use some of the software that Wycliffe has designed to help with Sign Language Bible translation.  Talk about a steep learning curve!  When the program worked the way I thought it should, I was so happy but when I lost an hour of  Mark’s work,  I wasn’t quite as thrilled.  It is amazing the technology we now have that allows us to record on video and analyze the signed sentences to help in translation.           Posted Mar 23 2008, 08:46 PM by The Penner Place Filed under: Translation

• Quick Report

  Thanks for praying. The women’s retreat was truly amazing. God used Mary Esther in totally unexpected ways. I hope she will have time to share some of the stories soon. During her time attending the Chiang Mai conference, God again showed His goodness in the timing and placing of people and events. We are very thankful. Posted Mar 12 2008, 07:59 AM by The Penner Place Filed under: Other Stuff

• Philippine Bible Society

  Today, we had another unexpected. Through a marvelous series of “coincidences”, Mary Esther and I were able to meet with people at the Philippine Bible Society, sharing our Japanese Sign Language Bible translation experience, and talking also about the Filipino Sign Language (FSL) Bible translation project that we are working on for the practicum portion of our training here. The Bible Society was very interested in the project. Pray that this meeting will continue to bear fruit.   Posted Mar 12 2008, 07:57 AM by The Penner Place Filed under: Translation

• A Day in the Life of

  2/29/08 Mark’s been gone for a week now.  I’ve spent extra time enjoying special friends from Deaf church and also the missionary community.  I’ve not cooked one single real meal.    Yesterday was an amazing day. With a Wheelchairs of Hope board meeting in the afternoon, I left early to run errands in the area beforehand. I allowed more than enough time, but—how  God works His wonders—there was an interruption. Japan Wheelchair Company had some more wheelchairs to pick up. We were thrilled to add that to the task list, and glad to sit and talk to the man who loaded up the chairs for us. Turns out he gave us some valuable new information on wheelchair companies in Japan. And still, there was plenty of time left after that. Then another.   At the post office I didn’t have the signet stamp I needed to withdraw funds from our account, so had to go to the mission office to pick it up. But I hadn’t been in the office more than a minute or two when the mission chairman answered his cell phone to hear a caller from Thailand who was trying to get in touch with me, and didn’t have my phone number.  I had been trying to reach him for the past week, and to think he called right when I was there! A “bothersome addition” turned out to be perfect timing.     I had just enough time to grab a quick lunch and head off to the Wheelchairs of Hope board meeting. A lot of big decisions, and a good sense of working together. I left there encouraged by the people God has brought to give leadership to the project.   3/1/08 Today was a one day women’s retreat at a church in Yokohama.  It was just one short day those attending, but for me, many days of preparing and heart-searching. I’ve been reminded how our powerful God uses the weak, and how wonderful it is to be in His service.  Marva Dawn wrote a book "Powers, Weakness and the Tabernacling of God"  that has made me relook at the world around us.     Tomorrow morning our Japan field will be heading for Chiang Mai to join the rest of the WorldVenture Asia fields for a week conference.  I look forward to that very much.  When it’s over I’ll head to Manila to join Mark for his last two weeks of classes.    Thank you for your prayers for us! Posted Mar 01 2008, 04:27 PM by The Penner Place Filed under: Wheelchairs