A Day In the Life of JAARS Computer Support

Scene I

Location: JAARS Computer Support Department.
Time: June 17, 2006
Edith Enduser [dialing JAARS Helpdesk and getting another busy signal for the 3rd time]: “Oh, drats! Busy again.”
Edith Enduser [dialing JAARS Helpdesk once again]: “Cool! The phone is ringing. I’m safe now.”
[Phone rings] Harry Helpdesk: “Hello. JAARS Computer Support. May I help you?”
Edith Enduser: “Yes, thank you. I’m calling from Brazil and my e-mail isn’t working. Can you help me?”
Harry Helpdesk: “Let’s see what I can do. Tell me more about the problem.”
[Harry listens to the problem and verbally walks Edith through the solution, assuming she is completing every one of his instructions exactly as directed – a dangerous assump-tion as it turns out!]

Scene II

Location: West Nicoast, Indoguniea.
Time: June 17, 2006
[Phone rings] Nicky Netman [after 5 rings]: “Pick up! Oh, no, I just remembered. We’re 14 time zones before JAARS and they’re still sleeping. [Nicky, under his breath] I’m hav-ing problems with my Windows 2003 server and no one is available for help. [Nicky, loudly] I’m mad as Hades and won’t take it anymore!”
Harry Helpdesk: “zzzzzzzz”
Curtain draws; shuffle, shuffle; curtain rises slowly

5 Months later

Scene I

Location: JAARS Computer Support Department.
Time: November 17, 2006
Edith Enduser [living in Brazil]: “My e-mail isn’t working for some reason. I’ll just use my trusty web browser and submit a service request in the new JAARS Helpdesk sys-tem.”
Harry Helpdesk: “We have an e-mail service request from Edith. I’ll connect to her computer and fix it right away.”
Harry Helpdesk [sending an instant text message to Edith]: Hi Edith. We’ve received your service request. Is it OK to remotely control your computer and see what the problem is? Yes?” [Harry remotely controls Edith’s computer]: “Edith, just relax and allow me to take control of your com-puter and we’ll have the problem fixed in no time.”
Edith Enduser: “Thanks so much, Harry. I’m so thankful for this new recently installed JAARS Helpdesk system. I can submit a service request for my e-mail problem via my trusty web browser and it is automatically routed to the correct person. You contact me, remotely control my computer, and fix the problem so fast. You’re my hero!”

Scene II

Location: West Nicoast, Indoguniea.
Time: November 17, 2006
Nicky Netman: “I’m having problems with my Windows 2003 server and, although everyone at JAARS is sleeping, I know I can submit an online service request and it is auto-matically routed to Singapore. And Singapore is in MY time zone. This is too cool!”
[Service request is routed to Singapore and Sammy Soft-ware, Steve’s brother, helps fix the problem. Nicky smiles, happy to know that the JAARS tech support staff are still soundly sleeping].
Harry Helpdesk [sawing logs]: “zzzzzzzz”

Oh, If It Were So Simple!

Although highly dramatized [could you tell?], these are just some of the life-like scenarios that Ken has been attempting to address at JAARS. Ken has been spearheading the selec-tion of an enterprise Helpdesk system for the last six months. He has evaluated close to 50-60 Helpdesk software packages and, as of June 17th, has narrowed the selection down to the top three. The plan is for Ken and his counterparts from Or-lando and Dallas to narrow that small list to the two top fi-nalists and then to set up demonstrations with our organiza-tion’s network administrators and security specialists. The final selection should follow shortly thereafter.

But, our organization is very complex in that, although we all support Bible translation, the JAARS, Orlando, Dallas, and other centers are distinct corporations with unique work flows and business needs. Meeting the complex and unique work flow needs for three [and soon to be six] support cen-ters, addressing licensing restrictions, meeting browser com-patibility issues, and other organizational anomalies has proven to be quite a challenge. But, we’re confident that the system will greatly enhance our ability to provide regional, and, with the help of Wycliffe UK and Singapore, 24x7 world-wide computer support. With Bible translation highly dependent upon computers, we strongly believe that effec-tive computer support leads to increased functionality, which means faster and more efficient Bible translation. Bible translation offers greater opportunity for more people to know about Jesus through His Word. Pray with us that we could make this happen, and happen soon.

Please pray for…

... the Helpdesk selection. Ken has been working on this non-stop for the last few months. Please pray that the team will pick the appropriate one for the right price.

… Ken's knee hurts more than it did before surgery [and we haven't finished paying for the first operation yet!]. He goes to the doctor again on June 20th to see if there is anything that can be done about it. The JAARS doctor, a general prac-titioner, stated that a knee replacement might be next option on the list.

… Anne. She experiences a lot of stress in her role. In the past, she brought the work and subsequent stress home and it was affecting her ability to sleep. Pray that she could handle the stress well and leave work at work.

… Laura and Stuart as they settle into their marriage. They are adjusting to making decisions together, taking care of business [i.e., getting insurance, transferring vehicle titles, etc.] and doing things neither one has ever done before. Ad-ditionally, Lowe‘s company policy does not allow married couples to work within the same store so Laura had to either move to another store or leave the company. She is currently working at another Lowe’s location but seeking a job that doesn’t require nights and weekends.

… furniture for Christine’s apartment. We need to take a trip to Lynchburg soon to buy her furniture for her apartment in preparation for the 2006-2007 academic year.

We’re Thankful for …

… Christine’s job. She, too, is working at Lowe’s and al-though they have a general cut back hours, she continues to receive hours just short of a full-time schedule.

.. 23 years of marriage. Our anniversary is this month on June 18th.

Thank You!



You have blessed over the years with your friendship, prayers and gifts. Thank you for being part of our team and enabling us to contribute to the task of seeing that all men, in every language, have access to the word of God in their own language – the language that speaks to the heart. Because of you, many will have the opportunity to come humbly before the Throne of grace as we do.

Yours in HIS service,

Ken, Anne,
Laura, Stuart, and Christine Haugh

Reception Fun

Ken shares from his heart, welcoming Stuart into our family















The cake was delicious! Vanilla, stawberry, and even chocolate!




















The traditional cake sharing. No cake smashing in the face here!
















We were blessed with the many friends that came from all over. Friends from Prince Edward Island, Canada, Wisconsin, Florida, Washington, Michingan, Pennsylvania, California, and regions beyond! Here are just some of the friends that Laura and Christine went to school with in Irian Jaya, Indonesia.














Laura was roasted by stories of the past. Marilee Dorn, a long time friend from Long Island, reminds Laura about losing her first tooth and her subsequent faith in the tooth fairy.















The getaway!

"I Do" - Now it's time to ham it up!

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During the wedding

It was an incredibly touching moment. Stuart has such a sensitive heart that he had difficulty getting his vows out. Laura reached up and wiped a tear off his cheek. She did the same for Ken when he officially gave her away. It was an incredibly tender moment.















Laura's aunt, Lois Feltham, and her cousin, Rebecca, sang at the wedding. Rebecca had been sick for several days and didn't think she could sing. She decided just that morning, out of sheer determination we're sure, that she was going to do this. Moments before walking on the stage to sing, the baby returned breakfast all over Rebecca! One would have never known. The music was absolutely beautiful, many people complimenting both of them.















Laura puts the ring on Stuart's finger and then signs the wedding certificate, indicating the public proclamation of their marriage commitment.

Before and During Wedding pictures

Anne and Laura share a special hug together at the reception.















Beautiful bridesmaids. Everything points to the bride.














Ken with Laura waiting behind the closed chapel doors. We're waiting for the right music moment for grand entrance. Unfortunately, we couldn't hear the music behind closed doors. We forgot about this part at the rehearsal!















Ken walking his beautiful daughter down the aisle.

Laura and Stuart's Wedding

Anne, Ken, Laura, our new son-in-law Stuart, Christine, and her boyfriend Jesse.

Dad gets a hug from the beautiful bride.

Laura enjoyed the wonderful celebration. She is photographed here talking to Ken's family that traveled from Michigan

Laura is Married

Anne and I gave Laura away in holy matrimony this past Saturday. It was a beautiful wedding and reception but was also one of the most difficult things I've ever had to do. Laura looked beautiful (if I don't say so myself) and Stuart looked very handsome. Laura was poised during the wedding, wiping both mine and Stuart's tears away as both of us choked with emotion at one time or another. A wedding ceremony highlight was when Stuart and Laura personally escorted the guests out of the chapel.

We had family and guests from Canada's Prince Edward Island, California, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Floriday, Washington, New York, and places beyond. About 45 people came to our home Saturday evening after the wedding and shared in a delicious meal prepared by our friends. Many of the same came Sunday evening to continue the celebration. All had fun as we reviewed the wedding video and shared some of the more comical moments of the wedding.

God was present with us during this time. A Jewish couple, friends of Stuart's father, said she enjoyed the wedding so much that she wished she could have another child just so she could have another wedding and include some of the features of this one.

My heart is still tender, knowing that our lives have changed. But I am incredibly grateful for a wonderful weekend with family and friends. I am also grateful knowing that I have a new and wonderful son-in-law.

"The Only Thing I Know..."

April, 2006

Galen Stutzman, one of the many servants in our computer support department, recently shared the following story at a missions conference. I thought it was worth repeating. It proves once again that God works in mysterious ways!

Ken

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“Let me challenge you this morning to get involved in missions in some way. Wycliffe Bible Translators has the goal of translating the New Testament into everyone’s language. That means they have to start 2,500 translations by the year 2025. That’s a huge job and they need lots of translators. If you are a translator or willing to be a translator, we need you. God needs you.

If you’re not a translator, God needs you, too. The translation task is enormous and the translators need lots of help. I’m a member of Wycliffe Bible translators, but I’m not a translator. I’m a Wireless Communications specialist. Translators need to be able to communicate from very remote areas. I, and the department I work in, can help them do that. Are you a communications specialist? We need your help. If you can do plumbing, construction, fly airplanes, understand computers and networks, teach, care for children, be a secretary, understand accounting, almost anything you can do, we need you. God needs you.

If God isn’t calling you to join a mission, He still needs you and your skills, no matter what they are. Let me illustrate by telling you about a single mother named Bev.

JAARS accepts donations of communications and test equipment. We do our best to make these donations available to our members overseas. On one occasion, a company in Colorado donated 19 oscilloscopes that they had replaced. These scopes were old and in various states of disrepair, but they would be very useful to a technician overseas, who may not be able to afford to buy one on their own, as they run about $2,000 to $3,000 new. It was important to get this equipment in the hands of technicians in a timely manner. I wanted to send them out as soon as I could, but I couldn’t send them out the way they were. I had a shortage of staff at the time and there was no one available to repair and calibrate them. The technicians in the field wouldn’t have the time to check them out and buy parts. Parts may not even be available at all. What to do?

This weighed on my mind for several weeks. One day I received a call from our Public Relations department. They gave me the name of a woman in Rock Hill that they wanted me to call. Her name was Bev.

I called Bev. Bev was a single mother of a little boy. She had visited JAARS on a JAARS Day recently. She had listened to the various missionary speakers and heard the stories of Bible translation. She had taken the tour and saw the airplanes and the print shop and the carpenter shop and all of that and had come away impressed with the work we were doing. She had limited resources, but she wanted to help. She told me with a sad and almost apologetic voice, “I want to help out in some way, but I don’t have anything to offer. The only thing I know how to do is calibrate oscilloscopes!!" Isn’t God good?

Bev’s mother helped baby-sit her son during the mornings for two weeks and she swapped parts and calibrated those scopes and now they are on the field helping electronics technicians and computer technicians around the world support Bible Translation. Because a young mother was willing to do what she could to help, God blessed translators and technicians around the world and showed me His faithfulness and advanced His kingdom."
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Anne and I thank those that have sacrificially given, prayed, or encouraged us in order to make our ministry possible. Now it's our turn to encourage you?

What can you do for God? How can He use you in in missions?

April/May Update

Just the Facts

Anne, Laura, Christine, and Ken are in the final preparation stages of Laura's May 20th wedding. We're working diligently on the house, getting it ready for the guests. Anyone that has been through this knows that a myriad of last-minute wedding preparation details remain. But, we're excited to watch them work through the details in preparation for their new life together.

Anne continues to work as an Assistant Manager in Harris Teeter's fresh foods department. It is a challenging role but she is good at what she does and the company likes her work.

Christine remains a studious college student at Liberty University in Lynchburg, VA. I think she misses her dad a lot when she's at college.

Ken is driving to Medina, OH on Saturday, April 22nd to speak at both services at Medina Presbyterian Church on Sunday, April 23rd. It is exciting to return to a church that has been supporting us for years and share what God is doing through the world of Bible translation. Please pray for Ken as he gives the messages on Sunday. He's not a pastor and doesn't consider this his gifting so giving a message always leaves him mentally and physically exhausted at the end of the service.

Sunday evening, Ken will have the opportunity to stay with Larry Gradisher, the IT volunteer that went with Ken to Kingston, Jamaica for the network installation. Ken is excited to be able to touch bases with Larry and Steve Bradley again. Larry is taking Ken to his place of employment so Ken can take a look at their network data center. JAARS has a new data center project in the works and this will give Ken an opportunity to see what others are doing in this area.

Ken is participating in First Baptist Church of Pontiac's mission conference from Saturday, April 29 to Wednesday, April 26. He's excited about sharing with FBC too, what God is doing throughout the world of Bible translation. Ken will be driving the 13 hours home on Thursday, May 4th.

Would You Like to Know More About Bible Translation?

JAARS offers several free publications that provide some of the many challenges faced by Bible translators worldwide. Rev7 offers timely stories about Bible translation around the world, the latest issue dealing with the complex transportation challenges faced by Bible translators. It is an eye-opener indeed. Partner Express is another JAARS publication that informs the body of Christ about the many projects, praise reports, and giving opportunities. And the Prayerline shares a bimonthly list of prayer requests, one per day.

You can sign up for any or all of these publications by e-mailing info@jaars.org or by writing the JAARS Partnership Ministries department at P.O. Box 248, Waxhaw, NC 28173. Include your name, address, and e-mail address and they will be sure to help you get connected.

Don't know about you, but we're looking for vacation. Any ideas?

Just a Little Humor for the Soul...

My brother just sent this to me and I loved it. I thought you might enjoy it too.

Who was Jesus? Opinions vary......

My friend from Baton Rouge, LA says that Jesus was a Cajun:
1. He liked to serve fish to his friends.
2. He could make his own wine.
3. And he wasn't afraid of water.

My black friend had 3 arguments that Jesus was Black:
1. He called everyone "brother".
2. He liked Gospel.
2. He couldn't get a fair trial.

My Jewish friend had 3 arguments that Jesus was Jewish:
1. He went into His Father's business.
2. He lived at home until he was 33.
3. He was sure his Mother was a virgin and his mother was sure he was God.

My Italian friend gave his 3 arguments that Jesus was Italian:
1. He talked with his hands.
2. He had wine with every meal.
3. He used olive oil.

My California friends had 3 arguments that Jesus was a Californian:
1. He never cut! His hair.
2. He walked around barefoot all the time.
3. He started a new religion.

My Irish friend then gave his 3 arguments that Jesus was Irish:
1. He never got married.
2. He was always telling stories.
3. He loved green pastures.

BUT my LADY friend had most compelling evidence that Jesus was a woman:
1. He fed a crowd at a moment's notice when there was no food.
2. He kept trying to get a message across to a bunch of men who just didn't get it.
3. And even when he was dead, he had to get up because there was more work to do.

March 2006 Update

Honestly, sometimes we're feeling challenged when it comes to keeping our supporters updated. Anne and I recently talked about writing an update but asked, "What do we do that is interesting enough for people to want to read it?" Pictures of jungle people with grass skirts and bones in their noses and Bible translation stories sharing how God has changed someone's life excites people but, outside of some of the travel experiences, supporting people's compting needs in ministry doesn't cause people to wake up each morning and yell, "I can't wait to see what's new on the Haugh Update blog!" So, what's a mother to do?

We concluded that, for the most part, our lives are normal and we don't have anything exciting to offer. Maybe that's not all that bad. So, we'll simply offer you our lives - the good, bad, and ugly.

Laura and Stuart
PTL! Laura and Stuart found an apartment to rent. It is in the basement of a missionary's home about 20 minutes from here. Real nice. They also purchased new Whirlpool washer and dryer that had been returned to Lowe's (where they both work). The previous owner didn't like the color so she returned them so the store sold them to Laura and Stuart for $300! Awesome. They continue to look for a bed and other pieces of furniture.

Christine
Christine is home from Liberty for spring break. She's loves Liberty and is doing real well academically. (She must get her smarts from her mother!). She too, just found an apartment and will be living off campus next year. This should cut her (can you read "our"?) school costs considerably next year.

Anne
Anne is working hard at Harris Teeter. She is an assistant manager in the Fresh Foods department and, although some days returns home dogged tired, enjoys the work. She's a conscientious employee and the store personnel like her a lot (I do too!).

Ken
I am still serving at JAARS, Wycliffe's regional technical center. My biggest project right now is evaluating off the shelf HelpDesk programs. The scope is that our three centers' (Orlando, JAARS, and Dallas) technicians can be set up to connect to it and users from all over the world can submit service requests through the Web interface. I have skimmed probably 75 or so programs and immediately eliminated many of them. Now, I have to really mine the data on their web sites, diging deep engough to find the information to determine if the program meets our specificications, and call the vendors. It's time consuming and challenging (they all want to demo and/or sell me the program today) but I've now narrowed it down to about 7 or so and am installing them on servers for testing. Please pray that I could narrow the right programs to about 5 or so and then be able to share them with the rest of the group for a decision.

I had surgery on my left knee last December and am still having some difficulties with it. With the way it feels, I lack the confidence to play racquetball, basketball, or tennis. The JAARS doctor told me that he wasn't sure I should ever play those again with the way my knees looked. (He was my racquetbally partner but said he gave up playing after he saw what it did to my knees!) . I'm not sure what to do about it not wanting to suffer the pain, rehabilitation, and expense of follow up surgery.

Life is anything but normal - life is truly a gift. I thank God for life, for my family, and for you, our friends. God bless you all.

Our World

If we could shrink the earth's population to a village of precisely 100 people, with all the existing human ratios remaining the same, it would look something like this..




There would be:

* 57 Asians, 21 Europeans, 14 from the Western Hemisphere (both N. & S.), 8 Africans
* 52 would be female, 48 would be male
* 70 would be non-white, 30 would be white
* 70 would be non-Christian, 30 would be Christian
* 6 people would possess 59% of the entire world's wealth; all 6 would be from the U.S.
* 80 would live in substandard housing
* 70 would be unable to read
* 50 would suffer from malnutrition
* 1 would be neart death; 1 would be near birth
* 1 would have a college education
* 1 would own a computer.

Consider this...

- If you woke up this morning with more health than illness, you are more blessed than the million who will not survive this week.

- If you have never experienced the danger of battle, the loneliness of imprisonment, the agony of torture, or the pangs of starvation, you are ahead of 500 million people in the world.

- If you can attend a church meeting without fear of harassment, arrest, torture or death, you are more blessed than 3 billion people in the world.

- If you have money in the bank, in your wallet, and spare change in a dish someplace, you are among the top 8% of the world's wealthy.

- If you can read this, you are more blessed than 2 billion people in the world that cannot read at all.

Dr. David Hartman, Northern Arizona University

What Would Happen ...

...in missions if all churches channeled all their resources, people, finances, and prayers exclusively to frontline missionaries? Bob Petzel, pastor for 37 years and now administrative dean at Victory Bible Institute, Greenville, SC asked that question. This is the scenario that came to his mind.
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MISSIONS WORLDWIDE SHUT DOWN

Missions organizations announced today that all church planting missionaries will have to leave their ministries and return to their home countries. The mass exodus is not caused by illness, or political upheaval or missionary "burnout", but is due to a decision of churches to support only "frontline" or "overseas" missionaries rather than "nonstrategic" support role missionaries.

As a result, there will be no computer techs available to keep computers running for translation work, no office people to see that the missionary gets his monthly check and no one to deal with the myriad of government regulations the missionary needs to comply with. There will be no teachers in the MK school, and no boarding home parents to care for the children while parents labor in the tribe. Because there will be no instructors in the Bible schools or missionary training centers no new missionaries will be able to help plant tribal churches.

There will be no missionaries anywhere for churches to support and tribal groups will remain withouth the Gospel!
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Support for both frontline and support role missionaries is critical. It truly takes a team because there are so many aspects of the job that need to be done. Anne and I are so glad that we are an integral part of the Bible translation team. We're glad too, that we have such a wonderful team behind us.

God bless you all the way you have us!

Computer Support Funny

Customer: "Your sound card is defective and I want a new one."

Tech Support: "What seems to be the problem?"

Customer: "The balance is backwards. The left channel is coming out of the right speaker and the right channel is coming out the left. It's defective."

Tech Support: "You can solve the problem by moving the left speaker to the right side of the machine and vice versa."
=============================================================

Tech Support: "All right...now double-click on the File Manager icon."

Customer: "That's why I hate this Windows - because of the icons - I'm a Protestant, and I don't believe in icons."
Tech Support: "Well, that's just an industry term sir. I don't believe it was meant to-"
Customer: "I don't care about any 'Industry Terms'. I don't believe in icons."
Tech Support: "Well...why don't you click on the 'little picture' of a filing cabinet...is 'little picture' OK?"
Customer: [click]

Can You Guess Anne's Reaction?

Question 1

Anne is turning 45 this year. How do you think Anne is mentally processing this?

Like this....?
(scroll down the page)

















Anne being consoled as she approaches her 45th birthday.

Or... (scroll down)











Is Anne gracefully approaching her 45th birthday like this...?














The beautiful and gracious woman that I married 23 years ago?






(Scroll down for question 2...)








Question 2
Will Ken still be married to Anne when Anne turns 45 on February 17 after she sees this blog?

You can vote by clicking on the "Comment" button below

February Praise and Prayer Requests

We Praise God for...

1. Christine's car. We trust it will provide safe and reliable transportation for quite some time.
2. Christine's academic progress. Christine made the Dean's List this last semester (see previous post). Her is feeling less stress as, although her courses are equally demanding, her load is a little lighter this semester.
3. Laura's wedding plans. Laura's wedding plans are coming along slowly but surely.
4. Anne's job. Anne works at Harris Teeter, a local grocery store chain. She is doing well in her job, she enjoys her work, and the feedback she has received indicates that they are very pleased with her work, her work ethic, and her people skills.
5. Ken's recent trip to Jamaica and Brazil. A server was set up in the Wycliffe Caribbean office. The office infrastructure is now in place for John Roomes and his staff to recruit, process, and send out new Bible translators into the world. The classroom computers were also set at ALEM, a Brazilian missionary training institute. The students and staff are very excited and anxious about the next phase of the project. Read the previous postings for more on their reaction.
6. YOU! We are still overwhelmed and humbled at the continuous and sacrificial prayer & financial support we've received over our 21 years of ministry. You are truly an encouragement to us.

Please pray for...

1. Godly lives. Please pray that we, as a family, would walk by faith and not by sight.
2. Laura's continued wedding preparations. Although Laura and Stuart are planning on having a simple wedding, it seems as though most waking moments for both Laura and Anne involve some sort of planning for it. (We men never realize how much goes into these things!)
3. Anne's work schedule. Anne enjoys stability. Harris Teeter moves personnel to locations of greatest need. Anne was just transferred again back to the store she initially started in. Although she is anxious to work again with the colleagues she initially came to know and love, the transition can be somewhat stressful.
5. Ken's role at JAARS. He is working on a large HelpDesk computer support project. Pray that he and the rest of the team could locate the best possible software and hardware solution to this ever increasing need. Information technology touches every part of the organization so the need continues to grow while the amount of people entering the organization continues to shrink. We're hoping the HelpDesk will remove the boundaries and barriers to effective technical support.

While we in the United States have multiple versions of the Bible, thousands of language groups around the world are still without God's Word in the native tongue, the language that speaks to the heart. Thank you dearly for your role in helping eliminate that disparity. We love you and thank God for you.

Ken, Anne, Laura, and Christine Haugh

Does God Care About a Car?

"Ken," Anne said, " I was on my way to work this morning and realized I hadn't prayed for a car for Christine in a while. I asked God to send the right car for her. Shortly thereafter, Galina called and said she was selling her car and wanted to know if we were interested."

Galina is Anne's friend. Her husband restores vehicles that have been damaged in an accident. He had restored a Nissan Maxima for his new wife, Galina, but they were now selling it because they were using the money to purchase a house. We looked under the hood, kicked the tires, and test drove the car. We knew it was the right one. They gave us a very special price and we agreed to purchase the car right then and there.

Anne must have a hotline to God because I had been praying for a reliable and safe car for Christine for some time. When nothing seemed to happen, I took matters into my own hands and began searching the papers and the Internet. I'm still growing in the patience category but God knew where to start. And He answered Anne's prayer. Interesting enough, the day after we made the decision to purchase the vehicle, one of our long term faithful prayer and financial supporters wrote and said she felt let to give $500 towards a vehicle for Christine. What a tremendous gift! What a tremendous blessing! What a confirmation!

We believe God does car about cars.

Hard Work Pays Off!

Christine works hard (much harder than I did when I was in college!) to keep her grades up. We just received news that she has qualified for the Dean's List, an honor awarded to students who have earned a 3.5 GPA or greater for the term.


Congratulations, Christine!


(Anne and I keep wondering where the kid gets her smarts. We know it ain't from us!)

Meet the Future Fam

Most of you have have not met Laura's finance, Stuart, and Christine's boyfriend, Jessee. Our Christmas pictures came back with both of them so I thought I put them up for you to meet them. They are Godly young men and I am proud to have Stuart as my future son-in-law. I would be just as proud to have Jesse if the Lord desires such.


Stuart and Laura












Christine and Jesse

President & CEO Responds

Jim Akovenko, the JAARS President, was encouraged by the response to our recent trip to Brazil. Here is his letter, soon to be published in some of the JAARS publications. The letter is such an encouragement to me I thought I would share it. It is obvious that investing in the lives of others during January's trip to Brazil's ALEM center had a tremendous impact on the leaders and students of ALEM, the Brazilian national missionary training organization, Davi, the local computer support technician, and Cristiano, a Brazilian with excellent IT skills involved in Bible translation.
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February 2006

Recently some men from our Information Technology (IT) department went to Brazil to assist with training for ALEM, a national Bible translation organization. For Cristiano and Davi, Brazilian men who show promise, the training had a twofold benefit: they participated in a desktop computer evaluation and installation process, as well as received positive input from the IT team.

Another result of the visit was getting ten desktops installed and working, which will enhance the training of young people this year. Two students commented, “It is hard to imagine that such high quality technical people would come to help set up computers so that we can be better trained. And who paid for all of these computers?” This was an opportunity to explain the team effort—some people willing to fund, some willing to plan, and technical experts able to evaluate and put things in place.... The students’ response was “only in God’s kingdom is that kind of love and service seen.”

Our IT staff are competent professionals, gifted technically, and know that investing in the lives of people is just as important as working with machines and systems. The input the ALEM students received will have a lasting impact in their lives—for eternal purposes. They saw and they learned the way IT professionals can contribute to Bible translation. One of the men, a quiet influential leader, said how pleased he was to see Christian organizations willing to commit to excellence in their work and not just “dar um jeito” (get by).

Thank you for being part of the team investing and impacting lives for eternal purposes.

James S. Akovenko
President

SEE BEYOND THE STARS

It wasn't about the technology. It's about the relationships. Sometimes it is a hard lesson to learn in that it is so easy to revert back to the project goals and timelines. It's a part of our culture.

After our trip, I received from Steve Sheldon one of the nicest thank you notes I've ever received in my 21 years of ministry. I'll let the e-mail speak for itself. But, before you do, I simply want to thank God for the opportunity to serve in this capacity. I took from it more than I gave. I also want to thank those that faithfully and generously support Anne and I with prayer and financial support. Without you, we couldn't be helping our national colleagues pick up the burden of Bible translation.

Read on...


"I wanted to give a brief report on the time of the IT team with ALEM.

From my perspective there were very positive results from the week the team spent here.

1. The Linguistic / Translation training course is going on right now. Because of the visit, 10 Dell Desktops are installed and working. These will be able to be used to enhance the training that the young people get this year. They will be able to be introduced to SIL software in a way that has not been feasible before. The visible encouragement this has been to the staff and to the students is evident on every hand. One of the young woman training here plans to do Bible Translation in (country name withheld). She and another student came to me one day to ask me some questions about the team that had come. One of their comments summarized well the feeling of students and staff as well. "Steve, it is hard to imagine that such high quality technical people would come to help set computers so that we can be better trained." The other young woman went on to ask: "Who paid for all of the computers?" From that question, I was able to explain the team effort that had one into all of this. People willing to fund, people willing to plan, technical experts who could put valuate and things in place, the vision of JAARS leaders etc. She just looked at me for what felt like several minutes, and then said: "only in God's kingdom is that kind of love and service seen." People like these young women will go from here and minister to Bibleless peoples in ways that most of us will likely never know about. I hope, however, that their feelings of joy and appreciation will make all of you feel that it really was AND IS, worth it all.

2. The team was able to evaluate and plan for the next phases of the project. This is a staged project, and as such requires good advance planning. Up to this point the planning has been by people who did not understand the technical needs and requirements so was more of a wish list than anything else. By carefully utilizing the skills of all members of the team, they were able to go much farther than I thought possible. In a really good rough draft form they have basically "finished" the planning for all stages. Their keeping a balance between doing the work of initial set up, and planning carefully for the next phases was impressive. In other words the "urgent" did not keep them from giving priority to the "important."

3. Ken Haugh, Bob Wright and Bill Penning are competent professionals. They are all gifted technically, which is not surprising to me in JAARS personnel, but I saw first hand that they were also willing to look at people as worth investing time in as well. The two young men from ALEM who were part of the team were able to contribute to the work, so of course there was benefit to the effort in that way. However, each person added to a team requires more time, meetings need to be managed more efficiently etc. The thing that pleased me in this regard was that the JAARS/SIL team that came, was able to see people (these two young men) as being
just as important as machines and systems. The input they had into these young men's lives is something that I believe will have an ongoing and lasting impact in their lives and for eternal purposes as well. I talked to both of these young men each day to make sure they were doing well. Their joy in being part of this effort was evident each time we talked. They learned, they saw the way IT professionals can contribute to BT, and they grew professionally, and personally in the process. A comment one made was that he was pleased to see that there are Christian organizations willing to commit to excellence in their work and not just "dar um jeito" (get by.) He is a quiet leader who will have influence with other organizations and within ALEM. The idea of serving with excellence that is so much part of JAARS and SIL may thus spread here as well.

I just wanted to say thanks, to encourage you with the good results achieved, and to challenge you to keep on keeping on. The Pirahã with whom we worked taught us to dream "beyond." Their way of speaking of this is by saying "see beyond the stars." God allows us to see a lot, but not all. I have done some dreaming "beyond" as I thought and prayed about what I might write in my note of thanks to you, and in my prayers of thanks to God. Perhaps you can stop and do that too, even briefly, and in that way say "thanks" to HIM for all he has and will continue doing. As I did this my dreams of what "might be" happening that I will never know about, and never see, led me rejoice greatly. God used the team for accomplishing great things. You and I know and see some of these things, but only God knows all that He is bringing to pass through the faithful service of the ENTIRE team."

Steve Sheldon

Brazil's ALEM

I left Jamaica on Sunday, January 15, flew to Miami, and then flew to Brasilia, Brazil arriving on Monday, January 16. The purpose of the trip was to assist ALEM (Association of Linguistic Evangelical Missionaries), a Brazilian organization dedicated to training national missionaries, with their computer needs. The courses had already been started and 26 students were enrolled. They were desperate for new computers as a portion of the training is in linguistic principles and needed computers and linguistic software for the course.

Vision 2025 focuses on transitioning from doing Bible translation ourselves to assisting the national church to accomplish the task. We thank the Lord that donors have the same perspective as several days before leaving for Jamaica, we were informed that a donor provided the funds for 13 computers and additional hardware (over $23,000). Two days before departing to Jamaica, we ordered 10 Dell desktops. They were waiting for us when Bob Wright (JAARS), Bill Penning (the Brazil branch network administrator) and I arrived there. We were absolutely delighted albeit not half as much as they were. We were kids in a candy store!

The other half of the project was the assessment to determine what it would take to set the entire building up with the computers, wiring, network infrastructure, wireless access, etc. Cristiano Barros, a Brazilian translator with excellent IT skills, and Davi Fuch, a recent German high school graduate in Brazil with his family, joined the assessment team. This was truly an international endeavor.

My role was to guide the discussion, ask the questions, and refine the results, and present it to the leadership. We successfully completed the project in the week alloted.

Where did you say that was is that in the Bible?

Can you guess what portion of the Bible the following Scripture text is from?

1 Fo God mek de wol, de Wod been dey. De Wod been dey wid God, an de Wod been God.
2 Fo God mek de wol, de Wod been dey wid God.
3 Shru dat Wod, God mek ebryting. Ain nottin een de whole wol wa God mek dat been done dout de Wod.
4 De Wod, e de one wa all life come fom. An dis life yah de life wa da mek all people see de light.
5 De light da shine een de daak, an de daak ain neba been able fa pit out dat light.

I'll give you a clue. It is the heart language from people that live right here in the United States!

Go to the JAARS website and read to the bottom for the answer .

More Wycliffe Jamaica

One can't leave Jamaica without tasting Jamaica's succulent Jerk Chicken, cooked in a pit with Pimento wood fueling the fire. So, Wayne Ashwood, Wycliffe Caribbean's network administrator, and his family took Steve, Larry, and Ken for a drive around the island.

Wayne took us to an area known Jerk Chicken. It is also known as a center of the Rastafarians. We dined on chicken, pork, sausage, and lobster and met some characters along the way.

Wycliffe Caribbean/Brazil trip update

Larry Gradisher and Steve Bradley, two IT volunteers, and I traveled to Jamaica in early January to help set up the Wycliffe Caribbean office, pictured right. We installed a Windows 2003 server and seven workstations. To be sure, the trip was about setting up the office infrastructure. But ultimately, the technology was just a small part of all that happened.

We ate “patties” (meat pies) that looked like ground meat Hot Pockets and Jerk Chicken, the Jamaican staple. We also enjoyed sweet fellowship, sang songs, and heard the Christmas store in Patwa, the native Jamaican tongue. It was truly a moving experience for both us and them. The Scriptures and even Bible stories in the language that speaks to the heart still moves people! John Roomes, the Director, and the others thanked the Lord for the new server and computers because, just like us, they connect this island to the rest of the world.

The Lord provided the funds for the computers. The Godly Wycliffe Caribbean staff will use their office and computers to share the vision of Bible translation with the Caribbean region.