Dear Friends,
As I write this, I’m reflecting on Christ’s time on earth. God’s Word tells us that in Christ lives all the fullness of God in a human body. And because we’ve trusted in Christ, we are complete in our union with him. (Colossians 2:6-10 NLT)
Because he was willing to come to earth and live as a man, Jesus understands our human experience. He understands what we are going through and he will be with us every step of the way, even through death itself, where all other guides turn back. Not only was he born, but he also died. And by dying, he disregarded, defeated and destroyed death itself. This is good news for us and for all the peoples of the earth.
As you read this report, please note the statistics and the incredible progress made this past year. But please don’t miss that behind these statistics are changed lives. God sent Jesus as a visual representation of his glory. God, in Christ, is reconciling the world to himself.
Thank you for being a part of sharing this Good News through your investment in Bible translation.
Warmly,
Bob Creson
President/CEO
Wycliffe Bible Translators USA
In the small village of Cabracancha nestled in the Andes Mountains of Peru, a woman reclines on a hillside as she listens to her son read a children’s book. Friends and family gather around, relaxing in the shade of their church building after an afternoon meal.
The boy sounds out words in his language, Wanca Quechua, diligently working his way through the story of Noah and the ark. Some of the people, especially those in the older generation, have never been able to read Quechua. It’s a treat to hear a young person read it to them.
Before Viani had the New Testament in Wanca Quechua, she tried to preach from the Spanish Bible. It was hard for everyone to understand — even Viani. But with new resources in Wanca, like the New Testament and children’s Bible storybooks, she and her congregation are excited about God’s Word like never before.
Hours away in the town of Huancayo, another Wanca Quechua church service is coming to an end.
Robert Flores, a church member who works the fields nearby and tends sheep, flashes a big smile and adjusts his brimmed hat, gripping his Wanca New Testament in his hand.
“This Word of God,” he said, “affected me in very practical ways — in the way I treated my family, in the way I treated other people in this community, in the way I parented my children. I started learning from the Word of God how to treat people better, so overall our relationships became better.”
Renato Alonso, a Huallaga Quechua pastor, also remembers the first time he bought a Bible in his language. “The very next day I brought the Bible to church. First I read it in Spanish, and then I read it in Quechua,” he said. “When I read it to the congregation in Quechua, the people in the church just became so happy! They said, ‘Pastor, thank you so much, because now we truly understand!’
“Many people have understood what it means to be saved because of the Scriptures in their language,” he said. “And their lives have changed dramatically.”
That God’s Word is accessible to all people in a language that speaks to their heart.
To see a Bible translation program in progress in every language still needing one by 2025.
In 1983, Mack and Doris Graham and their family had settled among the Kandawo people in Papua New Guinea and begun to learn their language. Optimistic about the future for this new translation project, the Grahams were blissfully unaware of the trials and difficulties they were about to encounter.
Soon they experienced fierce opposition. While away from the village for a season, thieves broke into their home, completely vandalizing it.
Discouraged but determined to continue their work, the Grahams built again. But this time, the entire home was dismantled and stolen, piece by piece.
What should we do?” Mack and Doris asked themselves. They knew that hardships often happened to those who were working to bring God’s Word to a people, but to have their house destroyed twice? Maybe God was trying to say something to them.
They stopped to pray, asking God a simple question: Should they try again, or was he closing the door? Could this be God’s way of leading them in a new direction?
As they prayed, a colleague had a vision of small fires burning across the landscape. Maybe God was saying there was going to be revival among the people, and that fires were going to be lit in the hearts of those hungry for him.
Mack and Doris decided to ask God to show them that he wanted them to return by providing other confirmation before a certain date. If the people asked them to return by that date, they would. But if not, it was over. They would leave their village home in Kandawo and go wherever God led.
Mack and Doris began to think that God was showing them that the door was being shut, and maybe they weren’t supposed to return to their village home.
The day finally arrived. Afternoon went by, then evening, but still no word. Then, six hours before midnight, a letter was read over a two-way radio: “Would you please come back?”
Mack and Doris knew in that moment that God had answered their prayers and was confirming that they should return to the village. So they did! They built yet another house. Later they watched in shock as this third house burned to the ground.
But instead of losing hope or admitting defeat, the Graham family built a fourth house. Believing that God had clearly spoken to them about continuing their work among the Kandawo people, they continued to trust him by placing this new house in his hands as well.
They gave many more years, translating and ministering to the Kandawo people. There were moments of toil mingled with moments of triumph, but they stayed the course, trusting that God would work in his timing and way.
More than two decades ago, Mark’s Gospel — the first book to be translated — reached the final stages of the translation process and was checked by a consultant. At the beginning of 2013, the same consultant checked the final book of the New Testament — Revelation!
Although the journey was long and filled with many difficulties, Mack and Doris walked with God and trusted that he would help them bring his Word to the Kandawo people in the language they understand best. They relied on deep conviction that God had sent them to translate his Word and on the promise he made about his Word in Isaiah 55:11: “It will accomplish all I want it to, and it will prosper everywhere I send it.”
And recently, after years of challenges, the New Testament was finally delivered to the Kandawo people!
After a year of planning, waiting and building their courage, two Mankanya translators from Senegal, along with a local pastor, gathered 28 other Mankanya people together to discuss culture and faith. They wanted to explore what the Bible has to say about a sensitive topic — idolatry.
Sacrifices to idols are a regular part of the Mankanya culture. At funerals, people sit and wait for a spirit to indicate which sacrifice should be made in order to ensure the safe passage of the deceased into the afterlife. The funeral ritual is expensive and full of fear. But God’s love can break through that fear!
“During the funeral of my husband’s mother, who was a believer, the family sat for a long time waiting for the spirit to manifest,” shared a woman at the conference.
“When nothing happened, my husband explained that the spirit would not speak because his mother served God, and [the Holy] Spirit had already taken her safely into the presence of God. Jesus gave himself as the ultimate sacrifice. No other sacrifice is needed.” With fearful respect, the family members left, and no sacrifice was made.
It takes courage to stand for Christ. When these Mankanya believers got together to consider their cultural practices in light of Scripture, they agreed to help each other stop certain practices and begin meeting regularly to study God’s Word. They also want to tell others what they’re learning.
Assets | 2016 | 2015 |
---|---|---|
Cash and cash equivalents | $8,324 | $8,441 |
Investments | 65,291 | 62,430 |
Contributions receivable — net | 1,810 | 440 |
Bequests receivable | 259 | 1,244 |
Notes receivable | 986 | 810 |
Amounts due from related entities | 810 | 958 |
Other assets | 2,862 | 2,383 |
Investments related to fiduciary agreements | 19,044 | 18,271 |
Property and equipment — net of accumulated depreciation | 38,642 | 39,502 |
Assets held for endowment | 2,601 | 2,475 |
Total Assets | $140,629 | $136,954 |
Liabilities | 2016 | 2015 |
---|---|---|
Accounts payable and accrued expenses | $1,918 | $2,113 |
Medical claims payable | 2,381 | 1,630 |
Amounts due to related entities | 784 | 967 |
Accrued compensation | 7,795 | 7,670 |
Accrued liabilities for office relocation | 0 | 2,042 |
Fiduciary agreements | 11,822 | 11,808 |
Total Liabilities | $24,700 | $26,230 |
Net Assets | 2016 | 2015 |
---|---|---|
Unrestricted: | ||
Undesignated | $17,900 | $15,859 |
Equity in property and equipment — net | 38,067 | 37,670 |
Board designated | 6,667 | 6,133 |
Corporate reserves | 18,125 | 13,762 |
Temporarily restricted | 33,087 | 35,224 |
Permanently restricted | 2,083 | 2,076 |
Total Net Assets | $115,929 | $110,724 |
Total Liabilities and Net Assets | $140,629 | $136,954 |
Operating Support and Revenue | 2016 | 2015 |
---|---|---|
Contribution income | $186,084 | $182,390 |
Service income | 2,856 | 2,787 |
Interest and dividend income | 1,318 | 1,492 |
Other income | 100 | 117 |
Total Operating Support and Revenue | $190,358 | $186,786 |
Operating Expenses | 2016 | 2015 |
---|---|---|
Program services: | ||
Bible translation and related programs | $146,174 | $144,877 |
Supporting services: | ||
General and administrative | 25,354 | 23,938 |
Fundraising | 15,949 | 16,284 |
Total Operating Expenses | $187,477 | $185,099 |
Non-Operating Income/(Expenses) | 2016 | 2015 |
---|---|---|
Net realized/unrealized gain/(loss) on investments | $2,005 | $1,151 |
Net realized/unrealized gain/(loss) on fiduciary agreements | 319 | (957) |
Total Non-Operating Income/(Expenses) | $2,324 | $194 |
Net Assets | 2016 | 2015 |
---|---|---|
Change in net assets | $5,205 | $1,881 |
Net assets — beginning of year | 110,724 | 108,843 |
Net Assets — End of Year | $115,929 | $110,724 |
“Our mother tongue is the language in which God speaks to each of us. He does not speak in a sacred language, but in ordinary language, so that we may hear him and realize that this gospel is about us and that we have been invited to join a company drawn from every people, tribe, tongue, nation and language.”
Kwame Bediako,
Director of Akrofi-Chistaller Memorial Center for Mission Research and Applied Theology, Ghana