You Should Train Nationals

One summer Bernie May, once a JAARS pilot in Peru but now Wycliffe's U.S. Director, flew his plane from California to a meeting in Oklahoma.  He was called out of his meeting for an urgent call from Forrey Zander.

Forrey was excited.  He had met a young woman named Thangi from a large Asian country.  American missionaries are not allowed in her country.  Thangi had just completed her master's degree in communications.  Her father, a national missionary there, had asked her to pray about returning as a Bible translator. Half a million people in neighboring provinces speak twenty languages and dialects, most without the Scriptures.

Forrey suggested that Thangi apply to the Summer Institute of Linguistics.  She wanted to, but it was a week before the enrollment deadline and she was $1,000 short of having the tuition and fees.  Forrey had called Bernie to ask if he could find some money for this urgent need.


Bernie said he and the men in his meeting were struggling over eight million dollars in project needs, some of which had been critical for years.  Forrey was asking Bernie to put Thangi at the top of the list.

"I can't do that," Bernie said, "But I'll pray about it. If anyone approaches me and says they have $1,000 to help train a national translator, I'll direct the money to Thangi.  Otherwise, I can't promise anything."

Two days later, as Bernie flew back to California, weather diverted him north of his planned route.   He made an unscheduled landing in Colorado.  There he called some friends who were vacationing in a mountain cabin.  They picked him up at the airport and brought him home for a visit.

As Bernie sipped a glass of tea on his friend Henry's porch in Colorado, Henry said, "Bernie, I'm glad you stopped by.  I've been thinking about Wycliffe.  It seems to me you ought train more nationals to translate the Bible.  If you ever find anyone like that, I'd like to invest $1,000 in their training."

Before Bernie finished telling them about Thangi, and drinking his tea, he had the check in his hand. 

Today, Thangi is trained and active in Bible translation and literacy work in her home country that is closed to foreigners.