March 2008

We recently took a day trip to Wilmington, NC, and Wrightsville Beach. They have an interesting way of keeping the crowds down. They charge for $1.50 per hour for parking, and $1 per person to go on the pier. We really liked the wide beach, with lots of sea shells. We also saw an interesting church on the side of the road. We could not figure out why it has three steeples. But at least they must believe in the Trinity.

As SPARK manager, one of my responsibilities is to help plan for the next year. Planning here is different from my experiences in the corporate world. At work, we planned for new products. That was true for Wycliffe-JAARS in the early years. However, there was at least one time when a team completed translating the Bible and there were cases of unused Bibles. No one was interested in reading them. Now, our planning revolves around the spiritual changes (results) we believe that God wants to see in people's lives. We work backwards, looking for felt needs and things in the culture that will contribute towards the end result. We plan activities and use tools to motivate and achieve change. Vernacular Media and the SPARK website provide tools for the translators, to help pique the interest of people groups to hear the Scriptures in their heart language, and make God's Word a part of their lives. Our tools can take the form of Scripture recordings, music, storytelling, and videos, like the Jesus Video.

Recently, I received an email from retired Bible translators who worked in Papua New Guinea (PNG). Even though they are retired, and live in Texas, they still make trips to PNG for three months at a time. Their coworkers in PNG asked them to approach us to see if we could provide the website on a CD. In PNG, it is very costly to connect to the internet via web, and it is not always that reliable. After a little research, we were able to send them a SPARK website CD. It is rewarding to help translators make an impact in the lives of people in their people group.

Please pray for the following requests:

• Praise God with us that Linda is able to join me on the SPARK website team. She will be working 20 hours a week with our team.
• Pray for wisdom as we seek God's direction for the future of the SPARK website.
• Pray with us that God will guide and protect our son, Andrew, as he joins the U.S. Navy on April 12.
• Pray that God will give us His perfect wisdom regarding our house in San Marcos. I like what I heard recently. We know that everything we have belongs to our gracious God. He just allows us to write the checks on His behalf.

Thank you for standing with us in prayer. Don't hesitate to share your prayer requests. We really appreciate hearing from you.

In Christ's love,

Wayne & Linda Steele
8626 Karibuni Dr.
Waxhaw, NC 28173
[email protected]
[email protected]