Fall Updates from the Dehanis
A Thankful Season
“Many, Lord my God, are the wonders you have done, the things you planned for us.
None can compare with you; were I to speak and tell of your deeds, they would be too many to declare.” Psalm 40:5
We are reaching toward the end of the year, and as we reflect on this past year, we are struggling, just as David did, with too many wondrous works of the Lord to declare. We have seen Him prove, unnecessarily, His faithfulness, abundance and delicate desire for His people over and over again. We are so so thankful for this life we live. It is Dark and heavy, most of the time, but there are also unbelievable times of brilliant Light and Hope, of feeling His presence in the minutiae of our lives. He is worthy. He does wondrous, incomparable deeds.
In August, we experienced His holy movement through the initiation of two greatly prayed for and hopeful translation projects in communities who remain very zealous in the majority religion of the country. Embarking on this careful journey are mother tongue translators who trust Sid (as leader and friend) and trust that this work is worth it, even though they each continue to adhere to their religion steadfastly. This is a wonder, that our Father would bring these friends to this work, in Darkness, and as they crack open His Way the Light breaks forth! We have had such fruitful discussions and watched the struggle of what they thought was true and what is True battle within them. Please pray for our six translators who seek to do quality, accurate, natural, and acceptable work on these projects.
In September, Sid traveled to Baku to teach Russian translators on Semantics, or Meaning and Communication, and the importance of understanding discourse as part of the translation process. While he was away, Silas, Maggie and I had visitors from Sea City the whole time—which also made the way for some really engaging and careful conversations. Please pray that hearts would be stirred to ask MORE questions, and that these young women would carefully handle the faith abrasive conversation. I also had the joy of attending an online course in Oral B. Translation, which was the culmination of a series of online graduate courses I took through an institution in the Middle East. Gratefully, I now have completed this graduate certificate and I am better equipped to help our oral communities with the Oral B. Stories and eventual Translation work we hope to see happen.
October went by in a blur. We have been watching the Language and Culture Center reach completion, after years of planning and building as we were able. There are guest rooms and meeting rooms on the second floor (First Floor for our British readers 😊), and the offices are still undergoing finishing work on the ground floor. We hope to see everything settled by Christmas.
At the end of October, into the first week of November, I traveled to Southeast Asia to participate as a presenter and an attendee in a Conference regarding how to engage Scripture with unreached, or very little reached communities. Around sixty people gathered from parts of Africa, Asia and Europe to collaborate and discuss together challenges and hopes for the respective majority religion communities we serve—primarily those that have no, or very little, access to Scripture or Scripture products. I was grateful to share specifically about the experience of working with groups who have no former background or engagement with any believers, and the benefits and challenges of doing sacred work with colleagues who are not yet believers.
We have some exciting events coming up in December and January, and we can’t wait to share them with you soon!
Silas and Maggie have been healthy, growing stronger, mightier, and louder day by day! With two two-year-olds, we have a house full of very opinionated little people, and it has been a joy to see them figure out what they like, don’t like, want to do, and don’t want to do. Okay, some of that is more joyfully accepted than other things, but it makes for a loud and chaotic season that we are enjoying. They LOVE their motorbike rides with Daddy, and they LOVE helping Mama stir, cut and generally get their hands dirty in meal preparation. Silas has a particular affinity for tractors and large vehicles, and speeding away on his tricycle or climbing ladders. Maggie is mostly interested in changing her outfit several times a day, wrapping her baby, Leyla, in blankets, or running around screaming because she can. 😊 They both love apples, bananas, yogurt, a dish of lentils and rice, and eggs. Oh my goodness, So. Many. Eggs.
I mentioned some prayer requests and praises. Thank you for joining us in this Kingdom work!
We continue to pray for partners, both prayer and financial. We are looking for a small group of intercessors with whom we could share immediate and sometimes intense prayer requests for our colleagues. If you are interested in joining this private, small group, please let me know.
With the growth of our family, we also had a growth in our budget. We continue to need about $300 more each month to adequately live and serve here in Pandora. If you feel the Lord encouraging you to join our ministry team financially, please make your way to:
www.wycliffe.org/partner/sidandstephanie to set that up electronically.
If you would prefer to send a check, please make it out to Wycliffe Bible Translators and include a separate note designating it to ‘the Wycliffe Ministry of Stephanie Mizener, 227453’ (That’s right, NOT Dehani). Send it to:
Wycliffe Bible Translators, P.O. Box 628200, Orlando, FL 32862
We remain grateful for each of you and think of you often with great love!