Essentially Translatable

It's that time of year! Cozy up by the fire or in your favorite chair and take a Christmas tour around the world with Lutheran Bible Translators.

Lutheran Bible Translators’ Executive Director elect, Dr. Rich Rudowske, explores four responses to Advent and Christ’s Second Coming.   

Gain perspective beyond daily life to see more of how God is working. 

Lutheran Bible Translators’ missionaries recount the amazing sights and sounds of Scripture dedications around the world. Listen in to the stories of impact as people received God’s Word for the first time in their own language.

Discover a new tool for digging into God’s Word! TIPs (Translation Insights and Perspectives) is a free database to see how language communities around the world are translating Scripture.

Rich and Emily interviewed TIPs Creator Jost Zetzsche in this episode to learn how the Church can gain insight, perspective, and enrichment from Bible translation efforts.

"In 2018 the Kalanga full Bible was translated and there was much rejoicing. And the Lost Book has now returned to the Kalanga people." — Dr. Mike Rodewald

Dr. Mike Rodewald served alongside the Kalanga language community in Botswana in the 1990s and early 2000s. Kalanga people explained to Bible translation missionaries that they were waiting for the Lost Book to return.

Watch The Lost Book (Kalanga) video.

“It’s not widely talked about, but I think stress is one of the biggest threats to overall health.” — Valerie Federwitz 

Lutheran Bible Translators’ Nutrition and Wellness Consultant Valerie Federwitz provides support for missionaries and staff in discussing their wellness concerns and goals.  

“And it’s the church that is owning this and doing this, which is exciting. We’re joining them and the Spirit of God and the work that is being done there.” — Sarah Esala

Sarah Esala serves as the Regional Director for Southern and Eastern Africa, Southeast Asia, and Papua New Guinea. She works with international partners to engage in Bible translation, literacy, and Scripture engagement activities so that God’s Word can be made known in relevant and clear ways.

“We want to see God’s Word, especially in the minority languages of Nigeria. We believe that if people have God’s Word in their language, then their lives will be transformed.”  — Rev. Kierien Ayugha

Rev. Kierien Ayugha is an ordained pastor in the Lutheran Church of Nigeria, a Bible Translation Consultant in training and serves as an International Associate with Lutheran Bible Translators.

He currently serves as lecturer/professor in the Linguistics and Bible Translation Department at the Theological College of Northern Nigeria, training the next generation of Bible Translators for work in Nigeria and surrounding countries.

Kierien is currently studying for his PhD degree in Narrative Discourse Analysis at Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam.

Hear what God is doing in Nigeria through Bible translation in this interview with Rev. Kierien Ayugha.

“The opportunity to work with national colleagues — the work on one hand to teach them but on the other hand to learn from them. The greatest joy is to see some of the things that I taught them they are following up on it. Now they are teaching me as they carry on the work in the different fields.” — Dr. Ernst R. Wendland

Dr. Ernst R. Wendland served as an instructor at the Lutheran Seminary in Lusaka, Zambia, as well as a United Bible Societies Translation Consultant.

He is the author of numerous studies on the Bantu languages of South-Central Africa, biblical exegesis, literary-poetic analysis, rhetorical criticism, and translation theory and practice.

Enjoy this podcast with Dr. Wendland reflecting on a lifetime of ministry.

“Often with being a third-culture kid (T.C.K.) comes the ability to understand lots of different people. But it also comes with lots of inner struggle about where we belong.” — Hannah Federwitz

Hannah and Eden Federwitz joined the podcast with unique T.C.K. insights. Listen to their stories about growing up in Ghana and their preparation for life in Ethiopia.