I know that Easter has passed according to our calendar, but in Serbia and parts of Croatia, Easter is this weekend and today is Good Friday, or as they call it, “Big Friday”. It is a joy to celebrate Easter not once but twice!
This week we were translating Peter’s sermon in Acts 2 in the Gurbet (Roma) language, where it says, “But God knew what would happen, and his prearranged plan was carried out when Jesus was betrayed. With the help of lawless Gentiles, you nailed him to a cross and killed him. But God released him from the horrors of death and raised him back to life, for death could not keep him in its grip!” (vv. 23b-24) The translators were so excited about how these verses fit so perfectly with their Easter celebrations this week.
Our teammates in Croatia have been teaching the Easter story in the Roma village. It is so exciting to hear that they read the story in the Ludari (Roma) language and had coloring pages with it in their language (pictured above)!
Ariela and I recently attended the FROG Ball hosted by her American Heritage Girls troop (see pictures below). It was a Daddy/Daughter party, but since some of the girls have other significant father figures in their lives, too, it’s called FROG for Fathers, Relatives and Other Guys. Big brothers, uncles and grampas also had fun escorting the girls to the fancy ball.
Daniel turned 15 recently and passed his written driver’s permit test on the first try. I’ll be starting to give him driving lessons this weekend! He’s doing really well with his 3D printing and has come up with some amazing creations (like the vase shown below).
Daniel and Ariela enjoyed going to Silver Dollar City for Young Christians’ Weekend, where they each rode roller coasters for the first time. While they were away, Pamala and I snuck away to a hotel, compliments of our free points, and celebrated our anniversary early!
The Roma Bible translators and I finished checking the Gospel of Mark in three Roma languages (Arli, Chergash and Gurbet) and have started checking their translations of Acts, currently in chapter 4. Thank you for praying for me as I prepare and consult. God was gracious and answered your prayers for strength and efficiency. We were able to surpass the quota of translating 1,875 verses last quarter, finishing over the goal at 2,038 verses.
Thank you for your faithful prayers and support for our family and for Bible translation. Please continue to pray for us as we progress through editing the book of Acts verse-by-verse and as our colleagues publish to the Internet (YouVersion) the books which we have finished in all the languages.
Gratefully,
Todd & Pamala