Big news regarding the summer team!

Pictures from last year’s Vacation Bible School in the same Roma village

From Pamala:

Big news regarding the summer team: All four summer teamers, young adults from our church, have wisely purchased their plane tickets while the price was right so that we’ll all be on the same three flights heading to Croatia on June 19, and most of them will be returning together on the same flights to the States on June 29. Please pray for the funds they will each need to cover these tickets and the cost of their outreach in Croatia.

If you would like to donate to help cover the remaining $5,600 cost for our family (Todd, Pamala, Daniel, and Ariela) to go to Croatia this summer, you can donate using the information at the bottom of the page or online. (This is in addition to our regular monthly support needs, so please specify that it is for project #151420 CROATIA SUMMER MISSION PROJECT.) Thank you!

Our church is having a fundraiser brunch on April 6 for the team, and I’ll be working on some of the Croatian food preparation. I’m excited about the Bible stories we will act out from Luke chapters 3, 4, and 5, stories of Jesus starting his earthly ministry. Since Luke is the only printed book of the Bible they have so far, we will challenge them to reread those passages at home in their mother tongue of Ludari, which is available online and was distributed to them a previous year.

This summer, we’ll teach them the song, “I Have Decided to Follow Jesus,” in Croatian, which will be perfect for the story of Jesus calling his first disciples! We will also sing the songs we’ve sung in previous years, including the last song of each club day, “God is so Good,” in Croatian (which they learn in school) and in Ludari (which they speak at home).

This month, I’m writing out the scripts of the Bible stories so our Croatian teammates will have time to translate them, and then we, as a summer team, will practice together this summer before we leave for Croatia.

Please be praying for God even now to prepare the hearts of the children and any others who will attend to receive the Word of truth with faith that will endure!

It was a delightful experience to spend a Sunday in my hometown, Albia, Iowa, in January and then at the end of February at a supporting church in Oklahoma City. In both places, I spoke to interested youth about joining us for a future summer ministry, planting the seed of the opportunity they will have. I was also privileged to share that weekend in OKC at a ladies’ Saturday morning coffee (pictured above). The more we minister, the more we realize how dependent we are on God to work through us. Thank you for partnering with us in prayer and giving for His Kingdom.

Rejoicing in the Lord of the Harvest,
Pamala (for Todd, Daniel & Ariela)

Our daily prayer calendar for March 2024

To download this list formatted as a calendar for printing out, click “download” below:

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March 1 Today is Elizabeth’s 29th birthday! Pray for God to minister to her & through her as she counsels

March 2 Today is Pamala’s birthday! She praises God for a loving husband, family, church & neighbors

March 3 Pray for a good meeting with the youth Sunday school teachers Pam is attending today, discussing the book Show Them Jesus

March 4 Pray that Todd & Daniel & the other men at tonight’s monthly book study will be edified through our discussion time

March 5 Pray for wisdom for Todd & the other elders of our church as we meet this evening

March 6 Pray for Todd & the Gurbet Bible translators for wisdom as they translate Revelation & Galatians in the Gurbet language

March 7 Pray for Todd & the Chergash Bible translators for wisdom as they translate Revelation & Galatians in the Chergash language

March 8 Pray for salvation for our family members who need Christ & for growth in faith & regular church attendance for those who believe

March 9 Pray for healing for Bible translator, Goran, battling pancreatic & kidney health problems & pain

March 10 Pray for Pam on worship team today & teaching songs to preschoolers along with Ariela

March 11 Pray for healing for Todd’s adhesive capsulitis (“frozen shoulder”); thank God for our chiropractor’s therapy

March 12 Pray for Todd & the Arli Bible translators for wisdom as they translate Revelation & Galatians in the Arli language

March 13 Pray for Todd leading weekly Bible study through Revelation to men’s group at our church

March 14 Pray for Daniel to represent Christ well on a 3-day camping trip with friends & their dads

March 15 Praise God that 30 years ago today we moved overseas to Croatia for the first time

March 16 Pray for Todd’s trip to Oklahoma City to visit his mom in the nursing home

March 17 Pray for Pam leading kids singing practice preparing for Palm Sunday

March 18 Pray for Pam & Ariela’s American Heritage Girls 7-8th grade class leading Easter story & song devotional tomorrow night

March 19 Today is Jonathan’s 32nd birthday. Pray he will see God active in his life & true to His word & the source of true joy

March 20 Today is Daniel’s 16th birthday. Pray for a continuing love for God & spiritual growth as he keeps learning & serving

March 21 Pray for $5,600 more in gifts to cover the cost to send our family on our Croatia mission trips this summer

March 22 Pray that many Roma will read & listen to the Scriptures we have translated into their various languages

March 23 Pray for Pam leading worship rehearsal today & worship tomorrow for first time (leader’s wife has new baby)

March 24 Pray that Pam & the children’s singing at church will help others worship today

March 25 Pray for Todd as he checks Galatians & Ephesians in Arli, Chergash & Gurbet

March 26 Pray God will fill us daily with the fruit of His Spirit & 1 Corinthians 13 love

March 27 Pray for passports to come in time for summer teamers who are waiting for them

March 28 Pray for the funds needed to send our summer teamers to Croatia

March 29 Praise God for sending the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world. Happy Good Friday.

March 30 Pray for plenty of work hours for Timothy & for insurance benefits at work

March 31 Happy Easter! He is risen indeed! Pray for many more Roma to embrace Christ in His death & resurrection

Family activities

Thank you for praying for us as a family. We so appreciate your love and support. Here are a few pictures of activities over the last several weeks.

Ariela made the best of an unexpected snowstorm!

Kirsten, born on Valentine’s Day, turned 20!

Valentine’s roses

Valentine’s doughnuts!

Daddy-Daughter FROG ball (Fathers, Relatives & Other Guys)

Visiting Todd’s Mom, Geri, in Oklahoma City

Pamala speaking to the women of Heritage Baptist Church, Oklahoma City, OK

Heading to Croatia this summer

Last summer’s Vacation Bible School outreach in Croatia

From Pamala: Great news, everybody! Four young adults from our home church in Kansas City have committed to going to Croatia with us this June for ministry to the Roma!

For ten days, they will accompany us (Todd, Pamala, Daniel, and Ariela) to the same Roma village in Sisak, Croatia, where we’ve done ministry in other years. Along with practicing here in the States, we will have orientation and training in Croatia, conduct a three-day Vacation Bible School (and possibly in a second village for another day), and host a two-day event for Roma teens!

A few more summer teamers might join us, but now, before we risk plane ticket costs increasing, we’ll go ahead and buy our tickets. For the flights and all the costs in Croatia, we need $3,000 per person for Todd, Pamala, Daniel, and Ariela each. We already have $4,600 of the $12,000 needed for our family (leftover from last year), so we currently need $7,400 more. If you want to give towards this, see how to give at the bottom of this page or online. (This is in addition to our regular monthly support needs, so please specify that it is for project #151420 CROATIA SUMMER MISSION PROJECT.) Thank you!

Ariela and other summer teamers doing VBS crafts with the kids

I (Pamala) am currently writing the curriculum, synthesizing the different themes for each day with a Bible story from Luke, which we will act out, games to help the kids memorize the daily Bible verse, crafts, songs, and active games.

Join us in prayer for each step of this process! It must be understandable to the Roma mind and doable outside in an open field with 50-75 kids.

Thank you for praying for us and the team as the Lord of the harvest sends us forth.

Pamala (for Todd, Daniel and Ariela)

Ariela helping with games at VBS

Our daily prayer calendar for February 2024

To get this prayer list formatted as a calendar for printing out, click “download” below:

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February 1 Praise God for providing 100% of the monthly pledges we need for our missionary support!

February 2 Pray for Todd as he prepares each week to teach Revelation Wednesday nights at our church

February 3 Pray Todd will be a blessing to his mom, Geri, visiting her this weekend & for God’s grace to her as she ages

February 4 Pray for the girls youth Sunday school class Pam team teaches to be helpful to the girls (Ariela’s class)

February 5 Pray for encouragement & spiritual growth through tonight’s book study that Todd & Daniel are attending

February 6 Pray for Pam leading Ariela’s American Heritage Girls group to make a godly impact on the girls

February 7 Pray for Todd teaching Revelation & the men attending this study Wednesday at our church, for good attendance

February 8 Pray for Todd & the Chergash Bible translators for wisdom as they translate Revelation in the Chergash language

February 9 Pray for each of our children to follow Jesus closely every day & to fill their minds with God’s Word

February 10 Pray for healing for Bible translator, Goran, battling kidney stones & cyst, for safety & good health

February 11 Pray the songs Pam & Ariela lead the preschoolers in weekly will teach them & help them worship

February 12 Pray for Daniel’s jiu-jitsu class to be helpful to him as he grows & develops, to learn self-discipline

February 13 Pray for Todd & the Arli Bible translators for wisdom as they translate Revelation in the Arli language

February 14 Today is Kirsten’s 20th birthday! Pray for God to captivate her heart with his gracious love through Christ

February 15 Pray for Todd as he studies & checks the translations of Revelation in Arli, Chergash & Gurbet

February 16 Pray for Elizabeth & Stephen settling into their new home, to be able to minister to their neighbors

February 17 Pray for a memorable time for Todd & Ariela at tonight’s father/daughter ball at American Heritage Girls

February 18 Praise God for the generosity of the extra financial gifts for our missionary support at the end of 2023

February 19 Pray that many Roma will read & listen to the Scriptures we have translated into their various languages

February 20 Pray for Todd & the other elders of our church for wisdom (meeting this evening)

February 21 Pray for Todd & the Gurbet Bible translators for wisdom as they translate Revelation in the Gurbet language

February 22 Pray God will provide one-time financial gifts of $10,000 to send our family on our Croatia mission trips this summer

February 23 Pray for Pam to have wisdom to know which memory verses, games & crafts to do this summer in our Croatia VBS

February 24 Pray for safety traveling to Oklahoma City this weekend & to be a blessing to our supporters there

February 25 Pray for us speaking at Heritage Baptist Church, Oklahoma City, this morning

February 26 Praise God for two young men who have committed so far to go to Croatia with us this summer

February 27 Pray God will provide volunteers to go with us to Croatia this summer to run VBS for Roma kids & teens

February 28 Pray God will fill us daily with the fruit of His Spirit & 1 Corinthians 13 love

February 29 Pray for teammates, Andy & Lim, Stateside 1 month to be refreshed & energized as they speak

So, how are the kids?

L-R: Daniel, Stephen & Elizabeth (Sell), Ariela, Todd, Pamala, Kirsten, Matthew, Daniel, Timothy

Cozy winter New Year’s greetings to you! Our hearts are warmed by the time we’ve had as a family. This happens once a year, now that we’re based Stateside, which is a joy to look forward to!

Timothy (33) lives in northern Kansas City, so we see him more frequently. He works for the Missouri Department of Social Services.

Jonathan (31) continues to live in his northern California home, gardening in his yard and working his dream job as a computer scientist for Khan Academy.

Elizabeth (28) and Stephen Sell are buying a cute home in downtown Kansas City. She works as a counselor and social worker, and he in law enforcement.

Matthew (25) is renovating his home in downtown Atlanta, Georgia, and working in UX design at Equifax. He enjoys his two kittens and jiu-jitsu, which he introduced Daniel to over Christmas break.

Kirsten (19) enjoys her job as a hotel receptionist and is transitioning to living partially independently with a friend while enjoying her cat.

Daniel (15) is Mr. Fix-it Problem Solver for everything around our house and is trying out jiu-jitsu. He 3D prints all kinds of things.

Ariela (12) plays beautiful piano music and enjoys time with friends and our neighbor’s growing family, plus American Heritage Girls.

We thank God for our children and ask you to continue to pray for them regularly.

I (Todd) have had the privilege of teaching some adult Sunday school classes, most recently from R. C. Sproul’s, Everyone’s a Theologian. If you’d like to listen to some of the lessons, you can find them at https://www.crosswaybible.org/equip/speaker/u/4/dr–todd-price

In December we mentioned the Christmas pageant that Pamala wrote and directed. If you would like to watch it, click the link above.

Thank you for your prayers!

Todd & Pamala

What are our 2024 Bible translation goals?

In our Bible translation work, we have a goal of translating 625 Bible verses each quarter in each of the three Roma languages (Arli, Chergash and Gurbet). Thus, Lord willing, at the end of 2024, we hope to have finished translating a total of 7,500 verses. The exciting thing is that if we reach that goal, we will have completed 95% of the New Testament in three languages by the end of the year! (We will only lack 1-2 Thessalonians and Hebrews if all goes well.)

However, these are very aggressive goals, and we ask that you would please pray for Todd and the other thirteen translators 1) to stay healthy and able to work consistently on the translations, 2) for our computers, software, and Internet connections to work without causing delays or losses, and most of all 3) that the Holy Spirit will guide us and empower us to make the best possible translations in these three Roma languages, for his wisdom and ability to make these translations clear, accurate, natural, acceptable and literary.

It is a joy to be able to rely on you all to hold us up in prayer and rejoice with us in what the Lord is doing.

Another huge praise is that the Lord has answered prayer and that through the generosity of one of our financial supporters, we now have our full financial support pledged. Praise God!!! And thank you to each of you who supports us.

Gratefully, Todd & Pamala

Todd checking the translation of the Gospel of John in 3 Roma languages

Christmas pictures with the kids

We’re thankful that we were able to have all the kids here for two weeks. Jonathan flew in from California, and Matthew from Georgia. Since the others live here in KC, we were able to spend a lot of time all together.

We enjoyed lots of board games, coffee, hot chocolate, apple cider, popcorn and Christmas food, having our annual family ice skating outing, visiting Todd’s mom in Oklahoma City, seeing Pam’s family who live here in KC, attending Christmas Eve service together, making cookies, shopping and exchanging gifts. Pamala spoiled us with elaborate meals and made sure to make all the kids’ favorite foods and baked goods.

Below are pictures to give you a glimpse of our time together.

Warm greetings from the Prices. Thank you for your prayers for us and our family!

Todd and Pamala

Ariela (12) and Elizabeth (28), after painting Ariela’s nails

Cookie making! L-R Ariela (12), Kirsten (19), Elizabeth (28)

Matthew (25), Elizabeth (28)

Ariela playing a duet at our Christmas Eve service prelude

Pamala and Ariela

Timothy and Pamala

Jonathan (31) and Timothy (33)

Kirsten

Todd’s mom reading the Christmas card Ariela made for her

With Todd’s mom at her nursing home in Oklahoma City

Visiting with Todd’s sister, Tracey, in OKC, pictured with Matthew, Ariela and Jonathan

Matthew and Pamala

Matthew and Ariela

Daniel and Matthew

Our daily prayer calendar for January 2024

To get this prayer list formatted as a calendar for printing out, click “download” below:

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January 1 Pray for each of our children to follow Jesus closely every day & to fill their minds with God’s Word

January 2 Pray for good health for our teammates in Croatia this weekend as the Roma village celebrates Eastern Christmas

January 3 Pray for Matthew returning to Atlanta after his visit with us; pray for faithfulness & understanding in daily Bible reading

January 4 Pray for $365 more in monthly pledges for our missionary support (due to inflation & increased insurance premiums)

January 5 Pray for fruitful youth outreach this weekend in Slavonski Brod as they give out the Gospel & Christmas packages

January 6 Pray for wisdom for Pam & American Heritage Girls’ leaders meeting to plan this Spring’s events

January 7 Pray for a good youth workers’ meeting today at church Pamala is part of as a Sunday school teacher

January 8 Pray for ladies mentoring meeting Pam is part of & that this will be an edifying ministry to mentors & mentees

January 9 Praise God for Daniel’s good progress with dyslexia & pray for many blessings on his excellent teacher

January 10 Pray God would draw to Himself for salvation our family members who need Christ

January 11 Pray for Todd & the Chergash Bible translators for wisdom as they edit the Gospel of John in their language

January 12 Pray for Todd preparing to teach Revelation Wednesdays nights at our church

January 13 Pray for our church’s worship team to be a conduit of God’s peace & joy as Pamala sings

January 14 Pray for grace in the aging process for Todd’s mom who just turned 85, in an OKC nursing home

January 15 Praise God for Todd’s sister’s faithful help taking care of their mom in Oklahoma City

January 16 Pray for Todd & the Arli Bible translators for wisdom as they edit the Gospel of John in their language

January 17 Pray for good attendance & edifying teaching at men’s Bible study on Revelation Todd is leading

January 18 Pray for Todd as he studies & checks the translations of John in Arli, Chergash & Gurbet

January 19 Pray for Todd & our church’s elders attending the Ironmen conference in Emporia, KS today & tomorrow

January 20 Pray for good attendance & edifying time for our church men at Ironmen conference sessions today

January 21 Pray for safety in winter driving for our many miles each week

January 22 Pray that many Roma will read & listen to the Scriptures we have translated into their various languages

January 23 Pray for Lim, our teammate in Slavonski Brod, Croatia, as she manages rheumatoid arthritis

January 24 Pray for Todd & the Gurbet Bible translators for wisdom as they edit the Gospel of John in their language

January 25 Pray for one-time gifts of $10,000 to send our family on our Croatia mission trips this summer

January 26 Pray for wisdom to know which stories from Luke to act out & teach from this summer as Pamala plans our VBS

January 27 Praise God for time over Christmas with our adult children & how God will use that to fulfill His purposes for them

January 28 Pray for us speaking at First Family Church, Albia, Iowa, this morning

January 29 Praise God for His provision of our local chiropractor & his care for us

January 30 Pray God will provide volunteers to go with us to Croatia this summer to run VBS for Roma kids & teens

January 31 Pray God will fill us daily with love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness & self-control

7,276 verses this year; Lost (and found) in translation, installment #17

Thank you for your faithful prayers and financial support! In 2023, Todd and the three Roma Bible translation teams checked 7,276 verses together. This includes all of the Gospel of Mark, the Acts of the Apostles, the Epistle of James, and over half the Gospel of John.

Goran in his office in Serbia, translating in the Gurbet language

Sometimes, people ask how long it takes to translate a verse. My answer is always the same: that depends! Some verses go very quickly, while others take much more time.

Translating from one language to another is always challenging, but some people don’t realize that making a literal translation is fairly straightforward and fast. It is much more time-consuming when we take the time to think deeply about the meaning of what we are translating and to do the hard work of making sure that we have accurately communicated that meaning in the new language.

Let me give you some examples from our recent work in John. John chapter 9 is about Jesus healing a man born blind. When the disciples saw the blind man, they asked Jesus, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he should be born blind?” Jesus’ answer was, literally translated, “neither this man sinned nor his parents.” But of course, there is some implied information that is not literally mentioned; Jesus was not making a statement to the effect that the man and his parents had never sinned. To keep from giving the wrong idea, we translated this in Arli as “He is not blind because he sinned or his father or mother” (there is no Arli word for “parents”). This makes it clear that Jesus’ answer was limited to the immediate context of the cause of blindness; he was not making a declaration of the man’s complete sinlessness.

Here’s another example. John 9:24 says literally, “So a second time they called the man who had been blind, and said to him, ‘Give glory to God; we know that this man is a sinner.'” However, in this context, the Pharisees were not piously asking the healed man to give a testimony that glorified God. They were using an Old Testament phrase that was used when a judge thought that the accused was lying or hiding something. They thought the blind man was not telling the truth, so they were, in a sense, putting him under oath. To bring out this meaning, we translated this in the Chergash language as “Promise before God that you will tell the truth.” This communicates the correct meaning, whereas a literal rending, “Give glory to God” gives an entirely wrong impression. (I have even seen this part of the verse used out of context on a devotional calendar page!)

John 12:44 begins, “And Jesus cried out and said, ‘He who believes…'” Taken literally, it looks like it is describing two separate actions: Jesus cried out and Jesus also said. But this is a very common Semitic way of describing a speech action and is only referring to one action, so in Chergash, we translated it as “And Jesus shouted these words, ‘Whoever believes…'”

The verse goes on to say, “Whoever believes does not believe in me, but in the one who sent me. “ We are not to take this literally as if Jesus said that whoever believes in him does not believe in him! He is explaining to the disciples how intricately related he is to the Father, such that someone who believed in Jesus thereby also believed in Jesus’ Father who sent him. To make this clearer, in the Arli and Gurbet translations, we added the word “only” so that the verse now says, “Whoever believes in me, does not believe only in me, but also in the one who sent me.”

(Above: screenshot of Mark chapter 2 audio in the Arli language, on YouTube)

There are many more examples where literal translation can result in misunderstanding, but these give you an idea of what we deal with on a daily basis.

We so appreciate your prayers and support. If you would like to make a special year-end gift, or begin or increase monthly giving, please see the giving information below. And please continue to pray for us as we seek to translate so that Arli, Chergash and Gurbet Roma will understand God’s Word accurately and clearly.

Gratefully, Todd & Pamala