Dear Friends,
We have been enjoying an early spring here in Michigan and it seems our mild winter has faded away. We are thankful we had no difficulties with snow despite our extensive road travels in New Jersey, New York, Iowa, Indiana and Texas. We've a few more trips to fit in this furlough and are grateful for the opportunities to meet with you and share the many new developments in our work.
Ghana Workshop
The Buli Rapid Word Collection workshop was a success, and the total number of words and phrases collected was 14,747. Since I (Doug) had to leave shortly after the workshop started, my colleagues, Ron Moe and Art Cooper stayed on until the end of the workshop to make sure things were under control. At the end, the Bulsa people held a closing celebration and the first copy of the draft dictionary was run off the printer. Even though the work will continue on the computers, it was a thrill for them to see the results of their labor with a tangible printout. Now, because we want other minority languages to follow suit, we’ve set up a website called Rapidwords.net to show people how to set up an run a word collection workshop that will help advance language development and aid in Bible translation.
New Assignment Location
A year ago when we made the decision to move away from Africa, it wasn’t because we’d had enough. Rather, it was a practical decision due to the amount of travel required for my international assignment. Flying round-trip to anywhere outside of Africa from Ouagadougou is prohibitively expensive and it was time to relocate somewhere with better access, yet staying close enough to Africa. We’ve sought the Lord’s guidance and have come to the decision to relocate to Kandern, Germany at the end of our furlough in July.
Why Germany?
- Wycliffe Eurasia has an office there that we will connect with
- Roger can finish attending high school at Black Forest Academy, a Christian school that serves children of missionaries
- Opportunities exist at the school for Priscilla to serve
- Affordable flights can be obtained to the US, Africa, and elsewhere as needed
- We won’t be as far away from the rest of our family if we are needed
Sprechen Sie Deutsch? No, I don't speak German. Roger has been learning German in school this year, and Priscilla studied it way back when. Fortunately our work won’t depend on it, but it will be difficult to navigate and buy groceries without the language and so studies will begin in earnest this summer. In a way, our choice of Germany has already been confirmed. Two of the international meetings I led last October have selected Germany as their venue for 2012. So being in Germany may actually minimize travel for me and time away from the family! Black Forest Academy has several volunteer positions available for Priscilla and we are praying for the best match for her skills.
Thank you for praying and for your continued support!
Partners in the Gospel,
Doug & Priscilla Higby
Prayer & Praise
- Last time we asked for prayer that the video crew would be able to board the plane to Ghana despite not being able to obtain visas in advance. Well, it is a long story, but the Lord showed us a solution at the last minute that worked, and the crew made it through without issues.
- Praise God for the excellent results of the Rapid Word Collection in Ghana. Pray that the method would be used in many other languages to provide a better foundation for Bible translation.
- Pray for our friends in Mali where a coup d’état has taken place and the government is unstable. Our colleagues working on the Fulfulde Old Testament had to be evacuated from our former location area for safety.
- Pray for our preparations for the move to Germany. We don’t have a place to live yet and are trusting that God will prepare the way for us.
- Pray for a rewarding position for Priscilla at the Black Forest Academy.
- Pray for safety in travel as we will be making a number of trips in April and May.
P&P March 2012.pdf
