Cross-Cultural Driving

Some driving habits around the world may surprise you. Many Bible translators and others can recount amazing stories about travel in foreign lands. But next time you hear such stories, think about their very real safety implications. The World Health Organization reports that “of all the systems that people have to deal with on a daily basis, road transport is the most complex and the most dangerous.”

Here are just a few examples of driving practices around the world:

In Ethiopia, a left-turn signal indicates that someone is turning left. But it can also signal that it is safe to pass. The driver following must decide which signal is intended. Wrong guesses lead to many accidents.
In Australia, kangaroos and wallabies are among the primary causes of accidents on rural roads. The country has an estimated 200,000 kangaroo-related accidents a year—a figure which some dispute as significantly low.
In some countries, if a vehicle breaks down, the driver stops in the traffic lane and places a large object, such as a rock or log, several hundred meters behind so that he can “safely” make repairs. Often, once the repairs are completed, the rock or log is left in the roadway.
In one African country, flashing headlights at an intersection means the driver is going to yield to oncoming traffic. In another African country, this same signal means the driver is going to proceed regardless of oncoming traffic.
In the mountains of Peru, roads can be covered quickly by landslides. In other cases, the slide moves slowly, and drivers must judge whether they can drive to the other side of the slide before it carries them sideways off the edge of the mountain.
In many remote areas, taxis are small cars that normally seat five adults. They often carry eight or more people in the interior, plus more on the roof. If the vehicle gets stuck, all the passengers will serve as a “pit crew” and hop out to push.

These are some of the challenges faced by our missionaries. We are constantly researching and assisting them in the numerous problems they face everyday. Our goal is to keep them driving safe, reliable vehicles. We thank you for your faithful prayer and financial support to make it possible.

Mike and Kathy

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by K. on September 10, 2011 • Permalink

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Posted by K. on September 10, 2011

https://mikeandkathysmith.com/2011/09/10/cross-cultural-driving/

Thank You’s

We certainly don’t ask for it but we are blessed to have missionaries express appreciation in many ways for the work done on their cars. Sometimes it’s with baked goods or a gift card to a restaurant or a real nice thank you card or letter. We even received a beautiful hand-written colorful thank you from the children of one family.The baked goods are consumed and the restaurant gift cards are gone. But we did take the time to type up some of the letters received recently. We thought it would be nice to share a few with you. Many of you are the reason we are able to serve our missionaries. Through your prayers and financial gifts we are able to use our skills to keep many of our missionaries on the road.

We hope you will be blessed in reading these. After all, they are to you as well!

Dear Auto Shop Mechanics,
You have certainly been a blessing to me. You have fixed my Chevy van many times since I began living near JAARS in 2005 after being a Bible translator in PNG (Papua New Guinea) for 43 years. I don’t have to worry about my van because I know it is in real good hands with you. God bless you and give you strength and joy as you serve Him by keeping many of us safely on the road for Christ.
Thank you in Jesus’ Name,
Helen Marten

Bless y’all, bless y’all.
You have bailed the Barkey family out of deep waters the last few weeks.

Ron Barkey

Thanks for your commitment to our Lord as you continue to serve Him by enabling us to come and go where He has assigned us to travel.

Sharing in HIS Care,
Evelyn Davis 

We have great admiration and thanks for all that your team does down there. I do a reasonable amount of maintenance on my cars myself, but without your expertise, advise, knowledge and help I could not do the amount I do. You have helped many times when I have been in other parts of the world to keep the vehicles going.

Blessings to the team,
Daryl and Marlene Bussert – Director and Assistant Aviation Safety – JAARS Inc.

Ever since Jan and I arrived at JAARS in 1997, the Auto Shop has been a tremendous blessing to us. Since we drive Ford products, Mike Smith’s experience with the idiosyncrasies of Crown Vic’s, Grand Marquis’s, and Mustangs has been invaluable to us. Mike has bailed us out of many jams, and saved us lots of money in the process! Blessings on Mike and the other Auto Shop guys, indeed!

Mike Rogers

Thanks Mike, Greg, Don, and Andy for your commitment to Bible translation, JAARS and individual missionaries(member, volunteer and employee) in helping to keep our vehicles running efficiently and safely. You are all very gifted individuals and the Lord is using that giftedness to help advance His kingdom on earth——bringing His Good News to those who have never heard it in their own heart language before.

Have a blessed day and year in the Lord,
Phil for the McBride’s, JAARS and “Wycliffe”

I hope this shows many of you how real and tangible your partnership with us is. We can’t overemphasize this enough. You are, indeed, a vital part of Bible translation. Our thanks goes out to you.

Be blessed,
Mike & Kathy

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by K. on June 6, 2011 • Permalink

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Posted by K. on June 6, 2011

https://mikeandkathysmith.com/2011/06/06/thank-yous/

Institute for Affordable Transportation and the BUV Overview

In addition to teaching two rounds of classes to new missionaries, Mike has been working on something very new and different.There’s a “new kid” in town, so to speak. It’s called a Basic Utility Vehicle, a.k.a the BUV.

It’s a bit involved so we thought we’d first show you the photos. And then, to save a lot of explaining in written form, we have a five minute video to share below.

The BUV is a new type vehicle for the rugged terrain of the overseas countries in which our missionaries operate. It is a rugged three wheel vehicle with a diesel engine that is capable of carrying up to 1200 pounds of cargo or personnel. It can also be used for pulling a disc or other gardening attachments.

Mike, along with John Pepper, the director of Land Transportation, directed the modifications to adapt it to JAARS’ specific application in an overseas environment. The vehicle is designed specifically for overseas mission work.

The photos above are of Mike and John testing the BUV. The modifications were done at the JAARS Center under Mike and John’s supervision. This specific BUV was then shipped to Cameroon. To refresh your memory, John and Mike traveled to Ethiopia several years ago to teach four-wheel drive classes to translators. They taught driving and maintenance. They are collaborating more and becoming a great team. John wrote an article for the winter issue of JAARS quarterly magazine, Rev7. There is an online version of this wonderful magazine available: http://www.jaars.org/multimedia/publications/rev7
If you would like a hard copy mailed to you, let us know.

The BUV actually has a dedicated website and it is quite interesting to explore. www.drivebuv.org

The following video is from the website and tells about their Institute for Affordable Transportation. We encourage you to watch it. The great thing about the BUV, in addition to its versatility, is its cost, which is about $4000. Plus, it is hopeful the manufacturing can take place in “micro-factories” in the different countries to provide jobs. We hope you will take the time to watch it. It’s very well done and explains so much more than we can. Mike has been invited to attend the event spoken of in Indianapolis in April.

Here is the video:

We will leave you with the following story. May it encourage you as you partner with us in this ministry.

A Day in the Sepik, from a translator in Papua New Guinea

I was in a remote village in the Sandaun Province of Papua New Guinea. We had had a rainy weekend and the footpaths were more slippery than I realized. As I walked near the house, I fell flat on my back and hit my head on the ground. Later I had a nagging headache and pain in my body. During my morning devotions after my fall, I prayed “Lord, let me be a tool in your hands.”

Later that day we were working on Colossians 1:27 when one of the Kukwo translators truly realized that the gospel of Jesus belongs to Papua New Guineans, too. Our translation goes like this: God before promised he will preach (make open) that good hidden things in Christ are also for people who are not Jews.

He stared at the computer screen and kept saying: “Here it is, here it is: the gospel of Jesus is also for us. It is for all people, black and white alike.” He also thanked Joyce and me several times for coming to bring God’s Word in this language to them. He said he never understood this from the Bible in Tok Pisin, the national language. We spent a good 15 minutes discussing this truth. This day was certainly worth living!

Did I feel God’s strength? No, what I felt was a nagging headache and pain all over my body after the fall in the morning. But…I felt that the Lord did answer my prayer – I had the privilege of witnessing this wonderful realization of a man who lives deep in the tropical rain forest of Papua New Guinea.

Be Blessed.
Mike and Kathy

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by K. on March 30, 2011 • Permalink

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Posted by K. on March 30, 2011

https://mikeandkathysmith.com/2011/03/30/institute-for-affordable-transportation-and-the-buv-overview/

2010 End of Year Celebration

Greetings, Merry Christmas, and Happy New Year!

JAARS celebrated Wycliffe’s recent completion of 31 New Testaments, Bible portions, and one whole Bible from four areas of the world: Africa, the Americas, Asia, and the Pacific. At the end of this update is a list of each language group. This list represents over 50 million people!

We celebrated with great thanksgiving to the Lord for allowing all of us, including you who pray for and financially support us, to be a part of these translations. Together we can reach the nearly 340 million people speaking the remaining 2078 languages that have no known Scripture or translation program in progress. Thank you!

The photos are what Kathy captured of the PowerPoint presentation, the ceremony, and displays. Note: These are the number of New Testaments specifically that JAARS received this year. We have documents regarding current statistics that are quite extensive. If you are interested and enjoy poring over in-depth statistical data, we have those available.

A brief word about statistics: The statistics change on a constant basis as translators send in current reports. Plus, new minority languages are discovered on a regular basis by our language surveyors. The current Ethnologue is available on a website we can direct you to. Email us if you are interested in this exceptional document.

The New Testaments JAARS received now enjoy a position on the many bookcases in the Townsend Auditorium that house every Bible Wycliffe has translated. But much more wondrous is the fact that they will make their way into the hearts of many people in need of the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ and transforming power of the gospel.

We hope you enjoy the abundance of photos. As it is said, “A picture is worth a thousand words.”

Blessings to all of you who continue to allow us to serve through your prayers and financial support. Happy New Year!

Mike & Kathy

End of Year Celebration

New Testaments Dedicated this Year

Americas:

Peru – Quechua Panao Huanuco

Peru – Kandozi

Guatemala – Rabinal Achi

Mexico – Mazateco de Ayautla

Mexico – Zapoteco de Albarradas

Mexico – Zapoteco de Texmelucan

Guyana – Akawaio

Colombia – Guayabero

Colombia – Waimaja

Africa:

Ghana – Nkonya

Côte d’Ivoire – We Nord

Cameroon – Denya

Cameroon – Mbuko

Cameroon – Kenyang

Nigeria – Berom

Asia:

Solomon Islands – Bughotu

Indonesia –Kisar

Indonesia – Balantak

Philippines – Kinaray

Philippines – Central Sinama
India – Maithili

Pacific:

Papua New Guinea – Ata

Papua New Guinea – Sawiyanu

Papua New Guinea – Mandara

Papua New Guinea – Arifama-Miniafia

Papua New Guinea – Yopno

Papua New Guinea – Sursurunga

Papua New Guinea – Lote
Papua New Guinea – Harual

Africa

The Americas


The Pacific

Asia

The celebration opened with worship through music. You can see one of the bookcases containing translated Bibles in the background.

One of the PowerPoint slides of a Bible dedication in Guatemala. We viewed numerous videos and photos. It was pretty exciting to see people have their own Bible in their heart language.

The procession begins!

Thanks be unto God for His unspeakable gift!

2 Corinthians 9:15

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by K. on January 3, 2011 • Permalink

Posted in 2 Corinthians 9:15, God's unspeakable gift, Wycliffe End of Year Celebration

Posted by K. on January 3, 2011

https://mikeandkathysmith.com/2011/01/03/2010-end-of-year-celebration/

IT STARTS IN THE STRANGEST PLACE

“The heavens are telling of the glory of God; and their expanse is declaring the work of His hands.” Psalm 19:1

Nothing seems to remind us of God’s might and sovereignty more than gazing at the sky on a clear, crisp night. We sense great confidence that He is in control. But when we bring our eyes down and gaze at the chaos surrounding us, much like the dust and dirt in the photo above, how easily we forget this truth.

The following video will encourage you to see beyond the chaos and know God’s power is right in your midst. People are receiving the Word of God in their heart language and their lives are being transformed by the living power of the Scriptures.

To view this in a higher resolution (recommended), start the video, click on the 240p and change it to 480p. 720p will give you High Definition.

If you have trouble viewing the video click on or copy and paste the following link into your browser.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U3YFBDDRx6Y

Our part in this great work? To provide reliable transportation for the translation teams. That’s what we are called to do and we continue to press on daily to provide this. “Be of good cheer, for I have overcome the world,” rings true as we prevail.

In our last blog we spoke of three men coming to work in the Auto Shop. Greg and Andy have arrived and are already hard at work. Phil is traveling to develop a team of prayer and financial partners. He will join us soon. Already Mike’s role in the auto shop is mostly assisting with diagnosing. Many of you have heard me share about my desire to be more help to those of our overseas colleagues, but until adequate staff had arrived I was unable to see that become a reality.

Now that the Auto Shop has a gifted team to assist me, I am focusing more on overseas training and the consulting I have prayed about for some time. Kathy functions with me as my personal assistant, writing and communicating via email to the many requests I receive, as well as managing this website. Everything written on this blog has to be approved by Wycliffe so she works hard to present effective communication and stay within Wycliffe policy guidelines.

Greg Davis-Our Office Manager

There is a program in Wycliffe called “Business as Mission” that connects business people who want to invest in missions to do so by investing in a national who wants to start a business in their home country. These businesses provide employment for needy people who in turn use their resources to support Bible translation in their country. This strategy helps get people involved in their own translation projects. They can help provide funding for it and as a result they take an ownership of the translation.

One church leader spoke of a man who wants to buy a truck to haul food from the south to sell in the north. With the profit, he will pay for his truck, provide affordable food to his village, and be able to tithe to the church for Christian work. They are a partner with Wycliffe in Bible translation. This is just one of many examples of the need for my training skills.

In August I trained another group on driving and maintaining four wheel drive vehicles. What a surprise to find one of the young ladies to be a former member of our sending church in Cape Girardeau, Alison (Bryant) Pyle. She and her husband will be assigned to Papua New Guinea.

Mike with one of his students

This month we met James Ernandez. I just completed his technical evaluation and he and his wife are beginning the application process for Wycliffe. He feels led by the Lord to serve in JAARS Land Transportation and will be another valuable and needed servant.

An update on the accident: Sean has recovered very well and with exception of an occasional visit to therapy, seems fully recovered. As for me, I continue with therapy twice a week. The muscles attached to my ribs and sternum are still not completely healed. The doctor anticipates a long recovery time for this. I am able to do quite a bit of the physical work at the shop but work mostly in consulting and diagnostics, as well as addressing the overseas issues. We are so fortunate that the timing of the help in the Auto Shop was perfect.

We have much to be thankful for at this Thanksgiving time. Thanks to many of those who pray for us and give financially so we can continue to further Bible translation. Thanks and praise go to the Lord for His provision of help in the Auto Shop. I am also excited to tell you about another project I’m involved in but will save that for the next post as this one is long enough. Watch for it soon!