Sharon Dennis News July 2024

Sharon's News from Chad - July 2024

Dear Supporter,

sharon An update to my last newsletter, as I prepare to come home for the month of August.

Nigeria…

The Tor Tiv answering questions thereby helping
us to learn about the art forms of the Tiv people.

What do we mean by ‘Arts’? What is a community? How can understanding these concepts be a vehicle in helping to render the Kingdom of God more real in the lives and mind-set of a community? These were some of the questions the week-long course in Jos, Nigeria addressed.

Using a representative of the ‘Tor’, Chief of the Tiv people, we worked through the seven steps necessary to be able to ‘marry’ a local art form with a justice, social or other issue (Kingdom goal) that a community might wish to see addressed.

It was an insightful week. Please pray that I will have opportunity to use this model in at least one of the communities with which we work here in the Guera.

In Ndjamena...

The entire Bible in Chadian Arabic(CAB) became available in May 2021.Since many Chadians speak Chadian Arabic as a first or second language, we continue to work to help people embrace all that the CAB has for them. One of the activities to encourage this is to hold song writing workshops.

At the end of May, choristers from the various churches across the capital were invited to a three-day workshop where they were given skills to help them create Scripture-based songs using the CAB thereby facilitating its utilisation as well up the building the corpus and range of songs available to the churches.

A section of the attendees at the workshop

Honestly, I was amazed by the creativity and the range of styles manifested by those assembled.

In the Guera...

A moment for reflection and thanksgiving whilst looking to the future. This sums up the recent visit of Wycliffe UK’s International Mission’s Director to the Guera.

Wycliffe’s International Missions Director
holding up the banner presented to him,
which recounts aspects of
the 15-year partnership.

It was sobering to learn that until 2012 not one of the 26 ethnicities native to the Guera could access the New Testament in a local language. As French is known only to those who have been educated. As the partnership between Wycliffe UK and the committee responsible for co-ordinating the various translation committee ends, in spite of the sadness, there was gratitude and rejoicing for the fruits of the 15-year partnership. Four New Testaments in four local languages and oral Bible stories in several languages!

One local representative told of people of another faith coming to listen to some of these recorded stories because they are in a language comprehensible to them! He continued on to say that they (his language group) had not known that there was even such a thing as the New Testament!

Some of the fruit of the 15- year partnership (see immediate left) with a commendation of Wycliffe UK

The President of the main church in the Guera, said: ‘We did not know that our languages, were languages. We thought they were just little dialects. Thank you! God alone knows the impact of your work. May He bless you!’

Celebrating in dance; a section of the assembled crowd.

Prayer Points

Praise God for

His hand of protection during a burglary that occurred in May while everyone was at church. My computer, amongst other things, was stolen but it could have been so much worse!
all the people who reached out in their various ways, following the burglary.
Dr Gassler who has agreed to come to lead a workshop on song composition amongst groups where some scripture translation has been done but fruit is yet to seen.
the opportunity to come home for a brief moment.

Please pray:

that God will bless the above workshop with His creativity.
for the initiative to help people develop competence in reading the Bible in Chadian Arabic
that I will get done all I need to do before coming home.