July 2007

Mortensen Family

Memo from the Mortensens

Translating God's Word for the Northern Embera People of Panama and Colombia
January 2008

Hello Friends!

Biking on the Causeway

We took Kirsten to the airport on New Year's Eve to fly back to Michigan. We had a great time with her for the past week and a half and we're thankful she could spend this time with us. We enjoyed a busy and rich Christmas season and now look forward to what God will be doing in our lives in 2008. In the picture at right we are taking a family bike ride out on a causeway that separates Panama Bay from the Pacific Ocean and entrance to the Panama Canal. [Click on the picture for larger image.] We had unusual weather this December, lots of rain instead of the usual start of dry season. But clouds are better for biking.

This has been a good year of progress on the Bible translation for the Northern Embera people. In April we began distributing a provisional book containing approved drafts of Matthew, Philippians, Colossians, Titus, Philemon and Jude. The Embera Christians have been reading these books and will give us their comments so the final, published edition is the best possible. 1st Corinthians is also available now in provisional form and by early 2008, Luke, the Letters of John, and 2nd Corinthians should be released. Please pray as the Embera church elects people for the final revision committee, who will work with us for roughly two years to put the New Testament and the Old Testament portions in their final form.

Girls from one of the communities
These girls live in one of the communities where there's high interest in the literacy workshops.

As we look ahead to the first few months of 2008, Chaz and the rest of the translation team plan to do a last read-through of the Gospel of John, Romans and Hebrews before these are released for community testing. He also plans to do some one-day workshops in a couple of Embera communities that have demonstrated high interest in literacy. The final revision committee for the translation begins work on or about May 1st. Chaz also expects to go to Colombia again to help with translation consulting.

Kirsten is starting the second semester of her junior year at the University of Michigan, majoring in Spanish and Linguistics. She anticipates a new job along with her RA and Glee Club responsibilities. She hopes 2008 will bring her the chance to study abroad in Mexico.

Danny is looking ahead to graduating and starting college this year. He has been accepted at one so far and is waiting on two other applications. In the near future he will be participating in the annual cayuco (canoe) race through the Panama Canal.

Danny, Kirsten, and Laura

Laura started the new year by staying up until midnight to help her dad and brother with our home fireworks show. She will be taking some art classes this spring and may possibly be involved in drama and gymnastics. She finished the Christmas season by performing in 6 shows of the church cantata. We are all glad that is over.

Helga will continue assisting in the kindergarten classes at Crossroads Christian Academy. In February she will travel to California to spend a week with her parents. She also hopes to help out with the above-mentioned literacy workshops.

Chaz and Helga have plans to celebrate their 21st anniversary on January 3rd, probably by going ice-skating (yes, there is a rink here in Panama City) and seeing "Love in the Time of Cholera", in honor of their Colombian past. They're glad they've had these years together and hope for many more!

We are thankful for the progress we've seen this past year in the Embera translation work and for the growth and learning in all our lives. Our financial support has been generally stable, with occasional dips and debt build-up, but the Lord always provides in time. We have enjoyed good health and opportunities to build our family spirit and friendships around us. We pray that for us, and for all of you, 2008 will see further personal growth as well as satisfactory results in work and relationships. Happy New Year!

Chaz and Helga Mortensen

Address for all financial contributions:

Wycliffe Bible Translators
P.O. Box 628200
Orlando, FL 32862-8200
www.wycliffe.org

Please send mail (no packages) to:

Chaz & Helga Mortensen
#PTY-7982
P.O. Box 025207
Miami, FL 33102-5207

Email addresses:

chaz_mortensen@sil.org
helga_mortensen@sil.org

Telephone:

011-507-317-0308 or 011-507-6483-9288 (Chaz' cell)
011-507-6687-2541 (Helga's cell)