celebrating 30 years of translation

Celebrate with us: 30 years of God's faithfulness. October 9, 1975, Wayne and I drove onto the Cheyenne Reservation in Montana, pulling a small blue trailer with all our earthly belongings in it. We couldn't begin to fit all our belongings into that trailer anymore! Since we arrived on the reservation, we've had four children (two sets of twins) each of whom God has graciously "grown" into adults who are walking with Him and have families of their own, giving us 6 grandchildren and another one on the way. Now we plan to move to Spokane on October 17^th.. Our daughter, Esther, her husband, Pete, and their children are here with us to help us with the final stages of packing before we load up the rental truck. Please pray for us as we move to a new location but still continue our full-time Bible translation work. We look forward to living in the same city as our daughters, Karen and Esther and their families.We are also grieving knowing how much we will miss our friends here and hearing the beautiful Cheyenne language regularly.

God has also given us many wonderful friends and coworkers. Time and again when we have let them know of needs or struggles that we were experiencing, they prayed, and through their prayers, God has answered in powerful ways.

Over the years, we have mentioned Cheyenne people we have worked with, like Ted, Elaine, Josephine, Joe, Aline, Louise, Leroy, and Verda. They have last names like Walksalong, Risingsun, Killsontop, and Strangeowl. The first four of these people have gone to be with Jesus already. There are many others whose names we have not mentioned, but who have also helped us in many ways, including the ministers in the local churches. We are thankful for each one.

In our newsletters we have also talked about things the team has published in Cheyenne: three reading books, a Cheyenne grammar, a calendar each year since 1983, a Cheyenne hymnbook, four dictionaries (one a student dictionary, another a topical dictionary, and the third a comprehensive dictionary—which is also on CD, and a picture dictionary), a book of Cheyenne names, and another one with pictures of elders with their Cheyenne names under each picture.

Other names we have mentioned: Luke, James, Philippians, 1 John, 1 Peter, Genesis, John, Matthew, and others. The first 5 are complete books that we have translated and audio recorded. Much of Genesis, selections from John, Matthew, and other books in both the Old and New Testaments are also translated and recorded. These have all been audio recorded. Luke and the Genesis Joseph story are also on video. The production of the Cheyenne Panoramic Bible is almost done. We are grateful for the responses people have given us to hearing God's word in their heart language, such as "This is powerful. It really helps me in my own spiritual life to hear it in my language.", "In English it (Scripture) is kind of fuzzy but in Cheyenne it is really clear." and (referring to a Scripture reading class) "It's like coming home. I can picture what God is like, how he works, what he is doing, how much he loves us. I always leave there encouraged. Last night I was pretty down, but I went anyway and left feeling good."

Now for a new name that some of you have not heard from us yet: Elianna Tamara (all the "a"s pronounced as in the word "Ahh"). This is the name our daughter Deborah and her husband Nick chose for their little girl, born September 14. We got a call from Nick early that morning telling us that we needed to come right away and not wait until our planned departure date of the 17^th. But Elianna was impatient and was born just before we boarded the plane in Billings, not waiting for us to arrive in Cincinnati. We got word of her birth between planes in the Minneapolis-St. Paul airport. We are thankful that despite complications following the birth, Deborah is doing well and Elianna is thriving. We spent almost three weeks with these three, having a very special time.

An added treat to our time in the east was that our son James, his wife Abby and their son Sam, who live near Chicago, visited with us in Cincinnati. Sam turned 2 on September 24. We enjoyed playing with him and talking with his Dad and Mom.

Love,

Elena and Wayne