Questions as gift on Christmas day

Yesterday, we watched the movie, "How the Grinch stole the Christmas?" One of the theme/morale of the story is the key of focus of the Christmas gift. Anyway I got gift from my family.

Today I got the gift from the questions of a young girl. I think those are great questions. I tried to paraphrase them:

1. If three of your wishes would be able to be fulfilled, what are your wishes?

2. If you can change yourself, what would you like to change?

3. What is you ideal vacation? Where? and with whom? what context?

4. Who are your best friends? Why?

I have a rough ideas about mine. How about yours? One of the great gifts of Christmas is the holiday that we can spend time with our families or someone that we love and care. Relationship with God and others are certainly great gifts that we should not take if for granted.

I wish you all Merry Christmas and a very blessed new year.

A tribue to Ellis Diebler -- our first consultant in Merei Translation Project

Almost twenty years ago I met Ellis, when I was serving as a translation advisor in Vanuatu for Merei Translation and Literacy projects. He came to serve as our first consultant. We were working on the book of Mark. I am very thankful for that. He was the master of implicit information in the Bible. He was well known for his practice and theory of "Index of Implicit Information" in the New Testament(1993, 1999) especially among the communities of Bible Translation practitioners.

I still remembered the conversation that I asked why didn't he write more for Bible translation. At that time SIL had a lot of research in  linguistics and anthropology, but not much about Bible translation. He replied, "It's because I spend my time to people like you and expect you will do that."

As a good Asian protege taking his mentor's words seriously, I did. I finished my DMin in Bible Translation in 2014. Yes, Ellis, I did.



Ellis is more senior in me in decades but demonstrated the quality of confidence with humility as a Consultant since than has been one of my role models. I still have a long way to gom but as my Bible Translation teacher Merge Croft told the class, I am confident to say and to serve, "I am good, but I am humble." Thank you for all of my clients and colleagues trust me serving them as a consultant in these years. If I can contribute to you as a consultant, it is because of the modeling of Ellis along with many of the consultants and mentors in my life.

Ellis sent out his retirement announcement recently. I don't know what does it mean, in the field of Bible translations and/or ministry, retirement may mean something different. No matter what does it mean about Ellis retirement. His contributions to the field of Bible translation will continue through his books, writing, the Translator's Translation, and the consultants that he trained ....


You may learn more about Ellis and His Work:


https://www.sil.org/biography/ellis-w-deibler


Ellis,  May the Lord bless you whatever your retirement means and is.

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Ellis  has been with the Lord since March 20, 2020.

https://tahlequah.hartfuneralhome.net/obituary/Ellis-Deibler