What is mother tongue?

What is my mother tongues? Recently I read the news about Hong Kong people's mother tongue. What is my mother tongue? First language? Second language? What does it mean mother tongue/1st language? Many Hong Kong Chinese moved away from the ancestral land. Mine is Teow Chew/Chao Zhou.

I don't speak Teow Chew, a branch of Minnan language group. I can understand some daily Teow Chew because of my parents used Teow Chew, when I was very young. I went to school and most of my peers are Cantonese speaking. Thus, I guessed my first language was Teow chew. I started learning Teow Chew recently. My Cantonese is definitely more fluent than my Teow Chew. I was using English textbooks in most of my education. Thus I consider I am more fluent in English for my work and study.

Ethnolinguistics is a branch of study about the relationship between an ethnic group and the languages(written and spoken). In the Chinese language/dialects context, spoken language can be quite different from the written. The writing styles of Cantonese speakers can be very different from other Chinese even though we are using the same writing scripts either in traditional characters or simplified characters. This is a slide in my presentation about "Engaging Chinese Diaspora for Bible Translation Ministry. One of my unresolved questions is "What does 'Chinese-ness' mean?" Who can and Who should define the term? Where is our ancestral land, I believe that all people were coming from the same boat. We are the diaspora of some kind, diversity with unity. What are the implications of this? How do you think?

Overcome defensiveness (against God)

I came across the following blog about how to overcome defensiveness.

https://leadingwithquestions.com/personal-growth/overcoming-defensiveness/

I like the blogger mentioned 3 F(Fight, Flight and Freeze) - response when we perceive ourselves in dangers, which is the cause of our defensiveness.. She suggested Stop, Drop and Roll remedy with illustration with three different scenarios/cases common to us.

I found some of the key concepts mentioned in her conclusion/the bottom line helpful:

"We are hardwired to protect ourselves.

To find the connection, even when you want to defend yourself, try getting curious and listening. Ask a question.

Curiosity brings us closer together, while defensiveness drives us apart."

Stop: Figure out who we are -- hardwired to protect ourselves.

Drop: Explore and Connect with yourself, others and God, 

Roll: Try getting curious and listening, asking a   question.  Move forward.

What do we feel/fear, when we encountered God? How well do we connect with ourselves, others and God? What would be our next response? Defense, deny or ask a good question and following by obedience with action steps.

What questions that we should be afraid to ask ....

I have been coaching informally many years and intensively developed as professional coaching recently. One key element of coaching is about ask good questions. As coach and senior consultants, I keep asking myself, If "The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it?"  Jeremiah 17:9

How can I know that I am not deceiving myself?

Last week I also came across the message from a devotional speaker Jeremiah 33:3,   ‘Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know.’ Then, I came across a question of "What questions that you are afraid to ask .... "

This is an very interesting and inspiring question:

1. Pragmatic issues, what is the subject(argument) of the questions? Try using different pronouns? Whom and I asking this questions? If I am asking you about what question that you afraid to ask ... Why would you answer my question?

2. What are the subject matter? What are our concerns?

3. What are the cause/source of fear? What are we afraid of?

4. Why are we afraid of what?

One question that I think we should be afraid of to ask is:

How can I .... with the name of Bible Translation/Ministry .... YHWH in order to whatever apart from God's purpose in my life?

There is no fear in Love/God. The great commandment summarized the ten commandment.

Love God(people) with truth and not idolatry/selfishness. Serve with a regular break/rest.

I'll consider general purpose of Christian's life is to trust and obey, and be example of how we following God/Christ instruction to and until the end of the world.

I fear that I can ask the right question and have all the answers in my mind, but not my word and deed with my deceiving heart.

Dear Father, Have mercy on me!

Reconsideration of the core value of self-sustainability in GOSP4EL

This morning I came across two passages in my personal bible reading Mark 6 and Matthew 6. One is about just take what you need in your journey, not spare set of clothes, not your money bag .... etc ... Another one is don't worry about what you eat, what you dress ... He will provide. Do the bible teach us to be self-sufficient, self-sustainable. My family and I have been supported by the churches in last 25 years. Some time I felt that I was the debt and burden, rather than the asset and blessings to the church. I want to be .... I want to be .... I want to be self-sustainable, so that I will not be the financial burden of  others. What behind such thought and feeling can be some kind of pride. I am good. Yes, I am good and I am sufficient under the mercy of God and His churches. This morning I came across a devotional message about Jeremiah 33:1-3:

"While Jeremiah was still confined in the courtyard of the guard, the word of the Lord came to him a second time: 2 “This is what the Lordsays, he who made the earth, the Lord who formed it and established it—the Lord is his name: 3 ‘Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know.’ "

I was in a country, where God have given me through the sermon/preaching from the book of Jeremiah a couple of times in last 15 years during my transitions. I have been thinking that I am doing something can be rather ridiculous in some people's eyes. I have to be careful, whether I would to call to God or not. It's scaring to be in the ministry of God's Words, especially translating God's Words. Am I really ready for God's answer or prefer not to hear from God. How good am I relate and connect well to God? If I am self-sustainable, I am not likely will call to him. He want to make sure that my family and I am not self-sustainable, and have to call to God.

Other brothers and sisters got a 'secular' job and support their family and themselves also have to live by faith and depend on God. There is no-one can be self-sustainable in a community within the boundary of God's Sovereignty and Creation.

Dear Father, I will love to call to you  and listen to your answer. Please also help us to have a heart to obey your command for whatever great and unsearchable things ahead of me. Thank you for keep me ignorance about things that I don't need to know in your time. Only reveal to me what I need to know for your Glory. In the name of Jesus of  sacrificial love and act beyond human understanding, Amen.  

Reflection from marathon to conditions of Scriptural engagement

I just registered for my seventh half-marathon. I started running half-marathon rather later, about 2-3 yeears ago. I wished I can start early. Many of us, include myself, will agree health and exercise are important. Putting something important and what needs to do into practice without procrastination is not that easy. Many Christians believe that our spiritual health, scripture (engagement) is important for our spiritual health. Are we really spending enough time for engaging/reading the Bible? Are we plutting enough effort to make the scripture available to other? Dr. Wayne Dye published about eight condition for physical healthy can be quite obvious. However, are those conditions based on the research or mentality of behaviourism psychologist. God's operation is theological and sometimes not that logical. What conditions really cause the transformation of human life besides trust and obey? At one time I chatted with Dr. Wayne about the situation in some countries, where churches growing rapidly with most of the conditions are not available but only the spiritual hunger. For our body and healthy without training and proper diet can be quite logical and rational. The rule of cause-effect and consequence would be applied for spiritual growth  as well.  You sow what you reap. However, there can be something more than that. What are these elements? Miracle and Grace?

Scriptural Translation and Engagement as one of GOSP4EL focus

I came across the article,  Kenneth Pike and the Making of Wycliffe Bible Translators and SIL International, in Christianity Today. I was very blessed through Wycliffe Bible Translators and SIL in last 25 years. Thank you for Dr. Pike and many pioneers contributing to academic excellence and effort making the Scripture in all languages -- the task unfinished yet.

GOSP4EL seems have the focus about scriptural translation, engagement and language technology, this is because of the limitation of my experience and background.

SIL and Wycliffe Bible Translators have been working in translation for decades and we realized the translated Words of God are not well used by the expected users. I am very thankful for the leadership and colleagues put a lot of effort in the area of Scripture use or engagement. We also realized that it is not only the issue of the minority languages. Then, how about languages in the region or what we called LWC - language widely communication? Then how about the national languages and the major languages? Then how about the mother tongues of ourselves? English and Chinese. Then, I found that many of the Chinese dialects may not have their own translation? Are the existing Chinese translation is good enough to all Chinese dialects? In the west Christians started concern the significance of God's Words in their society and even among the Christians. 

If scriptural engagement is new to you, you may want to visit: http://www.scripture-engagement.org/ or google around for "Scriptural engagement." As a lot of Bible translation, scripture engagement resources are most in English.

As Chinese we need to learned from the west and try to promote the scriptural engagement within ourselves and also beyond ourselves. How can we do that without understanding the biblical language text? Can mother tongue translator translate the Bible into their mother tongues with understanding of the original languages text and translation principle. Thus, I just wonder how can we promote biblical language scriptural engagement, as well. How do you think? Who is going to do this? 

I hope we can first do a bit of survey about what English Greek/Hebrew resources available. How can we make this resources available in other languages, like Chinese. I fear that I may not have energy to go beyond Chinese or even to make them available into Chinese. However, I would like to see other to get this vision and passion and pass it on. In the 500th anniversary of religious reformation and the reflection of global mission and concern, I think the only global hope is back to the Bible.

I put some of the Greek/Hebrew exegetical or learning resource in the gosp4el wiki. Some of them may looking for bilingual Chinese to make them available in Chinese. Most of them are not open source. I hope to see more open source biblical language exegetical materials available in Chinese and other languages in the future. 

https://github.com/GOSP4EL/Volunteer-Projects/wiki/Resources-for-Learning-Biblical-Languages

“從GOSP4EL全球的開源福音到Indigitous因地制宜的地極特使”一文刊登於今日華人教會

感恩，小弟承蒙世界華福中心邀稿，“從GOSP4EL全球的開源福音到Indigitous因地制宜的地極特使”一文刊登於“今日華人教會”2017年十二月號。並能參與2018年一月在香港舉辦的國際青年“使命門徒”培訓營會。之後更有機會與一些國際機構華人同工跟進探討培訓下一代領袖的課題，請多多指教、在禱告中記念。

“從GOSP4EL全球的開源福音到Indigitous因地制宜的地極特使”概要：
GOSP4EL全球開源福音的源起與理念，特點，動員華人參與聖經翻譯的新契機帶來GOSPEL - 全球動員，聯繫本土，開源分享，獨立持續發展，以福音信仰為基礎，所有信徒皆祭的全全 信徒動員。面對的困難，類似的平台Indigitous因地制宜的地極特使的介紹。（全文）