On Thursday, November 14, 2024, nine Toronto True Hope Church members visited the First Nations Translator Workshop 2024 at Guelph Bible Conference Centre between November 11 and 16. 

 

Wycliffe Canada and partnering organizations like Wycliffe US, Canadian Bible Society, and SIL North America, started this translation movement for 5 Cree language groups. But from the last year, more language groups have joined, the Blackfoot language group in southern Alberta(Canada and Montana, US) in the last year and Kwak'wala in Vancouver Island and North of BC area. Todd and Stu Niknakim from Cape Mudge/Campbell River newly joined, representing their five language groups,  and Marlene Bibl Sorrle Horse and Sylvia Tailfeathers joined the workshop representing the Kainai Nation, to be with the Siksika Nation that two of the four Blackfoot communities work together for the Blackfoot language. 

 

 

 

One of the visitors, deaconess Seo Hyun Park, shared a story with Brother Tod from Cape Mudge, who attended the workshop on behalf of the Kwak'wala language group. Brother Todd was an English speaker, but one day, he heard his language and saw their subtle emotions, which they couldn't express in English, come alive in exquisite detail in the Kwakwala language, so he decided to study it for himself and with the help of a professional. His brother Stu shared that their mother had always talked about the need for a Bible in their language before she died, and now it would be fulfilled through them. Todd also shared a proud piece of history: one of their grandfathers, Allen (Ollie) Chickite, a successful fisherman, ran a daily ferry across the Strait between Campbell River and Quadra Island for free, and his boat, the BCP45, is the one pictured on the five dollar bill used from 1972-86. Todd also said he was grateful for the workshop because it gave him a lot of new information and clarity on things he couldn't have learned by looking up online.

 

The Blackfoot Language Community comprises four communities, and two Blackfoot nations, the Siksiká and Kainai First Nation, attended the workshop. Those four communities are scattered from south of Calgary, Alberta, to north of Montana in the U.S. Two of the three communities in Canada are participating. They have been passionately working since last year to get the Bible back in their language, starting with a revision of the Gospel of Luke, which was translated long ago. We pray that the blessed day will come soon when all Blackfoot communities will join together to realize and worship God's true love in the language of their hearts and see their lives transformed. (The Blackfoot includes the Siksiká, Kainai, and North Piikani in southern Alberta, Canada, and the South Piikani in Montana, U.S.A. See Wikipedia)

 

 

Sharing the Word and Praying for Indigenous Communities

Elder Albert Yi, who has been committed to the Indigenous ministry for more than 20 years, shared that he had forgotten his youthful commitment and was busy with life, but after meeting Indigenous people, he was convicted and committed to the work of sharing and caring for them. He appreciated how truly well First Nations take care of God's creatures, which is an attitude he has learned through his fellowship with the First Nations people he served. He also said that Koreans' experience of being on the verge of losing their land, language, and culture to Japanese imperialism made them feel more like the indigenous peoples. He finally expressed his blessings, especially looking forward to when all indigenous peoples, not just those represented at the workshop, will worship God together in their language and culture, as Revelation 7:9-10 says. This message was in line with what one of the indigenous Bible translators noted in the last morning session when asked why he translates the Bible: to worship God in her own ethnic identity. 

 

 

To bless the indigenous workers and the respective language communities they represent, the True Hope Church visitors greeted and blessed each other by singing a blessing song (You were Created to Receive the Greatest Love, a popular Korean CCM) together. Before this, Gyoojun asked each group to translate the English title into their languages so Korean visitors could learn how to say the title in these languages. During our prayer time together, we prayed for the spiritual and mental wellness of the Indigenous communities, and that they would not let go of their passion and continue to serve the translation ministries because it is a very long process, and at the request of Ruby from the Naskapi community, we prayed about alcohol and drug abuse, especially among the youth of the First Nations. 

 

 

For ongoing partnership

Before the church's separation, Toronto True Hope Church had given to Cree Initiatives through her 50th anniversary event, hand-writing of the Bible, and since then had been sharing finance and praying for the Matthew and Caitlin Windsor missionary family (Hazel, Eli, Joel, and Mary-Gold) who are working on the Anishininiimowin (Oji-Cree) Bible translation, and the congregation had agreed to pray until the Naskapi Old Testament translation is done, putting the unfinished Naskapi Bible next to the handwritten Korean Bible as a display. At the end of the visit, mission team leader Seung Deaconess Sunny Uoo shared how grateful she was to see the Indigenous Bible translators again two years after the church split and encouraged the visiting team to continue to explore ways to partner with them.