On July16th the EMU board voted to accept our family as missionary candidates to Cambodia. Lord willing, Josh will finish his Ph.D in the spring 2013 semester. After that we will move back to Greenville, SC, and begin deputation. We’re thanking the Lord for already providing three supporting families. We look forward to how He will provide all the support we need to serve Him in Cambodia.

For those who are interested in our future ministry, here’s some answers to the questions we were asked by the EMU board:

•  Type of service: translation of Bible; translation and/or development of Bible study materials; Bible school training
• Is there a clear need for this kind of service in that country? yes; at least two groups in Ratanakiri have a need for Bible translation (Jarai, Kachok); multiple groups participate in Bible school training, and there seems to be the need of more teachers who can work with individual language groups.
• What are your Goals for your ministry? If translation, then eventually the translation of the entire Bible into the target language, starting with the NT. In Bible school training, the goals would be set by other missionaries on the field and by the church leaders themselves – but in general, demonstrable progress in knowledge of the Bible and ability to apply Scripture in their own cultural context and teach the Scripture to their people.
• What are your plans to accomplish those goals? First, intensive language training in Khmer and then the target minority language. Then grammatical analysis of the target language. Building up a team of people in the target language to serve as a committee or committees in the translation process. Gathering of native literary forms for language development (literacy) purposes, as well as gaining a better understanding of how literature in the language is structured. Translation by committee, with active input/checking by specialists (me and others). Outside consultation to check translation. Periodic small-scale printing of completed Bible portions.
• What will you do when those goals are accomplished? Continue teaching; look to assist with other translation projects; work on the development of other native-tongue resources to help church leaders; (eventually) retire!
• Do you have a timetable in mind for accomplishing these goals? Language study will undoubtedly take up the first term and be a significant part of the second term (though we hope that in the second term we can be more active in ministry). Once started, a good translation can take anywhere from 10 to 30 years, depending on involvement of the community and many other factors. Perhaps 7 years for the New Testament.