The Importance of Tea Breaks

One workshop activity made a big impact on participants. It involved one marking pen attached to 25 strings with the group attempting to write the word BODY by holding onto the end of their individual strings.  With  some "helpful" voices shouting "UP" or "DOWN", can you imagine some of the people's perspective in the circle?
Click here to watch a very short video of this team building challenge!

During the second week of John's most recent trip to Nigeria,  he attended  a workshop for seven newly emerging Bible translation organizations. During their time together they discussed how to assemble and work with a healthy board of directors, shared information on different methods of planning and participated in interactive activities like the one pictured above.  Each of the organizations that attended had to pay their own transportation costs in order to participate; the costs of the meetings themselves were subsidized by others. Even with that, some had difficulties coming up with the travel money but in the end, every organization that was invited did come. As John told one of the organizations that said they could not afford to attend, "you really need to be there, because I am attending just to be there with you.”  Yes, it is true - in John’s work relationships are valued so highly that he was invited to the workshops just because his partner organization would be coming. 

The workshop experience did indeed turn out to be a bonding experience, and not just with John’s existing partners; he also sensed a growing bond with a second organization. The communal meals and tea times were wonderful opportunities to get to know some of the other Nigerian Bible translation leaders. One such new relationship was forged with one of the directors as John expressed his desire to improve his Nigerian Pidgin language skills. A subsequent day at tea, this same director asked John if Wycliffe UK supported projects. Once they had cleared up that John was not from the UK but worked with Wycliffe USA, they laughed and he promised to be in touch regarding Bible translation projects they would like to collaborate on in the future.

Thanks so much for your prayers and support that enable meetings and encounters like this which help to further the work of Bible translation.