Overview
Lydia and I are embarking on a three-month trip into sub-Saharan Africa from the end of April until the middle of August. We will be spending time in Zambia, Rwanda, Tanzania, Namibia, Ethiopia, and South Africa. We are continually looking for ways to help support national ministries in engaging God’s mission to increase His Kingdom on earth through education and empowerment, and on this trip God has given us several exciting opportunities to support AFMIN and The Word for the World. There are three primary focuses on this trip:
To launch AFMIN’s first Women’s Leadership Projects in several African countries empowering local women to transform their families, communities, and nations! Lydia has developed a curriculum, called “Basic Understanding of Emotional Trauma”, which she will be teaching to women leaders as a part of a holistic leadership training program created entirely for women.
To come alongside the Soli Bible Translation Project of the Word for the World – Zambia by supporting their daily translation work as they continue their journey into translating the Old Testament.
To support and work at a training event in Ethiopia, teaching local translators skills in linguistics, interpretation, and computers. This event enables mother-tongue translators to pursue a college degree while also enabling their work in local translation projects.
The Plan
We will be sending out newsletters, updating our blog (on this site), and sending out prayer requests from each of our stops. For now, here is some high-level information about our trip, the people we’re working with, and our overarching prayer requests.
April 26-30 – Lusaka Women’s Training Event (Zambia)
May 3-7 – Kigali Women’s Training Event (Rwanda)
These are the inaugural Women’s Empowerment Events for AFMIN and Lydia’s first time teaching from her curriculum. The events quickly filled up as interest built from the pilot projects Lydia lectured at in October 2015, and there are 200 women leaders from all over Zambia and Rwanda coming to build upon their leadership skills by engaging in Christ-centered courses in emotional trauma, gender theory, and leadership skills. Please pray for the women attending the event that they will be deeply inspired by God and to learn useful skills; also, pray that Lydia will be accepted as an insightful and engaging teacher, and that her curriculum will truly equip women to bring healthy and Godly transformation to their families and communities.
May – Soli Project and South Africa Project Development
Throughout May, Joel will be working with the Soli translation project for the Word for the World. He will be a part of the daily office routine helping the translators discover the meaning of Old Testament books and to re-express this meaning into their native tongue. The Soli people have widely accepted salvation through Jesus Christ, and are eagerly awaiting the completion of the Bible into their language. Please pray for Joel that he will be able to learn and connect with the Soli culture and that he will hear clearly from the Holy Spirit as the team engages in Old Testament exegesis.
Lydia will be traveling in South Africa for some of May as part of a team which is trying to start Women’s Empowerment projects in South Africa. This is Lydia’s home country and she strongly feels God pulling her to establish work with children in South Africa. Please pray for wisdom and clarity of vision as she explores the possibility for future work in South Africa.
June – Tanzania and Namibia
Lydia and Joel will be spending time with several translation teams in the area surrounding Moro Goro, Tanzania. The goal is to build relationships with the translators and consultants currently engaged in the process of exegetical review and revision. The Word for the World has 14 translation projects in Tanzania and the Browns will have the opportunity to engage in the daily operation of many of these projects and find further ways to build partnership between national leadership and translation organizations. Please pray for both Joel and Lydia as they begin learning Swahili.
Additionally, Lydia will be running a women’s empowerment pilot project in Namibia to help the local AFMIN team start reaching the women in that country. Please pray for wisdom for Lydia as she will be responsible for meeting with the local team and working to garner support for this developing women’s initiative.
July – Training in Ethiopia
Lydia & Joel will be working at a Word for the World training event in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. This is a month long training event where translators from all over the country can learn practical linguistic skills while pursuing a college education. Please pray that Joel & Lydia will be inspired teachers and communicate well with the students and staff.