A new kind of shoebox 

"Passport?"
"Check."
"Mosquito net?"
"Check."
"Shoebox?"

...Shoebox?  Yes, that's right.  A shoebox used to be the standard equipment for Bible translators!  As the translator learned a word, he would record it on a card and file it in a shoebox.  He may accumulate hundreds or even thousands of these cards.  You can imagine how well this equipment stood up to fire, rain, and insects...

How blessed we are today to have computer technology.  The IT (Information Technology) team at JAARS is constantly developing new software to help translators on the field.  The first software JAARS developed for translators was named “Shoebox,” in memory of the old way of recording and analyzing data!

In my training at the Graduate Institute of Applied Linguistics, I learned to use software programs like Translator's Workplace, LinguaLinks, Speech Analyzer, and Field Data Notebook.  

Solving unusual problems for translators 

JAARS computer specialists have a history of solving unusual problems for Bible translators.  As you can imagine, the need for computers in the "shoebox days" was great.  And to get the computers into the remote locations where many Wycliffe translators worked, the equipment needed to be portable.  Laptops weren't on the market yet, so JAARS created their own!  Above is a picture of an actual model Wycliffe translators used in the 70's.

Two of my fellow trainees in the Intercultural Communications Course are IT missionaries.  Would you pray for them?  One is assigned to the Wycliffe office in Calgary, Canada, where he will develop software for Bible translators.  My other Wycliffe colleague is assigned to Thailand, where he will start a software lab for Bible translation endeavors in Asia.

Let's praise the Lord for the men and women with the knowledge to speed Bible translation through computers and Information Technology! 

January 31, 2006