By Katherine Siglin 03.28.2014

Milligan students learned about the process of Bible translation in an event hosted by Apostolos on Tuesday, March 18.

 

Milligan alumni Mike and Sharon Osborne joined a group of about 25 students to share about their work with Wycliffe USA, a parachurch missions organization that specializes in Bible translation. The Osbornes serve as strategic partners with Wycliffe, meaning they travel to different churches and colleges to explain Wycliffe’s mission and encourage people to get involved.

 

William Cameron Townsend founded Wycliffe in the late 1930s. His mission was to reach the “least, the last and the lost” with the gospel. The group has now identified over 5,000 languages in the world. At this point, 1,900 languages have yet to be translated.

 

Osborne said the number of years it takes to translate the Bible into a specific language has been cut in half because of recent technological developments. It now takes 10-12 years to complete.

 

“Ever since the tower of Babel, God has wanted his kids back,” said Mr. Osborne.

 

Advances in Bible translation are allowing this to happen, according to the Milligan alum.There are currently around 2,400 translations in process right now, split up among the 5,000 members of Wycliffe worldwide.

 

Osborne stressed that anyone, of any background can work for Wycliffe, citing his own career in software.

 

“I am not a linguist or a language person,” said Osborne.

 

Junior Erica Peak-Nordstrom who attended the event and is on the Apostolos Leadership committee said that she was grateful that she was exposed to different missions opportunities at the event.

 

“Missions is relevant no matter what your career is,” said Peak-Nordstrom.