In addition, we have a new web address: www.pillingers.net. We feel this is more appropriate than our old one — pillingersj.co.uk — now that we will be based in South Africa.

Thanks for the many kind enquiries about our missing website! We’ve finally tracked down the fault (it wasn’t entirely ours!), and we’re back in business.

In addition, we have a new web address: www.pillingers.net. We feel this is more appropriate than our old one — pillingersj.co.uk — now that we will be based in South Africa.

The old address will still reach us for a while; but if you have that as a bookmark or favourite, please update it to the new one as soon as possible.

Otherwise, normal service has been resumed!

]]> http://www.pillingers.net/2011/06/20/website-up-and-running-again/feed/ 0 http://www.pillingers.net/2011/06/18/new-web-address/ http://www.pillingers.net/2011/06/18/new-web-address/#comments Sat, 18 Jun 2011 20:44:53 +0000 Steve http://www.pillingers.net/?p=2145 Please note that we now have a new address on the web: ‘www.pillingers.net’.

The old address (pillingersj.co.uk) will still reach us for a while; but if you have that as a bookmark or favourite, please update it to the new one as soon as possible.

Otherwise, it’s business as usual!

Please note that we now have a new address on the web: ‘www.pillingers.net’.

The old address (pillingersj.co.uk) will still reach us for a while; but if you have that as a bookmark or favourite, please update it to the new one as soon as possible.

Otherwise, it’s business as usual!

]]> http://www.pillingers.net/2011/06/18/new-web-address/feed/ 0 http://www.pillingers.net/2011/05/18/all-change/ http://www.pillingers.net/2011/05/18/all-change/#comments Wed, 18 May 2011 09:31:46 +0000 Steve http://www.pillingers.net/?p=2060 It’s been a while since you heard from us, as we’ve been hopping from country to country for work, weddings and farewells. For Steve, that’s meant Kenya, South Africa, Thailand and Holland in just a couple of months! Quite a shake-up to the system.

So, what’s happening? Are we still going to South Africa later this [...]]]> It’s been a while since you heard from us, as we’ve been hopping from country to country for work, weddings and farewells. For Steve, that’s meant Kenya, South Africa, Thailand and Holland in just a couple of months! Quite a shake-up to the system.

So, what’s happening? Are we still going to South Africa later this year?

Move to South Africa

Yes, we are still planning to move—at the end of July, if we can sell our UK house on time. (Please pray about this!) Our new house in South Africa is to the south of Johannesburg, with good access to the airport and internet, which is important for Steve’s work. We’ll also be within reach of the South African Wycliffe office, for Johanna’s work.  If we can’t sell our UK house, we’ll consider other options, like letting it; but for now we continue to trust that the right buyer will come at the right time!

Leaving home for the last time

Family

As you know, Jen (23) married Warren Melnick in February in South Africa. They’re now living in Johannesburg, in Warren’s house—now their house! Warren works with an international mission overseeing programmes in Africa. For the meantime Jen is working with Warren; but they are still considering their long-term future.

Stephen (24) continues to work in Sheffield, in the north of England. His focus is to serve people on the fringes of the church; and he pays the bills with ‘tent-making’ jobs. He will miss having his familiar parental home “down south” in Thame! We’d value your prayers for him.

So… big changes for all four of us!

Steve’s work

(Steve:) For the past decade I’ve worked at the Wycliffe H.Q. near High Wycombe. I’ve had the privilege of typesetting the first New Testaments and Bibles in many languages—mostly NTs, and mostly from West African countries. There are still hundreds of languages in Africa that need a translation of the Bible; and over 2,000 worldwide. The job is not yet done!

I worked with the translators, many of them Africans. It is increasingly the case in Bible translation worldwide that nationals are translating the Bible in their own country, or becoming missionaries. This global change is a very exciting development, helping to bring Wycliffe Bible Translators’ Vision 2025 to completion:

“Our vision is, with partners worldwide, to see a translation project started in every language that needs one by the year 2025.”

Thailand: Looking at new ways of publishing Scripture

And so, experienced members are being asked to change, and take up supportive roles to mobilise the next generation. I have been appointed Publishing Production Co-ordinator for sub-Saharan Africa. This involves matching Scripture publishing needs with available expertise; training national typesetters; and much more! It will mean travelling and communicating with folk in many African countries where Bible translation is taking place.

This is why we need to move back to Africa. It’s also why I went to meetings in Thailand—where we discussed the way the publication of Scripture is changing, and how to respond to those changes. “Publication” no longer only means printing stuff. With the internet, mobile phones, etc., there are many new ways to bring God’s word to people everywhere.

Johanna’s work

(Johanna:) For the past two years I’ve worked at the Wycliffe Centre part-time. My job? To help fellow members build a team of supporters, who will participate in the work of Bible Translation through their support. The way people give and receive has changed over the past 5–10 years, and I helped colleagues adjust to those changes.
But I am changing assignment too! I’ll have a wider role with Wycliffe South Africa, working in Member Care. This means supporting Wycliffe members at home and overseas on a personal level. Missionaries experience higher than normal stress levels with travelling, constant changes, illnesses, etc. They need to find their own income, and come up with creative solutions for their children’s education. With over twenty-seven years of experience of all these and other issues, I was considered a good candidate. I look forward to it immensely!

But a few things won’t change:

1. He remains constant, and His love and faithfulness don’t change!

“The Maker of Heaven and Earth, the sea and everything in them, the Lord, who remains faithful forever.” (Psalm 146:6.)

2. Our calling to see Scripture translated in every language that needs one; and

3. —our gratitude to all of you who are participating in this exciting work through your support! During May, June and July we hope to see as many of you as possible before we leave.

Thank you for your prayers and encouragement!

Yes, folks, the Pillingers are moving on! After many discussions and meetings, our future plans are clarifying… In case you missed it: in October Steve will start a new job within Wycliffe; and next July, Lord willing, we’ll be moving to South Africa.

In July we met with Steve’s [...]]]>

Johanna browses houses for sale in Johannesburg

Yes, folks, the Pillingers are moving on! After many discussions and meetings, our future plans are clarifying… In case you missed it: in October Steve will start a new job within Wycliffe; and next July, Lord willing, we’ll be moving to South Africa.

In July we met with Steve’s future boss, Paul Kroening. We had a very useful session with him, in which we agreed on the outlines of Steve’s new position as Area Publication Production Co-ordinator for sub-Saharan Africa. (More about what that jaw-breaker involves below!) Paul took a flexible approach, which we appreciated. Both he and I (Steve) are starting out in brand new jobs that haven’t existed before; therefore our job descriptions will evolve gradually as we discover what’s involved.

In line with this, during August I drew up my own preliminary job description. This is for the period from October (when the change of assignment will take place) until July, when we expect to move to South Africa. During this interim period I’ll be finishing off a couple of jobs still outstanding from Typesetting Services UK, which I’ve been managing since 2005. From October this department will close; Wycliffe will no longer offer typesetting services to members here in the UK. As we work towards starting a new translation in every language that needs one by 2025, typesetting of completed translations is increasingly being done locally in the country concerned, or at nearby regional publishing centres. This has given rise to the need for an experienced typesetter to co-ordinate, recruit, train, etc. — and I look forward to taking up this new role.

The Konkomba Bible (Protestant edition), which Steve typeset in 2008–9

But from October to December I’ll be doing two remaining UK jobs: the Burunge book of Genesis (Tanzania); and the Catholic version of the Konkomba Bible (Ghana). During this time, and extending on into January and February, I’ll also be starting on my new job. At the moment this will involve contacting typesetters and translation teams in Africa, starting to co-ordinate publishing requirements with typesetting capacity, and getting an idea of where new typesetters may be needed. In the long term there will be others aspects to the job as well — more on that in a future post…

The period from March to May we’ve set aside for partnership development — i.e., visiting and reconnecting with all you wonderful folk here in the UK who help to make this possible, and who we hope will be fully ‘with us’ as we move on into this new phase of ministry.

And, finally, in June we’ll be preparing for our move to South Africa (early July, DV).

That’s the theory! What we can’t yet factor in, is Jen and Warren’s wedding in South Africa. They expect that this will happen in the first half of next year, but are not yet able to set a date. (It’s a complex situation!)

Meanwhile… Watch this space!

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Journey with us through tragedy and tears, music and mirth, serpents and salvation!

Towards the end of the evening, a representative from Wycliffe Bible Translators will share an inspiring glimpse into how the [...]]]>

Welcome to the story of everything – The Bible –
in an hour – brought to life on stage by Saltmine Theatre Company.

Journey with us through tragedy and tears, music and mirth, serpents and salvation!

Towards the end of the evening, a representative from Wycliffe Bible Translators will share an inspiring glimpse into how the Bible is being brought to life today in Nigeria, where Nigerians are receiving God’s word for the first time in their own language. Opportunity will be given to sponsor the translation of a scripture verse.

The show will be running from 11th May until 25th June in 27 venues around England and Wales. We can highly recommend it!

It will be showing in Thame, Coventry and Chelmsford. To check other venues, and to book a ticket, see www.eden2eternity.org.

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Last weekend we celebrated a major milestone — our Silver Wedding anniversary. I suppose like everyone who reaches this point, we wondered where the years had gone! It seems only a couple of years ago that we got married, last year that our children were in primary school, and yesterday that they were [...]]]>

Wedding, 1985

Last weekend we celebrated a major milestone — our Silver Wedding anniversary. I suppose like everyone who reaches this point, we wondered where the years had gone! It seems only a couple of years ago that we got married, last year that our children were in primary school, and yesterday that they were teenagers!

It makes you wonder how Biblical characters like Methuselah experienced the passage of time. If things kept speeding up for him, the years and the children must just have whipped by! He, too, must have felt life was too short when he was celebrating his nine hundred and sixty-ninth birthday!

Anyway, Johanna and I celebrated our 25th quietly, at a comfortable farm / restaurant not far from us which has a few self-catering rooms.

25th Wedding, 2010

We thoroughly enjoyed our weekend away, and shared some special gifts with each other. Jen is in the middle of her final exams right now, so we’re planning a celebration with the whole family later on.

God has been good to us during these twenty-five years, giving us two wonderful children and many wonderful partners in our ministry with Wycliffe. As we come to the end of one phase and prepare to launch out on another, we feel we are celebrating not just twenty-five years of marriage, but twenty-five years of God’s faithfulness. Thank you to everyone reading this who has played a part in prayer or in giving. The journey would not have been possible without you!

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Since 2000 [...]]]> There’s something we want to share with you…

We’re standing on the brink of a new phase in our lives and ministry. When you read what follows, you may understand why communications from us have been a little sparse in recent months. It’s only now that we’ve felt the time is ripe to share this.

Since 2000 I have been typesetting Scripture at our UK headquarters, mainly for West African and some East African languages. But the work of Wycliffe in Africa is changing. In the light of Vision 2025, Wycliffe has been focusing on assisting national Wycliffe organisations to develop themselves. More work is being done by Africans. There are now eleven Wycliffe member organisations on the African continent.

Steve typesetting in Nairobi (2006)

This means that the structure of Wycliffe in Africa is changing and expanding, and new roles and structures are being created to deal with fresh challenges. There is an increasing need for experienced people to take on co-ordinating and supporting roles. One such role currently being planned is to co-ordinate typesetting and publishing across sub-Saharan Africa (including reading materials, Scripture, academic articles, funding, training, etc.).

The Cameroon typesetting team, whom Steve helped train in 2008

I was approached in December by Alan Conner, head of our international publishing department, with a view to taking up such a position later this year or early next. My response was that I would be delighted to have the opportunity; it would be an extension of the occasional work I have already been doing along these lines (see pictures).

All of this is still in the planning stage, and it may be several more months before an actual job description has rolled off the press. When everything has been worked out we expect an official invitation to return to Africa and take up this new role.

The Johannesburg skyline

Yes, you read that correctly: Africa, here we come! We’ll need to live in or near a major city with an international airport and reasonable internet access. We’ve been thinking of Johannesburg, South Africa, for various reasons: such as the fact that Steve is still a South African citizen; and that Jen and Warren are likely to be based there.

We are very excited about this prospect. We’d be grateful for your prayers that God will work out the details. This move raises all sorts of questions, such as Johanna’s future role, selling or letting our house in Thame, and many others. There’ll be more to come on these matters—watch this space! Sometimes our minds boggle when we try and grasp it all, but we do have a sense that this is His new direction for us.

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