Joe and Bonnie ValentinJoe and Bonnie Valentin
...Brethren, pray for us, that the word of the Lord may have free
course, and be glorified… 2 Thessalonians 3:1
praise&prayer...
Rhema (pseudonym) Bible at the printer
Muslim Tat Gospel of Mark printed
Krupto (pseudonym) trial edition at the printer
Mbum-Nzakambay primer at the printer
Visa granted for the October Harvest Dinner speaker
Church updates in MI
Sent out by Berea Baptist Church, Palm Harbor, FL. Contact us at: jvalentin@biblesint.org, 727-385-7531, or 609 36th St SE, Grand Rapids, MI 49548
J UL Y 20 2 4
Eurasia Trip, Part 1
This trip was a blessing in so many ways, but one of the
biggest was that Bonnie was able to go along this time,
courtesy of a love gift from one of our individual partners.
We were greeted at the airport by one of the translation
center staff, who took us to our lodgings at the center that
evening. The next morning, we met with the majority of
the Muslim Tat translation team and their two exegetes.
They have been working diligently, and were preparing
to print their first trial edition, the Gospel of Mark. People
often ask, “Why do you do Mark first?” Because of the
simple construction and the straight narrative of Mark’s
gospel, it is a good “beginners’ book” for new translators.
That doesn’t always mean it’s the first book to be printed,
but it often is. The Muslim Tat will print theirs in both
Roman and Cyrillic scripts to cover all generations of
readers. Earlier in our trip planning, we had toyed with
the idea of doing further Muslim Tat research in Russia
on this trip. Due to the decaying relations between the
USA and Russia, two of the Muslim Tat translation team
volunteered to go instead, as they would be “mostly”
above suspicion. Even though the weather was less than
cooperative (this was back in early 2024), they gathered
good information. Ironically, this came about largely due
to a couple of vodka-swilling Muslim Tat they met in a
restaurant. There were villages they couldn’t reach due to
the weather, but they visited with a house church pastor
and toured a synagogue. (Recently, this same synagogue
was burned by Muslim extremists, so we thank God for
His hand of protection on our dear friends.) We stayed at
the translation center for two days and then began an
extensive road trip. Riding with a pastor and one of the
translation center staff, we drove through the mountains
and came to an historic Muslim Tat village (above left)
where there is no gospel presence, although many have
tried. We met with a Muslim Tat pastor in another city
(above center left) and an evangelist in another village.
Both men have a heart for getting God’s Word into the
Muslim Tat language. Upon returning to the translation
center, we met with the remainder of the Muslim Tat
team, and had the opportunity to present them with a
new, larger monitor to use for their Zoom workshops
(above center right). They are such a sweet and gentle
group, and love doing “God’s work.”
Summer Guests
Last month, we had the privilege of hosting two of BI’s
final five summer interns, Abby and Anna (above right).
They came for several days before their trip to Benin and
Chad. They will return to our home on July 20 with many
stories to share, no doubt! We are praying that God will
lead some from this group to join BI in the future.
About that One-Armed Paperhanger...
June started with a bang, sending our interns off to Africa
and then heading to Rockford, IL to update our ministry
partners at First Baptist the next day. Then, we visited
with Joe’s freshman year roomie (whom he hadn’t seen
for 37 years!) and retrieved Joe’s dad from his brother’s.
A day later, his dad’s radiation treatments began. Two
days later, Joe’s mom came up from FL to spend time with
us. On June 28, many of us at BI attended the homegoing
services for Maxine Carlson, wife of BI’s first Director
Fred, who is greatly missed. The rest of the month was
filled with meetings and landscaping prep work at the
office. Our full schedule continues this month, spending
most of the first week in upstate NY with Bonnie’s family
followed by an encouraging meeting at Union Baptist
(Kittanning, PA) and with friends before coming home to
prepare for the rest of summer’s events.
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