Taking the Word to the desert people

By Amee Glass AM

Foreword by Barry Borneman

What do faithfulness, patience and perseverance look like in cross-cultural mission? Amee Glass’s firsthand account of her own mission experience in outback Australia helps to answer that question.

In 1963, The Mission Council assigned Amee and her friend Dorothy Hackett to the Warburton Ranges in the central desert area of Western Australia. Forty-five years later, Amee, Dorothy and the Ngaanyatjarra people celebrated the dedication of the Ngaanyatjarra Shorter Bible.

This book chronicles Amee and Dorothy’s journey to learn the local language and translate the Bible. It also provides a glimpse into the interactions between the Ngaanyatjarra people, the Christian mission and the gospel. It is a fascinating read about the dedication and commitment of two friends who grew to love and be loved by the community. Among other things, it celebrates a people learning to read in their own language for the first time.

Waiting Well with Jesus

‘Good grief does not just happen. Good grief is intentional.’

How can grief ever be ‘good’? This new devotional from Lyn Wake helps readers to use their tears to draw nearer to Jesus. After losing her beloved teenage daughter Bethany to brain cancer, Lyn cried out to God for help. As she accepted Jesus’ invitation to journey with him through the grief, she experienced how to wait well with him.

This devotional journal is the resource Lyn wished she had in her deepest grief. Each week has a different word to reflect on, along with personal stories, Bible references, journal reflections and a prayer, which gently help us to draw nearer to God who understands our pain.

In the midst of our heartbreak, Lyn tenderly reminds us of our breath-taking inheritance in Christ, discovering rich treasures along the way that can only be found through a costly veil of tears.

Just a girl

Sylvia set out seven years ago to write her autobiography. The work morphed into more than six hundred pages. The miracles that took place throughout her life shone like diamonds amidst some dark and difficult times. The large volume was previewed by a journalist who proposed that the miracles could form a book of their own.

It daunted her to consider writing a second book. It seemed like a mountain too hard to climb but she felt compelled to not think of the pain and hard work but to consider the gain the readers may receive from her story.

She’s often been asked, “If you had your choice would you embark on this life of sacrifice all over again?” Her answer is an unequivocal, “YES.”

She recounts in her story when her then 18-year-old daughter tearfully questioned her parents plans to depart Australia for Black Forest Academy in Germany. Sylvia’s reply was, “If I say to God, ‘You want us in Germany then you change our daughter’s heart,’ and three weeks later He does, I can’t then say ‘Thank you very much, but now I’m not going.’ The consequences of disobeying God would be far greater than the pain of leaving you behind.”

The Unfolding Story of a Dreamer

Barry Borneman describes himself as a ‘dreamer’ who enjoys a rich and often secret inner life where he navigates the call of Jesus on his life and its unfolding consequences. It is a very personal story of living year-by-year with both a loving and disruptive God.

Barry and his wife, Marg, worked with Wycliffe Bible Translators Australia for forty-five years in various roles. They served in Papua New Guinea, Darwin and the Pacific Islands before Barry served as the CEO of Wycliffe Australia from 2007 to 2019.

Daily Readings

A series of Bible readings with commentary to help people in their daily walk with Jesus. One reading for each day of the year.

By Rex Hayward

Transformed by the Word: Encounters with Jesus

By Lynda Wake and Deborah Fox, 2024

The Bible is a living, breathing testimony of God’s love for his people. As a Bible translation organisation, Wycliffe Australia is committed to helping bring this message of love, hope and grace to marginalised communities in the languages they understand best. Projects are taking place all over the world, and within Indigenous communities in Australia, to create a range of written and audio-visual translations of the Bible.

This book is designed to help you experience the freedom that comes from enjoying God’s Word – not just seeing it as a requirement or chore that comes with being a follower of Jesus. The stories that fill these pages are all based on the true events and testimonies of individuals, churches, families and whole communities that have been transformed by a deeper understanding of Scripture. It is our hope and prayer that you will be encouraged by these stories as you connect with God’s Word through the reflections posed at the end of each chapter.

‘Rough Edges’ (Christians living abroad)

Written by Rhena Taylor
When people interact closely, cultures clash or traditions differ and sparks often fly. These powerful short stories plunge the reader into situations of excitement, conflict, tension and heartache, where the rough edges of human nature are exposed to view, but where God’s love is none the less at work.

The Finish Line

by Bob Creson

A family leaves home in Southern California and moves to the other side of the world. They discover the importance – and the power – of God’s Word in a person’s heart language.

In a village in Cameroon, a lake ‘erupts’ and people suffocate. One man from the Cung people group survives, believing God spared his life for a purpose.

The Hdi people live with the burden that love must be earned, until they find a word in their language that describes God’s unconditional love.

A Tennet man walks a thousand miles to make sure his people group gets a Bible they can understand.

Through stories, Bob Creson emphasises the need for Bible translation and the impact of the Bible translation movement in communities, providing stories of hope as we approach the finishing line of Bible translation – the day when every people group on earth will be able to access and engage with God’s eternal Word.

Also available as an ebook.

Jungle Gems

by Diana Green

When Harold and Diana Green moved to Brazil to live among the Palikur people, they experienced growth in more ways than one. In this book, Diana shares some of the insights and lessons into the gospel message she gained as she lived life alongside the Palikur people, people she calls God’s ‘jungle gems’.

A Kick in the Pants

by Jack Popjes

The appeal of this stimulating book is international. Many of the columns of this book have already been reprinted in magazines all over the English-speaking world and have also been translated into multiple languages.

The Church’s main task is cross-cultural missions. The Church’s most foundational work is translating the Bible into the languages of every person on earth. Readers will be provoked and challenged to reconsider their individual life choices in the light of these truths.

The 52 columns are arranged to be read one per week, making this an excellent resource for Bible studies, personal reading and sermon ideas.