Supporting local translators
Wycliffe Today Autumn 2026
by Lachlan Webb
When I tell people that I’m working on the Tiwi translation of the Bible, a common question people ask is, ‘When will you learn Tiwi? How can you help translate if you don’t know the language itself?’ Tiwi is considered a very difficult language. You can say a great deal in a single word, albeit a word that may have more letters than the average alphabet. Add to that many thousands of years of cultural practices and it is unfortunately easy to misunderstand something, even if you have a dictionary in hand!
So then, who does the translation? People who have used Tiwi all their lives – those from the Tiwi Islands, just 80 kilometres north of Darwin. There is a great need for Tiwi translators. The Tiwi people have a strong church, and a strong language. They should be the ones with the opportunity to bring the Bible into their language. It is here that my role as a translation advisor, and a translation teacher, fits in.
Wycliffe Australia helps empower local translators through its partner organisations, including the Australian Society for Indigenous Languages (AuSIL) and Nungalinya College. AuSIL serves as the primary translation arm of the Summer Institute of Linguistics (SIL) in Australia. Nungalinya College is an Indigenous training college for equipping Indigenous Christians. Nungalinya provides training in a number of TAFE-level certificates, up to a Cert. IV in Ministry and Theology.
I’m currently teaching the Cert. II in Indigenous Translating to a cohort of Tiwi translators. There are currently around 16 Tiwi students who started the three-year course in 2025. I feel for the students as we slog through grammar and morphology but seeing them come to life when we dig into translation work is inspiring. The classroom shifts from the quiet murmur of grinding intellectual work to a vibrant, noisy and animated discussion. During a class last year, I discovered that the cohort had gathered over the weekend to complete a translation of a song we’d been learning in class. That’s enthusiasm!
When the students have finished their course, and even before that, some will go on to be Bible translators. At the moment, they have started a translation club at church, such is their desire for a Tiwi Bible. To have the opportunity to work with them day to day to achieve their goals is amazing, and Wycliffe Australia is supporting them in every step of the process.
Scripture distribution in the Outback
Wycliffe Today Autumn 2026
How did a school in France help a music teacher move from life in the classroom to sharing Scripture resources in the Aussie Outback? God often has unusual ways of calling people to serve him. That has been Rob Clements’ experience.
Rob was working as a high school music teacher in Canberra when he was struck by something he saw from a school in Paris with which he had musical connections. The school posted a project about the First World War. Rob was amazed to read that over 1000 Indigenous Australians fought alongside European soldiers. Despite Indigenous Australians not being encouraged to volunteer for military service, many still enlisted. During the war, they received a wage and equal conditions to the other soldiers. Yet, when they returned home, they encountered the same prejudice and discrimination as before. This led Rob down a path of researching more about Indigenous history, and the inequality, isolation and challenges still faced by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities. Rob felt convicted to do something to help.
After almost 30 years of being a teacher, Rob spoke with his wife, Lisa, about doing something meaningful with their retirement. Rob began teaching English as a second language and studied multilingual education. Then an opportunity opened up in Central Australia. The Clementses decided to try volunteering with Wycliffe Australia and the Australian Society for Indigenous Languages (AuSIL) to help bring God’s Word to remote Indigenous communities. Rob and Lisa committed to equipping and encouraging local Indigenous leaders with vernacular resources including Scripture, songbooks and Bible-based audio materials in their own languages.
For six months of the year, Rob and Lisa base themselves in Alice Springs and drive out to remote communities, covering an area roughly four times the size of France. They manage five distribution runs, each around 1000 kilometres of driving, visiting communities where at least 12 different languages are spoken.
Rob doesn’t speak any of the languages but he is learning to read all of them! He says:
I don’t speak the languages, but doors are opening and trust is being built, all based on God’s Word. Even if you can’t understand what you’re saying, being able to read Scripture aloud in language has such a tremendous impact on language communities.
Why should others get involved in remote Scripture distribution? Rob explains:
I encourage people to push through the barrier of the ‘tyranny of distance’ because it’s so rewarding. Yes, the language barrier can be tough – many in remote communities don’t have any English. But they love getting worship music and hearing Scripture in language. These are intensely spiritual people with a deep hunger for God’s Word. And aside from the language resources themselves, people in remote bush communities have a yearning for fellowship, encouragement, and prayer. I’ve seen enough to convince me that this work is absolutely worth it.
For more information about Scripture material distribution, or to help cover travel expenses, visit https://wycliffe.org.au/projects/scripture-material-distribution-in-remote-central-australia/.
PRAY that Rob and Lisa:
- prioritise which remote groups to visit
find resolutions for any cross-cultural issues that inevitably arise
find more volunteers to help with the work: ideally, four to five retirees who can drive a 4WD for around 17 days at a time.
Thanks for your patience...