(photo above: courtesy of e3 missions)
I've been translating from Japanese into English for the church since last December. It's only been a few times for our Sunday night services. During the semester here at the Bible College, I will definitely be translating testimonies for a few students as they share for Morning Chapel.
Translating has, by far, been the most difficult ministry work I've had to do since coming to the Okinawa Bible College campus. Maybe even the most difficult ministry work I've ever done. I've cried over it every time. But God is continually teaching me a lot through it and increasing my faith in Him so much. And I'm finding that translating is becoming a great way to study the Bible more and really forcing me to improve on my Japanese.
Since I can't read Kanji (the Chinese characters used in Japanese writing), preparing for messages has been the daunting task of looking up Kanji after Kanji. The rest has been in looking up the Scripture reading in Japanese and trying to decipher the closest meaning into English. After that, it's having to stand next to the speaker, in front of the congregation, and give the message they wrote, into English. Praise the Lord for all the times I had to give presentations at the Academy of Art University.
My prayer every time has been for God's message to be given to the people and led by the Holy Spirit. This was probably the prayer of the men who penned the Bible, the men who translated for the Septuagint, the men who translated the Bible into other languages, and the men who speak God's truth at the pulpit today. I remind myself that it is a privilege to be in God's ministry and be a part of bringing glory and honor to the name of Jesus Christ.
"Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving." - Colossians 3:23-24 (NIV)
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