Brett and Marla Shideler - Duncanville Texas
“Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful. And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds. Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.” Hebrews 10:23-25
Wycliffe Bible Translators estimates 2000 of the world’s 6,800 languages have no Bible in their own language. These languages represent about 349 million people.
Wycliffe’s vision is to see the Bible accessible to all people in the language they understand best. To make this vision a reality, Wycliffe also focuses on community development, literacy development and church partnerships.
Wycliffe's goal is to have a Bible translation program started in every language that needs it by the year 2025.
Brett and Marla have accepted new assignments with Wycliffe USA. They will be leaving the Graduate Institute of Applied Linguistics (GIAL) to become Resource Coordinators with Wycliffe’s Member and Care Resources team. They are excited and filled with enthusiasm as they move into meeting the challenges this new assignment will bring!
Resource Coordinators (RCs) are Wycliffe’s link with their missionaries. As missionaries themselves, RCs know the unique challenges and stresses that missionaries and their families confront. Distance from family, dependence on the voluntary giving of friends and churches for financial support, cross-cultural life and ministry, language barriers, violence and political instability, health problems, children’s needs, aging parents in the home country, overwork, the vast needs of the people to whom they are giving their hearts, spiritual warfare—all these are issues that RCs help fellow missionaries address. RCs actively build a relationship with missionaries. They connect them with resources to help them confront the challenges they face while on the field or when in their home country due to crisis, furlough, or transition. Through a trusting relationship, debriefing and ongoing communications, encouragement, connecting, advice, planning, and accountability, RCs guide missionaries through transition, and help care and equip them to press on in the work to which God has called them.
Brett and Marla work out of their home in Duncanville Texas as Resource Coordinators connecting with and supporting fellow Wycliffe missionaries who call Texas home while on home leave from their overseas assignments.
You can find more about Shideler's current ministry at www.shidelersinmission.info or more about them on Our Wycliffe Page.
Praises! We praise God…
… for answered prayer! We completed our newsletter on 21 March. It is now at the Wycliffe print shop and should be arriving soon in both print and electronic formats.
... for the time, energy, and creativity God provided in the initial building our website, www.shidelersinmission.info.
… for the encouragement we’ve received from the notification that several have joined our regular support team. We’ve also received gifts from several new supporters. In the past month we’ve gone from 71% to 73.8% of needed monthly support. To God be the glory!
… for ongoing positive feedback from fellow Wycliffe members who see the value of member care from firsthand experience and are eagerly urging us on as we pursue the path God has set before us.
Prayer Requests! Please join with us in asking God…
… for effectiveness as we maintain and add to our website. (Pictures to be added this week!) As anyone who’s responsible for a website knows, it takes time to keep it fresh and informative.
… for stamina and fresh insight as we brainstorm ideas and begin to write our April newsletter.
… for balance as we juggle our schedules between working at GIAL two days a week with partnership development activities as we work toward our new positions with Wycliffe USA’s Member Care Team.
… for continuing opportunities to share our ministry as we seek to build our support to the 100% level required by Wycliffe before we can move into our new positions.
