Dr. Bill Mounce - Teacher & Translator

We had the pleasure of meeting Dr. Bill Mounce today who is a teacher and translator extraordinaire:

• He is the author of my Greek textbook in RTS.
• He is the founder and president of biblicaltraining.org
• He is on the committee of Bible translation (NIV)
• He was the New Testament chair of the ESV translation.

Yet, he spoke with the humility, like the heart of a shepherd who cares for his flock to be grazing on the words of truth and life. He challenged us - "why are you in seminary?" - your goal should be that when you leave seminary, you have a deeper love for Jesus Christ. I like how he summed up the outcome of seminary studies - it should lead me to have an informed love - growing to love the Lord with all of my heart, soul, strength and mind. (By the way, be sure to check out the FREE biblicaltraining.org website - it is a fantastic teaching resource!)

After speaking at the RTS Chapel, Dr. Mounce went on to share deeper insights on his role as a Bible translator. That left me with a greater appreciation for the various English translations out there and the different philosophy of translation (formal, function or natural). It is an amazing demonstration of how God inspires His Word through the means of using real people with real language and cultural context. Managed to be "thick-skinned" enough to raise my hand for a free copy of a personal sized Bible for my wife!

Please pray for us

Thank you for praying for Eunice - we are pleased and thankful for her results. She just submitted her university applications and we plan to go on a campus visit road trip soon. Do continue to pray for wisdom in selecting the right university with the right environment for her to grow not only intellectually but more importantly in her faith and worldview.

The month of November is the last lap of this semester for me with a pile of research papers to write and exams to prepare for. Please pray for this 51-year-old-long-time-no-study-type-brain to be able to rise up to the occasion and do my best not to compete but to complete it for God's glory and because I want to love Him with all of my mind!

Do pray for all three of us to be in good health as the cooler season approaches. We miss the warm fellowship with you guys at home!

Thank you for partnering with us in this journey of joy.

Joseph, Debra & Eunice.

Grateful for Window of Providence

We are grateful to God for His providence in supplying a three-day corporate training opportunity for me to return to Malaysia last week during the seminary fall break. The only setback was that I came home alone and had to leave my wife and daughter behind in Charlotte. On the other hand, it was also a wonderful journey for me to "cari makan" (find food) and stock up memories of mesmerizing meals before heading back to the books here in the US!

It was good to connect with people in the marketplace and although it was not direct Gospel preaching, I thoroughly enjoyed communicating truth principles in matters of communication, engagement and relationship. Ephesians 2:10 - "For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them". God's sovereignty is such a reassuring truth that as I come to Him in my present moment, I can worship Him in perfect confidence that He knows what He is doing and has a plan at work. God is more actively involved in your life than you know! May we walk holding the Hand of Him who is already prepared beforehand.

Please pray for us
Thanks for praying for Eunice's SAT - she was happy with her US-experience. The next milestone is visiting several prospective universities and deciding the "good work" which the Lord had prepared for her. May we be sensitive to the Holy Spirit's guidance for Eunice.

This second part of the Fall Semester is filled with exams and research papers submission! Please pray for my wife and I as we prepare towards it. Time management and the discipline to study in a systematic and focused way is certainly needful.

Thank you for partnering with us in this journey of joy.

Joseph, Debra & Eunice.