A few of the many things that make translating the Bible into another language challenging are the following: Sometimes there are no equivalent words in the target language, sometimes the target language doesn't have the concept, and there can be a huge difference or contrast of cultures.

One of the things that many translation teams have to wrestle with is "servant-slave" subject. In the Roman world at the time of Jesus, slavery was very common, and so were hired servants. I the New Testament, there is one Greek word for "slave," and it occurs many, many times. There are at least seven Greeks words for "servant," which occur some, but few times in comparison with the word "slave." However, many translations in English render all of these as "servant," and never use the word "slave."

The resources that I (Larry) have say that there is a clear distinction between the Greek words ''slave" and "servant." Slaves had no rights, far less than a prisoner in our society. To the Romans, slaves were just a piece of property. Some slaves in the Bible wore given great responsibility, but they still had no rights. In other words they were totally at the beck and call of their masters 24-7, as we would say today.

On the other hand, servants in Biblical times had rights. While some were on duty 24-7 much of the time, they still had rights, and they received compensation for their labors. They were not "owned" by their employers.

In looking at the many references to these two concepts in the New Testament, it seems to me that "slave" refers more to the issues of status and rights, and "servant" refers more to role and function.

Now for me, there is a significant problem with tranalating all of these references as "servant." For instance, St. Paul never calls himself a "servant" of Christ, he always calls himself a "slave" of Christ - five times. He could have called himself a "servant" of Christ, but he chose never to refer to his relationship with his Savior that way He always saw himself as a "slave" of Christ. Furthermore, James, John, Peter (twice), and Jude all call themselves "slaves" of Christ, never "servants" at Christ.

When you stop to think of it, they were right. To he a Christian means that Jesus Christ is Lord and Master of our whole lives, 100%. We are not servants of Christ, free to do our own will on our own time, so to speak. AS Christians, everything that we think, desire, do and say must be pleasing to Jesus Christ, for He is Lord and Master of our whole lives.

Therefore I strongly agree that there is a clear distinction between the concepts of "slave" and"servant" in the Bible, and that this distinction needs to be maintained in our translations if at all possible.

The next problem is that in the Cunenteco language there is no word for slave, because, apparently, slavery was not known to them in the last few centuries So, out of necessity, we had to translate "slave" as "servant" until such time as we could figure out a way to make this distinction.

Finally, a way to express me concept of "slave" occurred to our translators, Santiago and Dionicio). They now translate the Greek word "slave" as "servant always" For them, "servant always" means being a servant 24-7, one who has no riahts or freedom. The next question is, will the Cunenteco people understand this that way when the concept of slavery is not a part of their culture? Without heshation, they answered "yes." The true test of that will come later when we have other people read it.

THE FIRST TRIP OF 2004
My trip to Guatemala early this vear went well, witn one exception. It seems that my passport and I became separated from each other far a few hours. This caused me to miss my scheduled flight home, so I had to stay over another day. It all happened innocently enough, and thankfully the passport wasn't stolen. I'll spare you the details, and assure you that it will not happen again.

My goal for this trip was to review everything that the consultant, Martha King. had done when she was there late last year. Thankfully, we were able to cover it all: the rest of 2 Timothy 4, Titus, Jude, Philemon, Ephesians, and Matthew chapters 1 to 20. In addition, I was able to do a little more of the exegetical checking of 1 Corinthians.

THE WIDOWS

Thanks to a few generous people, I took with me over $2500.00 that was designated for helping the widows and elderly with their housing needs. In order to try to help more people with less money, we aren't building complete one-room houses anymore unless absolutely necessary. Instead, we are asking ihe widows/elderly to have their families construct the walls, which is fairly easy for them to do, and we will pay for the roofs. We are currently helping seven more widows/elderty.

One situation in particular touched my heart Santiago took me for a somewhat strenuous hike up a mountain just outside of Cunén where an elderly couple lives. They are both 79 years old, and have no children. The man can still get around fairly well, but the woman needs a little help. Their house is old, has corn stalks for the outside walls and has a leakv roof. Thev said that because they are older, it is more difficult for them to stay warm on nights when the temperatures dip into the 40s and the wind is blowing.

Since they belong to Santiago's church, he had talked to their pastor about getting a crew together to build the walls for a new house. which ihev will do. So we agreed to provide the roof. Hopefully, when I return in late April, they will be in their new house.

AMERICAN AIRLINES/KELLOGG'S COUPONS

Although it has been reduced, we are thankful diat this piugi am is still continuing, and coupons are available on a few Kellogg's cereals. We will continue to collect them, so please keep them coming to us. We almost have enough coupons to claim our fourth international trip which we will USC to bring Santiago to the States late this year.

THANK YOU FOR YOUR PRAYERS AND YOUR FINANCIAL SUPPORT

"Finally, brethren, pray for us, that the Word of the Lord may speed on and triumph" among the Cunenteco people in Guatemala. (2 Thess. 3:1)