When my ‘big boss’, Ephraim (the SF Ethiopia Training Director), told me that I needed to get my session on futball refereeing translated into Amharic before an upcoming training, I had no clue what I was getting myself into. Ephraim had listened to a talk/session I had given at the SF International Leadership Training, and he thought that the talk would be applicable and valuable information for the SF denominational coordinators in Ethiopia. Now before I get all caught up talking in SF (Sports Friends) jargon, I’ll rewind a little bit. So what is a SF denominational coordinator (DC)? Well a SF DC is a man or woman who has been elected by their denomination to oversea and manage the ministry in a specific geographical region. These men and women do everything from run practices to training up new sports ministers to encouraging existing ministers. How many DCs are in Ethiopia? Right now there are 85 active DCs working for their denomination across Ethiopia. Lets look at a case study for a moment: in the greater Arsi Oromo region (the area we live in), Yohannes is the Kale Heywett Church SF coordinator. He currently overseas and manages a couple dozen churches, who are using the SF ministry model as an evangelism tool. I could go on for another couple of paragraphs talking about what all they do on a daily basis, but I’ll save that for another post.
So, starting January 31st, we will be hosting the SF denominational coordinators semi-annual meeting. At this meeting, the DCs give ministry reports, network, share challenges and blessings, and get continuing education on everything from futball to Biblical Ethics. Since the average English level of the DCs is relatively low, Ephraim thought it essential that I work with Asse to get the presentation notes translated. Yesterday, Asse and I spent hours attempting to translate 16 PowerPoint slides of information. At one point we were trying to translate the phrase, “Make a good first impression.” Simple enough right?!? Haha. Ok just for a second, try to explain the phrase. What would you say? Well, I started out by trying to explain the word impression. I start out by saying “the feeling people take away when the meet you for the first time.” And I end my explanation by jabbing my hand into the couch and saying “Look, when I lift my hand, the mark I leave behind is the impression of my hand.” :)
I’m learning that the English language has a ton of words and sayings that just don’t translate into Amharic – which can make translating documents tricky. But I’m having a blast and Asse is very gracious as I attempt to define/explain words and phrases. Pray for us this next week as we finish translating the material and then present it.
So, starting January 31st, we will be hosting the SF denominational coordinators semi-annual meeting. At this meeting, the DCs give ministry reports, network, share challenges and blessings, and get continuing education on everything from futball to Biblical Ethics. Since the average English level of the DCs is relatively low, Ephraim thought it essential that I work with Asse to get the presentation notes translated. Yesterday, Asse and I spent hours attempting to translate 16 PowerPoint slides of information. At one point we were trying to translate the phrase, “Make a good first impression.” Simple enough right?!? Haha. Ok just for a second, try to explain the phrase. What would you say? Well, I started out by trying to explain the word impression. I start out by saying “the feeling people take away when the meet you for the first time.” And I end my explanation by jabbing my hand into the couch and saying “Look, when I lift my hand, the mark I leave behind is the impression of my hand.” :)
I’m learning that the English language has a ton of words and sayings that just don’t translate into Amharic – which can make translating documents tricky. But I’m having a blast and Asse is very gracious as I attempt to define/explain words and phrases. Pray for us this next week as we finish translating the material and then present it.
