We’re happy to announce the latest edition of our newsletter, Unga-Bunga Illustrated. In it we have an article about choosing the write right word for the Gwere translation project of Uganada. We also have a screenshot of the new Wycliffe website and a photo of David cooking up a storm in the kitchen! Read our newsletter online. To subscribe to our newsletter please contact us. We can email the PDFs directly to you or send you a paper copy by snail mail.

There have been lots of changes at Wycliffe lately. We have a new logo, new brochure, and even a new president. We also have a new newsletter online for you to catch up on the latest. In it we have details about all the changes at the office and some photos of the kids. We also have the #1 item from Jesse’s Christmas wishlist. Read more about it onscreen.

Have a great Christmas.

At the end of August we borrowed a bunch of camping gear from some generous friends and headed off to the Rockies. Our mini-van is a bit on the small side for our growing family AND all that gear so our friends also loaned us their RocketBox to use for the trip. We spent two nights at Mt Kidd campground and had a great time as a family. It’s a huge place with trees galore, lots of privacy for each campsite, trails, playground, swimming pool, river and a beautiful view of the mountains. The first day was gorgeous but the second was chilly and a bit wet. Thankfully we brought our ‘woollies’ and escaped most of the rain.

Our latest newsletter is now online for your reading pleasure. In it you’ll find news about the latest things Val has been doing at the office and in the kitchen. The kids also share their opinions about Val’s new role. And, we have some news related to a New Testament that Wayne worked on in 2003.

Visit our newsletters page to read all about it.

This week I put the finishing touches on our customized sreen viewer for Wycliffe Canada’s flagship publication, Word Alive Magazine. Thanks to the excellent work of the people at megazine3.de we could use their product to make our magazine look and function great on screen. Previously, the only solution was to download the PDF, which is a bit awkward to use. Now, with a flash solution, it’s more widely supported and easier to use. Click to see the standalone version.

For you iPad/iPhone/iPod touch users out there, you’re out of luck. But, if you visit wycliffe.ca/wordalive the site automatically conceals the flash reader and gives you the PDF instead, which works great using a nice app like Tablisto or iBooks. It’s the next best thing to a custom app.

I thought we were done shoveling snow for this winter. Oh, ya, it’s SPRING! Even the little bird under the table is in shock.

The April 2011 edition of our newsletter is now up on our newsletters page. In it we have the Dirks annual report for 2010 and an update on the progress that’s been made in Bible translation since 1999. We also have photos of Jesse’s outdoor physics lesson, Emma’s latest cushy creation and some nerds that we sent to youth group one Friday night. Enjoy!

If you want to subscribe to our emailing list please contact us. We can email the PDFs directly to you or send you a copy by snail mail.

Winter startled us when it stormed in with a vengeance in November. Within a week the temperature had sunk down to -30°C and we were worn out from shoveling snow. With the trampoline packed away and nowhere for the kids to play outside, our house suddenly seemed very small. We needed a rec room downstairs in the basement, fast!

We decided to take a few shortcuts and get it useable by Emma’s birthday. I quickly did some more mudding and sanding, threw on a few coats of paint and got some used carpet on the floor. For the finishing touches I setup the TV, put in a Lego desk and strung up the EKORRE, crazy swing from Ikea that sucks energy out of children.

When the day finally came we initiated the basement with a family hockey game. We all had a blast. Afterwards Emma begged, “Next time we initiate the basement can we play another hockey game?”

Click on a photo to see the slideshow.

Today I put up the December 2010 edition of Unga-Bunga Illustrated on our newsletter page. In it we have a story about a euphonium and a cow as well some people in Tanzania who were literally hungry after reading the Christmas story.

Happy reading and Merry Christmas from the Dirks family.

On Sunday night, after Halloween, I was suprized to see the kids had dumped all their candy on the floor and were trading with one another. David prefers the spicey gum and Pringles, Jesse likes the chips and rockets, Kara and Emma… they like it all. Of course, as per our agreement, they all donated some chocolate to me. And the leftover’s? Emma put her un-wanted candy in a pile maked “Free-B’s!”