This past week I traveled with my daughter Joanie and her family to Lakeland, Florida, to visit my son-in-law Kurt Glennon’s parents for a few days. We had a really good time, but I had not been able to line up someone to interview for next week’s column. I mentioned my situation to John Glennon, Kurt’s dad, asking him to pray that I would know what to write about. Mr. Glennon, a Wycliffe Bible translator, suggested I research how the Choctaws in our area received a Bible in their own language.
When I returned home, I checked into that and learned of a Christian missionary among the Choctaw Indians, Cyrus Byington, born in 1793, who worked first in Mississippi then, having walked the Trail of Tears in 1825 with his wife and the tribe, worked for 31 years in Oklahoma. Throughout his life, as he ministered and taught in the mission schools, he studied the Choctaw language and worked toward the translation of the Bible into that language. He completed translation of the Pentateuch, the first five books of the Bible, published in 1867, as well as sections of the New Testament, a grammar, and a dictionary, and other materials for use in the schools. According to the Bridwell Library of Southern Methodist University website, “…the first edition of the New Testament appeared in 1848. Prepared by Alfred Wright (1788-1853) and Cyrus Byington (1793-1868) of the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions, these translators received substantial assistance from native speakers Joseph Dukes (1811-1861) and W.H. McKinney (active ca. 1850-1900).”
In recent years, as the Byington translation is almost 200 years out of date and difficult to read, the work is continuing with Wycliffe Bible Translator Ms. Laura Lavallee in Choctaw, Mississippi. I spoke with her to learn the status of the New Testament translation in today’s language. She informed me that it is finished; however, needing the development of a centralized spelling of the Choctaw language, it is waiting on publication. Presently, the translators are working on audios of the New Testament books. The translators’ needs include prayer, as well as monetary assistance. Their website is choctawbible.com. To send a check, one needs to write it to Choctaw Bible Translation Committee, at P.O. Box 6274, Choctaw, MS 39350.
The reason Mr. Glennon thought of that subject is because he and his wife Ariana have been Wycliffe Bible translators for many years. They started from scratch with a tribe that had no written language in Papua New Guinea [PNG]. After 25 years the Glennons, with the help of a team of native people there, completed the entire New Testament written in Nehan, the language of that people group. Our daughter Joannna, Kurt, and his siblings all flew to PNG in 2011 for the grand celebration that was held there to dedicate the publication of that New Testament.
John Glennon’s father had a ticket to come to America from Ireland on the Titanic; however, his father prevailed upon him to stay and help with the harvest. He arrived the next year on the Olympia, later moving to California where John was born. Ariana was born in Pensacola to the Fleet family. They met at the University of San Francisco, where Ariana, a nurse, studied pre-med and John earned his B.S. in Biology. They were married in 1968, John was drafted to Viet Nam then soon given a medical discharge because he suffered congestive heart failure from pericarditis. Their first child Kurt was born in 1970.
When I asked about their becoming Wycliffe Bible Translators, John told about their journey from both having been Catholics to each developing their own faith in Christ for salvation. He told me they had become “seekers” back when he was in Viet Nam. He recalled, “I stepped over a mine and the seventeen-year-old right behind me stepped on it. I didn’t sleep that night.” After his return to California and to Ariana, he entered Humbolt State College where he worked on his Master’s in Biology and worked in the post office for ten months, while Ariana taught LPNs in a community college. They then moved to Florida.
With Kurt and two-year-old Cora, the Glennons moved to Smith Creek in north Florida in 1975. Later they discovered that people in the Southern Baptist Church there had fasted and prayed that whoever moved into that 100-year-old “cracker house” would get saved. The pastor visited, gave them a Bible, and invited them to church. They visited some before Ariana was saved during a revival. She and the church ladies then prayed for John about a month before he received salvation while reading the Book of Romans at home. They reported that they were both radically changed.
This was during the 1970’s when the Charismatic movement was going strong. An Assembly of God man came by and ministered the Baptism in the Holy Spirit to them. They both received. Ariana had been determined to take further training to be a doctor until she received Christ. John had gotten a job with the Florida Department of Citrus then the Florida Department of Agriculture, before receiving his call to the mission field. When he finally surrendered to the Lord, he was offered a biology job but didn’t take it. Daughter Keren was born in 1977, and their fourth child Josh was born in 1980.
The Glennons were given a magazine with a Wycliffe ad. They sent in an application. A man from Wycliffe called to ask, “How soon can you go to school for Wycliffe?” They sold their house, attended Wycliffe training in the States, then Jungle Camp and learned Pidgin English in PNG. They discovered that PNG was the best place for missionaries with a lot of children, as they had a wonderful support setup for kids. They worked from 1985 until 2011 to complete the New Testament in the Nehan language.
Ariana had done a lot of medical things, while they both prayed a lot. She told of one situation. “One woman had diabetes so bad she had lost a foot by amputation in a hospital. Later, the toes of the other foot became gangrenous and I had to cut them off in the village setting. Many people back home in America were praying for her and suddenly the disease began to reverse itself and diseased areas were invaded by bright red capillaries! She was eventually able to walk short distances on her toeless foot with a walker.” Another time five-year-old Peter had lost vision in one eye due to a recent injury. The mother asked them to take him to Australia. They prayed for him in Jesus’ name. As they were leaving the next morning for furlough, their vehicle was stopped by an excited crowd. And there was little Peter with his eye completely restored!
John and Ariana Glennon are now helping with the Nehan translation of Genesis, primarily online, while John also works as a consultant to a translator stationed in a country that cannot be identified. It is my honor to tell of these dedicated Christian workers.
Live for Jesus! He’s Coming Soon! You may contact me at lagnesrussell@gmail.com or 601-635-3282.
