Phil & Denise Campbell

Phil and Denise Campbell have served with Wycliffe Bible Translators for many years, laboring in the field in linguistics, developing written language for an oral-language people group, and establishing Bible translation for that people group.

In the past few years Phil has continued his work for Wycliffe Bible Translators from Spokane.  In addition to training, equipping and consulting with members of the Bambam Translation Team in the areas of Scripture Translation, promotion, and production of supplementary materials to assist the Bambam church, Phil also serves as a resource and mentor for workers in other Southeast Asian language projects.

Phil and Denise request prayer in the following areas:

    * That Phil, Denise and sons Ian and Andrew will walk closely with the Lord on a daily basis.
    * For Phil as he shepherds and consults with brothers and sisters who are working among several Bible-less people groups in Southeast Asia. Pray for wisdom and creative ideas as he comes alongside colleagues who are working in difficult situations.
    * That Phil will have good, consistent communication with the Bambam Translation Team, and that the members of the Team and their families will continue growing in their faith.
    * For Scripture distribution throughout the Bambam region and for growing literacy.  Pray that the hearts of the people will be moved to read the Scriptures and follow the Lord.
    * For the outreach of Bambam believers into neighboring villages.
    * For the Luke video team as they travel throughout the region showing the video and training church leaders on how to lead Bible studies.  Pray for receptive hearts.
    * For Ambe S. as he studies to become a pastor. Pray that he will balance his time between study, working on translation projects, and his family and that he will continue to live a life above reproach.
    * For the staff of the Bambam radio station, that they will be faithful to the Lord in their broadcasting of Scriptures and worship songs. Pray that the Lord will protect this radio outreach from technological, financial and other difficulties.
    * For national and expatriate personnel who are developing translation helps and other resources needed by national translators who work with people groups in their own countries.

 

 

Campbell Update

 

Sent: Friday, April 23, 2010 3:59 AM
To: Philip Campbell
Subject: OneStory training


Dear friends and family,

 

I am in the Jakarta airport waiting for my flight to Singapore after flying here earlier today from Makassar.

Thank you very much for your prayers during our OneStory training workshop this past week+. It was a very busy and enriching time. We were literally working day and night. Last night after our workshop ended I still had two one-on-one meetings with men as well as a group meeting with the Bambam OneStory team. We wrapped up just before midnight. I got up about 5 hours later to see the Bambam men off to the bus station, but they were already gone! I guess they were as anxious to get back to their families as I am.

 
The workshop focused on training the teams from two different ethnic groups (one of which was the Bambam team) the steps in preparing accurate oral presentations of Scripture accounts linked together thematically. Chains of thematically based accounts then link together to present the overall theme of redemption. The process is quite rigorous (preparing the reference materials, practicing, making audio recordings, checking for accuracy, checking for understanding with someone who was not part of the preparation phase, revisions, then cycling through all the steps again). All the recordings are transcribed and then checked by a consultant who gives feedback to the team. I will be serving as the consultant for the Bambam team.


Last night as we met together to debrief and plan for the future, the Bambam men were obviously very enthusiastic (even though we were all very tired). They feel that this oral approach will impact their community for the Gospel in a very significant way. The OneStory approach is not just about producing oral accounts of Scripture. The approach involves presenting the Scripture accounts to fellowship groups, leading them in discussions, challenging them to respond, and helping them learn to tell the accounts themselves. One Bambam man, who participated in the workshop by serving as a responder to the stories, told me last night that in this past week he grew significantly in his understanding of what it really means to be a Christian. He has been in the church for many years, yet last night he said (regarding his deeper understanding of salvation and the Christian walk): "I feel like I have been in my house all my life and now just stepped out and am seeing the vast world around."

 

Thanks again for your prayers.

In Christ,
Phil

 

 

Here is a picture of the Bambam OneStory team reviewing a recording they just made.

 

Campbell Update

 

From: phil_campbell@wycliffe.net
To: phil_campbell@wycliffe.net
Subject: Campbell April 6 update
Date: Tue, 6 Apr 2010 10:10:38 -0700


Dear Friends and Family,
 
Ambe Depi and Ambe A'jom returned safely from Bali after attending 3 back-to-back seminars and workshops related to radio ministry. I was able to speak with them 3 times during their trip and they were very enthusiastic about their time there. No, their enthusiasm was not about the beaches and good food (in fact they were so busy that when I spoke to them last they had still not been out to see any sites). I look forward to hearing more details. Please pray that they will be able to implement the ideas they picked up and also pass them on to the rest of the radio station staff and that the station will be even more effective in proclaiming the Gospel throughout the Bambam area.
 
I leave next Monday (April 12) to help lead a OneStory training workshop for teams from the Bambam and Kalumpang ethnic groups. I have mentioned OneStory in the past. If you would like know more about this program, check it out at: http://www.onestory.org/About/AboutDefault.aspx.
 
Please pray for the Bambam and Kalumpang Teams who are preparing for this follow up training after their initial training in late January and early February. They have "homework" assignments to prepare for this workshop. Both teams will also be traveling long distances over sometimes treacherous roads. Pray that this workshop will be not only a time of training, but of spiritual growth.
 
Please pray for David and Judy Payne, international trainers and consultants for OneStory who have sacrificially offered to fit in this extra training session after seeing the enthusiastic response of the Bambam and Kalumpang Teams during the last training session.
 
Pray also for Denise and me as we consider our possible future involvement with OneStory. This trip I will assist the Paynes, advise the teams, and learn more about the OneStory approach. This OneStory ministry opportunity was not even on the radar for us. The Lord has done this in the past (most recently with the Bambam radio station), i.e. bringing up opportunities that we had not considered. Denise and I have always prayed that we would be responsive to God's direction in ministry. Oral approaches to communicating the Word of God to oral preference learners and unreached people groups has proved very effective in many places in the world. This approach is now in the early stages of development in Indonesia. The Bambam team has responded very enthusiastically, seeing this as a means to reaching the unchurched among them, as well as helping Christians better understand the Word of God. We are challenging the Bambam team to consider how they may be involved in reaching unreached people groups in Sulawesi.
 
We are so thankful for your faithfulness in upholding us in prayer.
 
In 2 Corinthians 1:10b-11 the apostle Paul speaks of the importance of prayer and the privilege God has given us to participate in ministry through prayer. Admittedly it is still a mystery to me why God would honor our prayers. But he does. Paul says:
 
"On [God] we have set our hope that he will continue to deliver us, as you help us by your prayers. Then many will give thanks on our behalf for the gracious favor granted us in answer to the prayers of many."
 
Our hope is entirely on God , but God has ordained that our prayers play a vital role. Those who pray also get to take part in the celebration as they see God answer their prayers. So, keep praying!
 
In Christ our risen Savior,
Phil

 

From: phil_campbell@wycliffe.net
To: phil_campbell@wycliffe.net
Subject: Campbell Mar 17 update
Date: Wed, 17 Mar 2010 13:55:34 -0700

Dear Friends and Family,
 
Thanks so much for your prayers during my recent trip to Thailand and Indonesia. It was a great trip, full of opportunities to encourage others in their personal walks with Christ and the ministries to which God has called them. I was also encouraged by my brothers in the Lord in SE Asia.
 
I'll just share one story. On Sunday the 7th I met with 18 Bambam elders representing 8 congregations. The main purpose of our meeting was to introduce the elders to the Bambam book "Pepatuduam diona Too'na Kamatappasam" (the Bambam adaptation of John Smith's "Foundations of Faith"). What a joy it was for me to sit back and watch my Bambam colleague Ambe Sanggona lead the training time. I opened with a challenge from the Word and later added a few comments here and there, but Ambe Sanggona guided the men through the materials and instructed them on how to lead groups using those materials. The feedback from the elders was very encouraging. They spoke of the importance of teaching Biblical truths to their congregations and also of training up young men to be future elders. 

Please pray for our Bambam brothers, Ambe Depi and Ambe A'jom who yesterday left for 3 seminars in Bali:
 
1) Radio School of Mission: March 17-24; this is leadership training for ministry leaders, especially relating to managing radio ministries.
2) Radio Station Managers Meeting: March 25-26; focusing on identifying issues for station managers and encouraging them in that specific ministry role
3) IMNET 2010: a forum for staff of Christian radio stations and Christian Media from all over Indonesia who will gather to discuss strategies, training, and networking. 
 
I am very pleased that these Bambam men will be able to learn more about how to effectively manage their radio station and will also be able to connect with others who are in a similar ministry.
 
I plan to depart again on April 12 for Sulawesi, Indonesia where I will assist with training Bambam and Kalumpang people in a OneStory seminar. I appreciate your prayers as I prepare.
 
"...thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
Therefore, my dear brothers, stand firm. Let nothing move you.
Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord,
because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain." 1 Cor 15:57-58
 
Thanks for standing with us.
 
In Christ,
Phil & Denise

 

The elders holding copies of the Pepatuduam diona Too'na Kamatappasam book.

From: Philip Campbell [mailto:phil_campbell@wycliffe.net]
Sent: Wednesday, February 17, 2010
Subject: Feb 17 update

 

Dear Friends and Family,


Our three Bambam colleagues who attended the OneStory training in Jakarta arrived safely home and very enthusiastic about the potential impact that the OneStory approach can make on the Bambam community as well as throughout the island of Sulawesi. This was the initial training and much work is ahead. The goal is that one day we will produce a story set of several dozen oral Bible stories which cover a panorama of the Scriptures and are presented to address key issues in the lives of the local people. These are carefully crafted and checked by consultants for faithfulness to the Word of God. The training includes not only how to produce these accurate oral accounts of Scripture, but also how to introduce these stories to the community and how to  maintain accuracy (one step is to make recordings which serve as the archive of the stories). This approach has proved very effective among oral cultures, and has been a great tool for bringing the Gospel to unreached or difficult to reach people groups.

This week email discussions have been flying back and forth regarding how to best approach the next steps for the OneStory work among the languages on Sulawesi. One possibility is that further training will be provided in April to the teams who attended the recent Jakarta workshop. Our top couple in Wycliffe for OneStory has indicated they are willing to travel to Makassar to give this follow up training for two teams, including the Bambam team. One problem: the couple do not speak Indonesian. So, my name came up on a short list of people who could serve as the translator and also get further training myself as a OneStory trainer and consultant. Denise and I have been praying how we can become more directly involved in taking the Gospel to unreached people groups. Could this be an avenue we have not before considered seriously? We appreciate your prayers as we think through this. I do need to respond quite soon regarding the April training so that logistics can be arranged.

Yesterday I received an sms from Ambe Sanggona which followed with a phone call (he was in a town with cell phone coverage). His computer is having very serious problems. It sounds like the hard drive is going/gone. Perhaps something else. It's a challenge to troubleshoot a computer over the phone from half way around the world with someone who does not know English trying to read error messages to me! His computer is quite old, so after much thought and prayers last night (and through the night) I decided I need to purchase a computer for him today. I am leaving for Asia this Sunday (more below about that), so in some ways the timing is good. However, I did not figure on purchasing and setting up a computer in my week's plans!

 
I appreciate your prayers during the upcoming trip. Here is a brief description of my planned ministry activities:

Feb 21 Travel to Bangkok, arriving after midnight on Feb 23.

Feb 23-25 Asia Leadership Meetings for Wycliffe Asia-Pacific

Feb 26-Mar 1, To Jakarta to meet with Kartidaya (Wycliffe Indonesia) leaders as well as with Edy, one of the Indonesian men for whom I serve as field supervisor.

Mar 2, to Makassar, Sulawesi where I will meet Sam, another Indonesian Bible translator who reports to me. After meeting one on one with him, the two of us plan to meet with another Indonesian colleague to talk about OneStory plans.

Mar 3 To Bambam land (an all day trip)

Mar 4-8, in Bambam land for meetings with church elders, the Translation Team, the Workshop Song development team, the Radio station team, the Luke video team, the OneStory team, and now to finish up the setup of Ambe Sanggona's new computer.

Mar 9, start my way home, arriving Mar 11 in Spokane

My main prayer request would be for wisdom and discernment as I meet with lot of different people who have a variety of Spiritual and practical needs. I want to be used by God to help direct others in their Spiritual walk and ministry. That is always a challenge, but especially so when working cross cultural and linguistic barriers (Indonesian and Bambam).

Please also pray for Denise, Ian, and Andrew while I am away. Denise and Andrew will carry on with his home school high school (he is a Jr.) and Ian is busy working as a nurse's assistant and going to college full time.

Thank you for standing with us in prayer.

"Declare his glory among the nations,
his marvelous works among all the peoples!" Psalm 96:3


In Christ,

Phil  (& Denise)

 

Dear Friends and Family,

Please find our attached Christmas letter.

May the Lord be honored above all else this Christmas season and may he bless and strengthen you in 2010.

In Christ,
Phil & Denise

 

 

Above: The work crew for the new dedicated hydro-electric system for the radio station pause from working on digging a channel to divert part of the river. In the foreground is some of the sand that has been collected for making concrete.