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"Not since the third century has there been a man like Cameron Townsend, who attempted so much and saw so many dreams realized in his lifetime." |
-- Kenneth P. Pike, Nobel Prize nominee who worked closely with William Cameron Townsend |
| More key figures from Wycliffe's history |
The legacy began in 1917.
That's the year William Cameron Townsend became a Bible salesman in Guatemala, devoting his life and work to God. After realizing how difficult it was for others to learn the Word when it wasn't in their own language, Cam set out on a monumental mission to bring the Bible to all people in the language speaking to their hearts.
In the beginning
"That skinny Townsend will never make it," they all said when he arrived in Guatemala. The welcoming committee bet he wouldn't last two months before he ran back to the comforts of home, away from the swarms of bugs, mounds of bites and long days accompanied by dirt caked onto his skin, glued in place by sweat.
And the first day Cam tried to evangelize, he almost proved them right.
But, two days later, he pulled himself together, and near the end of his first week as a Bible salesman, Cam invited an indigenous man to the believer's Sunday service.
The man attended, and, at the end of the service, declared himself a believer. He was the first person Cam helped find salvation.
The need for translation
Cam's work, and his life, had only begun. His Cakchiquel companion asked him to be their missionary.
"But I don't know Spanish well, much less Cakchiquel!"
"We'll teach you."
Knowing the task was monumental, maybe even impossible, Cam agreed, beginning a legacy that continues stronger than ever today.
Committed to service
Cam knew God spoke the languages of all His children, and he was determined to bring the Cakchiquel people the Bible in theirs.
On Oct. 15, 1929, ten years after Cam began working in the Cakchiquel language, the New Testament was complete.
"This is wonderful!" cried out a Cakchiquel speaker when he heard the news. "Where can I get a copy of this Book?"
We've got to reach every tribe
"The greater need is where the greatest darkness is," Cam said. "Our orders are to forget self and give our lives in service for the Master. Wake up people in the homeland to see that souls are dying without a glimmer of light."
Throughout his journey, Cam didn't accept closed doors. Instead, he prayed for God to open them. As recalled by a translator who worked closely with him, "Cam had an utter conviction that God wants every language group in the world reached, and Wycliffe is His means of doing it."
Uncle Cam's legacy continues today. You can become part of it when you support Bible translation efforts through gift planning. Call toll-free (866) 379-7746 or e-mail
to find out how.
When you remember Bible translation in your will, trust or other gift planning arrangment with the Wycliffe Foundation, you become a member of the William Cameron Townsend Legacy Society, a group of Christians dedicated to bringing the Word to the one billion people without.
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