A Gift And A Calling

It made sense to Sylvia that God would call her to Bible translation. She'd always considered His Word a central part of her life. Her first discipleship experience was with a woman who trained her in Scripture memorization.

"I can remember walking to and from school with my memory card working on memory verses," Sylvia said. "That was a huge part of growing up in my faith—hiding God's Word in my heart."

"When I made my decision to go to Wycliffe, I actually thought I was going to be a Bible translator," she said. It didn't matter that she'd already gone to school for nursing, a field she thrived in. God was calling her to ministry in translation, and she believed that had to mean linguistics.

But when Sylvia arrived at her field assignment in Peru, God brought her attention to another need.

"There was a huge need for healthcare in the extremely rural, remote areas where Wycliffe missionaries were working. I started out as a linguist, but because of my love for nursing and the need, I ended up working as a nurse," Sylvia said. "The Lord really has gifted me in the area of nursing and being compassionate to people who are ill."

And working in healthcare didn't have to mean Sylvia wasn't impacting lives spiritually. The people there were animists who believed illness came as a result of someone angering evil spirits. When Sylvia helped introduce them to sanitation practices, medicines that could heal, and vaccines that can prevent illnesses, suddenly their eyes were opened to a new truth.

"For them to realize that there are these things, really breaks that stronghold of animism," Sylvia said.

Her work also benefited the linguists on her team, who used to spend time dealing with healthcare emergencies instead of translating. Sylvia spent twelve years in the Peruvian jungle, working in a field she is passionate about but also being obedient to the call God placed on her life to serve in Bible translation.

She eventually returned to the United States and married a man who shared her love for missions. Together they supported the work in Peru, and though Sylvia is now a retired widow, she continues to support ministries she knows were close to her husband's heart too.

She chose to give of her individual retirement account (IRA) through the Wycliffe Foundation. "I was trying to figure out a way that I could give more to Bible translation than I was able to do just from the income that comes in regularly to me," Sylvia said. “In my case, the Lord really led me to let loose of those [funds] and see them be used for His glory.”

"It's a huge privilege to participate in giving to people who are doing Bible translation, who are bringing the Word of God to people who are totally hopeless without that message," she said.

For information about making a gift through your Individual Retirement Account and/or other charitable gift strategies, please contact the Wycliffe Foundation at 877-493-3600 or email [email protected]

The names and images shown here are representative of a typical donor.