Open Doors International estimates that 5,898 Christians were killed for their faith in 2022 and over 360 million were persecuted heavily for following Christ. Those numbers were significant increases over the previous year. Waller thinks these numbers can give believers in the U.S. some perspective. “There are challenges in America being a Christian, but Christians elsewhere are imprisoned or tortured and sometimes lose their lives,” he explained. That perspective allowedWaller to shift his mindset, something he believes American Christians need to do when they go overseas. Instead of thinking of themselves as leaders, he encourages a humble heart, one dedicated to learning and working alongside the global church instead of guiding it as a superior. Even when the threat of imprisonment or deportation died down, Waller’s challenges did not go away. “I had a stomach bug for 20 years,” he said. “If you go to the field, you will get sick. It’s just a matter of what sickness you get.” The weakness that comes from prolonged illness causedWaller and his team to rely on the Lord every day. “I’d be begging the Lord, if you want me to keep doing this, I need help.” But Waller has no regrets and hopes to pour out a passion for translation to his students, regardless of how difficult their circumstances get. He emphasizes how his team continued their work despite the challenges until theWord was fully translated. Now that translation is branching out into different dialects, and the excitement in his voice is palpable. “People are coming to faith and being discipled in it. What a great privilege to be a part of that work,” he shared. FOLLOWING GOD’S CALL Lino’s love of languages is best described as a love for God and for people. She longs to reach the lost and fears that too many Christians forego a core skill— language learning—in proclaiming Christ to the nations. “Everybody should try to learn multiple languages because there are going to be people that you can’t reach if you speak only one language,” she explained. Her heart makes her an excellent fit in the ELML department at Cedarville. “We recognize that for us to believe the Gospel, we needed someone to explain it to us in a language we understand,” Vallejos said. Language and culture study is one way of doing that for others. With so many people who have no copy of Scripture or only portions available, there is plenty of work to do, but ELML graduates are also excelling in other important ways. One recent graduate of the linguistics program serves as a crosscultural ambassador with the U.S. State Department’s Fulbright Program in Spain. Another teaches Haitian speakers English, serving students who are newcomers to the United States. Others are in graduate programs as teaching assistants, teaching and serving international students in an intensive English program. These graduates serve others by helping them overcome language and cultural barriers, giving these individuals a better chance to succeed in life. The relationships ELML graduates form in these roles will allow them to share their faith more easily. Ultimately, it is our hope that people from every tribe, tongue, and nation will praise our God. The harvest is abundant, and our English, literature, and modern languages department is raising up harvesters to have an eternal impact for the Kingdom. Nicholas Carrington ’10 serves as Associate Professor of Communication. He earned his PhD in technical communication and rhetoric from Texas Tech University. 9
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