Research and Training:
We had several transcription parties during 2013.  That is when I invite students and others to my house for a meal and several hours of work. I use this time to train new transcribers.  That’s what Isaac is doing in this picture.  He is looking at a digital image of an ancient Greek manuscript (MS) and creating an electronic version that will be useable by scholars all over the world, fully searchable and able to be compared to all other MSS in just seconds by a computer program called Collate.  Isaac is one of several people whom I trained in previous years who have graduated and moved into careers, but are still working on transcriptions in their free time.

Josiah also learned to transcribe, and assisted me in research on a particular MS this semester.  He will be taking part in a course about textual criticism and palaeography that I will teach at NCU in spring semester.  A special treat of this course will be that I, with my students, have been chosen to study the surviving leaves of a Gospel codex (ancient book) that has never been studied or published.  Under my guidance, the students will describe the layout and decoration of the folios, determine what text is on each folio, compare the text of our MS to others in order to discern which stream of the textual tradition our MS is most closely related to, and estimate the age of the MS.

Other experiences the students will have in this course include learning to read ancient hands from the 2nd to the 14th centuries, getting to know the most important MSS so they can talk about them like old friends, finding their way around the Nestle-Aland Greek New Testament, a trip to the Hill Museum and Manuscript Library at St Johns University (http://www.hmml.org/our-collections.html), and producing a major research project that they will then present as if they were at an academic conference.  In fact, I hope that several students will be accepted to present at one of two actual conferences in April.  Researching, writing, and presenting will be a great experience that will prepare them for the challenges of postgraduate studies.

Fund-raising and new projects:
  
While my expertise is in the area of actual research and in the mentoring of students, we continue to hope for volunteer or even hired assistance in areas of fund-raising and grant-writing, as well as office management.  If you have something to offer us here, please contact us!

A fund-raising project that we have just started is called Greek Manuscript Transcription.   This is registered with giveMN.org.  We are raising funds to pay young scholars for the transcribing of ancient Bible manuscripts into electronic form just as I described Isaac doing above.  This work is invaluable to the scholarly community, and we would like it to also benefit the young scholars who have the skills to do this work.  Wouldn’t it be better for my students to have a part time job transcribing ancient MSS than to spend that time parking cars or working security or bussing tables?  Not only will they hone their skills, but their resumes will have this attractive listing:  "Transcriber for the International Greek New Testament Project."

If you are interested in donating either to our general fund, or to Greek Manuscript Transcription, you can visit our secure donation page.  Thank you!!!!

The Biblical Literacy Project:

The BLP is the outreach arm of CATL.  We have as our goal the education of the church and of other interested groups in areas such as Bible backgrounds and literature.  We have created a web page on which we are beginning to list instructors along with their areas of expertise.  If your church or group is interested in receiving college level training in OT or NT – getting historical or geographical backgrounds, understanding the first century issues surrounding a text, etc., feel free to contact any of us directly, and we would be glad to communicate with you about what type of seminar or course we could offer at various times and locations.  Here is our instructor page.

The BLP is also glad for donations.  In this case they will assist the instructors in teaching groups that are not able to cover our costs and honoraria.  For example, many of you helped me to travel to Germany and offer a 15 hour BLP course to leaders of Students For Christ-Europe several years ago.  We try to be as flexible as possible on prices so that everyone has a chance to learn.  Click here to give to the BLP.

Friends have encouraged me to start a blog.  It would be interesting to hear whether you would like to follow a blog that gives perhaps a few tidbits on Bible backgrounds once a week.  I might have guest writers for areas I am less familiar with, etc.  Let me know if that sounds like a good way for us to develop.  In the mean time, a great way to stay in touch and to be able to ask questions and read great articles is my Facebook group, The Biblical Literacy Project.  

Of course the big event was my trip to Germany in July/August, which many of you helped make possible with generous financial support.  I taught the extended version of the BLP at Connect, a training week for leaders of Students For Christ-Europe.  Here are some photos that can help you see what I was up to there:    

I taught a smart and curious group of missionaries and student leaders from 12 countries.  Their questions kept me hopping.  For Connect attendees who were in other classes, I also offered a workshop which summarized some of my materials.

Because our location was close to the University of Koeln, where I was campus missionary from 1987-1994, a very special event was an intercessory prayer walk that I led one afternoon.  There is no SFC group in Koeln currently, but much movement towards starting something up again.  These are some of our bold prayer-warriors, including Julia (far right), who was one of our student leaders back in the day, and who continues to be an active leader in her church.  

Another wonderful experience was a reunion of the old-timers from our ministry in Koeln.  They showed up at Connect one afternoon, and we sat and talked for hours.  It was clear how significant student ministry had been in forming their adult lives and decisions about ministry, family, and church involvement.    

If you were a financial or prayer supporter of the Biblical Literacy Project in 2012, I would like to say once more that you have made it possible for college level Bible teaching to reach people who wish to grow in their faith.  They are grateful, and I am grateful for the chance to be used in this way.

I would love to teach the BLP in your church or group in 2013.  The material is completely flexible as to length and topic, so we can fit your needs.  Please contact me with questions, ideas, brain-storming.  See our contact page.

Blessings,
Amy Anderson

Connect ’12 is a training week for young leaders in Students For Christ.  There will be chances to network with European campus missionaries and to observe the exciting developments taking place in this important outreach to Europe’s future leaders.  My main task will be teaching 15-20 hours of New Testament backgrounds and introductions to books of the NT.  Our goal is that these rising leaders gain a healthy grasp of how our scriptures came to be, and how to interpret them wisely.

This is a missionary assignment, which means that I will be raising my own travel costs.  I am writing this newsletter to enlist people who are willing to pray and to help with the expenses.  Because I will be bringing my newly adopted daughter, 10-year old LaMerria, we will need a lot of prayer and our costs will be over $3000.  Tax-deductible gifts can be sent to:

The Center for Ancient Texts & Languages
302 Aurora Ave
St Paul, MN  55103

If you wish to sign up for our prayer team, send an email to asanders@usfamily.net.  I am very much aware of how significant your contribution is to this kingdom work and deeply grateful for your investment.

Here are the students who attended Connect when I taught the BLP in 2009 in Belgium.  What a wonderful time that was!  I met students from all over Europe and other continents as well, and am still in contact with many of them.  Some are now in ministry and others are taking the skills gained at Connect into the marketplace.

A happy part of our trip to Germany is that we will have a chance to visit alumni of Students For Christ-Koeln from back when I was the pastor (1985-1994).  I have stayed in touch with many, including visits in previous years.  It is rewarding to see them raising families, involved in ministry, and impacting their places of employment for the gospel.  

Best of all, SFC-Europe is sponsoring a Koeln-Reunion on 29 July, just before Connect starts.  I can’t wait to spend a day hanging out with these precious friends!

New developments in CATL!!!!
Closely connected to my teaching of the BLP in Europe is exciting progress at the Center for Ancient Texts and Languages.  CATL has always been active in research and academic mentoring, as well as reaching out to churches and groups with the BLP and language programs (mostly Greek and German).  But I haven’t done much by way of maintaining visibility or seeking funding.  These deficits are beginning to be rectified this summer as we venture into fund raising and the development of publicity materials.  We would be happy for any expertise or funding that you feel able to send our way!  The email link that brought you to this newsletter also serves to connect you to the CATL website currently being developed by Andrea Chapin (missionary and NCU campus missions / SFC-Europe alum).  Keep checking back as the site develops.

Blessings,
Amy Anderson