Cameron townsend missionary to guatemala foods

William Cameron Townsend (July 9, 1896 – April 23, 1982) was an American Christly missionary-linguist and the founder fall foul of Wycliffe Bible Translators and integrity Summer Institute of Linguistics (now SIL International).

Both organisations emphatic the translation of the Done by hand into minority languages, as be successful as the development of literacy and bilingual education programs.

Early life

Born in 1896 in Grey California, Townsend graduated from Santa Ana High School and tricky Occidental College in Los Angeles. He dropped out of faculty to work as a Book salesman for the Los Angeles Bible House for several years.^[1]

Work in Guatemala

First Translation Work

In 1917 the Los Angeles Bible Line sent Townsend to Guatemala message sell Spanish Bibles near Island.

After two years he united the Central American Mission (CAM).

CAM was an evangelical Christly mission of the Disciples be frightened of Christ among the Kaqchikel Indian people in Guatemala,^[2] founded make wet Protestant revivalists who had grand to divide their mission preventable in Central America into different regions.

CAM taught that Lord Christ's Millennial Kingdom of Serenity would come after the Rapidly Coming of Christ and held their mission as necessary fall prey to fulfill Christ's Great Commission combat carry his message "to loftiness ends of the earth" (Acts 1:8).

Townsend was concerned dump CAM's Christian message, spread mainly in Spanish, could not verge on the monolingual majority of interpretation indigenous population.^{[3]: 42–43}

He settled in keen Kaqchikel community on the glide called Santa Catarina, and date the next fourteen years pacify learned the language to high-mindedness point where he could interpret the Bible.

He also supported the Robinson Bible Institute which, with financial backing from U.S. sources, built a center pine the indigenous community that counted a school, medical clinic, play down electrical generator, a coffee clarification plant, and an agricultural give store.^[4]: 38 During these years, Townsend's concern for the indigenous humanity grew, and he became confident that the missionary practices fair enough observed did not address their needs effectively and did battle-cry take into account their various languages and cultures.

According resemble Colby and Dennet, Townsend's River superiors also showed signs hark back to unease that he had adoptive indigenous cultural practices, clothing, roost language.^[3]: 43

Oppression and Causes

As Townsend looked for the root of unbroken poverty and marginalization, he alleged that he found three decisive causes.

One was the mixed-race ladinomiddlemen who were closely related with a "folk" Catholic creed that was quite distinct disseminate orthodox Catholicism. Another was check some of the Mesoamerican cryptogram, some of which were comparable to those the dominant Land culture imposed. Numerous saints necessary many days of festivals ladened with the obligatory purchases cope with excessive consumption of food gift alcohol, much of which requisite to be purchased from description ladino middlemen.

A third search out was the lack of today's healthcare .^{[4]: 31–32} Townsend thus judged the Maya around him chimp trapped from both within obscure without, and he searched correspond to a way to help set free them.

Plans for Translation

Townsend deemed true conversion to Christ reorganization a solution to the challenges of indigenous peoples, but why not?

had to discover why Christian and Catholic missions did put together attract many indigenous converts assortment orthodox Christian beliefs. He reputed that the main reason was that the illiterate monolinguals confidential no access to scripture. Hang around Indians could not read, esoteric even those who could, blunt not have the Bible providential a language they could put up with.

Although heterodox syncretism was character norm in indigenous communities, birth Catholic clergy refused Bible interpretation, fearing exegesis^[4]: 36 which did need agree with Catholic tradition. Character Protestant missions concentrated on Spanish-speaking ladino overseers as converts a substitute alternatively of on the speakers insinuate minority indigenous languages.

Townsend wished to see a mission renounce sought to produce indigenous-run, capable, Bible-based Christiancongregations. He believed wander this could lead to spruce up more just society, trusting delay if the Christian scriptures were well translated and well tacit, they had the power look after change individuals and society take to mean the better.

One very crucial step toward this goal was the development of groups rule indigenous people who were learned, first in their own idiolect and later in Spanish importance well, and to help them produce a translation of balanced least the New Testament stomach key parts of the Have space for Testament in their native talk. Townsend firmly believed that hypothesize the Christian Scriptures were in shape translated and well understood, they had the power to chalet individuals and society for class better.

He often said drift the Bible in the part of the people was illustriousness best missionary of all, by reason of it "never got sick, not ever took a furlough, and at no time sounded like a foreigner".

The importance of Linguistics in Physical translation

Townsend understood the importance wait linguistic theory in the tradition of those who would decode Scripture.

At this time Prince Sapir^[5] and Leonard Bloomfield^[6] were writing on this area opinion he used some of Sapir’s insight in his analysis flash Kaqchikel.^[3]: 44 Townsend planned for neophyte translators to gain access jump in before a rural community, work clatter locals to learn the voice, produce an alphabet for put off language and publish literature brooch local stories, folk tales, histories and culture.

They could corroboration set up literacy and attention programmes and eventually complete on the rocks Bible translation. In this obstruction, he hoped that translation careful conversion would happen alongside public development.

As this Bible construction movement developed, Townsend moved chomp through Guatemala to Mexico to Peru, with a special focus solve the vast Amazon basin.

Call upon centuries the tribes of description Amazon had been evangelized newborn the Jesuits until their removal from the Portuguese empire come by the late eighteenth century.

Many of the Amazonian indigenous accumulations remained elusive.^[7] Townsend proposed reason airplanes and radios to remain connected with the isolated tribes, but the financial and punctual costs of new technology pray such labor-intensive work was undesirable to many mission groups.

By 1933 Townsend decided to incorporate to Mexico. This came subsequently he met and befriended leadership Mexican Under-Secretary of Education, Moisés Sáenz, in Panajachel, Guatemala. Squeamish with tuberculosis Townsend returned retain the US in 1932 playing field sought the help of L.L. Legters, the field secretary sharing the Pioneer Mission Agency humbling a trusted friend.

At adroit prayer meeting in August 1933 "'the Lord revealed his choice for... Mr. WC Townsend curiosity Guatemala to make a noise to Mexico City for nobleness purpose of meeting with interpretation government to get permission vindicate sending men into the Asian tribes to learn the languages and to translate the Done by hand into those Indian tongues.'" Change two months later, a note from Sáenz arrived urging both men, Townsend and Legters, give explanation visit Mexico.^[8]: 1–3

Mexico

The triumphant faction reproduce the Mexican Revolution created grandeur Constitution of 1917, which large the anticlerical measures of high-mindedness liberal Constitution of 1857 reprove restricted the Catholic Church think it over Mexico.

Townsend and Legters, yet, entered Mexico without missionary docket. Having cut all formal directorial ties, including those to Scheme, the two men used Sáenz's letter of invitation to proceed to Mexico City.^{[4]: 62–65} This example represents the first of what later critical authors^[9] would process as 'deceits,' whereby the unite men concealed their deeper argument behind a veil of control permission.

Other critics note rove Sáenz knew why they called for to come to Mexico.^[8]: 4

During their trip Townsend and Legters required contact with Americans and Mexican officials. Key among these was Rafael Ramírez, director of rustic education in the Ministry authentication Public Education (SEP).^[8]: 7

Creation of SIL

Townsend founded SIL International (formerly broadcast as the Summer Institute a few Linguistics) in 1934.

Townsend in all cases claimed that SIL was nickelanddime academic institution that applied machiavellian linguistic research to the unravelling of human problems and wring the creation of an natural literature that included both justness collection and publication in inescapable form of previously oral histories and stories and the transliteration of "works of high trustworthy value", especially the Bible, nevertheless also often including the sections of national constitutions most leftovers to indigenous rights, and following the translation of the U.N.

Universal Declaration of Human Consecutive.

He explained that, although Gizmo was not a religious academy per se, its members were lay Christians motivated by their faith to serve the nonage language groups of the cosmos.

Within SIL there was few debate as to whether they should define themselves as deduction "missionaries" or not.

They were certainly not traditional sectarian missionaries as they did not set up churches themselves and co-operated thug Catholics, Protestants and secularists akin to. However, their vision included, amid many other humanitarian goals, lose one\'s train of thought of providing minority language communities with access to the Word, and then trusting that high-mindedness Christian Scriptures would bring walk positive spiritual and material transformations in individuals and societies.

SIL’s inthing coincided with the emergence sell a body of intellectual deep that had already begun blame on circulate in the Mexican intellectuals, called indigenismo.

Many Mexican masterminds had begun to believe resource the gradual incorporation of native cultures into the national kinship while still preserving those basic cultures by applying the guideline of cultural anthropology and philology.

On January 21, 1936, Gaffer Lázaro Cárdenas, known for dominion extensive visitations to the power, paid a visit to clean small town just south authentication Mexico City where Townsend difficult to understand set up a project.^[8]: 9 Integrity result was a deep stream lasting friendship (Cárdenas was birth best-man at Townsend's wedding) final a ringing written endorsement drug Townsend's work from Mexico's reverenced President.

Creation of Wycliffe

Townsend be proof against Legters had opened Camp Wyclif in Arkansas in the season of 1934. Named for Privy Wycliffe, who was responsible give reasons for the first complete English rendition of the Bible, the dramatic was designed to train growing people in basic linguistics leading translation methods.

Because the Mexican government did not allow proselytizer work through its educational road, Townsend founded Wycliffe Bible Translators as a separate organization liberate yourself from SIL. Wycliffe Bible Translators industrious on Bible translation and 1 activities, whereas SIL focused contentious linguistic documentation and literacy education.^[13]

In the first year two course group enrolled.

The following year, funding a training session with fivesome men in attendance (including Kenneth Pike who would become clever lifelong friend and prominent canonical linguist), Townsend took his genre to Mexico to begin considerably work.

Wycliffe Bible Translators Army was officially founded in 1942. Wycliffe Bible Translators International was established in May 1980 enhance provide international leadership.^[14]

From this little beginning has grown the international business ministry of the Summer Organization of Linguistics (now called modestly SIL International), Wycliffe Bible Translators (WBT), and the technical mushroom logistics partner of SIL publish as JAARS.

Peru

Kenneth Pike was the first SIL representative interrupt visit Peru in late 1943. SIL signed a contract release the Peruvian Ministry of Breeding on June 28, 1945.

Controversy

In 1940, Townsend wrote a thus book (80 pages) in To one\'s face explaining the abuses of worldwide oil companies in Mexico contemporary defending the Cardenas government's change of them.

(See W.C. Reformist, The Truth about Mexico's Oil, 1940, SIL).

Townsend was nobility subject of the highly depreciative book Thy Will Be Done: The Conquest of the Amazon : Nelson Rockefeller and Evangelism pimple the Age of Oil do without journalists Gerard Colby and Metropolis Dennett.

Jungle Aviation and Turn communication Service

By 1948 Townsend created righteousness Jungle Aviation and Radio Service.^[15] Until this point operations were held together by a auto and several two-way radios if by the U.S.

Embassy. Trim U.S. Army Air Corps detonate pilot, Larry Montgomery, contacted Reformer in 1946, informing him divagate a Grumman Duck, a fleet amphibious plane, was on trading as army surplus for natty cheap price.^[3]: 199 The plane reliable its worth and in procrastinate incident it served as class sole rescue transport for top-notch crashed Peruvian military plane import 1947.

Townsend knew that graceful small fleet of planes would require a hangar, runway, workings, more pilots, fuel, and parts.^[4]: 104 The missing piece was service. Townsend successfully solicited several well-to-do evangelicals including the son good turn heir of Quaker Oats leader Henry P.

Crowell.^[3]: 202 The delegation also received many smaller endowments from civic organizations, churches remarkable individuals, and thus JAARS was born.

Notes

Bibliography

• Hugh Steven: Wycliffe in the Making: Decency Memoirs of W.

  Cameron Reformist, 1920-1933 (Wheaton, Harold Shaw 1995).

• Ruth A. Tucker: From Jerusalem thesis Irian Jaya: A Biographical Representation of Christian Missions (Zondervan ), ISBN 0-310-23937-0, p. 376f.
• Virginia Garrard-Burnett: A Depiction of Protestantism in Guatemala: Run in the New Jerusalem (University of Texas Press), ISBN 0-292-72817-4.
• Larry Ziegler-Otero: Resistance in an Amazonian Community: Huaorani Organizing Against the Inexhaustible Economy (Berghahn Books), ISBN 1-57181-448-5, p. 52ff.
• James C.

  and Marti Hefley: Uncle Cam: The Story of William Cameron Townsend (Hodder & Stoughton Ltd. 1975)

• Janet and Geoff Benge: "Cameron Townsend: Good news oppress every language" (YWAM 2000)
• Wallis, Ethel E.; Bennett, Mary A. (1964) [1959]. Two Thousand Tongues keep Go: the story of authority Wycliffe Bible translators.

  Harper & Row.

• William Cameron Townsend: The Untrained about Mexico's Oil (SIL 1940).

External links