Sinai for Sena Summary: “More than Enough”!
In Exodus Ch 35, somewhere in the Sinai wilderness, Moses makes an appeal to the Israelites and asks them to bring various offerings for work on the tabernacle. The items were many, ranging from gold & silver to earrings and brooches; from goat hair to linen, from spices to olive oil, from acacia wood to ram skins…and…. “everyone who was willing and whose heart was moved, came and brought an offering to the Lord” (Ex 35:21). In fact, so many people were willing to lend their support, that Moses had to send word throughout the camp that no further offerings were needed! Ex 36:6 tells us that “the people were restrained from bringing more, because they now had more than enough to do the work”. During the last week of August, we launched the “Sinai for Sena” project and an appeal was made to help TWFTW provide 10,000 Bibles for the Sena people of Malawi. Many people have responded to the call and have been very generous in the process. On the 1 Dec 2025 we closed the GoFundMe page and were able to say, with thankfulness, “we’ve now got more than enough to do the work”!!
Our target figure was £24,000, and yet we have finished up with an amazing.................... £26,501!! Praise God indeed! THANK YOU so much to all who have contributed. It's been so encouraging to see those donations coming in, and I’m grateful to everyone who has invested in this kingdom work. Thank you muchly for digging deep and helping to fund this biblical cause. All of the money raised will go directly to the production of the Sena Bibles, and any extra funds will go towards a similar Bible printing project.
So, how did the climb go, I hear you ask?! They say that pictures speak louder than words, so I’ve put together a post on our website entitled “Scenic Sena”. You’ll find 20 photos linked to the Sinai climb, and a summit video that will give you a glimpse of what it was like. Here’s the link:
https://www.twftw.org.uk/news/scenic-sinai-nov-25
From start to finish the whole trip went very much to plan. Planes, trains & automobiles were all bang on time! My Bedouin guide, whose name happened to be Moses (!) was exceptional, and we had some great conversations with regard to the differences between Islam and Christianity. It seems the Quran has an interesting take on why the original Moses considered himself to be a poor speaker – ask me sometime! As for the scenery, it was awesomely breath-taking! There were mountains for miles and miles, many of them scarred with deep ravines, encircled by dry wadi’s which hadn’t seen rain for over two years. Dry, barren, hostile, wild - yet beautiful, are the words I’d use to describe these mountains. As I stood on the summit at sunset I was blessed to have had the place to myself for a good 15 minutes, with all sorts of Exodus-related images running through my mind. A verse from Habakkuk also came to mind: Praise be to the “Sovereign Lord who is my strength, and who has made my feet like the feet of a deer, and enabled me to go on the heights” (Hab 3:19)!
Thanks to many of you, the Sena people of Malawi will soon have their 10,000 Bibles….but let’s remember, there are still thought to be over 3000 languages that don’t have any of God’s Word.
The Oldest Bible in Town!
Whilst the newest Sena Bibles in the world are making their way from Singapore to Malawi, have you ever wondered where the oldest Bible in the world was found? Look no further than St Catherine’s Monastery at the foot of Mount Sinai! I took the opportunity to have a wander around it, and to my surprise discovered the well where Moses had watered his flocks, as well as the burning bush itself - hhhhmmmm!? I also spent some time viewing some pretty old manuscripts, one of which was a page from the famous Codex Sinaiticus.
Many of you will have heard of the Dead Sea Scrolls, written in the 2nd century BC, but which remained hidden in caves near Qumran, Israel, until they were found in 1947 by a bunch of Bedouin shepherds looking for lost sheep. They are the oldest surviving biblical fragments that have ever been found – but fragments is what they are. The oldest completed Biblical manuscript to be ‘found’ is the Codex Sinaiticus, which was discovered by a German scholar (and manuscript hunter!) as he was perusing the library of St Catherine’s monastery in 1844! It is thought to have been written in the middle of the 4th-century AD by 4 scribes, and had been hidden away in the monastery’s collection of books until Mr Tischendorf happened upon it - and then rather naughtily whisked it off to Russia under false pretences!
By the middle of the 4th century there was generally wide agreement on which books should be considered authoritative for Christian communities, and so this important ‘Sinai Book’ sheds light on the history of the construction of the Christian Bible, first used in the early church. As it survives today, Codex Sinaiticus comprises over 400 large leaves of prepared animal skin (parchment) and contains around half of the Old Testament, the Apocrypha, and the whole of the New Testament, all written in Greek. Today, sections of the Codex can be found, not in one complete volume, but divided across four different countries! The main surviving portion of the book, comprising 347 leaves, is now held by the British Library. A further 43 leaves are kept at the University Library in Leipzig, with 6 leaves held in Saint Petersburg, Russia - and further portions remain where it was originally found, at the monastery of Saint Catherine.
"Operation Jonah"
Many of you will know Barry & Julia Funnell, who have been serving with TWFTW for over 35 years, and are based here in the UK. They served in Malawi for ten years, helping to oversee the Sena Bible translation project. Whilst there, their 14-month-old adopted son was kidnapped; literally snatched from their arms. The book is a fictionalized account of this true story, written by Elisabeth Miller, and is available to buy. To purchase a copy please donate at least £7.50 to TWFTW, and send your contact details to admin-uk@twftw.org - we’ll then post it out to you. All proceeds from the book will go towards supporting Bible translation projects.
Out & About Diary Dates for Dec:
2-9 Dec: TWFTW meetings in Hermanus, South Africa
Sun 14 Dec: Preaching at Emersons Green Baptist, Bristol (am)
Wed 17 Dec: Meeting in Belfast with N. Ireland Bible Society
Thur 18 Dec: Meeting with Seed Company Dev Consultant in Burford
Sun 21 Dec: Preaching at Colerne Evangelical Church, Wiltshire (am)
24 Dec - 4 Jan: Office closed.
Praise & Prayer Points:
SE Asia. In last month’s edition we asked for prayer for David, an IT manager with TWFTW. Doctors have confirmed he has stage 3/4 cancer, and he’s travelled to Bangkok for further treatment. Please pray for him and his family during this very challenging time, and also for our BT teams in this country. David is the only typesetter they have, and there are several New Testament’s and a full Bible awaiting typesetting.
Sinai for Sena: Here in the UK office (and in Malawi!) we’re praising God for a successful sponsored Sinai climb. Praise God we managed to exceed our target figure. Those 10,000 Sena Bibles will soon be on their way to Malawi!
The UK Board is seeking a new voluntary trustee who could take on the role of treasurer. For further info, please get in touch (admin-uk@twftw.org).
Please pray for the Exco leadership team as they meet in Hermanus, South Africa, from 3-5 Dec. This is an important time of year as 2026 budgets are being finalised for the 60+ departments in TWFTW!
Liberia: We thank God for the progress being made in drafting the New Testament in the Sarpo & Mandingo languages. Pray that the Lord would grant wisdom and clarity to the teams as they work through the Old Testament.
North Macedonia: The Arli team are making significant progress in translation! Please pray for them as they carry out community checking in an area that is 85% Muslim. Pray that God would use this translation to open hearts to the gospel, and encourage Christian families to continue walking with Christ.
“Prayer lays hold of God's plan and becomes the link between his will and its accomplishment on earth. Amazing things happen, and we are given the privilege of being the channels of the Holy Spirit's prayer” - Elisabeth Elliot.
“If your day is hemmed in with prayer, it's less likely to come unravelled”
Cynthia Lewis.
To those who have supported us financially and/or prayerfully during the past year, our thanks goes out to you for your generosity and backing – thank you. We couldn't do this without you!
We wish you all a merry Christmas and a very happy New Year.