Lutheran Bible Translators Kory and Cara Fay, LBT Missionaries

303 North Lake 848 Balroyal Ct.

PO Box 2050 Indianapolis, IN 46234
Aurora, IL 60507-2050 317-371-7773
1-800-532-4253 214-205-0891
www.LBT.org www.fayfootprints.com
info@LBT.org KCFay@LBT.org*

*
The best way to contact us is by e-mail or phone.
About Lutheran Bible Translators (LBT)…
LBT works with Lutheran church partners in addition to other Bible translation organizations so
that every person might have the opportunity to read, hear, and understand the Good News in
their own language.

LBT recruits Lutherans to become missionaries and serve in:

- translating the Bible
- developing literacy so that the Bible can be read and understood
- encouraging the use of Scripture through culturally appropriate media
- producing other literature such as health pamphlets or primers
- surveying the languages of an area to get a better idea of where translations are
needed
- developing music or other art forms to aid in worship.

The Kwanja people in Cameroon, West Africa

celebrating the arrival of their New Testament in 2006
LBT’s mission statement…
The mission of Lutheran Bible Translators is to help bring people to faith in Jesus Christ by
making the Word of God available to those who do not yet have it in the language of their hearts.

LBT facts and figures…

There are 82 LBT missionaries who serve in 17 countries on five continents. There are
currently 90 Bible translation and Scripture use projects operating in over 40 language
groups. In the last 40+ years, there have been 29 New Testament translations completed and
over 7 million people now have the Word of God in their heart language due to those
translations.
The bare facts of Bible translation…
There are 6.5 billion people in the world and over 6,900 languages spoken
­ 2,251 languages don’t have any Scripture
­ 1,953 translation programs are in progress
­ 1,144 languages have access to only the New Testament
­ Only 429 languages have the entire Bible translated
­ 196,000,000 people have NO Scripture at all in their heart language!

*Diagram taken from http://www.wycliffe.org.uk/vision2025-org/about_translationprogress_2.html

Allow us to introduce ourselves…

Kory: I was born and raised in Topeka, Kansas, surrounded by family and constantly at church.
So I have to be honest; cross-cultural ministry was the last thing that I wanted to do when I was
in high school. I dreaded going to Spanish class because I did not want to hear more stories
about another culture. While I excelled at learning the language, it just did not interest me
enough to continue to learn it after those two years. In fact, any time teachers talked about other
cultures I just did not see the point in listening and learning more about other cultures. In
college, God caused a dramatic change in my life. He not only gave me an interest in learning
languages and the cultures that are connected to them through studying Greek and Hebrew, but
He also gave me a heart for Africa through classes, through conversations with others, through
cross-cultural events, and through my wonderful wife, Cara. Now, with these gifts, interests, and
desires, he has called me to bring the Word of God to those who do not yet have it in their own
language.
Cara: I am originally from Indianapolis, Indiana. I first felt the call to missions when my friend
returned from a one-month mission trip to Africa. She showed me her pictures and my curiosity
was piqued. Not long after that, I attended a youth group Bible study and participated in a group
discussion about spiritual gifts. Everyone else in the group laughed and joked about getting
called to be some missionary to a far away land overseas and having to live in a hut. I realized
that the idea of serving overseas not only didn’t scare me, it fascinated me. From that point on, I
took advantage of every opportunity I had to listen to visiting missionaries and soaked in every
piece of information about other cultures that I could. I felt most “in my element” when I was
serving people from completely different backgrounds in small ways.

And then there were two, plus one…

We first met on a service project in small-town Michigan
that both of our youth groups participated in. That was
just after our junior year in high school. We kept in
touch during the summer afterwards, but lost touch
during senior year. At the end of our senior year we were
able to talk once more and discovered that we were both
going to Valparaiso, University in Valparaiso, IN, near
Chicago. We reconnected at Valpo and the rest, as they
say, is history. We were married on July 30, 2006.

Our wedding day

Cara graduated from Valpo in December 2006 with a B.S.

in Psychology. Right around the time that Kory graduated
(in the spring of 2007 with a B.A. in Theology), our first
child, Samuel Elias, entered the world.

Sam is certainly a blessing from the Lord and is our main

source of entertainment! Watching him enables us to see
the world through new eyes. All three of us have fun
taking joy in the simple things of life. Additionally, his
noises are excellent for practicing our linguistic skills!
Sam, 7 months, playing in the leaves
Our LBT journey…
Our journey with LBT began the same summer we were married. At the end of our junior year
in college, during finals week, Kory was burnt out on homework and decided to do an internet
search on Bible translation. We had been seeking ways to combine both of our passions and
Bible translation seemed like a good possibility. We both love the idea of serving internationally
and Kory has an exceptional gift for languages. We emailed LBT’s recruiter, Peter Slayton, and
it just so happened that LBT was having their conference, IDIOM, which introduces the
organization and the ministry of Bible translation. We attended IDIOM just two weeks after
finding out that LBT existed. God made it clear to both of us during our time at IDIOM that
Bible translation was what we were to do.

Since that time we have completed our application and spent the last year in Dallas, Texas doing
advanced linguistics training at the Graduate Institute of Applied Linguistics. We will spend the
coming year spreading the word about this incredible ministry and inviting others to partner with
us.

We are currently considering work in Cameroon, West Africa. When we leave for the field,
Kory will work as a translation advisor and Cara will focus on her role in the home as wife and
mother.

Our mission statement…

One passage from the Bible that has brought great meaning to our relationship is found in John
13 where Jesus washes the disciples’ feet. It is a shocking event, really. The Lord of all gets
down on His hands and knees and washes the dirty feet of even dirtier human beings. We should
be the ones washing HIS feet, but that’s not how He works. He humbled himself and became a
servant to us all through his death on the cross.

Like He says in verses 14 and 15 of that chapter, if Jesus washed our feet, it only makes sense
that we go and do likewise. We, the Fays, consider it our mission to wash the hands and feet of
everyone we encounter. We hope to humbly serve them however God sees fit.

What does all of this have to do with you?

As we prepare for our Bible translation career, we are developing a group of partners to join with
us in this ministry. A 'partner' is a person, group, or church who shares our vision of reaching
Bible-less people groups with the Word of God in their own language. A prayer partner is a
partner who commits to pray specifically for us and our ministry on a daily basis. A financial
partner is a partner who commits to give regularly to our ministry. LBT and its missionaries are
not funded by any Lutheran denomination; instead, we develop partnerships with individuals and
congregations to share in this ministry. Starting in July 2008, we will spend about a year
traveling to Lutheran churches around the United States to develop partnerships for our ministry
in Cameroon, West Africa. We are asking you to invite us to speak to your congregation, school,
board, small groups of any kind, or mission-focused events you are planning.
 LUTHERAN
BIBLE
TRANSLATORS
303 North Lake St
June 2008
PO Box 2050
Aurora IL 60507-2050
U.S.A.
1-800-532-4253
Dear Mission Enthusiast,

Our deepest desire at Lutheran Bible Translators is to provide access to God’s Word to those
who do not have it in the language of their hearts.

Lutheran Bible Translator’s (LBT) accomplishes this task in partnership with Lutheran church
bodies and Bible Society organizations throughout the world.

We are thankful that God has called Kory and Cara Fay to help in the task on Bible translation.
Kory’s training in theology and Biblical languages, along with their recently completed linguistic
studies at the Graduate Institute of Applied Linguistics, provides knowledge and experience for
the work ahead.

Before Kory and Cara make plans to travel to their assigned location their financial support must
be in place. Their assignment at this time is to develop a group of prayer and financial
partners. Please consider praying for them and their one year old son, Sam, and determining
how your congregation can be part of God’s plan to bring His transformational message to
people in Cameroon.

Questions regarding LBT and the Fays may be directed to me through the numbers listed or in
an email to SVega@LBT.org.

Thank you for your consideration, our joint efforts on behalf of the Fay family, blessed by God,
will bring many more before his throne of glory.

That All May Know Christ,

Missionary Personnel Supervisor