Sending Agency: Wycliffe

Waxhaw, North Carolina

Email: Don & Gretchen

(a good way to get on their prayer support team)

Don and Gretchen joined Wycliffe Bible Translators as individuals in 1978. For Don, it was the fulfillment of a strong desire to translate the Scriptures. Gretchen first served as an administrative assistant to the director in Guatemala City. They met in 1981, during Don’s monthly visits to the capital city. The Cheneys were married at SWBIBLE in 1983. The next year they returned to the town of Santa Maria de Jesus, and began work translating the New Testament into the Cakchiquel (caulk-chee-KELL) language. The Cheneys praise the Lord for the completion of the entire New Testament rough draft in 1998. This draft was revised, and a “back translation” completed, in July 1999. In all, the translation was a result of a ten-step process. This required people outside the translation team to read the revised version. The finalized New Testament was dedicated and recorded during the summer of 2007.

They now have an assignment with JAARS, the technical arm of Wycliffe. Don is working in the IT department with the goal of helping to write tutorials and help files for some of the new software being developed for Bible translators.