John & Susan Wilner • Wycliffe Bible Translators • South Asia

Contact info: john_wilner@sil.org

Anniversary: May 25, 1980

Birthdates: John 8/3 • Susan 6/17 • Jacob 10/23 • Janie 10/7

Wycliffe Bible Translators: P.O. Box 628200 • Orlando, FL • 32862-8200 • 800.WYCLIFFE • 800.9925433 • 407.852.3600 • Fax 407.852-3601  • www.wycliffe.org info_USA@wycliffe.org

Ministry Synopsis:

John & Susan Wilner served with Wycliffe Bible Translators in Suriname, South America for almost 22 years.  There, they had the privilege to facilitate a group of Surinamers whose desire it was to translate the Bible into their own language.  On October 10, 2002 the New Testament in Sranan Tongo was dedicated by the Suriname Bible Society.  After that John worked on a dictionary of Sranan Tongo which was published in October 2007.  Today the Suriname Bible Society is continuing with the translation of the Old Testament.  Wycliffe wants to use the experience the Wilners gained in Suriname to assist teams in other parts of the world, in particular South Asia.  In many areas, the government is interested in developing educational materials for speakers of minority languages.  In some of these places Christian nationals have begun to translate the Bible for their own people and are asking for experienced translators to come alongside in order to train and mentor them.  John and Susan have relocated to South Asia (in January 2008) to help meet these needs.  Their son Jacob (23) is living in Dallas, Texas and their daughter Janie (21) is going to school in Los Angeles.

About Wycliffe Bible Translators

Today more than 300 million people do not have the Bible in their own language.  Wycliffe’s vision is to see the Bible accessible to all people in the language they understand best.  To make this vision a reality, Wycliffe also focuses on literacy development, community development and church partnerships.  We are men and women, young and old, from many nations and of many colors and cultures.  We come from many different churches and denominations, but we all worship one Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.  Unified in our calling, we pray for and work towards the day when every language community will have an equal opportunity to discover God’s truth in the Bible.

More Interesting Tidbits from the Wilners

John was born and raised in Torrace, CA.  He goes WAY BACK with some of the families of Rancho Baptist.  Susan’s family moved a lot.  She started school in Birmingham, Alabama and finished in Fairbanks, Alaska.  Jacob and Janie were adopted in Suriname.  Both of them have ancestors who came from India.