Bible People in the News

USA — The American Bible Society (ABS) held a memorial service for the Rev John Yong at its New York City headquarters on November 12. Mr Yong, the ABS’s National Manager for Asian Ministries, died on November 5 of complications he suffered from a stroke he had three days earlier. Mr Yong, who was born in Shanghai, was in charge of the ABS mission to Asian communities. Dr Eugene Habecker, President of the ABS, expressed deep sadness at the news. “We’ve been blessed to have him serve the ABS for 10 years,” he said. “We will truly miss his passion and leadership.” Mr Yong is survived by his wife, Doris, and two children. (WR 365/IB2 - 12.01)

USA — The American Bible Society (ABS) has named the Rev Dr R Lamar Vest as the new head of its Board of Trustees. Dr Vest, who is General Overseer (presiding bishop) of the Church of God (Cleveland, Tennessee), a large Pentecostal denomination with more than 850,000 members, was the unanimous choice of the trustees at a meeting at the ABS headquarters in New York. He succeeds Sally Shoemaker Robinson, who was elected chairman of the Global Board of the United Bible Societies in May. (WR 365/IB3 - 12.01) e-167
RWANDA — Elizabeth Guillebaud, an important figure in Bible translation in Rwanda, died on September 12, aged 86. Mrs Guillebaud and her late husband, Peter, worked as missionaries in Rwanda for more than 40 years and played a key role in the translation of the interconfessional common language Kinyarwanda Bible. After the death of her husband in the UK in 1996, Mrs Guillebaud, then aged 82, returned to Rwanda with her daughter, the Rev Meg Guillebaud, to help widows and orphans who had survived the 1994 genocide. The Rev Anasthase H Kajugiro, General Secretary of the Bible Society of Rwanda (BSRwa) attended her memorial service on September 23. “I had the opportunity to express on behalf of the UBS in general and of the BSRwa in particular, our sincere thanks to the Guillebauds for the wonderful work they have done in Rwanda, especially in getting the Word of God to the Banyarwanda people in their own language,” he said. “The Rwanda Christian community will always remember the Guillebauds for their good work and for the Christian life they lived.” (WR 365/IB4 - 12.01)
SRI LANKA — Lakshani Fernando takes over from Elmo Wijesinghe as the General Secretary of the Bible Society of Ceylon next month. Mrs Fernando, who counts roles as barrister, teacher and lay preacher among her gifts, has been General Secretary Designate for the past six months. She is a former Vice President of the Methodist Church in Sri Lanka. The Methodists comprise the second-largest Christian denomination in Sri Lanka after the Anglicans. The new General Secretary visited the World Service Center in September, where she met the Rev Fergus Macdonald, UBS General Secretary. (WR 365/IB6 - 12.01)