THE BICKFORD BULLETIN

…that all may have God’s Word in their own language, including the Deaf April 2024

Dear family and friends,

We just celebrated the resurrection of Jesus Christ. His sacrifice on the cross and
victory over death give believers salvation and great hope for a thrilling eternity with
Him. Being in God’s family also gives hope and delivers us from fear during un-
certainty that drags on and on and on. May He also encourage you and heal you from
the many losses you have experienced during these weird years of COVID, unusual
weather and global unrest, and, and….. Praise the Lord that He has everything under
control and nothing surprises Him. May His will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.
We remain very grateful for the prayer support and financial gifts from many of you. You are part of our team. We
couldn’t do anything without you! God bless you mightily! And praise Him with us for all the enabling He has done for
the work of providing His Word for the people of minority languages throughout the world. May all soon hear (or see, in
the case of the Deaf) God’s love letter to us and accept the huge gift of salvation He offers

A LITTLE QUIZ
Since we haven’t written much in the last two years, I thought it would be fun to give you a little quiz. Can you guess
whether the statements below are true or false?
1. ___ Anita lost 70+ pounds since we last wrote, mostly due to illness
2. ___ Anita had a knee replacement, making her “trionic”.
3. ___ We lost our daughter-in-law, Tracy, to lupus that caused many organs to fail.
4. ___ We gained a daughter-in-law named Liz.
5. ___ Albert has traveled to five countries since we last wrote. He is enjoying his new role in the Global Sign
Languages team.
6. ___ Isaac and family completed French study in Canada and moved to Guinea, West Africa, where they have been
learning Pular, a language they need to master to communicate with rural Guineans.
7. ___ We had to cut down our favorite tallest tree. Bye bye, shade.
8. ___ Isaac had eye surgery in Spain because an infection had caused bleeding that occluded his vision.
9. ___ Naomi and Ashraf are still looking for a house to buy in Spain, where they continue to serve with Youth with
a Mission. They just got a new pet rabbit named Ginger.
10. ___ Caleb, Shayna and Alora continue to live in central Arizona. They bought a new house and got a new dog.
11. ___ Caleb is deep into tax season with TurboTax so is very busy.
12. ___ Shayna’s health has improved quite a bit, but her brother and her mother both passed away recently.
13. ___ Albert and Anita will go on an Alaska cruise next month, a gift from all four “children”.
14. ___ All four “children” and their families were with us for Christmas of 2022, the first time we’d all been together
in over three years.
15. ___ All the answers in the quiz are “true”.
That’s right, folks, all things listed above are facts. Some we’re glad about and some cause grief and/or stress. We are so
grateful for your prayers. How did your guessing go?

Some NEWS about our work

I, Anita, am still teetering on the brink of retirement. I still do some Spanish proficiency testing and am the main
impetus behind getting these letters sent out. With only one student so far registered for my summer course through
Dallas International University (DIU), I may end up with a summer off from teaching, just as well since my health is so
iffy. I remain active in music at church, health permitting.
Albert is still the energizer bunny. I don’t know how he accomplishes all he does and still has time to take over some of
the household tasks I can no longer do. He has a new role as an associate director of SIL’s Global Sign Languages
Team (GSLT) and continues to teach online for DIU.
 Some FAMILY NEWS
Micah and his new wife Naomi and Ashraf and family
Liz live in the Seattle- continue their work with
area where Micah still YWAM in Spain and they also
works with Puget Sound came to the US for a brief
Energy and Liz as an X- furlough in December 2022 and
ray technologist. Praise January 2023. Please pray that
God that we got to attend the Lord will provide just the
their lovely wedding. right house for them to buy in
Their time in Arizona last Spain, along with the finances
Christmas barely over- needed. Please also pray for the
lapped with Caleb’s children’s schooling to go well
family, but at least all and Ashraf and Naomi’s
were here. YWAM work to be effective.

Caleb and Shayna and Isaac and Kirstie and family

Alora still live in central
Arizona, where Caleb
continues to work for
Intuit. Shayna’s health
has improved quite a bit.
Praise the Lord that she
was well enough to join
the rest of us for the
reunion Christmas of
2022. Please pray for
Caleb, Shayna and Alora
as they mourn the recent
deaths of Shayna’s bro-
ther and mother.
have begun their agropas-
toral ministry in Guinea, W
Africa, with the Christian
and Missionary Alliance.
Please pray for healing for
Isaac’s eye (now at about
40% vision) and for good
adjustment for the whole
family to life in Guinea.
Praise the Lord that they are
now fully supported finan-
cially. They hope to be
settled in their town of
ministry by late June.

Praises and Prayer Requests

 Praise the Lord for Micah’s and Liz’s marriage and continued good employment. They are still deciding whether
to remain in the Seattle area or move somewhere brand new. I’d vote for Tucson.

 Praise the Lord that Tracy is safe home with Jesus, who became her Lord and Savior before she died.

 Praise the Lord for the financial and prayer support He has provided for Isaac and Kirstie’s ministry. Please pray
as they are still adjusting to life in Guinea and learning the Pular language as they homeschool their children and
work. Isaac and family recently spent a day at a beach. Isaac said it felt wonderful to be somewhere cool enough
to have hot showers feel good.

 Praise the Lord for Albert’s safe travel to Dallas, Germany, Romania, Hungary, Colombia, and El Salvador and for
the many things he and his team were able to accomplish to promote Bible translation and educational
opportunities for Deaf people worldwide.

 Please pray for Albert’s upcoming trips to Dallas, El Salvador, and who knows where else, for safe travel, good
health and for good interactions with his colleagues during many meetings. There are exciting opportunities in
many countries, but it’s too soon to tell where he will need to travel. (He does a lot of his work on Zoom.)
  Please pray for my (Anita’s) health. I finally got my knee replaced in September and am walking with much less of
a limp than I’ve had for many years. I also have been diagnosed with lymphocytic colitis, which means I spend a
LOT of my time in the bathroom. That accounts for much of my weight loss, which is actually a good thing
resulting from a bad thing. My doctor tells me that once one has this disease, it never goes away. Please pray for
the Lord’s healing so I can resume a more active life. Please pray that my health is good during the Alaska trip.

 Please pray for the changes that are happening in the Global Sign Languages Team and for Albert as he assumes
increasing responsibilities. He coordinates the training and deployment of consultants in many academic domains:
Bible translation, Scripture use, linguistics, multilingual Deaf education, worship and arts, and trauma healing,
among others.

 Please pray for peace and harmony and oneness of mind for all people who are serving the Lord in various
churches and mission agencies, that they may hear and obey God’s voice, and experience joy as they serve.

 Please pray for peace throughout the world, and that people in power will use their power wisely and for the good
of others. Pray for full repentance and spiritual revival for our nation.

IMPORTANT VIDEO TO WATCH AND ENJOY Please watch this video “2024 – The Blessing – World Edition”
(you can search for it by name on YouTube). It includes over 12,000 people from 154 nations and 257 languages
singing (and signing) together. This is part of what heaven will be like! Can’t wait for what it will be like worshipping
the Lord together face to face at His throne.

Lots of love and appreciation, in Jesus,

and
Anita and Albert Bickford

Home: 3397 E. Swallowtail Lane, Tucson AZ 85739 Wycliffe Bible Translators

Email: albert_bickford@sil.org, anita_bickford@sil.org Box 628200, Orlando FL 32862-8200
Phones: Albert 520-390-9542; Anita 520-870-6626 Phone: 800-WYCLIFFE (800-992-5433)