Pastor Wopa Eka Endowed Scholarship

The Pastor Wopa Eka Endowed Scholarship, established by Karl and Joice Franklin, will assist students pursuing a Master of Arts in Applied Linguistics with the intent of serving in Bible translation roles among the Bibleless.

Wopa felt that the New Testament without the Old was not adequate for his people.

In 2000, Wopa wrote that since the first edition (1973) of the West Kewa New Testament was out of print, he and others had begun revising it. He was the primary mover/planner for the dedication of the New Testament in 2004. But Wopa felt that the New Testament without the Old was not adequate for his people, so he recruited helpers to work with him on the rest of the Bible. Wopa was a well-trained translator, having attended a number of workshops and studied translation topics, computers, and even some Hebrew. His desire to learn matched his energy and passion.

While at Ukarumpa, he made many friends amongst people of all backgrounds, so it is little wonder that a friend wrote, “Everybody here at Ukarumpa is taking Wopa’s sudden death hard.” Another friend of Wopa's wrote, "Wopa was an unusual man of God. The first time I saw him up close I could tell he was beaming with the light of Christ. I will forever cherish the short times I got to work with Wopa...He just had an extra dose of the Spirit that he was able to cross barriers most of us don’t have the faith to do…I am praying for a West Kewa remnant that is the fruit of Wopa’s witness.”

Beauty for Ashes

Wopa went to be with the Lord in the fall of 2020, and he is dearly missed by those who loved him and who benefited from his work in Bible translation for his people. These encouraging messages from friends are a reminder that God will change our “ashes for beauty, gladness for mourning, praise for despair” (Isaiah 61:3)