In the Company of Travellers. Season 1, Episode 1: Introduction

Here is the transcription of Season 1, Episode 1. Hosts: Jo Johnson and Hannes Wiesmann.

Jo Johnson: Welcome to the very first episode of In the Company of Travelers, a brand-new podcast from the Wycliffe Global Alliance. I’m Jo Johnson, I’m based in the UK and I serve as Consultant for Prayer Advocacy in the Alliance.

Hannes Wiesmann: And I am Hannes Wiesmann. I live in Switzerland and I serve as Assistant to the Alliance Executive Director. Jo, here we are producing a podcast. How strange is that?

Jo: It’s so strange. Hannes. We’ve known each other for maybe seven or eight years as we serve together on the Alliance leadership team. Before that, with our families, we’ve both served in different Bible translation movements in several other countries around the world, but I don’t think either of us would have ever predicted that we’d end up hosting a podcast, even though we both listen to lots of them on many different topics.

Hannes: Yeah, I find this very inspiring and helpful medium to learn and be inspired. So that’s what we actually hope to do, right, Jo?

Jo: Yeah, absolutely. We want to encourage reflection and conversation around some themes relating to becoming more like Jesus. Being more Christlike, not just as individuals, but as organizations in our teams or departments. So it’s seen as a corporate thing rather than just an individual or a personal thing.

Hannes: So how did we end up with this idea of producing such a podcast?

Jo: Well, as I remember it, you came to me and said, I know you’re interested about spiritual life and spiritual formation and that you were, too. And you asked, how can we support the Alliance to grow in this area? And then some bright spark on the Communication team suggested a podcast, and we both thought, that’s a great idea because we love podcasts.

Hannes: At the time, we really didn’t know anything about how to actually host and produce a podcast. So we are learning as we go, which is quite a lot of fun.

Jo: It is fun, but it’s also more work than I anticipated and it’s a bit nerve wracking at times. I’m constantly worried about tripping over my words.

So what other challenges have we found in recording this series of podcast conversations?

Hannes: Yeah, I guess the biggest challenge or actually opportunity is one we need to pass on to our listeners, and that is something we have come to call linguistic hospitality. We were deliberate in inviting guests to our conversations who come from around the globe. So, necessarily, we have spoken with people for whom English is not their mother tongue. That requires some careful listening, regardless of your own mother tongue.

So we invite our listeners to express linguistic hospitality as we will listen to these conversations. But I promise it’s worth it. 

Jo: Yes. And for every episode we’ve also included in the show notes a transcript of that conversation. So if you struggle to precisely catch what someone said, you can follow along with the transcript, which we hope will be really helpful.

Hannes: Yeah. And the other issue we did encounter occasionally was a challenge with the internet signal coming and going during these Zoom calls. We are so reliant on the internet, but this is a good reminder that in different parts of the world, it’s not always as strong as in other parts of the world. We’ve taken care of some of those issues in editing, but still, you may notice it now and then. 

Jo: But we would both say we think that each of our guests has something well worth listening to, even if it takes a little bit more effort. That’s another good reminder about linguistic and maybe geographic hospitality. What some may take for granted is not so easy for others. And while we recognize those challenges together, it’s a great way to honor each other.

Hannes: Yes. And I think the richness of this podcast really comes from the fact that we have had people from all over the world, from many different cultures, having deep conversations. Even in our hyperconnected world, that isn’t very common. But when it occurs among the global body of Christ, it gives us a richness in conversation. And it has certainly challenged my thinking and cultural assumptions. So I hope it will do that for you, too.

Jo: Yeah, we were recently at leadership team meetings in Kenya, and we recorded an interview for The Journey Podcast, where we go into more detail about where we hope to take this podcast. So if you’re interested, give that a listen and you can find that at Wycliffe.net in the podcast section. We hope that each episode will spark a conversation with our listeners as well. Each episode will have one or two questions that we would like to leave with you, the listener, to consider and respond by email.

So we hope the conversation goes on and expands and brings more voices to the table, because there’s so much for us to learn together and from each other. And we encourage you to take those questions back to your teams or organizations. Discuss them with colleagues, not just think about them on their own. 

Hannes: Plus, we hope you will send us any other comments ideas for further episodes or even seasons people we could or should talk with. We just want to expand the conversation. 

Jo: So we hope that you enjoy. But more than anything, we hope that it helps all of us to grow, to be more like Jesus. 

Hannes: With this, travel well. 

Jo: Travel well, everyone.