Hunting caribou and gathering spruce boughs in -40ºC temperatures were just a few of the daily activities Rodney and his wife Liesel experienced among the James Bay Cree of Quebec.

Rodney first felt the call to cross-cultural Christian service as a teenager. As the couple served in various capacities, with Rodney deepening his critical thinking skills and biblical knowledge while studying at Tyndale, their path to the work of Bible translation became clear.

In November 1973, the Bartletts accepted an assignment to serve the James Bay Cree, a group that did not have Scripture in their own language.

In 2001, the New Testament in the Southern dialect of the James Bay Cree was published and, in 2016, it was completed in the Northern dialect.

“Today, about 20,000 James Bay Cree have the New Testament available in their own language, in print, online, some of which is also in audio,” said Rodney.

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