Translator by Necessity

To read the whole Bible in a year you have to read an average of 3 chapters a day. Some of you have perhaps done that, and know how much time and effort it requires. Now imagine that while you're reading, you're also writing those 3 chapters out by hand as you read them. Now, further, imagine that you are translating it into a different language as you work, checking for accuracy as you go.

During Bob’s trip a year ago to Nigeria, one of the projects the team visited was the Bwaatye. A Lutheran bishop became a translator out of necessity. he saw the need for his parishioners to have the Bible in their own language. They could read it in English or the local trade language, but those words couldn’t speak to them as strongly as their mother tongue. The problem was that Bwaatye did not have a written form. The Bishop's wife was uniquely qualified to assist her husband: as a professor of linguistics at a local university, she created a writing system for her husband to use as he began translating the Bible.  He began writing out the Bible in Bwaatye by hand, in his spare time, and only recently discovered there were resources to help him including The Seed Company

Working with The Seed Company has allowed him to hire assistants and also to have a computer and specialized software to do his translation.  Having his work in electronic form makes it simpler to revise sections as they review them, quicker to send sections to consultants so they can be checked for accuracy and precision, and easier to get books printed as sections are completed. He was committed to seeing the Scripture in his own language when he thought he would need to do it by hand and alone. It is a joy to consider how much faster the Bwaatye people will have it with the help of technology.

Do You Have a Bible?

After Bob's visit to Nigeria last year, he returned with the following story,

 we love because it illustrates the eagerness of people to hear the Bible in their own language.

I was traveling with another American and two Nigerians in a van to two towns on the other side of the country (a 9-hour drive) to install BGANs, a satellite internet system that they could use to connect their laptops to the internet. This system would allow them to collaborate with consultants on translating hard verses or difficult ideas, it would allow them to report on their work as they finished it, and allow them to back up their work remotely in case something happened to their work computer.

There are military checkpoints from time to time on the roads, and we were stopped at one. The soldier asked the driver who we were in Hausa, the local trade language, and the driver replied that we were missionaries. As soon as the soldier heard that, he looked at us Americans in the backseat and asked us, in English, if we had a Bible. I was a little worried at this question because it sounded like a challenge, like we were being asked to prove we were missionaries by producing a real Bible. Embarrassingly, my only Bible was on my smartphone, and my friends' was buried in his suitcase, so we were fumbling around having trouble locating one.

Fortunately, while we were engaged, the other Nigerian in the front seat was continuing to talk to the soldier in Hausa. He learned that the soldier was asking because he wanted a Bible for himself. The man explained that we weren't giving away Bibles, we were translating them, and he asked what the soldier's heart language was. It turns out that the soldier speaks a language that was currently in the process of being translated, and he was able to assure the soldier that we were working on it and he would be able to have the Bible soon not in English, but in his own language. We left with an encouragement that people really are eager to have the Bible for themselves, and that God arranged this encounter for us to see firsthand peoples' desire to have His Word in their own language.

You can help sponsor Scripture translation projects, OneVerse at a time

Investing in Scripture

I love our church, you never know what the Pastor will do to make his point.  He has been known to preach on a treadmill, pass out candy, scale a ladder, balance on a 2x4.  A few weeks ago they gave everyone money.

The money wasn't ours but we were instructed to invest it, make it grow or add to and give it away.  It wasn't ours in the first place, we were the stewards.  People were given varying amounts from $1-$50.  Bob and I together were given $22.  We had until Easter to make a plan and give it away, and return the enclosed card sharing what we did with the money.

I knew I wanted to use it to sponsor a verse of Scripture translation for the Vidunda people of Tanzania.  I've been praying and sharing about them but I haven't given yet.  A verse costs $26, a mere $26 but money has been extra tight with our recent move so we hadn't done it.  We recieved $22 so I began thinking of a creative way to find the other $4 for a verse.

We have this change jar that has made the last 2 moves without being counted or cashed.  I figured there had to be at least enough in it for the rest of a verse.  We started counting it and found more than enough for another verse as well.  So we used our $22 +the change to sponsor Matthew 26:24-25

24 For the Son of Man must die, as the Scriptures declared long ago. But how terrible it will be for the one who betrays him. It would be far better for that man if he had never been born!" 25 Judas, the one who would betray him, also asked, "Rabbi, am I the one?" And Jesus told him, "You have said it."

Very fitting verses for Holy Week.  We read these verses and wish for a more powerful verse, but for Vidunda when they hear these 2 verses they will have LIFE!  Its a good investment to us since the Word of God is living and active (Hebrews 4:12), and always provides a return on your investment (Isaiah 55:11)

Join me in sponsoring one more verse for the Vidunda people in Tanzania.

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Aaron Shust on Bible Translation

Aaron Shust is a OneVerse Artist sharing his passion for seeing every person hear God's word in their language.  

Bible Translation is NOT boring

I remember it vividly.  My fiancée and I were sitting at a Mexican restaurant in downtown St. Louis during the Urbana06 mission conference in St. Louis, MO.  It was a day we were supposed to fast but I had worn myself out in the days leading up to the conference, so we were stopping so I could eat.  Knowing we wanted missions to be a part of our family vision we were looking at various organizations to be a part of and who could use our respective skills: IT for Bob, and media for me.  While we were studying our list and deciding who to talk to a second or third time Wycliffe was mentioned, but I told him Bible Translation looked boring and I didn't see how my gifts would fit.  I had grown up hearing about Wycliffe and our church supported Wycliffe missionaries but it never struck me as something special. 

 What's the big deal about giving people another book to put on their bookshelf?

Fast forward 2 years.  Bob was getting restless at his dead-end call center job and began looking for something else.  He had gone on some short-term trips with Wycliffe during college and was on an email list that advertised a job opening at the Wycliffe USA Orlando office.  He applied and was offered the job.  So we moved to Orlando and Bob started his job.  I still didn't quite have a passion for Bible Translation.  It wasn't until we began meeting coworkers and other missionaries who had done a translation that I began to understand its importance. 

It's not just another book; for many it's their First Book.

I began to hear that most of the languages that are in progress and waiting to be done have an extra hurdle: they need a written form of their language.  It's literally never been written down at all.  For these people groups the process of Bible Translation is more than another book on the bookshelf: it's opening a doorway to the outside world.  The literacy that comes along with a Bible Translation project opens up opportunities for education and advancement.  It changes the culture from the inside out.  

Credits: The Seed Company

I'm excited to be a part of this change for the Vidunda people of Tanzania as they gain access to more scripture in their language.  Its a powerful thing when you hear Jesus speak your language.  Join with me as we support the Vidunda people OneVerse at a time.  

Check out what others are saying about Bible Translation as we link up at OneVerse!

Who are the Vidunda?

OneVerse is a program of the Seed Company (TSC), part of the Wycliffe family of organizations, that gives you the opportunity to be directly involved in Bible translation.  They support translation projects that are being facilitated by native speakers and nationals in the country they are working.  TSC comes along side a project and provides training, computer equipment, office supplies, and the living expenses for the translators family.

The OneVerse Bloggers are working together to sponsor the Vidunda project in Tanzania.  More than 60% of the Vidunda people consider themselves Christian.  However many of them still hang amulets on their children to protect them from evil spirits and curses. Because they have been hearing Scripture in a language foreign to them, most Vidunda people have little idea what is actually teaches.

Damas and Kiliani, Vidunda translators

The work of Bible translation is long and intense, as the translators work word by word,  verse by verse, to accurately produce a translation that will be used by the language community.  For $26 you can sponsor one verse of scripture.   Imagine being responsible for Matthew 14:14 You would be responsible for them learning that Jesus has the power to heal!

"When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, he had compassion on them and healed their sick."

You can get involved by clicking the button at the top of the left sidebar or below to sign up as a partner.  OneVerse at a time the Vidunda will get their New Testament, join us in being a part of it.  

Bible Stacks: Scripture Wealth

We're linking up with the other OneVerse bloggers today, check out the other posts and add yours at Meredith's blog!

We bought Lydia, my daughter her first Bible recently, it made me consider how many Bibles we own. I mentioned this to my family. So we went on a hunt. We gathered them from around the house, we even pulled a box out of storage. We had Bibles of all shapes and sizes, different translations, one with pictures, one on CD for use on the computer and many were sitting in a box unused. Scripture Wealth.

It wasn't until our family got involved with Wycliffe that I began to realize how much I take having the Bible for granted. While we have extra Bibles sitting in a box collecting dust, there are people around the world who can't wait to get their hands on even a portion of scripture in their language. For Aksamina, a language helper for the Berik people of Indonesia, it was her dying wish for her husband, Essau, to help finish the translation for their language.  Essau saw their New Testament dedicated in 1993.

JOIN US!
I challenge you to discover how wealthy you are in scriptures.  Do the same exercise and share your thoughts with us.  One lucky person with get their thoughts shared on the OneVerse blog and get a free t-shirt.  You can link up with us at Meredith's blog or if you don't have a blog you can share with us on the OneVerse Facebook Wall. What are you waiting for, go discover your wealth and show the world!