Somewhere in the world today someone decided she has waited too long. She is desperate for God’s Word in her heart language. She has been asking for help for years, but help is slow in coming. Today she stepped out in faith.
With a whispered prayer, she searched the Internet on her smart phone. She had tried this before but always came away disappointed. But this time . . . she found a new app in the Google Play store. With just a click she downloaded translationStudio to her phone.
Unconsciously, she held her breath as she tapped the screen to open the app.
The app opened to the title “Open Bible Stories” with a list of 50 Bible stories. The first one said, “The Creation.” A tap on the title opened a page with sixteen illustrated story segments. A tap on the first segment opened a page with two columns. In the left column was a short paragraph, just four sentences that began the creation story. The lines in the right column looked like a blank sheet of paper.
The beginning of the story list in translationStudio.With a tentative touch in the right column a cursor began to flash, and a keyboard appeared at the bottom of the page! But the letters were the English alphabet, and there were also some unfamiliar buttons. One looked a bit like a globe. A tap on the globe changed the letters on the keyboard to a new language! In just a few taps, her native language’s familiar letters appeared!
The flashing cursor beckoned her to continue. So . . . she began to type, slowly translating the English words and sentences into her own language, for the very first time.
She read the story. “This is how the beginning of everything happened. God created the universe and everything in it in six days. After God created the earth it was dark and empty, and nothing had been formed in it. But God’s Spirit was there over the water.”
Confusion. What does “created” mean? How to translate “God’s Spirit”? She looked for hints that could help.
The icon on the top right of the screen looked like a light bulb. A slightly more confident tap opened a page titled “Resources”, filled with notes about the key terms. Some of the words were framed like buttons, as if they were linked to another page. A tap on “Spirit” opened a new page explaining who God’s Spirit is!
An example of the Resources screen in translationStudio.With increasing confidence she typed. In less than an hour, she translated the entire Creation story into her heart language!
Backing up to the story list, story number 23 caught her eye. “The Birth of Jesus.” After a couple taps on the screen, she began to translate the Christmas story into her language for the very first time.
Today, this scenario of a person able to begin translating Bible stories and soon thereafter God’s Word into their native language is moving from the realm of fiction to non-fiction.
On Thursday, I’m going to show you how Wycliffe Associates is using new technology to empower local translators and rapidly accelerate Bible translation in the most difficult parts of the world. Stick with me as I share how our new translationStudio app works with Open Bible Stories to help the global church accomplish Vision 2025 . . . to initiate a Bible translation in every remaining language by the year 2025.
