The night was especially dark, and the jungle sounds somehow were more intense than usual. A group of villagers had gathered around a fire outside a thatch hut, to hear Bible stories being told by our Wycliffe Associates Global Oral Language Translation Coordinator.
From the darkness outside, a shadowy figure slipped toward the group, taking shape as it moved into the light of the fire. It was an elderly man known to the villagers as the Tumbuna (or grandparent). As he began to speak, one of the other villagers translated.
“As a young boy, my parents told me stories from the Bible,” the Tumbuna said. “I know there is more, so I have come every time you have spoken and tried to understand. But I cannot.”
The Tumbuna doesn’t speak the local trade language or English. Ju* is the only language he knows, and it’s a “spoken” language without an alphabet. So, try as he might, he couldn’t understand the Bible stories being shared.
Because of friends like you, a MAST workshop was held to launch Bible translation in the Ju language. In addition, we are working with the local church to record the translated Scriptures throughout the region using Bible Translation Recording Kits (BTRKs), complete with a computer tablet, translation and recording software, and a microphone.
Last spring, friends like you responded generously to a request to send BTRKs (top and bottom photos) to Bible translators around the world. Thanks to you, over 400 of the kits were distributed this past year. Praise God!
Ultimately, with your support, we are praying for God’s provision to record the Scriptures in every language as it is translated so people who can’t read, and those whose languages are only spoken, will be able to hear God’s Word.
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