Jun 10, 2014

Bible translations gen neXt

I recently returned from a story-gathering trip about the next generation of Bible translators enrolled in the Bible Translation Degree Program of the Cameroon Baptist Theological Seminary in Ndu.


With only 26 hours of electricity that week (24 one day, 2 three days later), it was especially challenging since the tools of my trade rely on batteries (cameras, flashes, phone, voice recorder, computer etc).


I got little sleep and worked hard gathering photos (lugging 30 pounds of camera gear around) and interviewing people from the President, adjunct faculty and students. In the photo above I was interviewing Vice President Johnson of the seminary.


One student, Joseph Nkwelle who is six months from graduation, stands out in my mind because of his sleeve-worn passion to see lives changed by Christ. Joseph says "It's important to have scripture in the mother tongue to give people an opportunity to hear God speaking in a way that they will be challenged, and in this way the message will get to their hearts."


Joseph's mother tongue is Akoose, a language group which already has the New Testament but desires the Old Testament as well. But when he considers which language project God may be leading him to, Joseph's heart is elsewhere. He says "they [a People with no Bible] need a New Testament more than my own people need the Old."




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