Jesus speaking in new languages

Daniel King | 19:12, 15 August 2014

In a small village in the hills not far from the northern point of Lake Malawi, a church need be no more than a few bare concrete walls and a simple tin roof, the whole surrounded by countless banana plants interspersed with towering avocado and mango trees. But a concrete wall is all one needs for projecting a film – well, that and one rather uncertain electric socket.

Everyone wanted to get a look at the Jesus Film projected onto the wall of their church after the service was over, especially as in this case the film was dubbed into the Nyakyusa language, which all the villagers speak as their mother-tongue. Younger children carried on playing in the dirt outside; older children sat quietly together with many local women and a handful of men as they watched the wall of their church lit up with pictures of Jesus speaking their language.

There are about three-quarters of a million speakers of Nyakyusa across Tanzania, the majority focused in the wet and fertile uplands to the north of the Lake, while many others have migrated across the country in search of work. Wycliffe Bible Translators are working hard here to translate the Scriptures into their language, as well as that of eight other languages in the Mbeya province, most of them rather smaller in population but no less significant in the eyes of the Lord.

Just in these past three weeks, I have had the privilege of working with three different language teams (Nyakyusa, Vwanji, and Sangu) on their translations of Matthew. We spent a great deal of time in the Sermon on the Mount (chs.5-7), discussing long and hard how to translate those wonderful and colourful, but not-so-easy-to-explain teachings of Jesus: 'blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth' (which countries will we be ruling then?); 'you are the salt of the earth' (what's the similarity between myself and a pinch of salt?); 'when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing' (neither of my hands know anything anyway!).

But in time and the with the Spirit's guidance we overcome each obstacle, we translate every verse so that people can hear and understand, and we try to get these scriptures into the hands of the people who need them. Even this month, the book of Acts will be printed and distributed in four local languages. Prayerfully, New Testaments will start rolling off the press in 2017. There are thirteen languages being served here now, each needs the scriptures, and needs your prayers and support if they are to get them.

After the service had finished in the Nyakyusa village, we distributed booklets and gospels to those present. To watch young children fixated by the experience of reading words in their own language for the first time is all the reward we need for our effort. We certainly didn't have to take any back home with us.