Dear Reggie,
We recently received a report from our Field Ministries Officer sharing the progress our worldwide teams are making in translating the Bible. Pioneer Bible Translators is a team of 463 adults and 267 children, translating the Bible in 84 languages for 42 million people in 18 countries – so this is no small task!
One story he shared really hit home with me because it is so similar to our work in Vanuatu. He says…
When I had finished translating the first book of the Susu Bible, Reinier de Blois and I were sitting at my kitchen table. I was talking about how great it felt to have finally started actual translation. I was elated with the progress and full of excitement. Reinier offered to show me a neat little program that he had been working on. He pulled out his computer and put a check mark by “Ruth” on a spreadsheet. He smiled big as any computer programmer would and gave me the good news: I had translated .0037% of the Bible. My frown was as big as his grin. We had a long ways to go before we would get to Revelation.
We have a long ways to go in Vanuatu also! Here is a chart showing the five stages every single verse of the Bible needs to go through in order to be printed. In each of our four languages, we have printed 1.3% of the Old Testament. Wow, sometimes that seems like a small number for three years of training nationals, five missionary families living overseas through holidays and sickness and the sweltering heat, and all of the prayers and gifts that you all have given to our families.
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3.5%
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2.9%
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2.9%
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2.6%
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2.3%
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1.3%
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Rough
Drafted
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Exegetical
Checked
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Comprehension
Checked
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3rd Party/Peer
Checked
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Consultant
Checked
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Printed
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But then I remember…this is the Word of God. Everything we do is through His power. HE is the one driving this work. Those 308 verses from Genesis 1:1-12:9 that have been printed and distributed are already making a big impact – and that’s just the beginning!
This coming October, 15 nationals from four language groups will graduate from our four year VISTA program (Vanuatu Institute for Scripture and Translation Application). They have given so much to see God’s Word come to their people and they will continue to give their lives as they rough draft verses from their villages on Ambae and Pentecost. Our team looks forward to encouraging and empowering them to continue this incredible work.
* More chapters from Genesis and Deuteronomy are checked and ready for printing! Pray that God will help Matt and Dan as they work together to get them printed and distributed.
* Drafting is done in 20 chapters of Genesis, 4 chapters of Deuteronomy, 7 chapters of Psalms, 2 chapters of Proverbs, 3 chapters of Isaiah, 1 chapter of Jeremiah, 2 chapters in Daniel, and all 4 chapters of Jonah. Pray that God would help our team (missionaries and nationals) to work hard toward getting those chapter through the rest of the stages.
There is so much to do and we couldn’t do it without YOU!
Angie & Matt (and the kids)
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