Bible Translation and Literacy (E.A.) Newsletter
Issue 1 2018
Jubilation
Table of Contents Mission Of BTL & Table Of Content
Pg. 1
Celebratory Run
Pg. 1,2
Scaling The Heights For The Bibleless
Pg. 3
In Search Of A Giryama Bible
Pg. 4
I Graduated With Jesus Not A Goat
Pg. 5
The Word Impacting Lives
Pg. 6
Did You Know
Pg. 7
Tafsiri Initiatives
Pg. 8
CICC Ruiru
Pg. 9,10
Word From The National Director
Pg. 11
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Mission of BTL To facilitate Bible translation and sustainable literacy and language development programs among small language groups in Kenya and beyond, partnering with the Church and others to fulfill the Great Commission.
Celebratory Run
his year’s Run for the Bibleless was one with a difference. It was held on 10th March at Uhuru Gardens along Langata Road. We dabbed it a celebratory run because by the end of the year, Rendille and Ilwana communities will have received their New Testament Bibles while Tharaka and Giryama complete
Bibles will have been printed. This calls for jubilation. Despite the heavy rains the day before the run; Over 12, 000 participants from different churches, organizations, schools and universities joined in the 10kms run and 4 Kms walk. The Occasion was graced by His Excellency Hon. William Ruto, the Deputy President of the Republic of Kenya who also flagged off the Run. He was accompanied by Senators, Members of Parliament and other
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H.E The Deputy President William Ruto (centre), flanked by BTL Patron, Rev. Prof. Watson Omulokoli (left) and BTL National Director Rev. Peter Munguti waving after completing the 10km run. (Photo by Live Studios)
government officials. “We have already made a firm commitment that we will assist BTL and other like-minded organizations to develop languages. We are here today to put a stamp that we stand behind you and will walk all the way until every community in Kenya will read the Bible in their mother tongue.” Said the Deputy President who ran the entire 10 km race despite his busy schedule. The cheerful crowd was treated to live music from the Mtawali band and music from other gospel artistes including Evelyn Wanjiru and Frank Mtakatifu. Christian media stations were represented including Truth FM, Family media and Kubamba radio who were at hand with their DJ and kept the party alive. Run for the Bibleless was started in the year 2008 with the aim of raising funds through registrations and creating awareness about BTL’s mission of facilitating Bible translation and sustainable literacy among small language groups in Kenya.
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Scaling the Heights for the Bibleless
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mmy Rono, an advocate by profession and a partner of BTL, took a personal challenge to hike Mt. Kilimanjaro on Saturday 24th March in order to raise USD10, 000 to support the work of Bible Translation. She was in the company of 3 of her friends and managed to complete the hike on 31st March 2018. This is what she had to say when interviewed; What inspired you to take this hike and why? The hike was a challenge I always wanted to undertake, but I did not want to do it simply for the fun of it, so I waited until I finally had a good reason to do it… What inspired me; I once attended a dinner hosted by BTL for partners and potential partners, and listening to the stories of how the work of BTL was transforming communities challenged me. One particular story of how an old woman was able to listen to the audio Bible in her mother tongue astounded me. Perhaps I felt this way because I have seen the incredible transformative power
of God’s Word in my own life and in the lives of friends and families around me. I knew then that it would be a privilege to support in any way, the amazing work done by BTL among small language communities. The fact that an institution can enable people to hear/read the living Word of God in their mother tongue is priceless! This was my inspiration to finally hike Mt. Kilimanjaro. What was your experience as you climbed the mountain? Climbing the mountain was thrilling, challenging and fun. It
required a lot of patience, resilience and discipline. Going as a team was a good motivation as we encouraged each other along the way. I cannot stress enough the kind of support we received from the guides, the porters and the cooks, who made the experience worthwhile. Every step counted, so we kept walking even when we were extremely tired, one-step at a time, until we reached Uhuru. The prayers of many also restrained the weather, which eased our climb, as the weather was not as harsh as is usually the case on Kilimanjaro. All the encouragement and prayers from friends and family made all the difference. BTL is grateful to God for ministry friends like Emmy and the zeal that they have towards ensuring that the Bibleless communities in Kenya get God’s word in their language.
From left to right are: Nyambura Karita, Peter Okaalet Jr. , Benjamin Ng’eno and Emmy Rono at the Mount Kilimanjaro National Park
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In Search of a Giryama Bible
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NCCK Deputy Secretary General, Rev. Dr. Nelson Makanda prays over the dummy of the soon to be completed Giryama Bible during the Run for the Bibleless 2018
By Daisy Kilel e were winding up Run For The Bibleless 2018 at Uhuru Gardens when I was referred to a lady called Furaha who was in search of The Giryama Bible. “I am a Giryama and a business lady selling second hand clothes at Gikomba market. My friend informed me that there were Giryama Bibles to be given out at Uhuru Gardens today. I woke up very early to pick my bales of clothes at the market so that I could get here in good time to pick the Giryama Bible. I have been searching for it; I cannot find it and the only copy I had got lost. I have been in the search for it for a long time.
My children attend a primary school here in Nairobi. I have in the past seen them with the sponsorship forms. I have always helped them raise the money because I see the word ‘Bibleless’ on the form. I had never taken keen interest though my instinct would
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tell of a course to win souls to Christ.” Explaining to her what we are involved in as a Ministry, Furaha could not wait to purchase Run for the Bibleless t-shirts. “You have opened my eyes today. It is incredible how my community and I are beneficiaries of Bible Translation. From today, I am going to faithfully participate in future Run for the Bibleless events. I have a story to tell to others of the excellent work that BTL does for the small language groups in Kenya,” she concluded. Within the few minutes I had interacted with Furaha, the stranger in search of the Giryama Bible was now a friend. Soon, God willing Furaha will be reading her copy of the complete Giryama Bible and ooh! whenever I need quality clothes, I give her a call. She will get me the best.
Rendille women in a literacy class (left). A Rendille woman reading a Scripture portion in her hut
I Graduated With Jesus not a Goat
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By Daisy Kilel
areio is a lovely Rendille Woman. She feels good when she is asked how she came to know about Christ. “I was looking after the goats when I heard of Rendille classes that were to begin soon in my vicinity. I registered for the classes because I was promised a goat upon graduating from the class. That was my motivation; to graduate with a goat,” She says.
Through literacy classes, I realized that looking after the goats was in vain. Christ changed my life. I experienced patience and peace. I used to follow so many customs of the Rendille but after I received Christ, I made a decision: TO FOLLOW HIM. Since then, I chose to do the right thing, do what He desires of me and that which is good in His sight” Nareio concludes.
Nareio began her literacy classes immediately. “Neither did I know how to hold a pen nor read.” Nareio likens her first experience in a literacy class to that of a toddler in kindergarten. “I was taught every other thing that a toddler would be taught,” She asserts.
Praise the Lord that Nareio will be reading The Rendille New Testament soon. Pray for her walk with Christ as she grows in Him. Pray that she will experience God’s love in her life and pray that she may never depart from His ways.
Nareio attended literacy classes until she could read and write in the Rendille language. Something she refers to as a miracle. “Besides knowing how to read and write in Rendille, we were taught Bible stories and towards the end of the year, we started reading the gospel of Mark. As we read through the gospel of Mark, I heard the voice of the Lord and my eyes opened to the marvelous things He has done. I needed to be a new being.” “My life changed, I became a new creature in Christ. I received Christ through reading the gospel of Mark.
The Rendille community is eagerly awaiting the New Testament which has taken a record 36 years to translate and the women in the villages do not want to be left behind when the Scriptures are placed in their hands. They have taken their own initiative to read and write in their own language. Under the guidance of their adult class teacher, the women meet every afternoon under a tree to practice reading and writing in their language. These women come along with their babies whom they cuddle to sleep as they recite the adult literacy material after their teacher.
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The Word Impacting Lives
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Rev. Jonathan Musyimi – Tharaka Language Translator.
hen God transforms the lives of His people, positive outcomes are realized. This is a confirmation from John Kyongo, a pastor in the Tharaka community. Before the Word of God was delivered to his members in the language they could understand, his congregants were countable. He has since seen a tremendous growth in the initial numbers in a short period of time. “Our members have doubled, denominational differences have been solved; formerly, different denominations could not sit together and share spiritual matters as they do today,” John says. Women in a church Bible study group, echoed the significant role the Scripture has played in their lives since they received their New Testament copies. “Before we received the Bible in our language, we were spiritually lame because we used a language we could not understand well. Now we can read and understand and by the time the whole Bible will be translated, we shall be many steps ahead spiritually.”
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Soon Pastor John Kyongo and his congregants will have the Tharaka complete Bible. Praise God for this milestone; it is His doing. Pray for good use of Scripture among these congregants. This sweet Jesus is sweet when He speaks to the hearts of The Tharaka people in their language. A Witness One day as I was resting with my peers in the evening, a middle aged man who was not a regular church goer interrupted our discussions, “I have seen one of your books and as I read through it, I realized something that I did not understand in English. Is it true that God himself will be a witness to the evil doers during the judgement day and no other witness will be required?” I asked him which Book of the Bible he had read from and he reached out for a note from his pocket. It was Malachi 3:5 Rîru irîo nkaaya na mbûgambithie. Nkeegua ndî na mpwî cia kûruta ûkûûyî îgûrû rîa arogi, athûngîîri, na bara bathiîtagia bakîaragia ûrongo, bara bainyagîîria aruti ngûgî baao na
aka ba ntigwa, tûkea, na ageni. Na antû bonthe bara bataantîîyaga. I bu Mwathani Mwene Inya akuuga. (That is when I will come and judge you. I will swiftly testify against those who practice magic, against adulterers, against those who give false testimony, those who cheat employees out of their wages, and those who take advantage of widows, orphans, and foreigners and all who do not respect me. That is what the Lord almighty says). Then I asked him, “Now that you understand do you believe?” he answered as he left, “If this is the case I do not want God to be a witness against my life.” It is a joy to see the community members reading the Bible in their language.
Did You Know
The Fourth Step in Bible Translation Translation Translation teams include speakers of the language, along with outside translation specialists. Together they carefully study the original Greek and Hebrew text, specialized translation commentaries, and the local linguistic and cultural context. The team uses special software programs to create trial portions of the text, and then they have it checked by consultants and tested by communities for clarity and accuracy, tediously going through numerous drafts and revisions until it is ready for publication Call of Kenya 2018
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BTL-CONFERENCE CENTRE
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Word from the National Director
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t has been said that a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. Putting all our trust in God as an organization, we have taken many such steps since inception and it is exciting to see God walk with us every step of the way until the Scriptures become available to the communities we serve Back in 1981 we took such a step and started the Rendille language program. Another step was taken in 1988 and the Tharaka language program was started. Then another step was taken in 1989 and both the Giryama and Ilwana language programs were started. The journey has been arduous for some of these programs with lots of ups and downs but it is surely coming to an end with great joy and victory! Praise God with us because this year we will be dedicating and launching the Giryama and Tharaka complete Bibles as well as the Rendille and Ilwana New Testaments. This calls for a great celebration as soon people from all
Rev. Peter Munguti
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these communities are going to receive the life transforming Word of God in their language. As we celebrate, I am reminded that many of you our partners have been part of this journey. Though some of these translations have taken a long time to complete, you did not grow weary. I greatly appreciate your patience and the collective effort we have all put i.e. community members, translators, consultants and the Church to make this journey possible. Your ‘footprints’ are surely going to be on these Bibles as lives in these communities will be changed to the glory of God. May the Lord richly bless you. I look forward to seeing many of you join us in the dedication and launching ceremonies. Kindly pray for good speed in the printing and shipping process. Let us also pray for God to prepare the hearts of people in these communities to receive His Word with a lot of joy.
Contact Details The National Director Bible Translation and Literacy (E.A) p.O Box 44456-00100 Nairobi -Kenya
Cellphone: +254 722 209 606 +254 735 333 065 Paybill Number: 898301 Account Number: SUPPORT Email: info@btlkenya.org www.btlkenya.org
Bible Translation and Literacy
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