5 NEW CATECHISM TRANSLATIONS DELIVER
More than 40,000 copies of Luther's Small Catechism, translated by LHF into 8 different languages, have arrived in Nai For 5 of those groups, it is the first time they can read the catechism in their own
Päri The Päri people are a minority tribe who fled the violence of South Sudan to the huge refugee camps of northern Kenya. The extremely hot and arid climate makes everyday survival difficult. "They have nothing in the camps, but often nothing to return to back home either," explains Simojoki. "For too many of them, there is nothing in the foreseeable future that would give earthly hope. So the Gospel spreads to comfort them. They might have been forsaken by people, but they have not been forsaken by Jesus, who is the lover of the weak and lowly. He loves those who are trampled on by the strong. LHF wants to assist in this precious work."
"As a time-tested publication, Luther's Small Catechism continues to teach, inspi comfort thousands in Africa through its uncomplicated grasp of the Christian faith," s Dinku Bato, LHF's coordinator of African translation projects. "And why is this?" adds Tuomo Simojoki, who manages projects out of LHF's Ken "Because it is so simple. In Africa, there are so many different churches and teaching ple come across. Then someone gives them a booklet that lays out the teaching of t simple format, and also has Bible passages that explain where the teaching stems from. It is helpful, refreshing and convincing. This is the power of the catechism!"
Rundi "The Lutheran Church is small and young in Burundi. This is the first time Luther's Small Catechism is translated in the Rundi language. There are a few independent Lutheran Churches in Burundi, but this translation was done in collaboration with two of them. "The Rundi language is spoken by all people in Burundi, which is rare in Africa because usually the colonial borders broke language groups in an illogical way. This is a great assistance with LHF's translation work, in that we are able to cover an entire country with a single language translation," Simojoki said.
Gikuyu
The Gikuyu people are the largest tribe in Kenya, yet the Lutheran Church has few congregations amongst them. Therefore, there haven't really been transla into their language before. "Now the time is ripe for the catechism! We were lu get an active team of three people: two pastors and a deaconess who did the tion quickly and precisely," Simojoki said.
"We have found that getting materials into any language helps the Lutheran Ch grow, as other Christians come across the materials and become interested in Biblical theology of the Lutheran Church."
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Faithful supporters of LHF provided a stock gift to help cover the printing of these Small Catechism e
