LHF translation work isn’t simple. Aside from knowing basic vocabulary and grammar, translators need to thoroughly understand the Lutheran meaning and teaching behind theological terms.
“Train in the New children’s mission Teaching translators in Sierra Leone
Even more challenging, when in a country where Lutheranism is new to the people, translators may need to create new vocabulary for Christian concepts previously unknown to them, such as “original sin” or “justification.”
Sierra Leone: A new area of LHF’s work
To provide better training for translators, two LHF staff members recently traveled to Sierra Leone to lead a seminar on theological translation.
SET FREE BY JESUS
Rev. Dr. Dinku Bato and Rev. Mark Moss spent 3 days leading classes at the Lutheran Seminary in Jembe, attended by Rev. John Bundor (president of the Christ Lutheran Church in Sierra Leonesee letter on page 4), Rev. John Yasse (seminary principal), and 6 other participants from the Mende and Temne language groups.
“For the national translator who is working in his indigenous (heart) language, understanding and gaining competency in the source language he is using is critical,” said Rev. Moss, LHF mission engagement associate. “The students were taught to work with simple metaphors, similes, etc. - some of the most common figures of speech in Scripture. It’s interesting to try to convey the idea of being made ‘white as snow’ to men living in the tropics.”
“This visit also helped us realize the urgent need for Lutheran literature in local tongues like Mende and Creole, in addition to Kisi and Kono, which LHF is already working in,” added Rev. Dr. Dinku Bato, LHF’s coordinator for African projects. A dozen projects such as the Small Catechism and A Child’s Garden of Bible Stories are underway in these 4 languages.
Liberia and Sierra Leone, West Africa, share an intriguing the late 1800s, new communities were settled by freed slaves, ain (Sierra Leone) or the
What joy there undoubtedly bonds and horrors of slavery new cities named Freetown in honor of President James secure funding for the project)!
But today, many people in the chains of a different to sin and the devil. They Christ is, and they don’t the Gospel.
Kids in your Lutheran school can help break
Kids’ offerings provide
Throughout the 2022-2023 school year, the students’ mission offerings added up. Fifty cents here, a few dollars there...and soon the gifts from dozens of LCMS day schools and Sunday schools from across the United States became enough to print 3,000 copies of the Ukrainian A Child’s Garden of Bible Stories for families living in that war-torn country.
The newly-printed books are being distributed to churches and families throughout Ukraine, and LHF plans an additional printing to provide Bible storybooks to Ukrainian refugees who have fled to Europe and North America.
Rev. Dr. Slavik Horpynchuk (pictured at right), bishop of the Ukrainian Lutheran Church, writes:
“This little Bible storybook is very important for Ukrainian children who daily experience horrors of war. Almost every day they survive daily missile or kamikaze drone attacks; they see remnants of the apartment block ruined by Russians, and deaths Sierra Leone continued on p. 4
“Train up a child way he should go” mission project shares Gospel in West Africa
Leone, two small countries in intriguing bit of history: In communities in each country slaves, either from Great Britthe United States (Liberia). undoubtedly was to escape the slavery and start new lives in Freetown and Monrovia (named James Monroe, who helped project)! people in West Africa still live different kind of slavery - slaves They don’t know who Jesus know the sweet freedom of Lutheran school or Sunday break the bonds of sin!
When students adopt “Set Free By Jesus: Bible Storybooks for West Africa” with their mission offerings, they will provide kids in countries like Liberia and Sierra Leone with their very own Small Catechisms and Bible storybooks.
In these books’ pages, children will learn - in languages they can read and understand! - that Jesus died to set them free and gives them everlasting life with Him in heaven.
How can your church’s children participate?
As with most LHF books, it costs only $5 to provide a beautiful, hardcover Bible storybook in languages like Kpelle, Bassa or Kono.
“Set Free By Jesus” is truly a Gospel-sharing mission project! Every $5 your students give places a book about Jesus into the hands of a child living in West Africa. Even the smallest of Sunday schools
can make a life-changing impact on children living on the other side of the world!
Order your “Set Free By Jesus” resource kit
When you decide to direct your Lutheran school or Sunday school’s mission offerings to LHF’s “Set Free By Jesus” project, be sure to contact LHF to request a free accompanying resource kit.
In this resource kit, you’ll receive a short DVD to share with the children, as well as classroom devotions, arts and crafts activities, a bulletin board display and more. Depending on your location, LHF may also be able to provide free mission speakers for your chapel services.
Resource kits will ship after August 1. To order your kit or request a speaker, send an email to info@LHFmissions.org or call (800)5540723.
provide Bible storybooks in war-torn Ukraine
of friends and relatives or unknown people. They also hear reports from the front lines about our soldiers, who do their best to defeat the enemy so that the massacre of Bucha and other towns and villages would never be repeated by Russians again.
“War is a very dark period of time for every Ukrainian, especially for our children. In this darkness, rays of bright and gentle light shine. They shine through the Bible. This particular edition is filled with light of the Word of God! Even its pages are bright, colorful and breathe with God’s love to children. They read and they see picture of God’s love in Christ and they rejoice, and they see the light of Christ, they learn more of Jesus and their faith in Him grows.
“This book has also very plain language, yet it brings to Ukrainian children the immense treasure of heaven and strengthens us in our faith. Despite how things may turn in this world, no Russian enemy will be able to take the Kingdom of Heaven and our eternal life in it from us or from our children.”
Ukraine
Kyiv,
“This seminar put our spirit on fire”
Dear brethren at LHF,
It is with great joy and pleasure for me to write and express my sincere thanks and appreciation to this great and wonderful organization.
We held a wonderful three-day seminar from May 16-18 with Rev. Dr. Dinku Bato and Rev. Mark Moss [from LHF]. This seminar was like an eye opener for us to see new things that have been hidden to us in translation. This seminar put our spirit on fire to do more translation work with you. It is our prayer that you continue to send these men to us. They have been considered as our educational surgeons. We have received more from them within this short period of time [than for many years previous]. It was good that they stayed with us for a long time so that all of our translation sickness could be cured. Their short time staying with us has put our spirit on fire, like lighting fire on flammable substance. It is like what the Bible says in John 2:17 “Zeal for your house will consume me.”
We will continue to remember you in Sierra Leone. We appreciate your work so much that our mouths are unable to express it. I will just continue to say thank for your great job well done for the Christ Evangelical Lutheran Church of Sierra Leone. The church in this country was screaming, but nobody could listen. Nonetheless God made it possible for you to hear our cry and come to our aid. These three days staying with us was like a birthday celebration for the Church. We celebrate this birthday like leaves dancing in the wild wind.
Yours faithfully,
Rev. John Kangba Bundor, National President Christ Evangelical Lutheran Church - Sierra Leone
Thank you, women of LWML!
All thanks and praise to God for the generous mission spirit of the women of the National LWML, who voted to grant LHF $100,000 for printing Spanish Lutheran books, including the Bible with Small Catechism and A Child’s Garden of Bible Stories.
Soli Deo Gloria!
If you’ve never given a mission gift to LHF before, your gift (up to $5,000) will be matched, dollar for dollar, until the limit of $125,000 has been reached. Your $25 gift will double to $50 (giving 10 new Christians a book about Jesus)! Learn more at www.LHFmissions. org/lhfmatching-gift.
Dr. Matthew Heise, executive editor; Jennifer Bagnall,
Rev. Mark Moss (above) and Rev. Dr. Dinku Bato (below) lead discussion of metaphors and similes in Scripture.