“I did not even realise that our language can be written!”
One of the Burunge Translators traveled from Dodoma to a rural village to visit an elder relative. This woman follows another major world religion, yet she welcomed hearing him read to her a portion of the Bible in their language…
He read from the book of Ruth. The woman was amazed.
“I did not even realise,” she said, “that our language can be written!”
She connected with the story personally, as she recalled a time when famine had forced the Burunge people to move to a different area. She was also compassionate toward Naomi’s loss of her husband and two sons.
“God was willing,” she said, “to teach something to Naomi and her daughter-in-law.”
The Burunge Translator was surprised to hear her say this — the passage had not mentioned God.
“How do you know,” he asked her, “that God was trying to teach a lesson?”
“Listening to you read those words in Burunge,” she replied, “that revealed it for me.
“My mother tongue is sweet,” she added. “It helps me easily understand what is being said.”
