Bible stories move quickly from translation to engagement
In the Konongo language community of western Tanzania, eight people recently participated in a workshop learning how to do “Bible story-ing” (narrate Bible stories orally). One of them, a lady named Lightness, told the team how she enjoys practising what she learned.
“Sharing God seems easy to me now,” says Lightness, “with these Scriptures recorded in my language.”
The new Konongo translation team has already completed three sets of stories from the Gospel of Luke. “When these were approved,” says Erick Emmanuel, the team’s project manager, “we gave them to the community to be used in churches.”
Lightness has those stories, too. “I put them on my phone,” she said, “and now I play them in the market. A lot of women and children gather around. They enjoy listening to the stories in their language.”
Others from the workshop report that they have begun using the stories at home with their families and to lead Bible studies in their neighbourhoods. “They love it,” says Emmanuel. “They have special times and locations for the study, and if the leader is late the group calls to remind them.”
The Konongo team is encouraged by this early response. “Even with just a few stories in hand,” says Emmanuel, “they have seen a real impact in their community.”
This story was written for SIL Tanzania by:
Kenny Grindall (Communications Coordinator)
SIL International is a global partner among academic and professional organisations which offer language development services. SIL works alongside speakers of more than 1,700 languages in over 100 countries. Active in Tanzania since 1989, the organization makes its services available to all without regard to religious belief, political ideology, gender, race or ethnolinguistic background.
