“Truly, I feel joy, great joy,” said one Malila Translator at the celebration of the completed New Testament. “The Word of God will reach our people in the right way, and cause many to be saved and discipled. When they hear it in Swahili, sometimes they can’t understand. But now, in the language they understand, there will be great change…”
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Tanzania’s Vwanji people welcome their New Testament! Before he was a Bishop, leading the celebration of this day, Nguvila worked for years as one of the translators. Today, he is surrounded by his former colleagues, fellow church and community leaders, hundreds of Vwanji people, and the Scriptures for which they have gathered to praise God…
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“Scripture translation into local languages may benefit communities far beyond simply increased comprehension,” according to a study which researched the sociolinguistic impact of such work in the Malila and Nyiha language communities. Findings on a range of issues led the author to make several recommendations…
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Translators recently took their draft of Mark’s Gospel into six Jita villages. As they tested the Scripture with groups of volunteers, passing children grew curious. “It’s not the first time,” said Magesa, a Jita translator. “They were surprised to hear us reading in their language, so they came closer and sat down…”
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Hundreds of Burunge and Rangi children, and even some of their parents, are learning to read their own language. Just months since SIL partnered with Compassion International to offer youth literacy workshops in those communities, four church-based programmes were once again filled with students eager to gain new language skills…
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Rain kept down the crowd’s numbers, but not their joy. Sheltered inside a church-within-a-church, Nyakyusa speakers used this day of singing and dancing, preaching and feasting to celebrate their newly translated Scriptures “even our children can understand!”
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A Scripture translation “cluster project” in southwestern Tanzania has its eyes on several major milestones. Sixteen years since work began, a group of six language projects are bringing all their New Testaments to completion. One is ready for its official launch, another is being printed and bound. Following those, four more teams are busy with final checks and typesetting. It’s an exciting time of challenges and victories as global teams lend aid and local plans are laid…
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“We use our Scriptures for funerals and some church meetings,” says Mwaluanda, Supervisor for the Safwa Literacy team. “But we want to do more.” The team recently held their second three-day songwriting workshop, with Bible studies and composition lessons, even recording sessions. This time, the songs were inspired by the book of Acts…
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A busy season in several Mara Region communities has translation teams feeling freshly inspired to their work. In a Kwaya village, reviewers reported how many are enjoying reading and listening to Scriptures the team has completed. On a visit to check Matthew and Romans with the community, the Jita team kept hearing, “We know the work is hard—but keep going!” While checking eight new Ikoma Scripture portions, reviewers helped the team choose the best word for shepherd…
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