Among the Safwa people of western Tanzania, at least six dialects are spoken. From serious conflict and suspicion in the translation project’s earliest days, many years of prayer and hard work has delivered a complete New Testament the community sees as very inclusive and easy for all to understand – and celebration dominated by a powerful sense of unity and joy…
“I've been a Christian a long time,” said one Sangu translator. “But working on this translation, it's like being in a Bible school. It has shown me anew what life with Jesus is about.” At the big celebration of the completed Sangu New Testament another translator said, “I see the people receiving God’s Word... receiving God himself.”
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…”
