‘Your package is eight stops away…’ Gone are the days – at least in theory – of waiting in all day for a package that might possibly arrive sometime in the next eight hours.
Now companies can let us know exactly where our books or socks or paper clips have got to. But at the end of 2019, we received news of a much more exciting delivery. The Flame Bible translation team in West Africa had sent an update: ‘the New Testaments with Genesis have rounded the Cape of Good Hope on a ship and are heading north to us.’
Imagine the anticipation of waiting for God’s word in your own language. Worldwide, the Bible is available in nearly 700 languages, but that still leaves one in five people without it in the language that speaks to them best. For some, the Bible in their language is still many years away. But others, like the ‘Flame’* people, are making great strides in translation. On 18 April 2020, the New Testament and Genesis in the ‘Flame’ language will be launched with a great celebration. But even before then, the ‘Flame’ Scriptures have been having a great impact.
The ‘Flame’ are a group of about 500,000 people, and about 99% of them are Muslims. A few years ago, a member of the team returned to their village to test the translation of one of the Gospels. They went to see the imam (Muslim religious leader) and asked him to listen to the text and correct any language that was unclear or unnatural.
During the reading, the imam was concentrating hard as he made comments about what Jesus was saying. On the third day, something seemed to be bothering him. The translator stopped reading and pointed out that he didn’t seem to be following. The imam responded, ‘I am following, it’s just that the word is very powerful, and it troubles me and makes me think about my life.’
At the end of the reading, when asked for his overall impression of the text, he said, ‘When you have finished translating and when our children read this, then this town will understand the truth and will change.’
May those words come true.
The team’s delivery update continued: ‘We received two copies by express mail in December; they are beautiful!’ The beauty of the books serves an even greater purpose than aesthetics, though. In this Muslim-majority culture, design choices send a powerful message. Ornate borders and texts written in Ajami (Arabic-looking) script affirm that this is a holy book. ‘Muslim-background believers are waiting eagerly to have the printed book to read with family and friends,’ reported the team.
‘Since this is a majority Muslim people group,’ explains the Flame project coordinator and linguist Dawuda, ‘we want to present God’s word in a way that encourages them to engage with it and apply it to their life. For someone who’s used to interacting with Islamic holy books, the cover and the look and feel of the designs we chose will communicate that this is indeed a holy book.’
The time, effort and money it is taking to produce the Flame Bible in such a beautiful printed form is well worth it. Not only will it capture people’s interest, but it will also convey visually the truth that this book – this good news of Jesus – is indeed holy and worthy of the interest of all peoples, including the ‘Flame’. Contrary to Western tradition, ‘Flame’ people say you can judge a book by its cover.
That message is amplified by the other ways the team is sharing Scripture. ‘Our people group numbers 500,000 and probably 95% of them are unable to read,’ explains ‘Pastor Paul’*, Flame project director. For this reason, both audio resources and literacy classes are particularly important. Portions of Scripture are broadcast regularly in ‘Flame’ on the radio, and these programmes are making a big difference to whole communities as well as to individuals. ‘Among the village chiefs,’ shares one man, ‘most of us listen to the radio programmes. Sometimes in our chief meetings, we talk about what we’ve learned. People will say, “Did you hear the message yesterday?” And if one of them didn’t hear that portion of God’s word, then the others will explain it and so we all learn. We’re applying it to our lives and work.’
Celebrate with the ‘Flame’ people on 18 April – put the date in your diary and join them in praising God for everything He has done, is doing, and will continue to do for them.
* For security reasons the name of the people group, the language, and of the project director have been changed. If you would like to find out more about the Flame project, visit wycliffe.org.uk/projects
