The double dedication of the Wamey New Testament in Guinea and Senegal at the turn of the year represents over 30 years of translation work by Wycliffe Bible Translators and SIL Senegal.
The New Testament is available in both print and audio forms, and has been enthusiastically received, with people responding positively to the message during the translation process.
The dedications took place in Ourous, Guinea, the Wamey homeland, and in Tambacounda, Senegal, for the diaspora. With the help of advertising via WhatsApp and Facebook, each dedication attracted about 500 people, including Wamey priests, bus-loads of people from local towns, and local and international visitors. There were speeches, songs and dancing. The dedications represent the culmination of over 30 years of effort.
God brought us two men
Sue Jenkins, a member of Wycliffe Bible Translators (serving with SIL Senegal), originally started linguistic work in the region in 1986. After a furlough break, she returned to Senegal with her husband Jay in 1992. ‘Translation work progressed with our language assistant, Papa,’ says Sue. ‘However, he died suddenly in 2014, with about 80% of the New Testament done. We thought the project might remain unfinished, but God miraculously brought us two Wamey men from Guinea to pick up the translation work.’
‘We’ve worked closely with the Wamey people in both Senegal and Guinea. They’ve done all the village testing, helped to create and record Bible-based songs, dubbed the JESUS film, and are listening to and discussing Scripture in small ‘Listening Groups’.
