Ndungo heard the shouts from his work site in Western Zambia, “The man says he’s looking for people God has called to be Bible translators!” He stopped laying cinder block bricks and went to see what the commotion was all about. Lazarous Kapasa, the National Director for The Word for the World in Zambia, had come to this village to recruit young men and women as Bible translators. Ndungo had a dream two weeks earlier in which he heard a voice tell him that he was being called to serve God and to be on the lookout for his chance. Now, looking at the white bus in front of him, he felt God tugging at his heart.
So, even though he had no linguistic or theological training and even though he wasn’t exactly sure where this man was going, Ndungo got on the bus and traveled to Lusaka (Zambia’s capital city). At this training event, Ndungo started taking courses (which count towards a degree from an accredited university in South Africa) in linguistics, Biblical interpretation, and the process of translating the Bible. He was surprised to find out that he was really good at the work–God had started transforming this bricklayer into a Bible translator.
Ndungo, and other members of his family, are now a part of The Word for the World (TWFTW), a translation organization focused on equipping native-speaking people to translate the Bible into their own language. Through TWFTW’s Diploma in Bible Translation program, Ndungo will receive a college education and start the decade-long process of translating the Bible into his own language, bringing the truth of God’s teaching to His people in an innately understandable and referable form. His people do not yet have a Bible in their language, but through the work God is doing with Ndungo, they will.
The church has sent missionaries who have done incredible work all across Africa and the time has come to see many indigenous people equipped, educated, and empowered to bring the Truth to their own people in amazing ways. Making disciple goes beyond evangelism and you can be a part of this work as well. Please click here to get involved!
