Tanzania: Project Update

Lydia and I have had the great joy of staying in Moro Goro, Tanzania for the past three weeks working with translation teams here.  The Word for the World has 18 projects in Tanzania, and each project is working towards completing a full Bible in a language with no scripture available.  In some cases, the first published books of the Bible will be the first books ever published in these languages!

While here, we lived with Reuben and Doreen Kabwe (pictured on the right), a Zambian couple working as missionaries in Tanzania.  The Kabwe’s are an amazing couple who have dedicated their lives to serving God through Bible translation, teaching & literacy training, and engaging in God’s mission through church planting and discipleship.  This couple has spent over 13 years in Tanzania helping to develop the Word for the World’s national office, and they have been instrumental in seeing an effective team of nationals become empowered as leaders, translators, and pastors.  Reuben was even gracious enough to let me preach at one of his churches here in Moro Goro…marking a first for me–here or back home.  Lydia has been able to connect with partner ministries in Tanzania, spend time with local women in the community, and she has continued to develop her women’s empowerment program.

During the past weeks, I have been doing exegetical checks on the book of Acts with three translation teams: Ndendeule, Mpoto, and Matengo.  These three languages work as part of a cluster program—meaning they work as a group of teams.  In a cluster program, the teams come together for training, checking, and consultation as a group.  The teams in a cluster work on the same books of the Bible so that the various stages of translation can be done as a group.  Working in clusters helps to streamline the process as well as save money.

I worked with the nine translators from these three languages every day discussing the meaning of idiomatic expressions; talking about the theological implications of prophesy and teaching; and training them on new ways to use their translation software.  Even though the majority of communication was done through an interpreter (because my Swahili is almost non-existent), we shared laughs, commiserated about working on weekends, and talked about God.  Altogether, we had a very successful few weeks.  The translators are more equipped, and also excited to engage their communities with the ideas and lessons learned from the early church; the translations are ready for the final rounds of revision and checking; and I have learned new perspectives on God’s grace, His on-going mission, and His ability to reveal Himself in all cultures, and to all people.

For those interested in what this work is like….keep reading!  When doing exegetical checks, the teams are brought together and we review their translations of a book of the Bible verse-by-verse.  There are many different types of issues that can be found while we work through the translations and we take time, as a group, to solve these problems.  Sometimes the problems are fixed on the spot, and sometimes the translators are tasked with working with their communities to find a solution.

For instance, this past week we found a situation where regional Swahili dialect issues caused a significant misunderstanding of a portion of Acts 4.  A Swahili word for “needy” had been misunderstood as “sinful.”  This led to an interesting translation…in English it read:

“There was not a sinful (needy) person among them, for as many as were owners of lands or houses sold them and brought the proceeds of what was sold and laid it at the apostles’ feet, and it was distributed to each as any had sinned (need)”

This is a rather extreme example of the types of issues that can arise, but it shows the value of bringing the teams together to review each other’s work.  More common issues we worked through were:

• Finding appropriate ways to express cultural expressions and practices such as casting lots, making covenants (vs. promises), circumcision, gnashing teeth, and court proceedings.
• Ensuring that literally translated idioms don’t create misunderstandings.  For instance, saying that someone is “pierced to the heart” or that “[his] face was like the face of an angel'” can mean different things to different peoples.
• Restating long, multi-part Greek sentences into smaller statements, ensuring that implicit information is provided.  In essence, making sure that it is clear who is doing what to whom and when.

In some cases, the translators are encouraged to speak with elders in their villages to help learn more of their own language and culture.

However, don’t let the need for review give you a wrong idea.  The translators with The Word for the World receive regular, college-level training and they do incredible work.  These young translators work from several source versions of the Bible in multiple languages.  Before translating a section of Scripture, they spend hours comparing the Bible, commentaries, dictionaries, and other supporting texts to make sure they have a good grasp of the meaning of the verses.  In the process of doing Bible translation, they become completely reliant on a life of prayer and listening to the Holy Spirit, while also becoming experts in: language, finding meaning, and creative expression.  Even translators who have only completed a couple books are fountains of knowledge and they are excited to work with their cluster to learn from and help each other.

An exegetical checking session provides translators with the opportunity to check that their individual processes for “discovering the meaning” of scripture are effective.  A translator not only gets to share successes but also questions and concerns.  Maybe she or he isn’t so sure of what a tabernacle is, and how to explain it to their people.  Or maybe they found that they could use a really powerful, local word to describe a hurricane force wind and they can help the other teams discover their own words.  Sometimes, the teams just need a refresher course in software use or discourse analysis.  The focus of the sessions is to ensure that each person returns to their village as a better translator.  Working as an exegetical advisor is more about equipping and empowering the translators than correcting their work.

God has pulled me into the incredible work of making His truth clear, understandable, and meaningful to people who have never had the Bible available in their own language!  I am hugely blessed to be part of this international endeavor!

And this is the commute to work…walking 2km through the outskirts of Moro Goro: