Their First Book

The Bible is an incredible book. Eternal. Alive. Transformative. And so much more to those of us who love it.

Yesterday morning my wife and I had the immense privilege of being part of an event with YWAM, hosting PNG pastors, translators and facilitators of translation for the hearing of the final draft of the orally translated book of Ruth in the Bel language.

It was an historic moment. This is the first book of the Bible ever in the mother tongue of some 11,000 people who live on an island in the PNG province of Madang. Twenty Bel speakers gathered in the room, and some of them (pastors) were hearing the translation for the first time.

I was five feet away from her. As a translator, she was listening intently to the translation work she and her colleagues had done. She was occasionally mouthing the words along with the narration as the whole book of Ruth was eloquently and accurately told by heart by the narrator.

Her face became intense in the second chapter of the book. Her eyes welled up with tears as she shifted about in her chair, deeply moved by the story in her own language.

It was a moment I will long hold dear in my memory. This is why we came, to help and support those who are translating books of the Bible orally in 33 languages that so far have no portion of Scripture in them. What a privilege to be here!