Ambassador Celebrates New Testament
  
Ejagham New Testament presentation
The Cameroonian Ambassador to the USA (left) is presented with a copy of the Ejagham New Testament by the main translator, Eyamba Nkiri 
  WASHINGTON DC, USA — In a unique gesture of appreciation to the translation team, and in recognition of the Manyu community of which the Ejagham people are a part, the Cameroon Ambassador to the United States hosted a celebration to mark the publication of the Ejagham New Testament at his residence on November 14, 1997, one month before its official launch in Cameroon.
Anticipation

In anticipation of this new Scripture being made available in Cameroon in December 1997, and later in Nigeria where the language is also spoken, the Cameroon Ambassador invited the main translator, Eyamba Nkiri, and the project coordinator John Watters, who is currently the Director of the Summer Institute of Linguistics (SIL) Africa Area Program, to attend the celebration.

The Ejagham New Testament was translated jointly by SIL and the Cameroon Bible Translation Association (CABTA), and published by the Bible Society of Cameroon.
  

EYOUMOJOH, Cameroon — The Ejagham New Testament was launched here on Saturday, December 13, 1997, in a service attended by Ejagham speakers from Cameroon and Nigeria. Representatives from the Summer Institute of Linguistics (SIL), the Bible Society of Cameroon (BSC), and the Cameroon Bible Translation Association (CABTA) came from Yaoundé, the Cameroon capital, in a journey that was part by car and part in the SIL helicopter due to the state of the roads. Another group from the BSC made the journey by pick-up truck, taking five and a quarter hours to negotiate the 53kms (31 miles) from Mamfe. In a colourful and musical ceremony, representatives from Roman Catholic and Protestant – including Pentecostal – churches, rejoiced to have the New Testament in their own language. Of the 3,000 copies printed by the Bible Society of Cameroon, 400 were sold that day and 1,000 were taken to Nigeria for their own launch service to be held later in the month. The Presbyterian Church of Cameroon has heavily sponsored this New Testament and, together with the Catholic Church, was eager to see this New Testament distributed to all Christian denominations. The translation work was overseen by SIL and CABTA, with the BSC publishing the New Testament and overseeing the distribution.
  Other guests at the ceremony included the UBS Regional Translation Coordinator, Dr Phil Noss, who had been a Translation Consultant in Cameroon when this translation project was nearing completion, the President of the Manyu Association in the USA, and a delegation of Cameroonians resident there.

As well as the Ambassador, the President of the Manyu Association was presented with a copy of the New Testament, and he promptly ordered 50 more copies for distribution among the Ejagham speakers in the USA. (WR 328/1 - 2.98)

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This page was last updated on Wednesday, 21st January 1998.