New Translation Opens God’s Word for Akamba People (Kenya)
Impressions of a Distributor (Congo-Brazzaville)
Armed With the Scriptures (Zambia)

Hundreds of people lined the streets and crowded onto balconies in the picturesque town of Machakos in Ukambani province, about 65 kilometres (41 miles) south of Nairobi, as the new Gospel of Mark was paraded during the launch celebrations on September 28.

A long procession of enthusiastic supporters from churches, schools and other organisations joined the parade, led by a band from a local girls’school. Two young men held the new green and orange Portion high in the air for spectators to see.

The Portion was presented to the churches during the dedication service by Margaretta Hakanson, Vice Chairman of the BSK board. Church leaders lifted the book together, and prayed that God would use it to bring many more people to his Kingdom.

“Nothing has ever brought so many churches and individuals together like this in the region,” said Bishop Kioko. “Thank God for bringing this new- found unity among the churches through his Word.”
The Rev Henry Kathii, BSK General Secretary agreed, emphasising the importance of continued unity amongst Christians. He reminded guests of the need to continue supporting the ongoing work of translating the whole Bible.

“Light can never be hidden in darkness,” he said. “We must let it shine in our lives daily. Read and obey God’s Word and people will notice the difference.”

Although the Kikamba Bible has been available since 1956, the new Portion in contemporary Kikamba is a significant step in the difficult history of Kikamba translation work.

The first book of the Bible to be translated into Kikamba – the Gospel of Mark – was published nearly 150 years ago by a Church Missionary Society missionary named Dr John Ludwig Krapf. Work to translate the whole Bible continued for the next 112 years through many problems and struggles, and the Kikamba Bible was finally published in 1956.

With all these concerns in mind, and knowing that the Bible needed to be opened afresh for the Akamba people, the churches in Ukambani came together in 1987 to discuss plans for a new common language translation. In 1995, with the help of the BSK, work on the project began in earnest by a dedicated team comprising the Rev Michael Ndonye from the Anglican Church, the Rev Julius Wambua of the African Inland Church, and the Right Rev Urbanus Kioko from the Catholic Church.

Their work has already yielded results – the new Gospel of Mark has proved popular, with all 2,028 copies from the first print-run already sold out. One pastor bought 40 copies to give to the girls’ band who led the procession through the town.

After receiving their Portions, the band received the advice of Bishop Kioko: “Make sure you read that Word. It will surely change your lives.”

Work on translating the rest of the Bible continues. Eighty per cent of the New Testament is now complete, and is scheduled for publication in 2001. (WR 347/1 - 01.00 ) [PHOTOS]

“The BSC recently called upon distributors to take advantage of a program offering Bibles at low prices to replace those lost by Christians during the wars that have plagued our country. I was part of the team of distributors who responded to this call. It was to prove a challenging and rewarding experience.

We operated in different locations – a house, some churches, and at my school. We also sold some Bibles on foot, going door to door.

I even found that people were suspicious, and asked for proof that I was a legitimate Bible Society distributor and not a thief. They also queried the price of the Bibles.

Despite these problems, we were determined to carry out our mission of reaching as many people as possible. After a while, we began to make progress, and the sale of Bibles increased to between 10 and 50 a week per distributor.

The distribution project has blessed me in many different ways. I was able to meet many new people, including several fellow Christians. The commission I received was also a great help, enabling me to buy things I needed for school, as well as personal items.

The experience of distributing Bibles was a happy one for all of us, and we urge the BSC to continue with more initiatives like this as soon as possible.” (WR 347/2 - 01.00) [PHOTOS]

The outreach is the result of Operation Africa’s vision to evangelise Africa’s armed forces. Working closely with this Australian-based Christian organisation, the BSA produced and printed 20,000 Contemporary English Version Bibles with special camouflage covers for distribution among Zambia’s troops.

Seven thousand of these Bibles were distributed by the BSZ during a series of evangelical concerts in mid-October run by Operation Africa. Zambian President and Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces, Frederick Chiluba, was present at the distribution ceremony, and called upon military personnel to “put their trust in God and stand firm in him.”

The President’s speech was reported in Zambia’s two major daily broadsheet newspapers, the Zambia Daily Mail and the Times of Zambia.

Abraham Makano, BSZ Marketing Manager, said that the Bibles were warmly welcomed by the troops, “bringing hope to some, strengthening the faith of others, and bringing salvation to yet another group.”

Mpundu Mutala, BSZ General Secretary, said that the distribution of Bibles to the army was important because soldiers needed Bibles more than guns. The need for Scriptures in the country was critical, he said, adding that Zambia’s success depended on upholding the Word of God.

The soldiers who became Christians at the concerts will receive ongoing support in their new faith through a free Bible study correspondence program in their own language, according to Operation Africa Director, the Rev Jason Greive. He was impressed by Mr Chiluba’s public commitment to the Word of God: “It was incredible to see the President, a very strong Christian, give a Gospel message at a public ceremony calling his nation to trust in God,” he said.

Mr Greive said that Operation Africa’s focus on evangelising the military comes from the fact that this group is largely unreached. “People by and large despise the military in Africa,” he said. “There is resentment towards them. They were perceived by churches and mission groups as a no-go zone, but mission is all about finding unreached people.”