Translator braves the waves to save bookshop
A story from the South Pacific, by Dr Nigel Staham

TARAWA, Kiribati — The Bible Society in the South Pacific, based in the Fijian capital, Suva, has a bookshop on the tiny coral atoll of Tarawa (population c30,000) in the Republic of Kiribati. Like many other buildings - including homes - on the atoll, the bookshop sits on land reclaimed from the lagoon and held in place by sea walls of coral rock.

When the lagoon is calm and the tides are normal - fortunately, most of the time - there is little erosion of the reclaimed land. When there are abnormally high tides, however, and especially when they combine forces with high winds, the reclaimed land can disappear into the sea again in a matter of hours. Then local people bravely plunge into the raging surf to undertake the long and desperate struggle to maintain the sea walls.

So when ‘king tides’, combined with high winds and torrential rain, hit Kiribati earlier this year, the translator of the new Kiribati Old Testament, the Rev Raubane Naikara, and his nephew Teikabu Rara spent six consecutive high tides, over three days and nights, in the sea trying to prevent the precious Bible Society shop from being swept away.

Three times the coral rocks, comprising a five yard section of the six-foot-high sea wall, collapsed under the onslaught of the surging waves, and three times Mr Naikara and his nephew heaved them back into place. Low tide offered just a few hours’ rest before they renewed the battle with the waves at the next high tide.

Their efforts over the few but critical days and nights of ‘king tides’ paid off. For saving the precious bookshop property, the pair were happy to be rewarded with the knowledge that they had ‘gone the extra mile’ for the work of God and the Bible Society in the South Pacific. (WR 370/7 - 9.02)