‘…amazed by the miracle of listening to the Lord’s Prayer in their own tongue’

BOLIVIA — “Suddenly they all became tense and reverent, and one by one they stood up. In absolute silence, tears began falling down faces made rugged by the sun and the inclemency of the weather but clearly amazed by the miracle of listening to the Lord’s Prayer in their own tongue.”

A young Bolivian girl. Photo: UBS/Maurice Harvey (BOL81T-50)

This is the scene that will remain forever engraved in the memories of the Bolivian Bible Society staff who visited the Ignaciano people in the department of Beni, north-east Bolivia, to deliver printed and audio Portions in their own language. The Ignaciano community, which numbers just 4,000 people, is just one of 28 indigenous groups to which the Bible Society has been working to bring key parts of the Bible since the late 1990s. Having received strong support from the United Bible Societies fellowship in the form of Opportunity 21 (O-21) funding, the Bible Society is now planning to use its own resources to ensure that the I Know You At Last project is expanded in 2005 to cover literacy materials and further Portions.

Although Bolivia’s national language is Spanish, almost 70 per cent of its inhabitants belong to indigenous groups who do not use Spanish as their first language. As is the case with Ignaciano, some of the local languages are spoken by only a few thousand people. Recognising the need to secure the survival of such languages, the government decreed in 1996 that all children should receive the first three years of their primary education in their own language. But there were no funds to develop materials in indigenous languages.

Survival

The Bible Society realised that, thanks to access to O-21 resources, it could both contribute to the survival of indigenous people and their languages and give these people access to God’s Word in a format they could understand, regardless of their level of education. Not content with translating a selection of Bible passages into languages such as Tacanas, Lecos, Itonamas and Chipaya – a significant challenge in itself – the Society was determined to produce audio versions for non-literate speakers of indigenous languages. This involved project staff in extensive travel along almost non-existent roads to reach small, isolated communities, explaining the project to them, identifying who might be capable of participating in making a recording and then either taking those people back to Cochabamba, where the Bible Society is based, or making a return journey to bring the necessary equipment to make a recording ‘in the field’. Many hours of painstaking work were undertaken to ensure that the recordings, in some cases the only one of any kind in a particular language, sounded realistic and had appropriate background music.

Greatly moved by what they were hearing, they stood in silence, their weather-beaten faces wet with tears.

A young shepherd drives his mixed flock of sheep, llamas and donkeys toward a life-giving stream. La Paz, Bolivia. Photo: UBS/Larry Jerden (BOL01DJ-180.JPG)

When, finally, the printed and audio Portions for a particular language were completed, staff then had to make another arduous journey to bring them to their intended audience. When the team arrived in the area where the Ignaciano people live, they were greeted with curiosity by people unaccustomed to seeing outsiders. However, it was not until Translation Director Pastor Miguel Laura began going from home to home telling people why the Bible Society had come that a group started to gather. All those who could read were offered a printed Portion, while the others received audio cassettes. Gradually becoming bolder, a few people asked Mr Laura to read to them from the Portion. This he gladly did, pausing from time to time to ask whether they understood what he was reading to them. Then somebody asked him to read the Lord’s Prayer. As he did so, the people’s curiosity and, in some cases, mild amusement suddenly gave way to deep emotion. Greatly moved by what they were hearing, they stood in silence, their weather-beaten faces wet with tears.

As the sun set, the Bible Society team gathered for a time of prayer and reflection before making the return journey. Above all, they thanked God for moments like the one they had witnessed that day, moments that remind them how worthwhile all their efforts are.

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