Endless savannas, beautiful lakes and friendly people who love the Word of God – these are only a few of the things that describe Zambia.
We recently returned from a trip to Zambia where we visited all five of TWFTW’s Bible translation projects (Aushi, Bwile, Ila, Luyana, Nkangala and Soli). While four of the projects are fairly new, a substantial amount of the New Testament already has been translated. The Soli project has a printed New Testament, and the translators are working on the Old Testament!
We had to travel for hours to reach most of the villages we visited - from the Bwile project, which lies close to the Northern border, to the Luyana project situated in the western part of Zambia. Upon our arrival, most of the villagers would have gathered in the church, made from mud and having rows of wooden benches inside. There, dressed in their Sunday best, they would wait expectantly for us—men, women and children.
The question they most often ask is “when?” When will they get a printed New Testament? We heard testimony after testimony about how the lives of people have changed simply by reviewing the work the translators are doing! Pastors testified about how the translated sections of the Bible have helped them understand the Scriptures, and how they now can explain it to their people. God is no longer a foreign God to them, but their God who speaks their language.
From this trip, we will cherish forever the memory of the translators’ passion for their work, and how the communities eagerly await even the smallest section of the Word of God in their heart language. We learned that even though we live in very different cultures, the love of God unites us in a unique way; and even though we speak different languages, we belong to the same human tribe. We are not that different after all.
Watch this incredible video we captured of testimonies from the Aushi people in Zambia. Every day they get closer and closer to having the full Bible in their language!
The Aushi people in Zambia are seeing their dream come true!
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