One of The Word for the World's consultants, Nel Claassen, spent two months in Zambia working with four different translation teams, checking over their hard work and comparing their translations to Biblical Greek, Aramaic, and Hebrew. As one might imagine, this is no small task. An important aspect of Bible Translation is accuracy to the source languages. A translation is no good if it is not both acceptable to the community and faithful to the source text.
Upon her return from Zambia, she said this about her experience while working in Zambia:
"The Lord sent me (to Zambia) with Psalm 91 verse 5.
'You will not fear the terror of night, nor the arrow that flies by day, nor the pestilence that stalks in the darkness, nor the plague that destroys at midday.'
"And he welcomed me back with psalm 121 verse 7.
'The Lord will keep you from all harm. He will watch over your life.'
"So please, I want you all to thank God with me. Just keep on thanking Him for my health and for the safe travels. Thank him for the teams. Thank him for the grace that he has shown us for work done.
"I want to say one thing: I've worked with four different teams. Looking at these men and women, I realized I am working with the cream of God's Kingdom. I want to thank him for that. They are special. I pray that he will continue keeping them and helping them to carry on with the work. It can be a long and dreary path. Thank you for all your prayers and your loving-kindness."
Praise God for the incredible translators who dedicate themselves so fully to translating God's Word for their people! Please also pray for Nel and all the other consultants who are always willing to fly across the globe for these consultations.