H'Ngoih Ten Thong Goi (left) tells her story to UBS Vietnam Partnership staff

When H’Ngoih Ten Thong Goi was five years old her parents were murdered and she was enslaved to a neighbouring tribe. She was a member of the Bunong ethnic minority group in Vietnam’s Central Highlands region.

Pastor Kun from another ethnic minority group, the Rade, had come to the area to share God’s Word with the Bunong people. When he heard what had happened to the little girl he rescued her and took her into his home to raise her as one of his own children.

Ended her education

She stayed for two years, then moved back to her home village with one of her aunts. This ended the young girls’s short education as she had to work in her aunt’s fields all day.

Several years later, Pastor Kun brought her a Bible, not in her own language of Bunong, because this was not available, but in his own language – Rade. To her surprise, and to the shock of those around her, the young girl found that she was able to read and understand it.

Miraculous gift

“I couldn’t believe it – it was truly a miracle!” recalls Ms H’Ngoih, who is now 64. “I was just a poor country girl with hardly any education. God had saved me from enslavement but then he also gave me the miraculous gift of being able to read and understand the Bible, even though it was not in my own language.

“I read that Bible over and over again. Our God is so good!”

It was only years later that Ms H’Ngoih caught a glimpse of the Scriptures in her own language as a project to translate the Bunong Bible progressed. The project was started in the late 1960s but came to an abrupt end in 1975, when the Vietnam war ended and a communist government was established. The translation manuscripts were lost.

Dangerous years

Some Bunong Christians outside a church. Vietnam's Bunong church is growing steadily.

The two decades that followed were dangerous years for Christians in Vietnam, particularly for ethnic minorities. Many suffered persecution, including the Bunong, but this made them hold onto their faith even more strongly, secretly hand-copying and sharing the few draft Scripture booklets that were available in their language.

Today, around 75 per cent of Vietnam’s 32,5000 Bunong people are Christians. Around 10 per cent of the 20,000 Bunong people in neighbouring Cambodia are Christians, too. Both groups are delighted that the Bunong Bible translation project, which began last year, is making good progress.

The project is being undertaken by translators in Vietnam and Cambodia and co-ordinated by UBS’s Vietnam Partnership,  The New Testament will be published in 2014, followed by the Old Testament in 2020. The Bible will be produced in two scripts: Khmer script for Cambodia and Roman script for Vietnam.

Story provided by Grace Smith, UBS Vietnam Partnership

Wa Christian leaders praying at the launch of their new Bible in eastern Myanmar in April 2012.

“Today, from the bottom of my heart, I praise God for the Bible in my own language.” The Rev Ainap Tao’s words were greeted with heartfelt applause by the thousands of Wa Christians who had gathered in eastern Myanmar to celebrate the launch last month of the Revised Wa Bible.

For Mr Ainap, who leads the Wa Baptist Convention, the launch of the new Bible was a poignant moment.

Never saw the Bible

“I never saw the Bible when I was young,” he told the gathering. “Every Sunday my pastor would recite and preach on a Scripture passage but we never actually saw a Bible. Scriptures were forbidden in those days.

More than 2,000 people gathered to celebrate the launch of the new Wa Bible in eastern Myanmar in April 2012.

“At night, my pastor would take a lantern and go to the secret place where he had buried the New Testament, wrapped in plastic. He would read and memorise a passage, ready to recite it on Sunday.

“As a child I would try to imagine what the Bible looked like – would it be thick or thin, soft or hard, white or red? So today I feel so very thankful that we have this new Bible and can read it!”

Four-year-old boy

Four-year-old Ai Pao Pan

Mr Ainap’s boyhood recollections were made even more powerful during the launch ceremony when a four-year-old boy recited John 1:1-18 from the new Bible, delighting the 2,000-strong audience.

The Wa people in Myanmar first heard the Gospel in the early 1900s through an American Baptist missionary, Rev W. M. Young, whose son, Vincent, later translated and published the Wa New Testament in 1938. But missionary work among the Wa and throughout Myanmar came to an abrupt halt in the 1960s, with the establishment of a socialist government. Christianity came under enormous pressure for the following three decades.

Wa Church is flourishing

But today, the Wa Church is flourishing. Around 10 per cent of Myanmar’s 800,000* Wa people are Christians, and the Wa Church is growing significantly.

Rev Dr Mar Gay Gyi, former President of the Myanmar Baptist Convention and former Bible Society General Secretary.

Last year, for instance, more than 2,000 Wa people were baptised. During the launch ceremony, 96 new converts were baptised and three young pastors ordained. Today, the Wa Baptist Convention oversees 224 local churches.

Although the Wa people have had access to a trial edition of the Bible for a number of years, this is the first fully quality-checked Bible in contemporary Wa – a project that the Bible Society of Myanmar has been working on for the past five years. The Society continues to work on a number of other Bible translation projects.

*In addition to Myanmar’s 800,000 Wa-speakers, there are around half a million in China and 50,000 in Thailand.

Church leaders blessing the Common Language Kikamba Bible at its launch on April 14.

Following several months of preparations, the long-awaited Common Language Kikamba Bible was launched by the Bible Society of Kenya on April 14 in a colourful event held at Scott Theological College in Machakos.

This was a memorable event for both the Kenyan Church and the Akamba people, since the new Bible has two editions, one with deuterocanonical books and the other without. It is thus easily understood by all age groups and denominations.

In his speech, Bible Society board chair Isaac Litali paid tribute to everybody who had contributed to the success of this project, which had taken 15 years of hard work and determination. He emphasised the need for the Church and more specifically the Akamba people to make use of the new Bible to fulfill the Great Commission.

A clear need for a new translation

The Akamba people expressed great appreciation for the work done by Bible Society to make the Bible available to them in their own language. Professor Mumo Kisau, Vice Chancellor of Scott Theological College, told the guests that he vividly remembers reciting Psalm 27:1 in Kikamba as a child. There was a clear need for a new translation of the Kikamba Bible, he said, recalling difficulties he had experienced in preaching using the current Kikamba Bible. He committed himself to use the new Bible to preach and welcomed the opportunity to be part of a great milestone in the life of the Church and the Akamba community.

As a way of supporting other language groups in gaining access to the Word of God in their own languages, Bible Society General Secretary Elizabeth Muriuki implored the Akamba community to consider supporting the Teso community, whose Bible is currently being translated. She noted that translation is a costly process that takes time but the fruits are invaluable since they are seen in the way people’s lives are transformed.

In her concluding remarks, she stated that the Society will continue striving to partner with the government, the Church and Christians at large to seek solutions for Kenya, especially in the areas of peace, justice and reconciliation.

We thank God for the wonderful accomplishment he has granted to the Bible Society!

By Joy Balusi-Odhiambo, Public Relations Coordinator, Bible Society of Kenya

Harvesting rice in rural Vietnam. Many minority groups want the Bible in their language.

Christianity is growing fast among Vietnam’s 50 or so minority ethnic groups. In fact, today they account for around 60 per cent of the country’s Protestant Christians. Many of them are eager to have the Bible in their language, and UBS’s Vietnam Partnership is working with the churches to make that happen.

Lifelong dream

“I have had a lifelong dream to see the complete Bible translated into my language, Rade,” says one pastor, 72, who became a Christian as a child. Having lived through the terrors of the Vietnam war, during which he lost his home and family members and suffered years of imprisonment, he says that it was only his faith which kept him strong.

“I emerged from my time in prison, which included daily indoctrination and mental abuse, even more on fire for God than before,” he states.

Growing wave of Christianity

“So, from 1981, when I was released, I and a few others worked on translating the whole Bible into Rade. Over the years, many house churches emerged and the Good News spread like wildfire among people who had suffered so much. A small revival slowly changed into a growing wave of Christianity.”

Jarai Christians singing in their church.

Today, around half of Vietnam’s 270,000 Rade-speakers are Christians. They only have 40 ordained pastors to lead them, and they still do not have the full Bible in their language, due to a number of complications.

But this is soon to change: since 2004, UBS has been working with the Protestant and Catholic churches to revise and finalise the draft that was completed in 2000, and printing will begin in December. By next year, the Rade people will finally receive their Bible.

Jarai New Testament project

Pastor Hanh is helping to translate the New Testament into Jarai.

Another minority translation project currently under way is the Jarai New Testament project, also due for publication in 2013. There are around 160,000 Jarai-speaking Christians, and that number is growing.

“I am overjoyed to be helping translate God’s Word into the language of my people,” smiles Pastor Hanh, 37. “I was born into a Christian family and studied at a seminary, which I thoroughly enjoyed because I was learning to be of service to my people in the best possible way.”

Translating is a challenge

Mr Hanh, who leads a growing village church of 800 people, admits that he finds that translating the Bible can be a challenge.

“But that’s where our excellent Translation Consultants come in,” he smiles. “They help us to find the right way to express certain difficult concepts. We hope to have all the text drafted by the end of this year.”

Pastor Samsan is thankful that the Bible is being translated into his language - Bahnar.

22,000 Bahnar Christians

Christianity among Vietnam’s 200,000 Bahnar-speakers has grown more slowly, with around 22,000 active church-goers. Their traditional religion is animism, and they worship trees, mountains and animals.

Pastor Samsan, 43, says that his father was only the second Bahnar-speaker to become a Christian, back in 1963.

“Bahnar people find it hard to understand the concept of salvation but more and more are now turning to God,” he notes. “I am so thankful that there is a translation project to produce the Bible in our modern day Bahnar language. This will help to keep our language alive and, more importantly, help people to understand God and his love for them.”

There are currently around 6,000 prisoners in Haiti. They live in harsh conditions, not least because the prisons are so overcrowded. At the detention centre in Anse-à-Veau, in the Nippes region, for example, cells of a few square metres can hold as many as 30 people. They are forced to sleep in shifts because there’s not enough space for them to all lie down at the same time.

“Being imprisoned obviously means that you lose your physical freedom,” says Mirette Saint-Louis, head of finance and program coordinator at the Bible Society, “but it can allow you to meet God and to be freed from all kinds of burdens.”

Bringing God’s Word to all

Firmly convinced of this, and determined to make God’s Word available to all, the Bible Society decided to distribute Bibles to prisoners.

It’s not easy to get into prisons, but thanks to collaboration with the citizens’ rights office for the Nippes region and with Projet Magdala, the Society has nevertheless been able to visit the Anse-à-Veau detention centre and the civilian prison in Pétion-ville, Port-au-Prince.

A more peaceful spirit

“I thank you with all my heart,” writes Kethly Sainval Ulysse, who works among prisoners at the Anse-à-Veau detention centre. “Please be assured that your work to distribute Bibles in prisons is not in vain. Prisoners who have received a Bible tell me that, thanks to that Bible, their pain has been replaced with a more peaceful spirit. Those who have not yet been sentenced are convinced that God can work a miracle for them.

“Every time I visit the centre, prisoners talk to me about the Bible passages they’ve read and what they have understood from them.”

No attempt to vindicate themselves

Some prisoners had already come into contact with the Bible and the Christian faith before they were imprisoned, but others were encountering God’s Word for the first time. Each one reacted differently: some were enthusiastic, while others said that they wanted to take time to assimilate it.

What is striking about the testimonies received by the Bible Society is not only the prisoners’ despair, but also that none of them attempt to vindicate themselves. Their hope is to find a better life, thanks to their encounter with God, when they are released.

‘The past is forgotten…’

“It was a day of great joy when we received our Bibles,” writes J.E. “We discovered in the Bible that God loves everyone. Many of us have already changed our behaviour. We read the Bible every day and it’s helping us to live together like brothers.

“We’d like you to remember us in your prayers. I am here for four years. I used to think that, on my release, I would take revenge. But now, having read 2 Corinthians 5:17, I’ve changed my mind: ‘Anyone who belongs to Christ is a new person. The past is forgotten, and everything is new’.”

David Wilson, from the Sunday School at the Salem Methodist church in Hanoukopé, Lomé, with his colouring Bible received from the Bible Society of Togo.

How can Togo’s children be encouraged to take Christian values into their hearts? The Bible Society is attempting to address this concern with its project Children Growing up With God’s Word, through which colouring Bibles are being distributed in primary schools.

“Before, when I read a Bible story, I made up my own ideas about what the people looked like and about the places where they lived,” says David Wilson, a student at the Sunday School at the Salem Methodist church in Hanoukopé, Lomé. “Then I forgot everything!

“But I can’t forget a story when I have to colour in the people’s clothes or draw birds or trees!”

Useful holidays

It is because children learn Bible stories by colouring that the Bible Society decided to undertake this project. Julien Bossou, head of marketing and church relations at the Society, explains how he got the idea to produce colouring Bibles:
“Last year, during the school holidays, the Society ran a children’s club every Wednesday afternoon. We called it ‘Useful holidays’. We gave the children drawings on themes such as patience, responsibility and courage. They took the drawings home to colour in before the next session, along with a Bible text to read, either by themselves or with the help of their parents.

“This was so successful that I suggested we should compile the drawings into a single publication, My Colouring Bible. The Bible texts are taken from the Parole de Vie version, which uses simple French, and the children find them easy to understand.”

A shortage of teaching materials

These colouring Bibles respond to a clear need in Sunday Schools. Often, the lack of teaching materials means that Sunday Schools are no more than childcare facilities, with only the parents receiving spiritual nourishment. Sunday School teachers, who were involved in developing the publication, have warmly welcomed it.

My Colouring Bible has also attracted interest from primary schools, both Catholic and Protestant, and the Bible Society has launched a pilot project in three Church schools in Lomé, one Catholic, one Presbyterian and one Evangelical.

For children in class CE1

The colouring Bibles are distributed to children in class CE1 (aged about seven), who use it during Religious Education classes. While enjoying colouring the pictures, they become familiar with the Bible stories.

“We’ve already held several Religious Education classes using the colouring Bibles supplied by the Bible Society,” says Koffi Amegbo, head teacher of the Nyékonakpoè Presbyterian Evangelical School. I hope that we will be able to get Bibles for every year group and for all our Church’s schools. It’s clear that children are learning the Bible stories more quickly than if we simply read them to them.”

The Bible Society is hoping to extend the project to other schools in the future. It is also hoping to work with a Togolese illustrator to develop a publication which is more firmly based in local culture.

Women in Senegal attend a literacy class under a tree.

The literacy work carried out by United Bible Societies (UBS) and its 146 member Bible Societies across the world has been given official recognition by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO). With more than 150 literacy projects in 70 countries, UBS’s wide international reach was an important contributing factor to its UNESCO recognition. (See videos below about two of these literacy projects.)

UBS is now an ‘NGO in consultative partnership with UNESCO’, which means that it will be able to participate in the planning and execution of UNESCO’s literacy programme. UBS is also now entitled to participate in UNESCO’s meetings by invitation.

A church literacy class in China

Tremendous impact

“This aspect of cooperation is likely to have a tremendous impact on our literacy work around the world,” says Dr Julian Sundersingh, the UBS Global Literacy Coordinator. “We shall have first-hand information on UNESCO’s priorities and strategies.

“It will be to our advantage to align our literacy strategy with UNESCO’s plans, where possible – not compromising any of our own core principles, values and aims.”

Literacy material produced by the Bible Society of Papua New Guinea.

Holistic aspects

Dr Sundersingh added that in the future it might be possible for UBS to extend the partnership to cover other holistic aspects of Bible Societies’ work in areas such as HIV and AIDS and among people with a visual disability (PVD).

Associate status, the highest category of UNESCO partnership, is awarded only to a select few international NGOs. UBS will be entitled to apply for it after two years of cooperation.

The series of commemorative events will begin on June 4 at the Bible Society’s assembly in Bad Urach. A talk about the history of Bible work in Germany will take place on July 6 at the Society’s offices in Stuttgart, while the anniversary day, September 11, will see the unveiling of a commemorative plaque at the location in Stuttgart where the first meeting was held.

Later in the year, events will include a celebratory church service and an exhibition. There will also be a commemorative publication and a commemorative postage stamp.

Today, the Society’s range of publications covers more than 500 books and other media, including 300 Bible editions. Other publications include scholarly editions and Children’s Bibles. It also has a number of web sites, and the Bible translations it publishes are available as iPhone and iPad apps.

Click here to read more about the history of the German Bible Society.

Click here to read more about the history of the Württembergische Bibelgesellschaft.

DVD production work taking place in the CAM studios

Thanks to the Malta Bible Society, every school on the island now has a new Bible DVD resource which can be used flexibly with students of different ages. The set of DVDs – called ‘Gheruqna’, which means ‘our Christian roots’ – was created especially for the Society’s school project in partnership with CAM Productions, a media service to the Catholic Church worldwide.

With the DVDs, the Society is meeting an urgent need in schools for good Bible-based resources which can be used in a variety of ways for private study, teaching and class discussion. The DVDs consist of 25 separate seven-minute features covering locations in the Holy Land and combine factual information with New Testament readings and comment on key ideas found the Bible.

Impact set to spread

Partnership has been a key element in the success of this initiative, the Society emphasises. “Cooperation from the Catholic Church and the Department for Education has been excellent,” says Alfred Gatt, chairman of the Society’s board.

And the impact of the DVDs is set to spread beyond schools. “We can also see the potential for the DVDs to be used by church Bible study groups,” continues Mr Gatt.

At a time when the Society has just published a revised edition of its Bible text, the staff and board are hoping for renewed interest in the Bible across the island as not only school children but the population as a whole are introduced to Scripture in new ways and taken back to their biblical roots.

A copy of the revised Patamuna New Testament being shown to people attending its launch.

Paddling their boats upstream for hours, then walking for two, even three, days through the tropical rainforest: speakers of Patamuna stopped at nothing to attend the dedication of the revised New Testament in their language.

There are fewer than 5,000 speakers of Patamuna, spread across a handful of isolated villages in what is known as region 8 of Guyana. Kato, the village where the dedication took place on April 14, can be reached in little over an hour by air from Georgetown, the capital, but in reality it is far more remote than it appears: to walk  to even the nearest village takes four hours. So several days’ walk preceded the celebrations for most of the participants.

Many participants moved to tears

In traditional Patamuna style, the boxes containing copies of the new revised Patamuna New Testament were carried in by local men on their backs, to the accompaniment of singing. Poetry, dancing and other expressions of joy followed, marking the end of a long wait. The New Testament was first published in Patamuna in 1973, but many people found it hard to understand and work on a revised version began in 2006. Finally, the translators’ painstaking work was sent for printing last August.

Hearing readings from the revised New Testament moved many participants to tears and many rushed to buy their own copy after the ceremony.

“The Patamuna people really had something to celebrate because the Word of God has now reached them in their own language!” says Salomé Blitin of the Suriname Bible Society, which oversees Bible work in Guyana.