DID YOU KNOW?
Through the help of supporters like you, Wycliffe is working in 1,363 languages spoken by 936 million people
Your gifts make a difference
Back in 2009 and 2010 Wycliffe Bible Translators went on tour with the show From Eden to Eternity. The show gave the opportunity for audiences to give towards Bible translation in a group of four languages in Nigeria known as the Koro cluster. At the end of 2011 Phil Prior was able to visit Nigeria and meet some of the translators involved in these projects.
Gideon Madaki is the newest translator to join the team. He is enthusiastic and hardworking but his
initial experiences of working in Bible translation have been mixed.
Originally, Gideon was due to join another translator who would help him to understand the work.
But, shortly after Gideon began, the other translator was offered a better paid job and he decided to
move on. This left Gideon as the sole translator for the Ashe language (one of the four languages in
the Koro cluster) with very little training and preparation.
This, however, is not Gideon’s biggest burden. Before beginning as a translator he was living with his
wife and two children on the other side of Abuja. To do the job he has had to move to the centre
of the Ashe community and, as yet, his family have not been able to relocate to join him. Due to the
distances between them and the travelling conditions in that part of Nigeria, Gideon only gets to see
his family once a fortnight.
Despite these challenges, there are blessings and Gideon is enthusiastic about his translation work. He has started to receive some ‘on the job’ training and is making progress in reviewing some of the draft texts produced by his previous colleague.
These may seem like small beginnings, but already the translation work is changing lives, Gideon’s for one. Translating the word into his language helps him to understand it. A phrase in the Lord’s Prayer is one example: “ ‘Let your will be done on earth as it is in Heaven’ -- I don’t understand in Hausa [the trade language], but in Ashe my eyes are opened.”
The challenges and joys are the same in many translation projects around the world. Translators
struggle to manage, as they work, train and support their families, but God is enabling them to
proclaim his word in the heart languages of many millions who have never heard.
Your gifts make a difference by providing essential items such as a salary, office space, equipment and training to these hard working men and women. It’s also a way of showing your support and encouragement to those involved in the job of Bible translation.
On behalf of Gideon and others like him, who are working towards the vision of seeing Bible translation projects started in every remaining language that needs one by 2025.
“Thank you!”