A journey of faith

Creating literacy material

Steve knew that if he could help them to know Jesus they’d be able to know the power which would protect them from those influences. But for them to know Jesus, they needed to have a Bible. How could he introduce them to the Bible when they didn’t even have an alphabet?

To begin the process, Steve knew that he’d have to talk to the local authorities. But he was wary of approaching the governor because of what he’d heard. However, God nudged Steve to speak with the governor, who was a local man, and he discovered that he’d already been trying to develop the alphabet himself. Steve and Nikki coming alongside scratched the itch in the right place. This also matched with one of Steve and Nikki’s goals, to preserve the Fini language. Thereby creating literacy material so children could read and write in the language they understood best. Wanting to do this gave them favour with the local authorities. But first they needed an alphabet, and that required a team.

The first book for them was the book of Jonah

Steve and Nikki’s team consisted of a linguistic consultant and a literacy consultant. They also had input from the Fini community. Once they had an alphabet, translation of the Bible could take place, a project which takes years. So where do you begin, in this library of 66 books?

Often it’s one of the gospels, Mark or Luke, to share the good news of Jesus, but not for the Fini. The first book for them was the book of Jonah, one of the Minor Prophets, greatly respected by followers of the local religion, and also a book which says so much about God’s nature and of his love for his creation. The Fini people live on an island; they’re a fishing community, so Jonah speaks perfectly into their worldview. Alongside fishing, sheep and goats are a huge part of their culture. Steve can tell the story of Jacob (Genesis 30:37–31:16) more easily in Fini then he can in English because all the vocabulary is there.

How Fini Bible translation works

You may be wondering how the processes of translation works. First Steve and David*, the Fini mother-tongue translator, sit down and look at the passage they are going to translate. They try to predict what problems may come up, but this isn’t always possible.

David then translates the passage from the Bible in the language of wider communication, which is David’s second language. This is typed into the computer and translated into English so Steve can understand what David has written. Translation is done by mother-tongue speakers because they are the only ones who can make it fluent, natural and accurate.

Comprehension checking questions

Steve sits alongside David so he can bring his knowledge of the Bible to bear on what David has translated. Then, if needed, he will suggest changes so that what he has written reflects the biblical text. Later on, Steve and David review the biblical materials they have produced using a list of basic comprehension checking questions. If possible, the same questions are also used to check the text with other Fini community members – in this case, Alan*.

Special voice

The main focus of Alan’s work is revising previously translated Scriptures to check how well they have been translated. While going through the book of Jonah, Alan was easily able to understand what was written and to answer comprehension questions about what he had read. He felt so comfortable that, when reading chapter three aloud, he put on a special voice for when Jonah announces God’s judgement on the people of Nineveh.

After Alan has given his input the text is sent off to a translation consultant for any changes that he feels are needed. Once that stage is reached, there is a checklist of people who sign off on the text. Finally it is ready to be published – but not in the traditional sense.

My dream would be that they would take the gospel somewhere else

This is only the beginning of a long journey, but it’s one that could transform an entire nation. So let us pray that the ripple effects of the coming of God’s word will be huge, that their fear of dying, of witches, and of the jinn will become part of their history instead of a present reality, and that one day, their faith in Jesus will be so strong that they will be able to ‘take the gospel somewhere else’.