Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.’ Hebrews 13:5
The Kachok people often feel left behind and forgotten. Why? Because their language doesn’t have a written form. They don’t have an alphabet. And they don’t have the Bible in their language.
‘God has not forgotten them’
This Cambodian people group of 6,000 might feel ignored, but God has not forgotten them. Firstly, God sees the people who speak this language. He sees their hearts and their desire for him. He hears their songs of worship. God witnesses and rejoices at their baptisms. He loves their desire for the Bible in the language that they understand best.
‘Our language is important’
Furthermore, the Kachok people are seeking to translate the Bible into their language. They also want to preserve their language. This requires a lot of work. First, they will develop a Kachok alphabet – a tremendous landmark. To them, this says, ‘our language is important’. Being able to write things down isn’t always necessary for translation. It can be done through recording. But so far there has been an informal understanding among the Kachok people who have been involved in developing their language that they want to be able to read and write in their language, just like speakers of other languages in the area.
‘Translating worship songs into Kachok’
Does God value who they are, and the uniqueness of their language? Undeniably. ‘Before a word is on my tongue, you, Lord, know it completely,’ says the Psalmist. (Psalm 139:4)
Timothy*, who works alongside the Kachok people, says, ‘Learning from the Bible is hard because they only have it in the national language, not their mother tongue. But they continue to meet nonetheless. And some Kachok believers have been translating worship songs into Kachok from other languages and then recording them on their phones. It is an encouragement to us that they have the desire and motivation for this.’
Please pray for the Kachok people
