09 July 2024

Risa* speaks the Ndiai language, one of the many languages of Vanuatu, and lives in a small village in the south of Santo Island. For the last year she has been working away with a few other Ndiai speakers translating the Book of Mark. She received very brief training in translation.

Risa recently completed the first module of the Trenem Tingting course. She was one of the keenest students! After a few days of the course she received news that her husband, Lex* was worried about her attending the course without the family so he came to the small town of Luganville where the course was being held. Risa was disappointed, thinking she might not be able to complete the course. But we pursuaded Lex to come and join the class and just listen in. With some hesitation he did and he enjoyed what he heard and reported that he learnt so much in the short time left of the classes.

Risa said that the things she was learning; how to look closely at a text as well as learning the big message of the Bible was just what she needed to be a Bible translator. “I had been thinking,” she said, “How can I translate the Bible if I don’t know what it really says.” “We already tried to translate ‘Kingdom of God’ but now I know what it means we need to work on that one!” she added.

She headed home with her homework book in hand, ready to review what she has learnt and try out some of the teaching with her family before returning for Part 2 in September.

At the final session of the course, Pastor Sandy*, another course participant slipped in a little speech thanking the organisers of the course. “I don’t know who the sponsors are,” he said, “But tell them thanks and that their money won’t be wasted. We want everyone in Vanuatu to know Jesus and this helps us to make that happen.”

Please pray for Risa, her husband, Pastor Sandy and the other participants; that they might process well what they learnt at the course and that God would use it to strengthen their faith and their desire to help their communities to learn too.

*names changed