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Newsletter December 2006

“It was humbling and moving to see that our work had not been in vain”

To translate the New Testament takes many years, and involves a lot of effort and expertise by many people. It is always a great joy when the first Gospel or NT is ready for publication, but the printing in itself is not the goal – nor is the distribution! If the books are not read by the people for whom they are intended, if the text is not understood so that it can become a blessing and give help and consolation – then all our efforts are in vain.

Therefore reports like the following are a great encouragement! It was sent to us by a member of one of the translation teams, who recently returned to the area for a meeting:

“It was a gathering of representatives of the first generation of believers who had come to faith as a result of the publication of the New Testament. It was humbling and moving to see that our work had not been in vain. During our time in the area there were very few signs of growth or encouragement. When the NT was published our prayer was that it would be the spark that would ignite the fire of the Spirit amongst the people. That prayer is being answered in a way we had never dreamed of.

“The thrust of my presentations was to help them enthusiastically use the Scriptures in ways appropriate to their culture. Since they were doing this already, they greatly encouraged me and I greatly encouraged them. A truly indigenous church has been born, and I believe that one of the two most significant factors contributing to that (apart from the Spirit of God) was the publication of the New Testament some years ago.

“One of my sessions was to show that Christianity is incarnated quite differently in different cultures, and one does not need to change one’s cultural identity to become a believer. Did a Greek need to become a Jew? No! Did a barbarian need to become a Greek? No! And we looked at the challenge of how to be relevant to the surrounding culture while remaining faithful to the Gospel – how to be a member of the people of God and at the same time a member of one’s own people.

“While praising God for the New Testament, there was a strong desire for the Old Testament too. They are eager to grow and want the whole word of God.”

Project of the month

The Pentateuch in this particular language is planned to be printed this winter, and so is the Children’s Bible. Support the translation of the Old Testament with your gift this month!

Here you can sign for the IBT Russia/CIS monthly English Newsletter

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