September/October 2009
Letters from
readers - “reading and rejoicing and thanking the Lord”
 In the middle
of September there came a letter from Dagestan, a north Caucasian republic in
southern Russia
where more than 30 languages are spoken. The sender was a Kumyk woman, with
whom we have been in contact for many years.. “Thank you very much indeed for
the books you sent me, Genesis and Proverbs in Kumyk,” she wrote. “I have been
staying with my daughter since March and only returned to Dagestan
in July. Because of this I have not been able to write earlier. Now I am
reading and rejoicing and thanking the Lord with all my heart for these
beautiful translations. Please pass on my gratefulness to those who have worked
on the texts. May the Lord bless their hearts as they continue to translate the
whole Old Testament. I praise the Lord for answering my prayers – I have long
been praying for the whole Bible in my language. Please let me know how I can
send support to your work. This is very important to me so I am eagerly waiting
for your answer.”
 From
the republic of Bashkortostan, between the Volga River and the Ural mountains,
came a letter from another woman: “I would like to express my gratitude for the
Bible portions which you have translated into the Bashkir language. Now I can
read the Gospels of Mark, John, and even the Acts of the Apostles in the
language of my forefathers. I myself am Bashkir but come from the Krasnodar area. Recently
I moved to Ufa,
the capital of Bashkortostan, and there I got the possibility to study the
Bashkir language. I like the language very much and I'm trying to master it
with all my strength. Because of this I moved from Ufa to a small town situated in south-eastern
Bashkortostan. Here the main part of the population is Bashkir, and so I am
completely surrounded by the language. And as you know, books are the main
source of language knowledge for a beginner like me. Since I am also a sincere
believer, I have really taken into my heart your Bible portions in the Bashkir
language. However, the books which I am now reading do not belong to me. Therefore
I beg you to send me all the Bible portions that so far exist in the Bashkir
language.
I would very
much like to know when the complete translation of the Holy Scriptures will
appear in Bashkir. I will be so happy to receive even parts of it, but if I could
get the whole Bible, my joy would have no limits! Thank you in advance for your
answer. I am eagerly looking forward to the moment when I will hold in my hands
the Holy book in my heart language. Because of its importance and value this
book cannot be compared with any other book in the world, but it is able to
revive a people only when it speaks to them in their own language!”
It is always
a great encouragement to hear directly from readers, and we were happy to send
to the Bashkir woman the Bible portions she requested, and to inform her that
the first New Testament in Bashkir is planned for printing in 2011. Our Kumyk
friend in Dagestan will be informed that work
on the book of Psalms is in progress in her language.
Kumyk and
Bashkir are only two of the about 50 languages into which IBT Russia/CIS is
translating the Bible at present. By the end of this year two more New
Testaments will be published, in Chuvash and
Khakas.
We are
grateful for your prayers and financial support.
for donations from USA
Tax
deductible gifts for IBT Russia/CIS can be made payable to:
God’s
Word for the Nations
On behalf of IBT-Russia/CIS
PO Box 1259
Rolla, MO
65402
U.S.A.
You
may state a project preference
using the form below or make a donation for the project with the
greatest need.
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