GABON, December 14, 2007 — It takes many hours of gruelling travelling on potholed roads to reach Lebamba in southern Gabon. Breakdowns happen frequently and a willingness to undertake makeshift repairs at the roadside is vital. The experiences of United Bible Societies Translation Consultant Dr Aroga Bessong and Bible Society in Gabon General Secretary the Rev Georges Thierry Mabiala Tchibinda when they travelled to Lebamba in early November were typical. But the enthusiasm they found among local Christians there for spreading God’s Word more than compensated for the rigours of the journey.
Dr Bessong and Mr Tchibinda were visiting Lebamba to run a workshop to recruit people to review the work of the Yinzébi Bible translation team. They were not surprised that it turned out to be an eventful journey. Despite the robustness of the Bible Society’s four-wheel-drive vehicle, it was no match for the poor local roads, and they were forced to stop twice to make repairs including changing a wheel and patching a hole in the fuel tank. Fortunately, their driver was a mechanic accustomed to such conditions.
“The second time we were forced to stop, we were only around 30kms from Lebamba, but it was pitch black and we were quite a distance from the nearest town,” says Mr Tchibinda. “We all joined in to repair the vehicle, though, and we were soon on our way again, singing songs of praise and praying that we would arrive at our destination. And, praise the Lord, we did finally get to Lebamba!”
Once safely in Lebamba, Dr Bessong joined with the Rev Jean-Marc Mouelé, a member of the Yinzébi translation team, to visit local churches to give presentations about Bible translation and about the Bible Society’s desire for support from local Christians. The response was very positive: 32 people came forward to participate in a workshop for potential reviewers of the work of the translation team, considerably more than the 20 the visitors had hoped to recruit.
“It is vital that people can read the Bible in the language they truly understand,” Dr Bessong explained as he opened the workshop. “But translation work is long, difficult and very expensive. Translating the Bible is no different!”
The participants were then introduced to a range of concepts and tasks relating to the work of a reviewer, after which they completed practical exercises. On the basis of their performance in these exercises and an interview with Dr Bessong and Mr Tchibinda, two people were recruited to join the team in 2008. A local office was also established to raise awareness of the project among Yinzébi speakers and to raise funds.
The following comments are typical of the positive feedback received from the participants.
“This training was very enlightening in all respects,” said Ngurlet Jean Bruno Magindy. “Out of ignorance, we often misunderstand things in church. We really need events of this kind to improve our knowledge. May God be praised and may he bless the Bible Society.”
“The Yinzébi people are losing their language,” said Ange Christelle Ngolo. “We praise God that the Bible Society is seeking to train us in spite of the distances involved. The training has shown us how to translate a Bible text into Yinzébi.”
Their spirits boosted by the enthusiasm of the Yinzébi people, Dr Bessong and Mr Tchibinda made an equally eventful return journey to Libreville, with the Bible Society vehicle suffering two punctures. Dr Bessong will return to Gabon twice a year to monitor progress with the rest of the Yinzébi translation project.
“We encourage you to support this work with prayer and donations,” says Mr Tchibinda. “Pray that God will help us to complete the project and that the Yinzébi people will have access to God’s Word in their own language.”
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