In the faraway, secret, spirit world where tribal people live, something unexpected is happening.
God's Word is stepping down from planes, or climbing out of canoes, or hiking into remote jungle villages across the globe. It's arriving in the form of missionaries who hold it in their hearts and are willing to live it out and eventually translate it and teach it to the people living there.
The light of God's Holy Word is boldly making an entrance where only darkness reigned before. Its truth is penetrating empty, searching souls, and engaging hungry hearts in powerful, life-changing faith. And the results are nothing short of miraculous -- God's Word is becoming the fabric of their lives.
NTM missionary Jill Goring, who coordinates the team that provides direction to Bible translators around the world, has had the privilege of seeing those results many times over.
“There’s nothing like seeing Suduwama [from Indonesia's Gerai tribe] asking for his third New Testament because he's already worn out the first two or Ata elders [from Papua New Guinea] teaching the Epistles with more clarity and power than most seminary graduates,” Jill wrote.
“The Scriptures in use … being stored in the heart … applied to life's everyday situations … It's what every translator dreams of and prays for.”
In tribes across the world, the dream is coming true. And it is a sign of the ultimate goal every NTM missionary is aiming for -- a mature church. How believers relate to God's Word is one way NTM measures that maturity. And a body of believers living and loving the Word is a true sign of success. But that doesn't simply happen by handing people a Bible. It involves the Spirit working through missionaries to weave the truth of Scripture into every fiber of their lives -- from the eager first hello to the tearful wave good-bye.
From the moment a missionary steps foot in a tribe, their life is a living, breathing example of God’s Word. A theologian once said that his favorite translation of the Bible was done by his mother – she translated Scripture every day of her life. So do missionaries.
The Inanbimali people of Papua New Guinea noticed how different the missionaries are. Nina Buser works hard in the garden even though it is not what she’s used to. Tony Sutton doesn’t yell at his kids to get them to listen and obey. Missy Schroeder has a quiet strength they’ve never seen before. The people wait for the missionary men to yell and hit their wives like the Inanbimali men do, but it never happens. And they wonder why.
When the formal teaching does begin, the tribal people will be continually evaluating whether the missionaries have proven that God’s Word really is true and worth believing by how they have lived it before them.
Weaving God’s Word into tribal lives also requires a careful translation of the Bible. But not just any translation. The people must be able to understand the written language and comprehend the intended message or all the translation work is in vain. To accomplish this, a meaningful translation is done in the heart language of the people (the language learned from birth and used when speaking to themselves in their own minds) so that it can be read and understood.
For example, these were instructions of how to put on a life jacket for tourists taking a river trip down the Danube in Eastern Europe:
“Helpsaving apparata in emergings behold many whittles! Associate the stringing apparata about the bosomes and meet behind.”
That was supposed to be English. But it is not my English and I would venture to say, not yours either. It is a translation, but not one that English speakers can understand. Unfortunately, many such Bibles, translated by well-meaning missionaries, are sitting gathering dust in rotting, rusting barrels. Since the tribal people can’t understand them, the translations don’t do them any good.
Sondik, a Tobo man in Papua New Guinea, is thankful that NTM is dedicated to understandable translations in the heart language of the people instead of the trade language of the country, even though it is more time consuming and demanding.
“Reading the Word of God in the trade language is like eating white men's food. It is OK but the taste isn't very good. But hearing it in our very own language is like eating our food; it tastes sweet and good,” he said.
As God’s Word continues to weave its way into the tribal people’s lives, another thread in the fabric is the important skill of literacy. For the people to become students, teachers, and lovers of the Word, they have to be able to read it for themselves and missionaries need to be faithful to teach them.
Two Tobo men from Papua New Guinea once hiked to a neighboring language group and were shown a Bible locked in a cupboard. It had been translated into the people’s language by another missionary. When asked why it was kept locked up, the people replied, “We were never taught how to read the Bible so it does us no good.” God’s Word will never do any good while locked in a cupboard.
Another cord needed to thoroughly weave God’s Word into the tribal people’s lives is clear, patient teaching. Evangelistic Bible lessons explain the amazing plan of salvation from creation to Christ. And should tribal people choose to believe what they are hearing, a church is born. And often, as freedom from the animistic spirit world dawns in the hearts of the people, spontaneous rejoicing breaks out. God’s Word has entered a tribe and lived there, has been translated and taught, and now has fully engaged the hearts and minds of the people. Life will never be the same. And neither will Heaven.
Only God’s Word holds the keys and has the power to conceive, birth, grow and eventually, reproduce another newborn baby church. A “church” based on anything else is a poor and dangerous substitute. But the genuine article, a body of believers who are faithfully putting God’s Word into action, is a joy to behold.
Melen, a Yagaria believer from Papua New Guinea, caught someone stealing from her garden. “I came very close to being angry and saying harsh words,” she said, “but God helped me to react in a way that would please Him. After I got home I cooked some food for the thief. I’m praying that he will come to the Light.”
When John Wycliffe began to translate the Scriptures into the English language, it was the beginning of the end of the Dark Ages. After 700 years, God’s Word is now shining in the jungle as well.
Sometimes a church is often mistaken for a building, or entertaining activities, or a long list of rules. But NTM endeavors to plant a true church – a body of believers so woven in the Word and so wholly living it out, that neither they nor the world around them can possibly stay the same.
Would this describe your own church? Would it describe you?
Truth can start to move in our world, just as well as it can in jungles villages thousands of miles away. And it’s sitting right on your shelf.
Disclaimer: This personal ministry website is provided by New Tribes Mission (NTM) as a courtesy to its members. NTM makes no warranty regarding the accuracy of the information on these pages. Opinions expressed are provided by members in good faith, but are entirely those of the member and do not necessarily represent policy, doctrinal position, or opinions of NTM. If you encounter information that you consider questionable, please e-mail the NTM web team.
GET INVOLVED
