A translation couple were warmly welcomed by the Mbugwe people, especially by the Church of God, who had been asking for years for a translation project to begin in the Mbugwe language.

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During 2009, the Mbugwe team worked together with a group of Mbugwe in a series of ‘workshops' to develop an Mbugwe alphabet. We were fortunate to find a group of 13 Mbugwe from various villages and church denominations who worked hard with us to find the best letters and signs to represent the sounds of their language.

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The Rangi team recently had the opportunity to make audio recordings of the books of Jonah, Ruth, and portions of Mark. Many people in villages have battery-powered cassette players, so these recordings have the potential to reach a larger number of people at one time than the written books of the Bible. They will reach people who cannot see well enough to read, those who are older and find learning to read difficult, as well as very young children.

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In Acts 27-28, the apostle Paul sails for Italy and encounters trouble at sea. The two Burunge (Tanzania) translators had done an excellent job of translating this passage, but when the translation consultant asked them to describe the scenes in their own words it became apparent that maritime terms-lifeboats, running aground, taking soundings-were foreign. But so were more ‘common' concepts like ocean (a body of water too big to see across), island, or harbor. Thanks to some creative drawings on the white board and internet photos, the concepts became understandable to the translators. As a result, a clear explanation and a few supporting illustrations should help the Burunge readers better understand this part of Paul's journey.

In a world that often assumes that everyone has access to the Bible, the Zinza people of Tanzania have only just begun. They recently received and dedicated Echitabu cho Kubanza "The Book of the Beginning," or the book of Genesis.  And they celebrated! 

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