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.

More than 40 Burunge pastors had been invited to a workshop in Mirambo, Tanzania, to help write a Bible study for the books of Ruth and Jonah in their own Burunge language. When the leaders of the workshop arrived they found that none of the pastors from outside of Mirambo had arrived. In fact, only the host pastor was there. This scene turned from one of excitement to wondering what would be done with all the food that purchased for the workshop.

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At 4:30 PM, we heard a plane overhead coming in for landing. My colleague called the Missionary Aviation Fellowship (MAF) office and excitedly asked, "Is that the shuttle flight coming in from Nairobi?"  The answer must have been yes because I heard squeals of joy all the way down in my office.

           

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I was encouraged by a small group of girls, who after a limited amount of tuition from me on the Burunge letters of the alphabet were able to read aloud to me from their newly dedicated copies of Jonah!

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When Pastor Emmanuel D. was first asked to work as a translator he couldn’t understand why there was a need for the Bible in his language. People had Swahili Bibles! Some time later he was doing some preaching, giving sermons in the Burunge language. After some weeks he reverted back to Swahili. The people came to him and questioned him, “Why did you preach to us in our mother tongue if you were going to go back and switch to Swahili in words we can’t always understand? It was better when we were heard you speak in our mother tongue.”