Mbeya-Iringa Cluster

Imagine about 3.5 million people without adequate access to the most important message for all mankind. That is the situation in southern Tanzania but now all that is changing!

In the middle of 2003, church communities in the region approached Wycliffe missionaries and said, "We need Bibles and we need them to be translated into the heart languages of our people!" A project was born in the fall of 2003 to serve ten language communities simultaneously by training mother-tongue translators and literacy workers.

Since then, only God can be attributed with the accomplishments that have happened to date because they have been no less than miraculous.

Take a look at what is happening in this exciting work:

• Mbeya-Iringa Cluster Language Work
• Mbeya-Iringa Cluster Team
• Partners
• Pray for the Mbeya-Iringa Cluster Project

Find out more about our language projects in the Mbeya-Iringa Cluster Project:

For more information visit the following pages:

• Learn more about Tanzania
• Learn more about Bantu Language Clusters

Nov 13, 2009 Smashing snake eggs Written by Helen E. Before the Malila language committee met to discuss spelling issues, a Tanzanian man told the committee their job was like smashing snake eggs. (This certainly got everyone's attention!) Read more...

Mar 23, 2009 Connecting with the Kinga Written by Karin P. When taking a new writing system into a language group that has no history of literacy in their language, you are not sure how it will be received. The same is true when bringing a new translation, because people have become accustomed to and familiar with what they have grown up with in the church. An old pastor from the Kinga language group had some things to say about the new Bible portions in his language. Read more...

Mar 23, 2009 Bumped off the lorry? Written by Oriel H. From a pastor from the Bungu language: "Preaching in Swahili is like a lorry (truck) driver hauling sacks of food. When I preach in Swahili, those who don't understand what I'm saying are like sacks that are bumped off the lorry and left along the wayside. This is what happens among the Bungu people; they don't understand what I am saying and they are left behind. My desire is to have a Bible in Bungu so I don't have to leave the Bungu people behind." Read more...

Aug 8, 2008 High on Vwanji Written by Oriel H. Even when pastors hear the word of God in their mother tongue for the first time, it makes a great impact. And through the work of Bible translation churches and church leaders from different denominations are coming together for the first time. A group of Lutheran pastors from the Vwanji language of Tanzania got a taste of that kind of impact. Read more...

Aug 8, 2008 Linear thinking Written by Elly G. What impact does a genealogy have? What if it is a genealogy of a King? Translators in the Sangu language of Tanzania realized the significance as they translated the book of Ruth. Read more...