The Word for the World, UK

One of the items we can often take for granted in our Christian Faith is the Bible.  It has been variously described as God’s love letter to Man, God’s manual for life and quite simply The Greatest Book in the World.  It has sold more copies than any other book in history.  Yet despite all this it has only been completely translated into less than 10% of the languages of the World (source:  United Bible Society)

It is against this Background that The Word for the World was founded in 1981, with the vision to provide the Bible in the heart language of every person.  Since its inception in South Africa it has expanded to operate in 7 African countries with an additional support base in the USA.   However with some 6500 languages in the world there is a long way to go.

Traditionally missionaries have translated the Bible, dedicating themselves to this worthy task over many years.  It can easily take 30-40 years to learn a language and then meticulously complete the translation. However the unique approach of The Word for the World is making the process faster and less costly. 

Visit to Ethiopia August 2003

The Word for the World, UK was formed to provide an additional support centre, and Jeff Lewis, who is a member of Wellspring Methodist, was appointed as one of the organisation’s first directors. In addition to his UK responsibilities, Jeff has been asked to help provide some operational guidelines for the African countries.  Both Jeff & Angie Lewis are involved in the training programme.  In this capacity they recently visited Ethiopia to take part in the final lectures for the first graduating students.
 
Jeff said, “It was an amazing experience and a great privilege to be part of this training.  All the students are top of their field.  Some were Bible School lecturers, some local government workers, others church leaders.  All were passionately committed to helping put the Bible into their own people’s language for the first time.”  Jeff was lecturing on management and leadership skills, using his own experience and knowledge to back up sound Biblical principles.  “God is a God of order.  Management, of both projects and people, is all about bringing order to diverse and complex variables.
The hardest part is working with the African culture which sees time as past and present and rarely includes plans for the future, but we think the message got home.”

Jeff & Angie witnessed The Word for the World’s first ever graduation ceremony in the local country.  It was the culmination of 8 years work in Ethiopia and a longer period in the heart of founder Dr Veroni Kruger.  The picture shows him addressing the graduates.  It was an immensely emotional occasion for all who witnessed it, and all the graduates and their families were so proud.


“The visit to the Gideo and Guji translation teams was a highlight of the visit.  They quickly became our friends, more than just anonymous workers.  To be with Tesfaye (the Project's Coordinator) and meet his family in their home and work environment, was so inspiring.  Just being able to share their life for a few hours brings a deeper understanding of their dedication and commitment to their own people group.” said Angie.

The picture shows the Guji Translation Team: Tsegaye, Mengitsu & Tesfaye (Project Co-ordinator). 

The journey around these projects took 3 days although the round trip was less than 500 miles.  Ethiopia looks nothing like one would expect it to look. It is in fact one of the most beautiful countries to visit. The South West region is mountainous with dense forests.  “The trip helped us understand the difficulties of travel and communication in these remote parts of Africa.  Some of the ‘roads’ are no more than paths and as it was the end of the rainy season many of these were like small river beds”  Jeff noted.  “In fact for Tesfaye who must travel between the 2 projects, it can
sometimes take him 3 days to do by bus what we were at least able to do in a day.  This is why he is praying hard for a good vehicle.”

Mission is frequently associated with church planting or relief and development.  The work of The Word for the World is a different but equally important task in bringing the Good News of Jesus to mankind.  If you would like to know more about the work or about Jeff & Angie’s visit please contact them via the Wellspring minister.