After reading the book of Revelation in his heart language, a Mpyemo pastor remarked:
“Never has the text touched me so deeply as it did while reading it in Mpyemo.”
Church of the Resurrection has partnered with Brad and Maria Festen since 1995, supporting their work with Wycliffe Bible Translators and a local translation team to produce the New Testament translation in the Mpyemo language.
The translation is finished and the Bibles are being printed. This year’s Good Friday Gift will help the translation team overcome the final hurdles to getting the New Testament directly into the hands of the Mpyemo people.
Who Are the Mpyemo?
Located in the heart of Africa, Central African Republic (C.A.R.) is a country roughly the size of Texas that is home to at least 60 distinct people groups, each with their own language. Numbering about 51,000, the Mpyemo people live in the dense rainforest region of the southwestern CAR, as well as in the capital city of Bangui and across the border in Cameroon.
Why this translation is important: Many people in C.A.R. identify as Christian, but for the most part only have Bibles in the official language (French), or the trade language (Sango), and not in their heart language.
Project Goals
Financial Giving Goal: $40,000*
The logistics of getting the finished Bibles from the printer into the hands of the Mpyemo are complex.
*any funds raised beyond this amount will be designated to support our global partners as unexpected needs arise, at the discretion of the Global Missions Team
Funds from the Good Friday Gift will be used for:
Dedication
A dedication ceremony in the capital city of Bangui, followed by dedications in key language regions.
Affordability
Subsidizing the sale price of the New Testament.
Distribution
This may include the purchase of motorcycles, which are the most effective means of travel in the region.
Literacy
Printing of accompanying literacy materials and continued literacy work, to allow for the greatest number of people to benefit from the project.
Audio
Providing suitable audio devices for distribution and training leaders to establish community listening groups for the audio recordings of the Scriptures.
Partners
Personnel costs to facilitate these efforts.
Project Goals
Financial Giving Goal: $40,000*
The logistics of getting the finished Bibles from the printer in Europe into the hands of the Mpyemo are complex.
Funds from the Good Friday Gift will be used for:
A dedication ceremony in the capital city of Bangui, followed by dedications in each of the respective language regions.
Subsidizing the sale price of the New Testament.
Distribution of the New Testament.
(This may include the purchase of motorcycles, which are the most effective means of travel in the region.)
Printing of accompanying literacy materials and continued literacy work, to allow for the greatest number of people to benefit from this project.
Purchasing suitable audio devices for distribution, and training leaders to establish community listening groups for the audio recordings of the Scriptures.
Personnel costs to facilitate these efforts.
*any funds raised beyond this amount will be designated to support our global partners as unexpected needs arise, at the discretion of the Global Missions Team
An interview with former director of ACATBA, Bertin Oundagnon-Basso:
“What difference has the Bible in the mother tongue languages made in CAR?”
...I remember that during a visit to the language communities in the Southeast and to whom we later brought Scripture portions that allowed them to understand that the Lord is not simply the God that they should seek out when they are about to die, but they realized that this God is the God of every day. He’s the God that provides, Jehova Jireh. When they saw how Jesus started to heal, to feed thousands of people, 5000, then 4000 and so on, when they rediscovered these passages in the context of their own languages, that changed something so that they could see, “No, this God is not far away like we thought.” Bible translation helped people to see that God is at work every day.
Pray For...
Transformation
that God would transform the hearts and lives of the Mpyemo people through his translated Word. Pray that the Holy Spirit would till the soil of people’s hearts, preparing them to receive God’s Word and allow it to take root and bear fruit.
Translation
the completion of the Nzakara New Testament, which is in the final stages of typesetting. The Mpyemo and Nzakara New Testaments need to be shipped together.
And for the national Bible translation organization, ACATBA, as they continue to translate the Bible into the remaining languages of CAR that don’t yet have it.
TRANSportation
the many logistics around these final stages: for safety and speed of shipping, for the dedications and distribution. Pray for individuals to aid in distributing the New Testament and facilitating engagement with it so that written and oral materials make it into homes and churches in the region, and are used.
Questions about how to give? Reach out to emilytalbott@churchrez.org
Hunger for the word
After traveling through the Mpyemo region when the translation was nearing completion, Pastor Mathurin from the translation team shared,
"The people were hoping that we were bringing their New Testaments to them, but we told them that they have to continue to be patient."
Praise God for this hunger in the Mpyemo community; let’s pray that it will soon be satisfied!
When you give generously, you help ensure that this hunger for God’s Word doesn’t have to wait a single day longer than it needs to — so that the next time someone visits the Mpyemo region, they won’t have to say “be patient.” They’ll be able to say, “Here it is.”
