Central African Republic Cluster

Though 80% of the population considers themselves Christians, many mix faith with ancestral rites. Four translation programs are in progress with another five beginning in 2011. At the end of this project, all nine languages will have Luke’s gospel and the “JESUS” film in their mother tongue. The people of this region in Central African struggle with inadequate health facilities and poor hygiene. Only 30% can read; the percentage in rural areas, like the Banda groups, is much lower. Alfred and Clarence are translators from Banda-Linda. Both graduated from Faculté de Théologie Evangélique de Bangui in 2008. Each of the nine projects in this cluster will eventually have three members doing translation, literacy and related activities. They will all receive training through a workshop series and personal mentoring, including computer use and orientation to various kinds of translation software.

  • Praise God that the project is moving ahead, which is a joy to the teams.

  • The translators have been testing portions of Luke’s Gospel in booklet form and have done a draft of chapters 2-5. Typically, the initial translation is done by all the translators on a team, each taking a portion. Then they do a retranslation together by carefully revising the first draft.

  • Pray that the teams will be able to make wise judgments as they seek to convey the truth of God’s Word from the original text into the heart language of these people who are waiting to hear what God has to say to them.

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