As the Rain and Snow Come Down

Isaiah 55

The Bible is so foundational to what we do as individuals and as the Church. What do we base our church planting, discipleship, teaching, evangelism, prayer, fellowship, and worship in if not in God's Word? How do we even know to do these things?

As the Bible is translated into a new language, that language community is never immune to it's transformative power. God promises that in Isaiah 55:10-11 (ESV) which says, "For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven and do not return there but water the earth, making it bring forth and sprout, giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater, so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth; it shall not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose, and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it." God's Word always does what He set it out to do.

Oniyan

There are so many stories of the way God changes people through His Word being translated into their language. Many of them take place in Francophone Africa where I'll be serving, such as the story of Pastor Tama Nicodeme Biesse and his team of translators. Nicodeme and his fellow translators in Senegal had just completed the final check of Mark, the first book they translated into their language, Oniyan. A lot of changes were happening in their community. Nicodeme testified, "We have a clearer understanding of what we have always accepted by faith. We know in our souls a peace and a sense of wellbeing. Our prayer lives have changed a lot. Our thirst for God's Word has grown so much that we have already done the first draft of the Gospel of Luke in less than a month."

Nicodeme began to pray in his mother tongue. Because his pastoral studies and his Bible was all in French, whether he spoke to God or others about spiritual truths it was always in that language. The translation process forced him to find ways to express Biblical truth in Oniyan, and he was able to pray in his heart language and had a new sense of communion with God. He also began to preach in Oniyan and saw that the congregation could clearly understand his sermons for the first time. They started to talk about sermons with one another and with their unbelieving neighbors.

Other members of the team also experienced God working in their lives. Gerard felt himself becoming more sensitive to the spiritual needs of those around him and more willing to share the Gospel. Jeremie was an unbeliever when he joined the translation team and he gave his life to Christ through translating Mark. When asked why he's changed so much by his family, he shared the scriptures with them and the team conducted a translation-testing session in their home.

The translation team did a showing of the JESUS Film, and several people came to Christ, including a chief of a nearby village. Because of that, the team started having a church service in his village every Saturday.

Nicodeme rejoices in the work the Bible is doing as he says, "Glory to God who makes His Word powerful and effective in our midst, even when the Oniyan New Testament is far from finished!"