Saturday, October 22nd,
our family was privileged to attend the
New Testament Dedication
for the Obo Manobo people of Mindanao.
For the first time, the entire New Testament is now available in their language!
“I have found that
there are three stages in every great work of God:
first, it is impossible,
then, it is difficult,
then, it is done.
-Hudson Taylor
first, it is impossible,
then, it is difficult,
then, it is done.
-Hudson Taylor
One translator shared Hudson Taylor's quote with us at the ceremony.
She and her co-translators have been working 23 years together through impossibilities and difficulties toward this day.
The translators (one of them pictured above with the beaded headband) shared about the process;
from learning the language slowly through Obo Manobo children,
to developing literacy and other support programs,
and writing and revising each book of the New Testament.
What seemed impossible when they began
is now done.
Can you find Mark, Michael and Amy in the crowd?
There were over 1,000 people there to celebrate.
Here's Elise, working to capture the event with her lens.
You can see some of her photos at her blog.
Celebratory dancing and singing held the attention of the crowd.
One of the Obo Manobo dancers
What a significant day for young...
...and old!
God now speaks in Obo Manobo.
People came by motorcycle...
(1, 2, 3...there are EIGHT people on that bike!!!)
...by horse...
...and by foot.
(Just kidding - I loved this photo
of the rooster hanging out near the bathrooms,
and I couldn't resist!)
It was special to have time afterward to mingle and talk with people,
including one of the mother-tongue translators.
Now the Word of God is in the hands of the Obo Manobo.
May it find its way also into their hearts and lives!
At the end of a long day, we boarded a bus for home.
As we headed back over the dusty roads,
leaving behind the village,
we took with us memories of a momentous occasion
in the life of one more people group of the earth!
"...Dos sabbot, go-os od kahangu, woy dos mgo bulak, od pongo-umpad,
Piru iddos kahi tod Longaggon, od taman en to waad tomanon."
1 Pedro 1:24b-25a
Piru iddos kahi tod Longaggon, od taman en to waad tomanon."
1 Pedro 1:24b-25a
"...the grass withers, and the flower falls,
but the Word of the Lord remains forever."
1 Peter 1:24b-25a
3 comments:
So cool! What a privelege for you to have been able to be apart of this celebration! Your second one already!! And what an amazing experience for your kids too.
Thank you for sharing this. It gives me goosebumps and a soaring in my heart that our God so loved the Obo Manobo people that He has, in addition to giving His Son for them, now provided His Word so they can understand it. And He has honored and blessed you by bringing you in to be a part of that blessing for them. He is good!!
isn't it exciting?!? thanks for sharing the joy, sisters!! ♥
Post a Comment