After reading Scriptures in his own language, a Congolese man is moved to follow Jesus and invest in his marriage.
Bible translation is advancing in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC)! We’re excited to partner with Canadian believers, Wycliffe USA and the Church in DRC to soon launch a new translation project* known as Lingala Equateur ya Sika. It’s a bold initiative to translate the full Bible in just three years, for up to 10 million people who speak this Bantu language. When Lingala speakers gain access to Scripture in the language that touches their heart, many will be moved to give their lives to Jesus. That was certainly the case for Nsaku,** a Congolese man who eventually found Jesus after he picked up a “religious” book his wife was reading.
(Representative image) Photo: Alan Hood
As Nsaku glanced at his wife’s reading material one evening, something caught his attention. He knew she was studying a religious text from her Christian faith, but this one was unusual. The book she was looking at was written in their own language!
Nsaku had never been interested in church. But seeing verses in such a familiar script and style intrigued him. His wife explained that Bible translators in the Democratic Republic of the Congo were producing Scripture in their language. They wanted community feedback on the clarity and naturalness of their work, so they had given her a draft.
He borrowed the book, which turned out to be 1 Corinthians. The words tugged at his heart. When he read the teachings on marriage in chapter seven, he recognized how poorly he had been treating his wife. He also acknowledged he was living a sinful life outside of God’s will.
“I was living without God, and yet there are young translators who serve God,” Nsaku said. “Why am I not serving Him?”
Convicted, he asked his wife for forgiveness and went to church with her that Sunday. He soon developed a relationship with Jesus Christ.
Nsaku and his wife are both thankful to God for allowing them to access His Word through Scripture translation, and for redeeming both their marriage and their lives.
* Lingala is one of the national languages in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Although widely spoken, no translation adequately serves the dialect spoken in more rural areas in the northwest part of the country.
**pseudonym
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This blogpost was adapted from Wycliffe USA- Global Partnerships.