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…if you wanna be a Bible translator!
Yes, in case you didn’t realize, all those people were holding copies of the New Testament in Moba for the first time ever. They had just bought them after the Dedication Ceremony in Dapaong, Togo, last Saturday (15th March). It was a great day – the ceremony kicked off at 8:00am, with some fab music and dancing. Here’s a short extract of some traditional Moba dancing, which I think you’ll enjoy: As well as the music, there were a good number of speeches and then the New Testaments were given out to various folk. Also, the choir sung two of the songs composed with Rob at his workshop in January. Great to hear them again – and much improved too! Here’s the choir getting into the groove:
The two songs used were: (i) ‘Jaab’ based on 2 Timothy 3:16 and (ii) ‘Konbenn’ based on Romans 15:4. I made the 12 hour or so journey up to Dapaong – the northernmost town in Togo – for the occasion (on public transport/car sharing this time, to give the Land Rover a rest). A tiring trip, but worth every minute. Great to catch up with so many friends and colleagues too, but it was all over so quickly! Around 2000 people were at the ceremony and the weather was dry and slightly cloudy – so not too warm. It was a great occasion and LOTS of New Testaments were sold at the end.
This is the first time the Moba people have had the NT in their own language. Jan, Sylvia and the team have spent the last twelve years doing the translation, as well as many years preparation prior to that. Here’s what a section of a Moba NT looks like – see if you can spot Pentecost, Jesus, Galilee, Jerusalem and Mesopotamia. Oh, and Yendu means God, by the way.
There are also some pretty colour pictures in the Bibles, but I can’t show you everything in one post! Instead, here are some more pics from the dedication – TL: Praying over the New Testaments, TR: Jan and Sylvia (translators) giving a speech, BL: A griot singing and playing the traditional guitar and BR: A couple of traditional 3-holed flute players.
That’s all for now. Thanks for reading and Happy Easter!
Comments:
7 Comments posted on "Dedication, Dedication, Dedication, that’s what you need…"
anne on March 22nd, 2008 at 7:20 pm #
so good to see that the nts are so welcomed.
barbara cheeseman on March 25th, 2008 at 5:00 pm #
Brilliant being able to read about the Moba celebrations on your blog, Rob and Lois. We’ve supported Jann and Sylvia from the start and have been wondering how things went. Love the music and dancing, and pix of all the people with NTs. Jann gave us the link to you. Thank you.
Myree Russell on March 27th, 2008 at 9:36 am #
When Jann and Sylvia began their translation work I’m sure they never even thought we would have the gift of seeing and hearing extracts from the Dedication as I’m viewing these today. God is good.
Wendy on March 28th, 2008 at 2:38 am #
Thanks for sharing all the excitement. I pray God will bless the Togo people, as they read and sing God’s word and as they listen and obey his word. May God bless you in your service too.
Wycliffe UK blog » Blog Archive » Moba New Testament Dedication on April 2nd, 2008 at 8:38 am #
[…] and perhaps a moment of relief for the translators. Rob Baker captures the vitality of the Moba New Testament dedication in Northern Togo in March this […]
Caroline Hewlett on April 2nd, 2008 at 9:18 pm #
Great to see people getting Bibles – but I did wonder why the pictures in them were not more culturally appropriate to those who were receiving them…the pics look like Europeans to me…
Moba New Testament Dedication | Kouya Chronicle on July 29th, 2008 at 1:29 pm #
[…] Rob Baker has an excellent post about the dedication of the Moba New Testament in Togo. Including this video of Moba music and dancing. […] |
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