Baka Bible Dedication with SIL in Maridi, South Sudan
In South Sudan, SIL focuses on Literacy, Scripture Engagement and Bible Translation work, including the translation of the Baka Bible. SIL missionaries came to Maridi to officially start the Baka translation work in 1980. Throughout the years, numerous SIL missionaries, as well as local Baka men and women, worked tirelessly on translating the Bible. Despite many interruptions and setbacks such as civil war and unrest, the Baka New Testament was printed at the end of 2016 and a Bible dedication service was planned for March 2017 in Maridi, a Baka town in South Sudan. MAF flew over 20 SIL missionaries, Bible translators and community leaders to the dedication service and flew thousands of Baka Bibles to Maridi for free.
Bringing God’s Word to the Baka People
“I used to be jealous of white people; they were blessed by having the Word of God in their own language. The Bible says that God loves all, but we had no Bible in Baka. We were envious of those who had a Bible in their own language. Now I am happy because I have a Baka Bible. God did not forget us.” In 1979, Bukulu Edward Mandeson helped SIL International (originally known as Summer Institute of Linguistics) with the very beginnings of their translation of the Bible into the Baka language. Today Bukulu holds the position of political advisor to the State Governor of Maridi, South Sudan. But more importantly to Bukulu, today he holds a Baka Bible in his hand. Bukulu now has his own Bible in his own language, thanks to the special partnership between SIL and MAF.
The Baka Bible Translation Project
SIL International is a faith-based non-profit organization committed to serving language communities worldwide as they build capacity for sustainable language development. In South Sudan, SIL focuses on Literacy, Bible Translation and Scripture Engagement, including the translation of the Baka New Testament and Genesis. Many of the Baka people group live in and around Maridi, South Sudan. They are a kind, friendly and hospitable people group. They are known for being a very welcoming and sharing community. SIL missionaries Kirk and Carla Parker came to Maridi in 1980; they moved into a small mud hut with their baby boy and officially started the Baka translation work. At that time, Baka was just a spoken language; there was no written form other than the few tonal markings and alphabet that Bukulu had started a year before. The Baka people had no books, hymnals, nor Bible in their own language. “This was far from an ideal situation,” explains Kirk. “We had to take an unwritten language, figure out the alphabet, and begin to translate the Bible.” The Parkers worked with local Baka men and women such as Bukulu and Rev. Bennett Marona to create a written language and begin translating God’s word. After five years of laying the groundwork for the translation, Kirk and Carla along with their now two young children had to leave Sudan (now South Sudan) due to the civil war.
Pastor Bennett, who is now the team leader for the Baka translation and literacy project, continued the translation work, even as he and many Baka people were forced to flee to the Congo. Eventually, SIL missionaries Doug and Anne Sampson moved to a refugee camp in the Congo in the early 90s to join the Baka refugees there. They connected with Pastor Bennett and continued the translation work. But it wasn’t easy going for the Sampson family either. Doug and Anne had to move numerous times, were evacuated and their home was looted. After serving for over ten years assisting Baka Bible translators they were able to translate many books of the Bible into Baka. Eventually, SIL moved the translation work to their centre in Juba, South Sudan. Mary Muchesia, one of the most recent translation consultants, is originally from Kenya. While she was pregnant with her daughter Zoe she had to return to Nairobi and go on bed rest. Yet she continued the final checks from her bed via Skype. Praise God, her daughter safely arrived just weeks after she finished the translation.
The history of the Baka translation project has been filled with numerous struggles and victories. So many people, both missionaries and Baka men and women, have worked tirelessly on the translation efforts. Despite the many interruptions and setbacks over the past thirty plus years, the Baka New Testament and Genesis was printed at the end of 2016 and a Bible Dedication service was planned for March 2017 in Maridi.
MAF Flies the Bibles and SIL Missionaries up to Maridi, South Sudan
Three hundred boxes of Baka Bibles were delivered to the SIL compound on December 28, 2016. Each box held 40 Baka Bibles, resulting in 12,000 brand new Bibles for the Baka people. David Masua, a leader in the Baka Christian community, was in charge of arranging the logistics for the transport of the Bibles from Juba to their home area of Maridi. “I really wondered how to get all these Bibles to Maridi! I first inquired about hiring a truck to join a UN convoy by road. But I was informed that the road from Juba to Maridi is so dangerous that there hasn’t been a UN convoy since 2014. The road is basically closed. Next I looked into commercial flights, but they were either non-existent or extremely unreliable and expensive. It simply wasn’t an option. And then I thought of MAF. When I called MAF operations, they quickly agreed and said ‘Bring the Bibles over!’ I was very pleased with their positive response.” David explains that MAF was so kind and helpful; MAF stored the Bibles immediately for SIL in their freight room and offered to fly the Bibles up as free freight on standby. MAF flies to Maridi on a weekly basis, so whenever there was a bit of space available on the plane, MAF flew up the boxes at no cost. Stephen Kempsell, MAF South Sudan’s Operations Manager explains, “This type of flying is the heart of MAF, this is what we love to do. MAF South Sudan is pleased to be able to partner with SIL and the Baka church and community in the delivery of the Baka Bibles”.
A day of celebration and dedication for the Baka Bibles was planned for March 12, 2017 in Maridi. SIL missionaries from years ago including Kirk Parker and the Sampsons, as well as current SIL missionaries and the Baka translation team flew up on MAF for the event. David shares, “If MAF wasn’t there we don’t know how we would have gotten the Bibles or the SIL team to Maridi! We have been blessed to have MAF’s involvement in this special event.” In fact, MAF flew two caravans full of missionaries and Bibles up to the event, as well as two full flights back down to Juba. SIL South Sudan director Jackie Marshall-Ringer shares “We are using MAF more and more these days as road travel is now generally quite insecure in South Sudan. We really appreciate MAF’s servant heartedness with the Baka dedication with their helpfulness in arranging charters for our people to get to Maridi and also for the free transportation of the Baka New Testaments from Juba to Maridi which is a special gift to the Baka community and church.”
A Day of Celebration at the Baka Bible Dedication
The SIL team spent the weekend in Maridi, reconnecting with past Baka Bible translators, meeting the State Governor and celebrating with thousands of Baka people at the Sunday dedication. As MAF South Sudan’s communications officer, I had the privilege of joining the team for this special time and I must tell you, it was an amazing experience. There was excitement throughout the town on Sunday morning as we walked to the local ECS church (the Episcopal Church of South Sudan). MAF South Sudan’s own Thomas Titus Bazia, one of our national staff and a team leader for our dispatch crew, is originally from Maridi and heavily involved in serving the Baka community. Being Baka himself he has had connections with SIL translators over the years, so he flew up with MAF as well for the weekend celebrations. Thomas Titus was the main translator for the entire dedication service, translating from Baka to English to Arabic as needed. It was a really proud moment for me to see Thomas Titus participating in the dedication in such a prominent way. The morning opened with the hymn “Pass Me Not, Oh Gentle Saviour” translated into Baka. As the congregation sang from SIL produced Baka hymnals, I couldn’t help but reflect on the importance of this day. For so long the people had lived without a Bible in their heart language, but today they were finally receiving a Bible in their mother tongue. Today, they finally felt like they were not being “passed by”. Bishop Justin Badi opened the service with these words, “We rejoice and thank God for His Bible in Baka, it is truly a gift from God.”
The service saw over seven thousand people in attendance. There was singing, prayers, speeches, sermons and of course the dedication of the Baka Bible. As the Bishop opened the first box of Baka Bibles, one of the many boxes MAF had flown up, the congregation cheered in their traditional way with yips and ululations from the people. When the people were invited to come up and purchase their very own Bible for the equivalent of less than one US dollar, crowds excitedly came forward. What impressed me the most was the variety of people coming to purchase their Baka Bible. Bishops and church elders, well dressed community members, and struggling young mothers carrying their little ones on their hips. It was truly an amazing sight to see so many people have access to God’s word in their mother tongue. As I sat in my seat and looked to my left and right, I saw men and women eagerly soaking in the Word of God in their heart language for the very first time. With their fingers tracking the words, they enthusiastically read the Bible in Baka. Everyone was excited to see, touch and read the Baka Bible; even the teenage boy selling the Bibles couldn’t wait to flip open the pages. Mama Eunice, an elderly Baka lady, sat on my left. When she got her Baka Bible, she couldn’t keep her eyes off the pages. After the service, through the help of a translator, I was able to ask her how she felt when she got her own Baka Bible. “I was so very happy, as I held my own Baka Bible I felt the Holy Spirit blow over me. I have a Muro Bible, and yet I am not a Muro. Finally now, I am able to read and understand God’s Word in my own language.”
The Governor of Maridi State, Africano Mande Gedima is a strong believer and a solid witness within the Baka community. In his message to the congregation he shared “Now Jesus Christ speaks Baka too, from now on Jesus will speak to us in Baka.” He is a driving force in the community and it is exciting to see where the governor can lead his community. Not only was he grateful to SIL for the translation work, but he was also very thankful to MAF. “Thanks to MAF, from the work they started back in Sudan and all the good things they have done up to now with delivering these Bibles for the Baka Bible dedication. MAF really made it possible. Many thanks to the pilots and the entire MAF team, their names may not be written down in the history books, but they have brought Baka Bibles to us and we are grateful.”
The Jesus Film in Baka
For MAF’s Thomas Titus, the highlight of the Bible dedication was the opportunity for his grandmother to hear the Word of God in Baka. Thomas Titus bought his mother and grandmother their very own Bibles. “It makes me so happy to see my habuuba (grandma) receive a Baka Bible before she dies. She has waited so long for this!” Thomas Titus in partnership with SIL’s Scripture Engagement team was also able to show the Jesus Film translated into Baka. Once the Bible was translated into Baka, the SIL team with Baka community members had the opportunity to tape the audio portion for the Jesus Film in Baka. When the Baka audience watched the film, they could finally hear the characters speak to them in their own heart language. Over three consecutive nights during the weekend celebrations Thomas Titus shared the film with over a thousand people, all were mesmerized by hearing Jesus Christ speak in Baka. Thomas Titus describes the event, “The crowd cheered and clapped and cried when Jesus first spoke in Baka. They couldn’t believe that this could happen. What they didn’t understand in Scripture before, they now understood so clearly. On the night I was playing the film in the cathedral, the sound from the film carried a mile out to my grandmother’s mud hut. As my grandmother lay in her bed that night, she could clearly hear the words from the Jesus film. She was overjoyed to hear Jesus speak Baka. I thank God for this.”
The Lasting Impact of the Baka Bible
It is the hope and prayer of all involved with the translation that the Baka Bible will change the lives of the Baka people. David Masua explains “Language is our identity, we learn best in our own language. When we read the Bible in our mother tongue, we will understand it best.” Bishop Justin Badi summed up in the importance of the Baka Bible as he spoke humbly about his own experience. “When I read the Bible in English the understanding isn’t deep. But if I read it in Baka, I can understand it better, deeper and fully. Having the Bible written in Baka enables me to really understand God’s words. In English, I can’t even pronounce some of the words and I skip over the big words. Sometimes I can only explain to my congregation the small words. Now when I preach, I can preach the whole message, not just the small words.” The Bishop, an intelligent and well-educated Baka minister, admits he is going to benefit greatly from having the Bible now in his mother tongue. And just imagine how much of an affect this will have on his congregation, the town of Maridi and the entire Baka community as a whole.
What an amazing opportunity for MAF to partner with SIL, to ensure that the newly translated Baka Bibles made it up to Maridi and into the hands of the Baka people. Now the Baka people can read the Bible in their heart language and have a true understanding of God’s Word. Thank you for your support, for making these life-changing MAF flights possible.
