God speaks your language

I'm glad to see the Arusha post up since the computer said it failed to load. Anyway...lots of traveling the last few days! The morning after arriving in Arusha I flew to Mwanza on the southern tip of Lake Victoria, and then took a 4-hr bus ride to Musoma, on the eastern side of the lake. It was fun to go somewhere new, since so far I've been in "familiar territory". The highlight was driving for a while along the edge of the Serengetti. In Musoma I stayed two nights at a beautiful Catholic guest house right on the edge of Lake Victoria. I spent Thursday sitting in on a Wycliffe Bible Translators/SIL workshop. The Musoma cluster is working on Bible translation in 9 local languages simultaneously. One of the translators (Michelle) is a gal from Olympia, WA who knows Greg and the Caldwells because her sister was a Ballard Young Life leader!

The workshop was specifically for 4 of the language groups. They have just begun with these languages, starting with creating an alphabet since none of these languages were previously written. Now they are working on creating a dictionary and figuring out the grammar. They are working in small groups, with 4-5 speakers of the language (often pastors or evangelists), with one Wycliffe member. Bible translation will start later this year, or early next year. It is fascinating work on the whole, but it was hard for me to stay awake listening to people discuss grammar ALL DAY! :) Now I'm heading back to Arusha, so another half day of travel...I will be glad to stay there for the week!