Letter Update July 31st 2018

I’ll get straight to the point.

Wednesday [1st August], Mufaya, probably with some others from the Nkoya translation Committee, will travel to Lusaka, to visit Bible Society of Zambia.

· Pray earnestly for their meeting, that they will make good use of an opportunity to be heard, and listened to.

· Pray that they will speak confidently, clearly, and to the point expressing their feelings of being let down and put aside.

· Pray that they will be met by sincerity and integrity, and not merely by smooth words.

· Pray that there will be genuine outcomes, and that the processing of their Bible will move ahead from here on, with no further delays.

For all of 2018 they [and I] have assumed that things were moving, and that the files for every book from Genesis to Revelation, from the Title Page to the glossary and Maps, were in the hands of typesetters and printers in S.Korea. It was a real shock to us all that for these months of this year, nothing at all had happened.

· Pray that there will be no more of this, and that in Korea everything will be expedited to move ahead.

Meanwhile, in the weeks since we learned of this unforeseen, unnecessary delay, the group sponsoring the costs of publishing have already met in Lusaka and reached some kind of agreement. The Nkoya people were unfortunately not part of the negotiations, which you can imagine increases their feeling of being played with and not dealt with.

At least the delay has been challenged, and I pray that it will be challenged again as Mufaya and others visit Lusaka. Mufaya is a very peaceable, gentle man. The Apostle Paul advocates these qualities of the Spirit, but from his letters could clearly make his presence felt when necessary.

· Pray that the Mufaya and whoever accompanies him will be confident in the Spirit to do the same.

We all wish a peaceful outcome and rapid response, not confrontation.

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Meanwhile, I have received a letter from Mufaya telling about the selection of a new king, and his installation. Custom would traditionally held three months of mourning from the late king, before choosing and installing the new man, but in these modern political times, only about one month, counted by the moon, elapsed before the community asked the royal family if their mourning was complete. The family plus kinsman elders would deliberate [privately] and propose a name. I believe two names were put forward and lots were cast, selecting one, who should have a wife from the Nkoya or their close ‘cousins’ the Lunda.

The installation ceremonies began on 20th July, installing Mwene Mutondo Fwanina to replace Mwene Mutondo Watunga. I believe Mufaya and the delegation waited until the installation was over before planning to travel to Lusaka.

But this letter is asking for earnest prayer that the Nkoya and their Bible will not be ignored any longer. I will pick up the installation separately tomorrow.

Thank you prayer and all other support for Nkoya and for us,

Ronnie & Margaret

Letter update 19 July 2018

“Is it to test my resolve?”  I’ve been asking myself.  “Do they think I will break my pledge not to cut my hair if publishing the Nkoya Bible is delayed?”  I can only answer my own questions by a strong NO.  So, why the delay?

I was deeply saddened in the past several weeks, to learn that the Nkoya Bible has never been put to Bible Society of South Korea for the final pre-publishing and printing stage.  Shocked, is the word.  I have been digesting the news and implications, and delayed writing until now.

Some weeks ago Mufaya was asked two questions, and asked to resolve these in the Old Testament [Job 15.15, which echoes back to 4.18, and could have been raised last year; and another which reflects Bible Society’s own Good News Bible, and didn’t even need to be asked last year or this].  That alerted the two of us to the fact that the Nkoya Bible had simply rested somewhere.  Then we learned clearly that it had never gone to Korea for printing the final proofs of each page.  Mufaya asked for “any other questions to be given to him now”.  Nothing! as far as I know.

CRY OUT IN PRAYER for this!  NOW I understand the depth of anxiety the community felt two/three years ago.  A New Testament [done before Zambia’s independence] had been withdrawn [?destroyed?]; the New Testament published a few years ago had been delayed for several years; and two/three years ago they anticipated difficulties when their Old Testament was nearing the end.  Their funding was also coming to an end; and 30% of the Old Testament still needed a consultant; a consultant who had given major input had retired and I was the only one still involved.  Would I withdraw also?  Was the cycle of disappointment and delay going to continue?  No wonder they were anxious. And, delay there has been.  Do, please, wrestle with God over this.  It is Nkoya’s heart-cry, and it has become mine also.  And I will not break my pledge to them.

Unfortunately, we have also learned that the three full Bibles in Ethiopia [Gamo, Gofa, and Dawro] face a problem too.  The person who was doing the page set-up for all, has stopped.  I do not know if it is because of health, or energy, or retirement, or what.  But here are three more Bibles, which we thought would be dedicated in their communities last year, and they are stuck in this part of the process.

Can we say “An enemy has done this”?  Is it part of the struggle of evil powers against God’s work?  “We wrestle not against flesh and blood…” you can read on for yourself in Eph 6.12 ff.

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Margaret had a good visit with her consultant a few weeks ago, and is “signed off”, and will be free to travel with me on any future trips if she wishes.  The cancelled trip to Kenya I am now trying to revive for later in the year, perhaps October/November.

Please, keep praying for us, and the work we represent, and the work I have taken responsibility to complete—a lot of writing, with all the preparation and thought and writing that it takes to push it ahead.  Thank you for all your prayer and support for us over so many years.

Ronnie & Margaret