A Bible translation ministry has announced that it will be starting new projects in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) despite the dangers due to tribal conflicts in the nation.
Christian nonprofit Wycliffe Associates is preparing to translate the Bible 69 new languages in the DRC in an attempt to fulfill its goal of having the Scriptures in every language in the world by the year 2025.
The translators are facing big challenges due to decades of tribal conflict and civil war.
"It grabs at my throat to think about what the people have gone through in the DRC," Bruce Smith, president and CEO of Wycliffe Associates, said in statement released on Monday, The Christian Post reported.
"Generations of tribal violence ... people hunted like animals ... torture, mutilation, kidnapping, executions ... fear and anger and utter, total despair that anything can ever be different," Smith continued.
Despite the dangers, the organization is pushing through with the project and there has already been some signs of hope as rival tribes are coming together to take part in a Bible training workshop.
"Many doubted it could work. But as they encountered God's Word in the language of their hearts for the very first time, the reality of God's love overwhelmed them. The wars between them — and the wars within them — were over," Smith said, according to The Christian Post.
In an effort to speed up the translation, Wycliffe Associates is applying the Mobilized Assistance Supporting Translation method, which will allow the local people to do the translation themselves with the help of proper training and resources.
"Once the translators begin, our MAST strategy will enable Bible translators to accomplish in months what used to take decades," Smith noted.
Wycliffe Associates noted that the translating the Bible in the DRC is an ambitious project as the country has over 200 language groups.
In August, the organization launched around 30 translation projects in the Middle East, where Christians are experiencing intense persecution.
Smith noted that many of the translators have been arrested, beaten and even tortured for their attempts to share the Gospel. One translator was reportedly imprisoned for eight months and was ordered not to associate with other Christians after his release.
Another translator in the region was reportedly arrested after being accused of translating the Bible in code in an attempt to take over the country. Although the translator was later released, he was fired from his job due to his arrest.
Wycliffe Associates has launched 346 Bible translation projects in 2017, and Smith noted that it has received 600 new requests for translations this year. In the past three years, at least 193 New Testaments have been completed with the help of the organization's methods, tools and resources.
