The Translation Beat

The Abau people live along the Sepik River and its tributaries in extreme western PNG. Their remote homeland is accessible only by plane — or by many days of travel along the labyrinthine waterways.

October 12 was a day of great celebration for the Abau people. It was the day they received the New Testament in their own language.

Arjen and Maija Lock have lived among the Abau people for over 20 years, working with them to translate the New Testament and set up schools for children. They have also helped to set up courses for adult literacy, theological education, Christian families, and many other practical skills.

As men carried the New Testaments down the river and up the hill to the celebration grounds, people along the way bowed in thanksgiving and reverence, murmuring prayers of exaltation to God.

Hundreds of Abau speakers attended the event, and some visitors even came from a neighboring group of people — once the enemies of the Abau. Abau villages are widely scattered, so some people left their homes the day before the celebration and paddled for hours along the river to reach this place.

Olavi Rintala, representing Maija Lock’s church in Finland, was one of many speakers during the dedication. Arjen, originally from the Netherlands, interpreted Olavi’s speech from Finnish into Abau. Arjen and Maija are both fluent in Dutch, Finnish, English, Tok Pisin, and Abau, and they used every conceivable combination of those languages during dedication day!

As the time drew near to bring out the New Testaments, people danced and sang with evident excitement. Here, the women dance behind a box containing the ceremonial first New Testament.

Arjen and Obow Inaru both weep as they receive the first New Testament. Obow is the team’s senior translator, and he compared himself to Simeon, expressing his thankfulness that God had let him live through severe illnesses and accidents to see this day.

I saw tears on many faces as Obow held that first New Testament high. Some people stood; others knelt and raised their hands or bowed their heads in deep emotion.

So many people crowded the stage to purchase their New Testaments that somebody heard it start to crack. As I walked back and forth across the dedication grounds, I saw men, women, and children looking through their New Testaments for the first time. What an amazing sight.