During the long dry season, meetings to test the newly translated Moba* Scriptures are held twice a week in the village of Nanergou. Luke, an older man, who was for many years a catechist in his church, is a faithful and enthusiastic participant.
But, today, Luke was going to be late and he wondered whether his nephew Laa-b-kua would be willing to take him there on the back of his bicycle. Laa-b-kua wasn't interested in anything to do with Christianity, but his uncle knew that the translators were not actually testing that day but rather teaching the group the new spelling system that had been introduced some months earlier and with which they were not yet familiar. He also knew that his nephew had always been interested in learning to read but had never had the opportunity to go to school. He suggested to his nephew that perhaps he might profit from these sessions to start to learn to read.
Laa-b-kua was curious but also happy to be able to help his uncle. He came back from the meeting enthused by what he had seen. Could his uncle help him learn to read? He was more than happy to take his uncle to the next meeting which also happened to be the last before beginning the testing of the translation of John's Gospel.
At the following session, Laa-b-kua brought his uncle as usual and was on the point of leaving to return home when the translators invited him to stay for the testing. "No," was his reply, he wouldn't stay as he wasn't involved and anyway he didn't know how to read. The translators assured him it didn't matter if he couldn't read, he could still listen and make comments on the naturalness of the translation. So he stayed.
After that he continued to attend each meeting. Several sessions later, as they were reading chapter eight of the Gospel, Laa-b-kua, deeply impressed, exclaimed, "This Jesus must really be God, otherwise, how could he say the things he said to the Jews and the Pharisees? These words of Jesus are wise and interesting."
The translators then suggested to him that he should give himself to Jesus. He readily agreed to do so. They recommended that he start attending church and this he has been doing ever since. And yes, he continues to participate in the testing sessions. He has learned to read with the help of his uncle and now sometimes reads aloud during the session although still with some difficulty.
There has been a church in his village for many years and some members of his family are Christians but, for Laa-b-kua, it was the Word of God translated into his language that convinced him of the truth of the Gospel and led him to give his life to the Lord.
* Most of the 191,000 Moba live in Togo, Africa. They received the completed New Testament in 2008.
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