Kicking off Work on the Jesus Film

The "Jesus" film has been used all over the world to introduce people to Christ.  Why is it so powerful?  I would say, first, because it is based directly on the Word of God (specifically, the Gospel of Luke).  But I would follow that with a second reason: because whenever possible it is shown to people in their own language.  Not subtitles--think of high illiteracy rates and languages that aren't written at all--but the actual words coming out of the speakers.

Currently the film is available in Swahili, the primary trade language of Tanzania, and also in a few of the local languages.  Our translation teams have finished working on the Gospel of Luke--final checks and typesetting happening now--so they are ready to begin making versions of the "Jesus" film for the Mara region!  This was one reason why it was decided to translate Luke first, to make use of this audio/visual presentation of God's Word.

Yesterday everyone at the office took a break from their normal project work and went to a local restaurant where we could all watch the movie in one big room.  But this was not your ordinary showing!  My teammate Alison Compton brought copies of the "Jesus" film in five different Tanzanian languages, including Swahili.  We started watching in one language... and then switched, picking up at the same scene in the next language... and so on, until the end of the movie!

Although none of these were the heart languages of our folks, a couple were familiar languages to various people.  The Sukuma language is spoken in a large area to the southwest of Musoma, and Kuria is a common language in our area.  When people recognized a language, they often laughed out loud--it was probably their first time to hear it recorded!  Later they commented on how much "sweeter" the story was in these nearby languages than in Swahili. :)  Even the waiters at the restaurant got a kick out of it.  One guy was thrilled to hear that we would be working on a version in his language, Kwaya.  He wanted to know when he could purchase a copy!

We hope that our translators will be excited about this project, inspired by the thought of some day soon watching the "Jesus" film in their very own languages.  The Zanaki team had already begun yesterday, and the other teams will be soon to follow.