Room for us in Ngoyla

Researchers have gone to Ngoyla to study the spread of AIDS and its precursors that are in the animal kingdom still, waiting to cross over to people. They have made a building available to us when they are not using it. This will be a big help to us in getting established there.

Collaboration between SIL and the Church

This week many denominations from Cameroon sent their representatives to the training center of SIL to discuss how they can cooperate in completing the Bible translation task here in Cameroon. Pastor Ernest Njyelo of the Nzime translation program attended the 3-day conference. He is a Presbyterian pastor working in the Nzime area.

Maps with better names

On Nov 24 I was asked to represent SIL at a map-making conference here in Yaounde and to talk to people brought in from many countries about the characteristics of the languages in the southern part of Cameroon. Since my background is in the eastern part of Cameroon, I asked a Cameroonian linguist to present the material. We worked on it together and he was very capable, giving the map-makers the help they needed. His name is BINDOM Aime. We are grateful for the Lord's provision of such help. In my brief speech, I urged them to make an effort to use the right names for places. I pointed out that it can sometimes be difficult. Sometimes people refer to a place by means of the name of the clan living in that place.

Encouragements to Continue

I called a speaker of Njyem today and he expressed his surprise that I had his number. Then he encouraged me to ramp up our efforts to bring God's Word to the Njyem, saying that they have a new openness to the "call from heaven" to become disciples of Jesus. We are looking and praying for this sort of reaction. Now we are waiting for the roads to dry out after a crazy rainy season. We are also interested in finding out from Komatu who might be in Yaounde with his zeal.

Where the 4 Language projects are at present

Where are the 4 language projects at present?

• The Nzime: The NT was done in 1998 and is now out of print. On Nov. 20 two Nzimes completed the read-through of Genesis, which is now in second draft. These were Pastor Ernest Njyelo and Student Pastor Olock Aubin. The next step is to have 25 copies for Rev. Njyelo to present to a four-day reviewer's meeting that should happen in Lomie in January. Then we can typeset it and printing it. They also want the reviewers to work on the catechism: "I Belong to God". Olock Aubin wants to finish drafting Exodus and revise it. We are applying to The United Bible Society for a license of Paratext.


• The Badwe'e: Again, the NT was done in 2003. The text of Genesis has been checked and approved for publication. The church is re-reading it prior to publication. Diphath Messia is leading that process to a conclusion.


• The Njyem: Mark is in use, we hope. The rest of the NT needs to be adapted into Njyem from Badwe'e. The need is for speakers in Yaounde who can work on the language with us. The problem with their doing this in Ngoyla is that there is no electricity. We are looking for the Lord's guidance.


• The Swo: The orthography statement I am working on is close to being finished. I am working with Pastor Ossimba on a transition primer, to be used by Swo people who read and write French and who want to begin doing that in their language. On the 15th of Nov., the Pastor had 5 other Swo pastors meet and begin cooperating on the interchurch translation committee. Meanwhile, he is drafting the Psalms rather than continuing with Genesis. (Three chapters were done.)

The Value of Passwords

The XP computer that was stolen in Lomie was returned by the thieves and the only reason we can see for it is that it was protected by a password. We have now cleaned it up (it was dusty!) and put in a new 160 Gb hard drive, adding antivirus software, open office and a typing tutor. Now we have a work-station in our office here in Yaounde for the people who are in need of it. I am thinking that the Lord is about to send us someone. Who that may be is unknown. We could use a volunteer from the Njyem, the Nzime, the Badwe'e or the Swo. We are eager to assist these people-groups in getting the enhanced capacity needed for undertaking their own publication tasks.

Swo Translation Committee

Today Rev. Ossimba met with other leaders of the Swo Christian church and set up their committee that will make literature and recordings in Swo a possibility. They will have their own structure for setting goals and accomplishing their purposes for language development.

The First Edition Fulfilled Its Role

The Nzime people were well served by the first edition of the New Testament, but will be happier with the second, which will have a simplified orthography and Genesis, together with introductions and glossary entries.

Simplified Orthographies

Beginning in the 1970's, we started writing tone marks over vowels so that all tones would be represented in the writing system. More recently, we have seen that this was counter-productive. It was sort of like giving a person a drink from a fire hose. They needed some marks to show them the tones of certain words, but they didn't need accents for every vowel, and when they say them in such profusion, they learned to disregard them. The new orthography is not tone-free but tone-lite. (In French, we call it "allege" in accents.) The original orthography would be useful for people who are not mother-tongue speakers of the language, but there never were many of those. Their needs will be served well by the existing publications. In the future, our publications will be focused on the needs of the mother-tongue speakers.

The Badwe'e New Testament Nearly Sold Out

We only have 8 copies of the Badwe'e New Testament in our office. There is a comparable number in the Somalomo office of the Badwe'e inter-church translation committee. More were purchased by the Roman Catholics of Essiengbot and some are still held in Djaposten. Perhaps no more than 200 remain of the original 1000 that were published in 2003. The publisher was Wycliffe Bible Translators. We are very hopeful that they can have a new publication in a simplified orthography together with Genesis.

Nzime New Testament out of print

Our coworkers in the Nzime project now tell us that the last copy of the New Testament has found its owner and that more are needed. Undoubtedly this has come as a result of the growth of the Hosannah! listening groups. Now we are waiting for the pastors to send the word that it is time to publish Genesis in Nzime along with the New Testament in a revised, simplified orthography. This New Testament was published by The Bible League in 1998. There were 1000 copies done. We are grateful for their vision in standing with us in the effort to bring God's Word to the Nzime people.

Pastor Ossimba's name

The right way to write Pastor Ossimba's name would be sɨmba without the OS at the beginning. This is the way they say "miracle" in Swo, his language. It is a word that also refers to any "amazing exploit". It is hard to know for sure what point those who named him were making. I know that he is too humble to have claimed to do amazing exploits or miracles. Undoubtedly he would say that God has graciously shown how faithful He is in the way that He has used the Pastor for His Kingdom purposes.

Genesis 2:4 to 3:24 in Second Draft

Pastor Ossimba drafted Genesis 2:4 to the end of chapter 3. This morning (Nov. 8) Marie-Thérèse Nanga and I did a revision of the spelling. The pastor will be looking at our work when he comes back from church-meetings in the Swo area.

A Language Map showing Southeastern Cameroon

The arc of our ministry in Cameroon and Congo begins at the south in Souanke, where we have never set foot. That is where Njyem is spoken, however. Our ministry among the Njyem started in 1987. The language is spoken to the north among the Cameroonian Njyem up to the Dja River. Then you are among the Nzime, where we began in 1976. Their neighbors to the north are the Badwe'e, where we began working in 1981. The Swo people are at the left-most end of the arc. We began work among them in 1986.
The total distance of the arc is 200 miles from the beginning of the Swo people-group to the end of the Njyem. That is 200 miles as the hornbill flies; it would be longer if the trip involved roads.

A Quantitative View of Our 38 Years in WBT

I joined Wycliffe December 1972. For me, it was where I found my wife, Mary, and entered into the lives of many people.

Some were in the USA, people who saw some of God's handiwork in me. They wanted to become partners in this adventure.

Others were in Cameroon. Some of these were already looking for God to work in their lives at a deeper level, through their heart languages. Others had their eyes opened gradually as they were persuaded to undertake a new way of being God's people.

We are still on the journey and look for God's guidance, providence and blessing as we help the people-groups of Cameroon know him better.

New Swo Project Workers

Since Monday, I have been working with Marie-Therese Nanga-Ele, a speaker of Swo residing in Yaounde. She comes in the mornings to work with me on refining my beginner's knowledge of Swo and of its grammar. She has a more and more confident attitude about the meaning of little particles that occur naturally in texts. This week we worked on a complete revision of Genesis 1-2:3 which Pastor Ossimba Simon Pierre brought me last night. He wants to take it back to the village in the form of a little tract on Monday, Nov 8. He comleted the translation of Genesis 2:4-3 and I have a copy to keyboard. My surprise was that the Pastor has also made the mental adjustment this week to being a Bible translator. Around Tuesday the writing system "clicked" in his mind and he sensed that he could write the language. He also reported that he ran the calcultations concerning the time remaining before he finishes the Swo Bible(!). So much for those who said a Swo Bible translation was an unlikely need. Things have a way of taking on a life of their own.