Today I went out to a nearby town/village with my roommate Alison to visit some friends of hers. This is a family who are from the Kuria tribe (though they are living in a Simbiti area). He is pastoring a church there, and his mother was also there visiting. His mother was pure old school Kuria, with a weathered face and hanging earlobes from gauged earrings. Alison brought a copy of the Jesus film in Kuria to give them, and what a joy.
The pastor was so excited that he immediately went to search out a dvd player to borrow (he only had a vcd player). He came back in about 20 minutes with a dvd player and a huge smile. He kept expressing how excited he was to see it, and how excited he was for his mom to see it. When he finally managed to get the player to open and inserted the disc, we started.
Throughout the movie, the pastor kept crying out in excitement, repeating the words, laughing, explaining things to his mother, talking about what good Kuria it was. He kept repeating, "This is so much better than in Swahili!" He said when he listened to it, it touched his heart in a way the Swahili didn't. This is a fairly educated man, who knows Swahili well and has a good grasp of English as well, yet his excitement at hearing the words of Jesus in his own language was something beyond that which I have seen. Joy was pouring out of him. Alison and I just kept looking at him and laughing with joy, such was his infectious excitement.
His mother watched too. She doesn't speak Swahili, and so has most likely had little access to Scripture, though the New Testament has already been translated into Kuria. She watched much more quietly than her son, but was very intent on the film. Yes, occasionally her grandchildren poked her to keep her awake, or her son prompted her to pay attention, but for much of the film, her attention was riveted and you could just tell she was touched. She asked her son questions about what was said or what was going on, and he engaged with her, explaining Jesus' words.
What a blessing of an afternoon! This was such fun, and reminded me again, in a very real way, of the need for Bible translation. The words enter in to a person in a really intimate way when they come in a language the person grew up speaking. It also got me excited about the prospect of getting this film into the languages we are working with here (which is on the books). What an exciting thing to be a part of!
But beyond all this, I was reminded of the power of the story of Jesus. The gospel is powerful. It changes lives and hearts. Jesus was God made flesh. He walked among us, taught, healed, loved. He died for our sins, and rose again on the third day. One day we will rise with him in glory. I was moved by seeing this story again, and in many ways for the first time, through the eyes of another. Praise God.
