Previous Next

Splash is a Bible translator. He belongs to a small team, just three San people working to translate a written version of the Bible in the San language, Khwedam. He also works closely with the Seed Company field coordinator, Eben Le Roux, on the oral translation project in the Khwe communities of Northern Botswana. In the past five years, Splash has helped translate and write numerous Bible stories including those found in Jonah, Genesis and throughout the Gospels.

Translating Scripture is difficult, and he has sacrificed much for it. Most days, Splash only gets through 10 verses of Scripture. The work is tedious and keeps him very busy, and to be quite honest, he could make more money in another line of work. But the sacrifice seems little in light of what he believes his community will gain.

“If I left the project, the translation would collapse,” he says. “If the translation collapses, it means our people will not know the Word of God.”

Outside of the community of San believers, the Scriptures and God’s true character are unknown among the San. Without an eternal belief system rooted in truth, the San people face difficulties – including addictions to alcohol and a lack of respect for each other.

“God right now for our people is not a positive force but that is because of a lack of knowledge of who He really is.”

When Splash discovered our Creator‘s true character through the work of translation, his perceptions about God changed. In fact, when Splash was first hired by Lutheran Bible Translators to begin translating the Bible, he didn’t believe what the Bible said was actually true.

“My family – my brothers and my father – were Christians. I didn’t believe, but I knew Christianity could help other people. At first, I just wanted to speak for my people and for our language to be standardized.” 

It didn’t take long for Splash to change his mind about the real meaning of the work he was doing. As he began to pour over Scripture day in and day out, he could’t help but see it as good news, saving news, for himself and for his people. 

 {gallery}splash-gallery{/gallery}

“The more I read the Bible, it told me a lot of things. What made me believe was the understanding of God as I was reading the Bible. I realized that God is the only God that created the Heavens and the earth, and He so loved us that He put us in a garden He made for us to live in. He created us in His image.”

Splash is living a new life – a transformed life – fully committed to his new identity in Jesus, sacrifices and all. And in the midst of all of the hard work, he’s giving his life away. He’s a mentor for new believers who are just beginning to know God’s word; working hard to be a humble servant, versus an authoritative leader. As for his dreams? Someday, he wants to record Gospel music in Khwe.

“Splash is someone who is very dedicated to spreading the word of God,” Eben says.

Before we returned home, Splash took us to Tsdillo Hills – the place many Khwe people consider their ancestor’s original home. The hills are an anomaly against the flat, desert landscape of northern Botswana. They rise and drop quickly with shadows keeping the earth beneath them cool and wet. Rumors of lions followed us throughout the day, as we searched for painted rocks telling stories from the Khwe’s earliest days as a tribe.

It’s a place many are proud of, and a refuge reminding Splash and his people of their original roots and the way God created them to be. So often, this identity for the Khwe and other San people is so often marred or forgotten by the world. Splash is hopeful the work he has been called to do will change this.

“If the project continues, I think there will be an impact to my society, like there was an impact in myself,” he says. “A lot of people who are lost, will know the direction. Then I think the spirit of jealousness and pride — those things will be reduced.” 

As we sat on the large, blue stones of the hills, Splash talked about the difference translation work will bring for the identity of his people. He doesn’t want to abandon the many good attributes of his ancestors, but fully believes that it’s only through God – the God of the Bible – that true goodness can be reached. He will continue to work until the entire Bible is translated he says, for each part is necessary and important for his people to read.

Photos by Esther Havens
Written by Kelsi Williamson

Previous Next

Bible translation is about more than memorizing and repeating scripture. While these are necessary components, the real key to translation is the internalization and narration of a story. It’s just the same as the difference between writing “I will never again lie about not doing my homework,” 1,000 times and actually never lying again about not doing your homework - the former can play a part in leading you to the latter, but is not an end in and of itself.

When a Bible narrator can finally take hold of a story they’ve learned, passionately applying it to their lives and encouraging others to do the same, this is when Bible translation actually happens. 

James Kangwa is no stranger to this process. He’s seen translation transform his own life and is now actively working to make sure it does the same in his community. The encouragement of Christian Elders in his village first prompted James to learn more about what it means to follow Jesus. “After that, I continued to learn and then even convinced others to believe.”

 {gallery}jamess-gallery{/gallery}

James cannot understate the importance of involving community in the translation process. He says this is the reason for his faith now, and is essential for God’s word to continue to spread. James is clearly a community man. He is quick to smile and chuckles almost constantly with his buddies around the fire during the week of Seed Company workshops. He waves to neighbors and shouts a quick greeting, and holds his baby daughter, Elina, just like any good dad would do.

“A good life is learning and talking with community,” he says.

The gospel has done more than connect James with his community. Before he believed, he says he often had horrible dreams filled with bad spirits. These dreams would repeat themselves over and over, and James was desperate to alleviate them.

“One of the worst dreams I used to have, I would be going to stay somewhere and spirits would attack me, taking out my heart. I would wake up, my heart racing.”

The elders shared scripture with James, they shared with him the power Jesus has as Savior - from all past, present and future sins. Believing in this power was the only way the bad dreams finally stopped. James began to call on the name of Jesus after a dream and eventually, they stopped all together.

The power of the word of God eradicated James’ dreams and it’s with that same power James hopes to help his neighbors sift through their cultural beliefs in order to find truth. There is now only one God he wants to follow.

“I share the word of God in order for the community to change their beliefs. We believe in many things that are ungodly things, especially when sacrifices are done. I want these to completely change. God is the creator of the heavens and we should only worship him.”

Photos by Esther Havens

Written by Kelsi Williamson

Previous Next

On a night when I was very young and asleep, a huge light hit me through my family’s tent. I woke up suddenly only to discover the light was gone. I wondered where it had come from but went back to sleep. For many nights throughout my childhood, the light continued to return and was followed by a dream.

In the dream, people would surround me, one would take out a black book and they would talk with me. There was a beautiful building in my dream, and I thought, How do I get to this place?

When I was around 11 years old, I actually saw people all with these same black books go inside a building. I went with one of my friends to see inside and realized that this was the building I had dreamt about. It was a church. That day, the preacher told the story of the Prodigal Son.

As a storyteller, Anton is the keeper of many dreams. Over the course of his 40-something years — through dreams, knowledge and difficult circumstances — Anton has learned God is with him. In response, his passion is to spread the love of God.

Today Anton dreams about his people’s future. As an avid learner, he seeks out the wisdom of his San elders and passes it along to the youth. He’s a gatekeeper of knowledge about the land and plant life, tracking animals, and traditional San music.

In this mix of ancient cultural traditions, by pointing the San people to their gifts and culture, Anton knows he will also point them to their Creator.

And wherever he goes and no matter the response, Anton is quick to share God’s Word.

His mission has not been an easy one. At a young age, polio left him unable to use his legs. He met frequent taunting from his peers with anger. Then he discovered alcohol as an equalizer. “The whole day, the whole night — I would have drank until my life went,” Anton says.

Although he heard Scripture in church, Anton’s life didn’t change until he brought an Afrikaans Bible home with him. As he read God’s Word, Anton says, “I started to feel like I shouldn’t drink.” He hasn’t struggled with alcohol since. As Anton has discovered God’s character and His promises, his life began to change.

“The Bible is life,” he says.

“The Bible is life,” he says.

{gallery}Antons-Gallery{/gallery}

Living in the lands made famous by the Kalahari Desert, Anton is no stranger to thirst. Yet, he sees a garden in the midst of the desert. Motivated by indigenous irrigation technologies, Anton is determined for life to thrive.

The change in his own life has motivated Anton to help quench the thirst of others through Scripture. He’s now helping his people learn about God’s true character in the way and in the language they understand best.

“To know God,” he says, “you must also know who He has created you to be.”

Since Bible storytelling began last year in the San Cluster, Anton has attended every Khwedam workshop (one of the nine San languages). He fills the air with joy and is always willing to help others work through a translation or listen to a story.
Near the fire each night with his friends and family from three different countries, Anton’s heart pours out through the song lyrics about the struggles his people have faced and the hope they have in Jesus. He plays the homemade Ndingo instrument — rusted over from rains and wear and tear — with the same passion in which he lives his life.

The future of his people and their culture rests on access to the Scriptures, Anton says. This means both oral and written translation in his heart language of Khwedam is essential. “We want a Bible to read in our own language because many don’t know how to read in other languages, and some don’t know how to read at all.”

“We want a Bible to read in our own language because many don’t know how to read in other languages or even how to read at all.”

A dream gave Anton access to the Bible. Now it’s his dream to make sure others have the same opportunity to read, to hear and to know Scripture, driving them to glorify God for their unique cultural identity and “love each other with genuine affection, and take delight in honoring each other. – Romans 12:10 (NLT). 

Photos by Esther Havens

Written by Kelsi Williamson