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Under a white bucket hat and blue-tinted glasses, Michael Kativa’s smile is as wide as his face and his eyes sparkle in mirth. His tall height and outgoing personality set him apart from many of his San peers.

The foundation for Michael’s vibrant joy lies within the confidence he finds in Jesus. Quite comfortable in his camping chair, he sat back, crossing his legs, and explained, “I am thankful I am saved and that my life has been transformed because of God’s Word. It has brought me peace with God.”

“I am thankful I am saved and that my life has been transformed because of God’s Word. It has brought me peace with God.”

Before he knew the stories found in Scripture, Michael would often get into fights and drink too much. His wife left him many years ago, and he has since experienced the death of his daughter and has become estranged from his son.
“The Bible exposes what is wrong in your life,” he says.

“The Bible exposes what is wrong in your life.

As a San elder, Michael desires a better life for the people of his home village, Kapatura. Michael lived in Nambia for many years, but returned to home 15 years ago. Now as an elder in the community, Michael says hopes to be a father figure to many of the young people that live nearby. He passionately lives a changed life in order for more lives to change.

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Many people in the community do not know how to read. For the San people, the life of Jesus is a story best told orally, around a campfire or under a neighbor’s tree. Michael has been part of the Bible storytelling project in Botswana since it began just over a year ago and he is encouraged by the changes occurring in Kapatura. Many more young people in his village have started attending Bible studies organized by field coordinator, Eben Le Roux. This is a big accomplishment because, “the young people are disillusioned,” says Eben. “Many do not believe that the Scriptures bring hope.”

Working as narrators with Eben and Michael, some of the younger community members have a huge opportunity to impact their friends and family. Michael desires to see them succeed and stays in touch with them.

As a narrator and a workshop attendee, Michael is learning more and more about how to deal with his neighbors in a Godly manner. People don’t always respond to the stories he tells and his values as a believer in the way he would hope, but that doesn’t stop him from continuing to share.

“I used to have a lot more hair when I started work for God years ago,” he told us jokingly. “It’s as if people are unaware that they are in a bush. They should come out of the bush, out of the woods and be in the open to learn about God.”

Kapatura‘s village chief also recently started to come to the meetings – a small act that could greatly affect the rest of the village. Michael has welcomed the chief with open arms and glorifies God for the opportunities ministering to the chief will create.

No matter the resistance or obstacles, Michael is set to change his people for the better. He is looked up to by many of the workshop attendees and his fellow narrators because he is knowledgeable but more importantly, because he cares about those around him. His confidence is not just a character trait, but clearly a work of the Holy Spirit. He is an elder set on changing the world around him only because he can proudly proclaim, “God is the same, He doesn’t change.”

“God is the same, He doesn’t change.”

Photos by Esther Havens
Written by Kelsi Williamson

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“MY SOUL CLINGS TO THE DUST; GIVE ME LIFE ACCORDING TO YOUR WORD.” -PSALM 119:25

In this land, deep sands wash over hills and under trees, unavoidable by any living creature. In the middle of the vast desert landscape, our team joined small circles of San people; we listened as they shared stories, both ancient and new. As the first inhabitants of what is now known as South Africa, Botswana and Namibia, the San traditionally are a peaceful people speaking nine “click” languages.

Rich in indigenous knowledge, the San have long survived on nuts, berries and small game. Unrestrained by boundaries, they moved up and down rivers and lived in small family groups. In the last two centuries, other tribes have moved in and overtaken their homeland, pushing the San to the outskirts of land areas and society. They’ve been told their way of life is archaic, or worse, lazy. As a result, the San have suffered a loss of culture and tradition as they’ve been forced to adapt to the modernity surrounding them.

Although San villages now resemble those of neighboring Bantu tribes, the quality of life of the San people is often much more difficult. Like many other societies that experience degradation and dependency on other groups in power, the San now are grappling with social problems, including alcoholism and a lack of education. Forced off lands by government forces, abandoned by some humanitarian groups, or pushed toward doctrines and beliefs that fail to communicate the Gospel in a meaningful context, the San have fought hard to maintain a sense of identity.

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Eben Le Roux grew up among the San people of Botswana. He’s a modern missionary, ministering among the people he knows best. As a field coordinator, Eben is quick to dodge praise and just as quick to crack a joke. He often sits quietly for hours on an uncomfortable child-sized chair encouraging translators as they grapple for the right phrases to convey a Scripture passage in their language. His workload is heavy, yet he never complains. It’s not uncommon to see his curly blonde head streaking past as he sprints from sandy place to sandy place to complete the day, leaving enough time to spend with his three young daughters and wife, Phia.

Eben and Phia live on the family farm nestled on the Okavango Delta near the Botswana and Namibia border. At night, hippos grumble and munch on the grass in the family’s front lawn, and during the day a mix of Afrikaans and English chatter is heard throughout the house and yard. Although the family’s calling is not always easy, joy bursts from every corner of the farm.

The Le Roux’s are always first to share with their neighbors — Eben daily transports six or seven San people in his truck bed while Phia can effortlessly make a feast for 20 from a meal for five as she chats away about the weather and newest Disney release. This is the life most people should envy — filled to the brim, always surprising and constantly satisfying. 

Eben believes in cultural preservation balanced with an eternal perspective. He says, “When we don’t have our land anymore, when we don’t have our resources anymore, our cultural identity anymore — we can have another identity in Christ. That’s something eternal that cannot be taken away from us.” At the same time, he says, “Christianity has had a long history in this area, but it has always been brought to people from the outside. It’s important to first see how God is working in a local area rather than coming up with your own plan and strategy for working with people.”

“Christianity has had a long history in this area, but it has always been brought to people from the outside, he says. “It’s important to first see how God is working in a local area rather than coming up with your own plan and strategy for working with people.”

The art of storytelling has a powerful impact on the way the San people internalize and begin to live out the Bible. “If you really want to hear a story, you’re not going to say, ‘Oh, let’s go listen to a tape machine,’” says Eben. “Instead, people say, ‘Please tell me that story,’ or ‘That reminds me of something else I heard.’ It communicates so much better if someone tells you a story in person.”

When a translation workshop begins among the San, tents pop up in a community space as neighboring villagers arrive. People huddle together around small fires in the morning, drinking chai and eating bread and peanut butter while the sun slowly rises.

During the heat of the day, everyone congregates under shade trees to work through a story’s translation. Sometimes the process goes quickly — other times, it may take a few hours to translate one or two words from Setswana or Afrikaans into the word that will make the most sense in a Sans language, and in this case, the heart language known as Khwedam.

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The Beautiful Complexity of Language

Setswana is the national language of Botswana, Afrikaans is a daughter language of Dutch, and Khwedam is one of the nine languages spoken by the San.

Some narrators (Bible storytellers) can read two languages and own a Bible; others have only listened to the stories on an audio device and may not be able to read or write, but are master storytellers. Despite their individual level of experience, the workshop setting allows the entire community to develop stories accurately.

As narrators tell stories, community members listen intently. Then the feedback begins. Some may suggest a different word here or there. Others may ask to know more about the characters in the story. Many think deeply about what they’ve heard, internalizing the wisdom and truths of God’s Word, and reaching out to know Him more.

As a group, they check facts for each story and equip every individual with the confidence and skills needed to share with the broader community. Once the group decides on a final translation, a back translation is done into English in order for a consultant with theological and linguistic training to provide an analysis. Demonstrating their dedication, the narrators return to the workshops every three months to fine-tune their translations. “Each part of this process is linked together and important to the overall accuracy of the Khwe translation,” says Eben.

“The goal of the workshops is to cause a chain reaction,” says Eben. “The people who attend take the stories they learn back to their communities and share them, engaging others.”

It’s hard to imagine anyone loving a good story more than the San. Storytelling is a rich tradition as old as their culture. And coupling Bible translation with the art of storytelling is resulting in a contagious life-changing love for God, His Word and each other.

Photos by Esther Havens

Written by Kelsi Williamson

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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. 

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“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

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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.”

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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

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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.

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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