Scripture Impact (Part II)

00:01
Tshwari Tjetjoo
The Bible is so important to me because I know whenever I read the word of God, I know that God is speaking to me. God is guiding me, showing me the way to live. 

00:22
Rich Rudowske
Welcome to the essentially translatable podcast brought to you by Luther Bible translators. I’m Richardowski. 

00:26
Emily Wilson
And I’m Emily Wilson. And we are on part two of a very special series. 

00:34
Rich Rudowske
That’s right, yeah. Throwing it back to when I got. 

00:36
Rich Rudowske
To spend a couple months in Botswana. 

00:38
Rich Rudowske
Doing my doctoral research. And we heard from Ponceau before. 

00:43
Emily Wilson
So in your travels, who were you chatting with today on the episode? 

00:48
Rich Rudowske
So, today is Tuare Hanang Shashu, who’s the other translator on the project. And Suare came to us a couple of years after Ponceau, as the project got to the point where they were ready for production work and looking to add more staff. She has an associate’s degree in business, and that’s what I love. If you listen to the last episode with Ponso, she’s got a theology degree. She’s an extrovert. She’s a verbal processor, just joy and Bubly. And then, Hanang, she’s business. She’s focused. They’re just a great team that way. They complement each other really well. And so she had an associate’s degree in business administration, but was working as a janitor in one of the local schools. 

01:27
Rich Rudowske
And the Bible Society, Botswana, the partner on the project, posted a position for the Shikalahari Bible translation, posted it throughout the country in the government newspaper and for folks to apply. She saw that posting and applied and went through our process with about 15 other folks, and she was the one who rose to the top, and we brought her in. She was a godsend, just a fantastic worker and really lovely to work with and glad we get to hear her story as well. 

01:53
Tshwari Tjetjoo
Yeah. 

01:53
Emily Wilson
So sit back and enjoy this interview with Swari. 

02:01
Rich Rudowske
We are here in my village house in Kang, Botswana, with Swara Hanang si shu, one of the translators on the Shakalahari Bible translation project here in Botswana. Thank you for being on the show today. So, Swara Hanang, tell us a little bit about yourself and how you found out about the Bible translation project, why you applied to be a Bible translator. 

02:23
Tshwari Tjetjoo
Yeah. My name is my home village. I have two kids, a boy and a girl. The elder one is 13. The younger one is three years. Ten years. Ten years between them. I came here to Kang. I was working. I was hired to work as a cleaner in one of the primary schools here. I didn’t know anything about the Bible translation, but one of the days I just saw an advert for the post office translator in the project. It was on the notice board at the post office. I was at the post office to do some things there, but I saw the advert. That’s when I knew that there is a translation project going on. 

03:48
Tshwari Tjetjoo
And I was so excited to see the advent because I felt excited in my spirit, because I said, this is the right job for me, I have to apply for it. So I applied for the post as a translator and I was hired. That was 2013, around June or July, if I’m not mistaken. So the reason why I applied to be a translator, I’m a Christian. So as a Christian, you know that you have to read the word of God, because that’s our guide on how to something that guide us on how to live our daily lives. So I knew by that time that this is a great opportunity for me to be able to study the word of God almost every day and learn the ways of God and be able to understand and help others, even to understand the word of God. 

05:06
Tshwari Tjetjoo
Because I knew for me to be translating means that I have to study and understand the word of God. So I knew that if I can understand it, I will also be able to help others who want to learn and know the word of God. So it was an opportunity for me, and I had that opportunity of being a translator. And also I felt that being a translator also will help me to improve in my interpretation. Work that I was doing is not work as such. I was an interpreter at my church for my pastor. So I knew that this will help me to improve in my interpreting for the pastor at the church. 

06:03
Rich Rudowske
Okay. And, yeah, talk about the Bible a little bit. Why you found it so important, or why was that such an important opportunity for you? What’s the role of the Bible in your life? 

06:15
Tshwari Tjetjoo
I would say the Bible, like I have said, is a guide to us as christians. It guides us on how to live our daily lives. So the word of God in Matthew four, chapter four, verse four, says that men shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God. So I believe that as a Christian, I should also live by the word of God. And for me to live by the word of God, I have to be reading it, studying it, and meditating on it every day or every time. And for me, I knew that the Bible, I have to read it to be a translator, helps me to read it every day, and to be able to meditate on what I have read and make it my way of life. 

07:20
Tshwari Tjetjoo
Like I said, the word of God say that the word of God, I would say it’s like foot to my spirit. For me to be grown in my spiritual life, I have to read the word of God. So the word of God is so very important in my life, because the word of God says that the word of God is God by himself. John says that the word of God came as flesh. And for me, I would say the word of God is God by himself speaking to me. So the Bible is so important to me because I know whenever I read the word of God, I know that God is speaking to me. God is guiding me, showing me the way to live. I believe that it has answers to all the questions that 1 may have. 

08:23
Tshwari Tjetjoo
So for me, if I have any questions, have any situations, I know I can refer to the Bible and I will get answers from there. 

08:31
Rich Rudowske
Okay? Yeah. So you get hired into this project, and so it’s the beginning of your work there. What was the most challenging thing for you when you first showed up, your first day and started trying to work in this project? 

08:45
Tshwari Tjetjoo
Yeah, I would say my challenge when I was presenting the project was writing my language, because my language was not written at that time. It was its first time to be written. So there was no, I would say, official way of writing it. Everyone was just writing in his own way. So I wasn’t sure of what is right and what is not or what I should write and what I shouldn’t write. That was the challenge that I had. 

09:22
Rich Rudowske
Yeah. So many of the people listening to this program probably won’t have thought about that before that there are many languages like yours that had not been written before. So how do you learn to write it and how did you start to overcome that obstacle for being able to do the Bible translation? 

09:39
Tshwari Tjetjoo
Yeah, like I said, I would say almost everyone had his own way of doing it. I also had my own of writing it, which I say is because our language is more close to Citron. I had my way of writing it, and when I was hired as a translator, when I learned the orthography that was used, I learnt that it was not so different from what I was writing. So it became easy for me to be able to write it. Now, you’ve seen the autography that was there in the translation project. 

10:25
Rich Rudowske
So when you’re doing this kind of work now, you’ve been with the project for about eight years. When you do this, part of the work that you do is to go around to the villages and to share about the work of the project to get feedback, which kind of makes you an ambassador for your language. So how do people receive the work when you go around to the villages and just talk about some of what you do? To talk to people about the language? 

10:50
Tshwari Tjetjoo
Yeah, I would say the majority of the people that we have met yet met most of them, I would say they have welcomed our wake. If I was using sister, I would say they have welcomed our wake with both of their hands. The reason, I believe, being that they were excited about seeing their language being written, because I believe it has been their dream to see their language being written, even though they had some challenges of reading it. But they were excited because most of the time when we meet with them, were reading to them. Even if they have the papers, it helped them to follow what is written and know that this is what they have. And also we showed them the autography that we have, and they were able to follow what we have. 

11:53
Tshwari Tjetjoo
And that makes them so excited to say, now our language also will be recognized because it has been one of the languages that I would say it has been looked at as a minor language. So that makes them excited to see their language being written, saying that our language also can be seen written on books. But others, even though they were saying that it’s difficult for them to read the language because it’s the first time. But they were saying, we will learn when times goes on, because even the languages that we are reading now, we started by learning our language. We will learn it and be used to reading and writing it. 

12:44
Rich Rudowske
So as you’ve been in the villages or meeting with people to talk about the translation, what’s one of your favorite stories from someone who you’re meeting that’s hearing the Shakalahari translation for the first time? 

12:56
Tshwari Tjetjoo
Yeah. I remember sometimes I would say 2015, were doing field testing in Budibing, which is in the northern part of the country, Budibing village. And by that time, there was this man. He’s also a pastor, I believe, in the Zion church. We were filtesting the book of Revelation. I was the one who was written the passages or the text, and after finishing reading it, that man was so excited, he used this word by saying, I have been reading this book or text in the English. And after hearing it being read in my language, it’s like the spirit has taken it straight to my heart. He said, it is more understandable to read the word of God in your language than to read in to read. 

13:59
Tshwari Tjetjoo
It is from other languages that we think we understand, but now it shows that it’s difficult to understand fully when you are reading in other languages. 

14:11
Rich Rudowske
Yeah. So I’m just curious, do you have the same experience because you’re the one who’s done the translating and you’ve written this? Do you ever go back and read some of it and say, oh, my goodness, this is like really clear, or is it because you did it yourself? It’s not the same. 

14:26
Tshwari Tjetjoo
Yeah, I would say I have the same experience as Dutchman because there are some things that when I read, even though, even after reading it, after some times now I will realize that this, I haven’t been understanding it well from the other languages, but now it’s like I understand it more when I read it from my own language. 

14:54
Rich Rudowske
So as you are coming now close to the completion of the New Testament, talk to us a little bit about what happens as you get close to the end and what are some of the joys and the challenges that you have? 

15:08
Tshwari Tjetjoo
Yes, we are excited to be coming near to the end of the translation, the New Testament, because it makes us excited because we know that now our people will be having the Bible in their language, they will be reading the Bible in our language. And more especially if you are a translator, it makes you proud because, you know, I’m part of this project. I’m part of this wake that people will be having in their hands. And you said the challenges that we are having. Okay, I would say the challenges that we are having towards the end of the translation of the New Testament is of, especially during this years of last year, and this year is of the pandemic, Covid-19 pandemic. 

16:12
Tshwari Tjetjoo
It makes things difficult for us in terms of reviewing, because were not able to gather people as we used to do because of the protocols that have to be followed. And also people just were just afraid to gather. So it was so difficult for us to gather people to make reviews or to do field testing, to go to their homes because of the Covid-19 but even though we did not give up, we continued and do what we can and continued with our work. And the other thing that I would say is a challenge is of finding people who also can do the proofreading, because nowadays everyone is busy with their daily lives, but we will not give up. We will continue because we know somehow God will open a door for us to be able to do what we want to do. 

17:19
Rich Rudowske
Okay. I know there’s a lot of uncertainty, but if you had to guess, when do you think the New Testament is going to be done and ready to launch. 

17:32
Tshwari Tjetjoo
I think next year. If there is no other thing that will come before us by next year, we’ll finish our New Testament and launch it. 

17:45
Rich Rudowske
Yeah, of course. I was around at the beginning of the project and worked with Dean Nelson Lakutlani, who was one of the founding fathers of the committee that mobilized the church and the community and helped start the project. And he said at the beginning of the project, back in 2010, it has always been my dream, even when I was in theological college, that one day my own people, the Bakalahari, would have the scriptures in their own language. So for me, this is a golden opportunity to do that. So how does it feel to think about some of those founding fathers, like Maruti Lakutlani, Maruti Kadiketa, the others who have gone to be with the Lord now? But this project is getting close to publishing the New Testament and being part of making that dream happen in reality. 

18:31
Tshwari Tjetjoo
Yeah. The only thing that someone can think about when he thinks of them is just being proud of them. Just being proud of them. For them to have such a great dream, which I believe for the community of Bakalasari, it makes them excited. Like I said, it makes me proud. And just because some of them have no more with us, but I just wish they could be around to now witness or see their dream finally coming true. I believe that we will always remember them by what they have started. We know, even though it’s us, we are continuing with the work, but we know we’ll always remember that they are the ones who started this dream and the dream is now coming true. 

19:37
Rich Rudowske
Yeah. So have you imagined how the launch event will be, what will happen and what are you picturing there and what will happen after it? 

19:47
Tshwari Tjetjoo
Yeah. For the event, I’m just imagining it’s just a big event whereby the bakalahadi people will be gathering together to receive the New Testament in their language. And also I’m imagining them also showcasing their culture, because culture and language, I believe they go together. So I imagine that such kind of event whereby they will be receiving the Bible in their language, which is the New Testament, and also showcasing their other cultures and that combination, I think it will be great. 

20:32
Rich Rudowske
Okay. How can we be praying for your ministry and your work in the Bible translation project? 

20:39
Tshwari Tjetjoo
Yeah. The prayer that I believe you can pray for us is to pray for the project to continue until we accomplish what we want to accomplish, which is finishing the Bible, completing the New Testament and also the Old Testament and having the full Bible in our language. Also pray for our families as the translation team for God to continue to protect us, protect our families, because if we could have any circumstances in our families or situations, the project will also be affected. So pray for our families, for God to always protect and sustain us so that the project could continue and also as we can continue with this work of God until it comes to the end of it. 

21:45
Rich Rudowske
Yeah. All right. Well, thank you. We’ve been talking with Swara Hanang, one of the translators in the Shakalahari Bible translation project here in Botswana. And thanks for being with us today. 

21:56
Tshwari Tjetjoo
Thank you. 

22:01
Emily Wilson
So, I love Swari’s just her posture in how she sees God’s word and just permeates all part of her life and her family’s life and just how much she yearns for this to be among her people. And it’s inspiring, but it’s also like seeing all of the steps along the way and, okay, so our language wasn’t written well, what does that mean? And being able to walk with people and just what she shared of, like, okay, God’s word in our own language and what does that mean? And how people just really took it to heart. 

22:44
Rich Rudowske
Yeah, I found it really meaningful for both of these interviews to just have these frontline Bible translation workers tell their own stories from their own perspective and really just taken it to another level of leaning into, like, what’s it like to walk in this job on the first day? You’ve never used this language in a written form before. You’re trying to figure out, I’m translating, and a big part of translating is writing. We don’t even write this language, so what are we going to do? And then learning all the biblical concepts and all of that stuff. It’s fascinating to hear it from their perspective. 

23:16
Emily Wilson
And we want to encourage you all to keep the Shakalahari Bible translation program in your prayers. And so if you visit lbt.org, you can see all of the different programs that Lutheran Bible translators is currently working in around the world. But do encourage you all to scroll on down, see the Shikalahari, pray for them, and the Lord is leading you to support them. We do want to encourage you in that as well. 

23:43
Speaker 5
Thank you for listening to the essentially translatable podcast brought to you by Lutheran Bible translators. Look for past episodes@lbt.org slash podcast or on your favorite podcast platform. Follow lutheran Bible translators’social media channels on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter. Or go to lbt.org to find out how you can get involved in the Bible translation movement. And put God’s word in their hands. The essentially translatable podcast was produced and edited by Andrew Olson. Our executive producer is Emily Wilson. Podcast artwork was created by Caleb Rotewald and Sarah Lyons. Music written and performed by Rob Weit. I’m Rich Rudowski. So long for now.