First Brushes with Gmz Scripture

This week, I (Travis) have been participating in a computer program workshop while Andrea has been faithfully attending language school on her own. The workshop was designed to teach people how to use the Bible translation software known as Paratext. This program is powerful when it comes to polishing and formatting the text of Scripture, as well as offering some helpful tools along the way. It will be within this program that the Gmz translation begins and eventually reaches its final form (though a few other programs will be helpful in the middle of the project). Some of our friends have been asking me “how is the workshop going?” to which I responded honestly, “I’m learning the Paratext program, but find myself spending more of the time browsing ebay for motorcycle safety equipment and playing a whole lot of chess against the computer. It’s true…because I had never used the program before, I was placed in the beginner group which was designed for those with very little computer experience. So, the first morning was all about antivirus programs and backups, followed by many different sessions on how to use menus, how to export and print, how to maximize and minimize windows. Sounds frustratingly easy, but really, I was fine, knowing that it was important for my Ethiopian brothers and sisters to learn these things. You see, this workshop was an excellent reminder that Bible translation is not best done by us foreigners. Instead, the more we can equip Ethiopians to be translators themselves, the better! Of the 15 participants in this workshop, 10 were Ethiopians translators. I wished that I had been like the others, that I could bring my Gmz translation team with me to the workshop. One day, we will have similar opportunities.

Probably the most exciting part of the workshop for me was when I imported the Gmz New Testament into Paratext and studied it for the first time. You see, there is a New Testament in one of the small dialects in Southern Gmz, though it is written in the Amharic Script which is no longer the official script of the Gmz language. In addition, the dialect differences among Gmz make this particular New Testament unusable for the majority of the other Gmz speakers. Nevertheless, just looking at the text on my screen and starting to sound out words in the language my heart desperately wants to learn was an exciting experience for me. Here I was, looking at the hard work done in the past that will become the starting block off of which our translation work will launch. Being this close to the text after all these years of preparation, reminded me of how close we are to this dream being realized! What a privilege to have come so far in such a significant work!