“G’day mate, how are you doing?”

“Oh, not that flash. I had to go to the quack today. If that wasn’t bad enough, I locked my gummies in the boot, then on my way home I hit some loose metal and had a prang that put a ding in my bonnet. To top it all off, I ran out of petrol and had to walk home through a freezing southwesterly and came down as crook as a dog. But no worries. After I get a bit of good tucker, she will be right!”

Oh, how I love to hear the sound of some good Kiwi (New Zealand) lingo! It is like music to my ears. Having been away from my homeland for several years has made me relish it all the more every time I hear it.

Whether you speak Spanish or Serbian, Korean or Khmer, there is nothing quite like the music of your mother tongue after you haven’t heard it for a while. It’s part of who you are, and try as you may, you just can’t express yourself as freely in any other language.

Our friend Yesuman belongs to the Great River People who have their own language. He can also speak the national language. As we have been studying the Bible with him, he has shared with us some of his experiences witnessing to his friends about Jesus. “Sometimes I talk to my friends. I explain to them about Preah Yesu (the name for Jesus in the national language), but it is hard for them to understand. They think Preah Yesu is a foreign God for other people. They don’t understand that He is who we Great River People call Isa. It would be much easier to share with my family and friends if we had a Bible that uses our language.”

Fortunately, several different organizations have understood the importance of translating materials into people’s heart languages. Some of these organizations are working on materials for the Great River People. One organization is focusing on inserting key Great River People words and phrases into the existing national-language Bible. This will help them see for instance that the Jesus of our Bible is the same person they know as Isa.

In the book of Acts, Luke relates the story of Pentecost. People from many different ethnic groups scattered throughout the Roman empire had gathered to worship in Jerusalem. As the Holy Spirit was being poured out, the apostles began to speak in the native tongues of the people: “Then they were all amazed and marveled, saying to one another, ‘Look…how is it that we hear, each in our own language in which we were born? . . . we hear them speaking in our own tongues the wonderful works of God.’”

God knew the importance of speaking people’s heart language all along. And in my language, I would say that’s just “Spot on!”

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