The goodness of God

A couple of weeks ago, I began getting some noise in the car but it was not easy to figure out where the noise was coming from. Even the mechanic could not figure it out so I kept managing but deep inside me, I knew that the noise was a bit scary.

One day I went downtown, then I really noticed my steering wheel wasn't balancing very well. As I drove pass by, other drivers were so concerned and kept alerting me, pointing to my tire. I carefully packed and noticed that the tire was almost falling off. If I had just taken another road descending on a hill, the story will have been dangerous but God led me to another road.

This time I called another mechanic and although it took him a very long time to come, I had to wait. Waiting along this streets is not easy, you can't really go away for fear the council police might impound your car. You can't really sleep in the car for it was very hot and just so on.

Finally my friend Walters the mechanic showed up and checked and lo and behold the wheel was almost about to cut off. This means that my tire was going to jump out on me on the highway!

I am so thankful to God for protecting me this way.

While waiting, the Lord brought a very old song to my heart. The words goes thus:
My eyes have seen
My ears have heard
My mouth should talk about the goodness of God...

My eyes have seen
My ears have heard
My mouth should talk about the goodness of God...

God is good oh o ye, God is good oh o ye.

End of the year 2019 and new year 2020

My family and I always spend the end of the year in a very special way because I take a break from work and the girls are out from school too. Unfortunately, my wife gets very busy at this time of the year. This year, we are not able to travel because of the crisis in Anglophone Cameroon so we can't spend Christmas and New year in the village as has been our custom.
All of us helped my wife to get things made especially in making our own clothes! This was really fun. Then the new year was really good because Marie's mother visited us and we spent the day together. She brought us lots of food stuff from the village.

Unfolding of Language Technology...

By all means, the unfolding of Language Technology is accelerating Bible Translation and language development. We are excited to train people who will in turn train others. Two weeks this November spent in Jos Nigeria for a Language Technology Cohort has proven to be very useful as we can see that the seed we are planting God Himself will make it grow as others continue to water it. We look forward to that time when there will be great life transformation because of this. Of course we are only following on the footsteps of others who have done a great job here in Nigeria even before us.

Life in Maroua

Apparently, August is the best time of the year to be in Maroua because it rains quite often making the environment a bit refreshing. This time, there is a Muslim feast coming up on Sunday the 11th August so there are several lambs in town which I think are getting ready for slaughter in a couple of days. The lambs don't mind sharing a motor bike ride. If you are thirsty in Maroua town, you can be sure to easily find drinking water nearby.

Our Bible Translation consultant training event is going on very smoothly and we are thankful to God for leading us this far.

This boy is very rich

When I was a young boy as this guy pictured here, we will fix wheels out of bamboo or lids of pots and buckets. We will always collect lids and bring them home by all means. I even admired the wheels made out of word but I could not make one myself. So seeing him with this kind of wheel! I could not help but let him know that he is a very rich boy. He just smiled back at me and probably wondered what I mean. This took me down memory lane.

Is Bible Translation like preparing a well?

Yesterday morning we went out to fetch some water. At the first house we didn't get water. In the second we got some. My colleague (in the picture below) told the owner of the well that we have just begin translating the Bible in Ngiembɔɔn (their language). Then they talked about the well, when and how to fix it so that it will give water. As I listened to them, I was reflecting on wells and Bible times. Then it dawned on me that the work we do should be like preparing a good well so that every time people open the word of God, life giving water should always flow from it to refresh them.

Moise Yonta - Ngiemboon Bible Translator & Translation Consultant

Bible Translation is like preparing well...

July 14 - 19, we are in Batcham near Mbouda for a workshop training the translators to use technology for translating the word of God. In the morning, my colleague and I went to carry water but the owners of the well were not available. So we decided to return back and I was wondering how we will survive without water. He decided to branch at another computer. Then he called me to come and fill up my container. He began talking with the owner of the well and explaining what we are doing. This man seemed to be aware somehow. Then they were talking about a well. How and when to make a good well that will always have water. Immediately related it to what we do and began thinking about portions in Scripture that talking about a well. John 4:10-15 came vividly to my mind.

Jesus replied, “If you only knew the gift God has for you and who you are speaking to, you would ask me, and I would give you living water.” 

“But sir, you don't have a rope or a bucket,” she said, “and this well is very deep. Where would you get this living water?  And besides, do you think you're greater than our ancestor Jacob, who gave us this well? How can you offer better water than he and his sons and his animals enjoyed?”

Jesus replied, “Anyone who drinks this water will soon become thirsty again. But those who drink the water I give will never be thirsty again. It becomes a fresh, bubbling spring within them, giving them eternal life.”

“Please, sir,” the woman said, “give me this water! Then I'll never be thirsty again, and I won't have to come here to get water.”

If we want to have life giving water, we need to prepare for it very well. That is exactly what we are doing in Ngiemboon this week so that life giving water will always be available. To God be the glory.