Access to Scripture in the appropriate media

One of the communities that we work with has been insisting that their scriptures should be made available not only in print but equally in audio as well as Android specifically in YouVersion format so that they can have it delivered unto their phones on a daily basis. To some people, it sounded as if they were asking too much for a start but to me, these are the formats that will make several people to really engage with the Scriptures very fast. This is equally an indicator that we need to listen to the people and provide what will serve them well not just what we think or want for them.
It was not until last Sunday in our Church that this became very clear to me as an older lady sat in front of me and I could see her using her Android phone to access Scriptures of course in English. Bambalang a language in the Ndop plain of North West Cameroon. So I greeted her in her language and you can imagine how she smiled back. I only know a few greetings in Bambalang though. Our SIL friends have been developing this language over the years. I have known the translators and we had a good relationship over the years. In fact, we just finished a workshop in which I was teaching the translators some tools they will use as they are nearing the completion of their NT and getting things ready for typesetting. I promised this lady that not long from now, she will access the Bible in her phone in the language of her heart and she is really looking forward tot that. She was surprised to hear that it is possible for her to have Scriptures in her language in her phone. She just come to Bamenda to visit her son. So it is encouraging to note that even people in the village access Scripture via their phones. I was just helping the translators as they are almost rounding up.

After Church, I made sure to greet her and told her that I really appreciate seeing her use her phone to access Scriptures. We got into a discussion and I sought to know what her language is. She speaks
I can see that with time more and more people will access Scripture this way. I need to get my mother an Android phone too as soon as possible. It is possible that accessing Scriptures in electronic formats like Android can also promote mother tongue literacy because people can easily switch between versions and read them. It is not easy to bring two Bibles to Church but carrying an Android device one can have more than one version installed. One good thing about electronic publishing too is that once a book is ready, it can be published and feedback can be gotten on the go as people begin to read it.