God has answered your prayers! The New Testament dedication and distribution in three languages (Arli, Gurbet and Chergash) was very successful! People left the meetings encouraged and motivated in the eternal, impactful role that they have played in the work thus far. It is motivating to everyone working on the OT in these languages, and those still working on the NT in other languages where we have projects underway. We all feel dependent on the Lord and motivated to pray that the seed of the Word of God will bear fruit in the lives of the Roma who have and will receive copies of these New Testaments.
Tuesday evening we enjoyed warm hospitality with loads of food in the home of the national director, a dear Roma friend and key translator. Wednesday was International Day of Roma (April 8), which we celebrated in a Roma settlement, where we distributed NTs, accompanied by (very loud!) live Roma music and folk dancing. Tonight (Thursday) we will have another distribution for the congregation of a local church.
A special joy was meeting in person with the newly recruited team for the Bayash language. (We had finished Luke with a previous team several years ago.) They have now begun in Mark to translate the rest of the New Testament.
After walking through the oldest Roma settlement in Leskovac, Serbia, our teammates lead us to the top of a hill where there was a monument (see the last picture below) in remembrance of the 320 Roma men, including relatives of three of our Bible translators, who were rounded up and executed by the Nazis in 1941. (This was in retaliation for two Nazi officers whom the local Serbs killed in a bombing–300 Roma lives to pay for two Nazi deaths!) We stood in a circle, holding hands, and prayed. The prayers were led by Roma, forgiving their oppressors and praying that God would use Roma to reach the other Europeans for Christ. It was a powerful moment.
We’ve enjoyed meals with our translators and their families and many co-workers from South Africa, Slovakia and the US who have invested in this Bible translation program. Below are pictures of the presentations and distributions of the NTs and some of the wonderful food we’ve enjoyed and sights we have seen.
At 3:15 a.m. tomorrow morning, we will leave from our hotel, pick up a colleague who traveled from Dallas, and drive to Belgrade, Serbia, to catch our flights (Belgrade to Zurich to Chicago to Kansas City). Please pray for safe travels, good health, quick adjustment back to the time zone in the US (a seven-hour difference) and that our luggage will arrive on time.
Gratefully, Todd & Pamala
