Postscript

Is it possible to sing in Mono? It is if that is the name of your mother tongue!

A year ago when I visited the Mono language community in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), I was reminded afresh of the excitement people have when they use their own language.

This video shows the pastor of the church we visited singing a song in the Mono language.  I think people in this church usually sing in Lingala (a regional trade language) or French (an official language of the DRC). You can hear a murmur in the background  - people were talking about this – their pastor was singing in Mono!

It’s been a little less than a year since I visited the Democratic Republic of Congo.  It was a wonderful trip that I will remember for a long time.  I hope to go back sometime.  While DRC seems to have had (and parts continue to have) more than their share of news-worthy struggle and conflict, I believe it’s this same struggle that has helped so many develop a true sense of what really matters in life.  It’s a maturity that can only come through the refinement of hardship. It gives people the ability to see beyond their present circumstances, and for Christian believers, it allows them to keep their faith focused on eternity.

I came across a beautiful story from CBS News in the USA that illustrates the resilience of many people in Congo and the gift for music that it seems so many in Congo have.  The segment is called Joy in the Congo.  It’s about the Kimbanguist Symphony Orchestra.  The reporters called this group an impossible miracle.  To me, it’s expression of what it means to truly be Congolese – to be an overcomer, to have joy in hardship, to have true and tested faith.  Watch the video and be inspired!

Congolese music is popular music across Africa – lots of people listen and emulate it.  I wonder if this orchestra will start a new music trend across the continent!

Go here to learn more about the Kimbanguist Symphony Orchestra.

When I was in DRC in March, the church service we went to in the village of Bili included a a time for people to share some of the what has been happening in the Mono Bible translation project.

Four people read portions from the gospel of Mark (translated into Mono).  Most of them had learned to read in the Mono literacy classes being held in the community.

The coordinator of the literacy classes took the opportunity to encourage more people to attend the literacy classes that they were hosting.

Literacy classes are an important part of every translation program.  Most Bible translation programs that involve staff associated with Wycliffe are in small languages that have not previously been written down.  So as the Bible is being translated, the language is often also being written down for the first time.

While for the most part these communities may have a few people who have learned to read the national language, most will have never learned to read in any language. Literacy courses not only ensure that there will be people able to read the Bible and other materials translated into their language, but mother tongue literacy can also be a bridge to learning to read in the trade or national language of a country.

Learn more about literacy.

Going to church in different places is something I greatly enjoy. Have a look at some scenes from the church service I went to in Bili.

You’re looking at a draft of the translation of the book of Ruth in the Mono language.  I’d say it’s about half-way through the translation process.  A lot has happened to get to that point, and a lot has yet to be done.

How the Bible gets from it’s original languages (Hebrew and Greek) into another language is a process that involves many people and lots of checks and revisions.  You can see a slide show of the process here.

Here’s a little about what’s happening in the Mono project:

The Mono Bible translation project, like many translation projects, began by the request of Christians in the Mono language community.  For a few years, some foreigners came to live in the community.  They helped to develop an alphabet and documented the sounds, grammar and structure of the language.  They left after just three years because of the war in the area.

The community did not lose hope and continued to pray that God would help them to have the Bible in their language.  Several years later, Gaspard and Marie Yalemoto were selected by their community to continue the project.  They went to Bible college and seminary to receive training in theology, linguistics and translation principles.

They joined ACOTBA-SUBO, the local Bible translation organization in this area.  ACOTBA-SUBO provides infrastructure for resourcing Bible translation projects and accountability for the people involved in each project.

The five member Mono translation team does much of their translation work at the ACOTBA-SUBO office in Gemena, DRC. The team is lead by Pastor Gaspard Yalemoto.  It also has two full-time translators (including Marie Yalemoto) and one person who helps to type the text into the computer. All of the team members are mother-tongue speakers of Mono, and the team members involved in translating the text have all received training in Bible translation principles.

Special computer software provides the team with exegetical and linguistic helps and makes drafting and revising the text simpler.

The Mono language community is estimated to have about 100,000 people.  Several of the main villages have a translation committee.  These committees play an important role in general promotion of their language including encouraging literacy classes and the use of available scriptures.

But, a very important part of their job is to coordinate the testing of each passage of scripture as it is translated. The testing process involves seeing how well people comprehend the meaning of the passage.  If something is unclear or misunderstood, they offer suggestions to the translation team in Gemena for how to correct it or make it clearer.

Testing is done with a cross-section of people from the community including pastors and church members from different denominations, men and women, young and old.

The translation committee in Bili is distinct from the others. Bili is considered by the Mono language community to be the linguistic center of their language, or the place where the purest form of Mono is spoken.  Sometimes important key terms can be challenging to translate and the translation committees may have differing opinions as to how to advise the translation team.  When this happens, the opinion of the committee in Bili carries the most weight in how to advise the translation team.  With feedback from the translation committees, the translation team makes revisions to the text.

Another part of the checking process is for the translated passages to be checked by a translation consultant.  Consultants have advanced training in theology, linguistics, and biblical languages.  They also must have previous experience in a Bible translation project.  Consultants ensure that what is translated is accurate to the meaning of the source languages (Greek and Hebrew).  After consultant checks, translation teams have more revisions to do, and more testing.

Goma is one of the ACOTBA-SUBO staff that is completing training to be a full-time Bible translation consultant.  When he completes the program, he’ll serve as the primary consultant for ACOTBA-SUBO translation projects, including the Mono project.

Some scripture is already available in Mono.  Mark 10 was read in Mono in the church we visited in Bili.  I loved seeing this man’s smiling face as he heard God’s word in his own language.