Rejoicing with the Roma & Scriptures for the Sena
We’re rejoicing with the Roma people of Serbia & Croatia, and thankful to God that the dedication of the three Roma New Testaments on 8 April went very much to plan. This was far more than a formal event; it was a sacred moment in the life of the Roma people, and a powerful testimony to the transforming work of God through mother-tongue Scripture. We were reminded of the resilience and faith of these communities as their history has been marked by hardship and marginalization. And yet their openness to the Gospel and their commitment to seeing God’s Word take root in their own languages was truly inspiring.
The launch of the Gurbet, Arli, & Chergash Roma New Testaments took place in the city of Leskovac, in southern Serbia, where a revival took place in the 1990s. The total number of Roma people within these three people-groups number over 550,000 people - and so we rejoice that they now have access to God's Word in their heart language. In the city of Leskovac itself there are now over 1000 Roma believers out of a population of around 8000 Roma, most of whom are Muslim. Roma pastors and translators, together with their families, attended the launch, along with guests from Bulgaria, Croatia, Kosovo, Serbia, Slovakia, South Africa, the UK, and America. For this first print run, 7000 NT’s were printed, and many were distributed during and after the launch, and even during a Roma street party held to celebrate National Roma Day!
Although the Roma do not have a nation or state of their own, delegates from 14 countries met in London back in 1971 to designate “Roma” as their identity, and April 8 as their national day. This was done to raise awareness of the history and suffering of the Roma people. They also have their own national anthem, and a national flag consisting of a blue and green background, representing the heavens and earth, and a red 16-spoke cartwheel in the centre, representing the travelling tradition of the Romani people.
Remembering & forgiving: As part of our visit we were taken to the oldest Roma settlement in Leskovac, where one of the translators (Nikola) had been born. In the Spring sunshine we walked up a hill on the outskirts of the settlement to the Arapova Dolina monument, which is a memorial to a group of Roma who were massacred during WWII. Serbian resistance fighters had thrown a bomb into a barbers shop that had killed three German officers. In retaliation, the Nazis demanded 300 civilian lives as ‘payment’. The Serbian authorities tried to negotiate, but without success - and so they came up with a plan to meet this demand by supplying 300 Roma men. These men were lured to the hill under false pretences (the offer of work), where they were all shot dead by the Nazis. As the sound of gunfire echoed from the hills, Roma women from the village ran to search for their husbands and sons to find that they had all had been massacred.
Relatives of some of the translators were killed in this massacre. Sadly, as mentioned last month, the Roma have a long history of being persecuted throughout Europe, and these atrocities were all too common - but with heads bowed, we formed a circle and prayed together for God’s blessing on the Roma. It was both sobering and uplifting to hear a couple of Roma brothers forgiving ‘their’ persecutors for what had been done in Leskovac and elsewhere, and praying that God would enable them to be a light to the nations they are living in. You can only do that when you have a living relationship with the God of the Bible.
The Arapova Dolina monument on the outskirts of Leskovac, Serbia
Scriptures for the Sena:
In the February newsletter we featured a photo of some stacked cardboard boxes! It might not have seemed exciting to a UK reader, but to the Sena people of Malawi, it was a sight they’d been longing to see for some time. Well, those boxes are about to be unpacked, and their contents distributed amongst pastors and congregations in the south of the country. Rewind to November last year, and you may remember the “Sinai for Sena” sponsored climb of Mount Sinai which raised £36,601 for the printing of 10,000 Sena Bibles - all thanks to the generosity of people like yourselves. On the 1 May I travel to Malawi to help unpack and distribute those Bibles! In next month’s edition, I hope to be able to report back to you on the smiles of the Sena people as they receive copies of God’s Word.
We've just produced an article on a Bible smuggler from the 16th century - an unsung Bible hero who supported William Tyndale's translation work and helped to make the Bible in English available. If you're interested, please head to our website, or click on the link below:
“OUT & ABOUT” DIARY DATES for Steve in May 26:
1-9th May: Visit to Malawi for Sena Bible distribution (Sinai for Sena)
1-2 & 8-9 May are travel days. 3-7 May distribution events.
12 May: Bible teaching at Corsham Baptist Church Men’s event.
16/17 May: Oak Hall team weekend, Otford Manor, Sevenoaks.
18-21: Annual Leave
PRAISE & PRAYER POINTS:
ALBANIA: Pray for the strength and good health of Alfred and Stavri who are translating the New Testament into the Aromanian language, and have so far completed 65% of their audio recording. Pray that the Aromanian speakers will have open hearts to receive God’s Word in their own language.
NIGERIA: Praise God that 20 New Testaments are in typesetting preparation! Pray that the teams there would have the capacity and strength to finish well.
SERBIA: Praise God that the Roma launch in Serbia on 8 April went very much to plan; a blessed event indeed! Pray for the teams as they continue on their OT translation work.
UK/KENYA: Barry & Julia Funnell returned from Zambia recently - but are once again on their travels! They are heading to Kenya on 10th May where Julia will be facilitating the training of editors in how to translate training materials, and Barry will be doing some consultant checking and mentoring.
EASTERN EUROPE: The Bayash & Montenegrin teams have completed their intensive training module, and are getting ready to translate the Gospel of Mark. Pray that they would integrate well into the European regional set-up.
MALAWI: Please pray for Steve as he travels to Malawi on 1st May to celebrate the distribution of 10,000 Sena Bibles!
Quote of the month - on persevering prayer:
"I look at a stone cutter hammering away at a rock a hundred times without so much as a crack showing in it. Yet, at the 101st blow it splits in two. I know it was not the one blow that did it, but all that had gone before" (Jacob Riis).