Civil War cannot stop Bible Translation in Congo

By Dan Wooding

ORANGE, CA (April 4, 2000) - Wycliffe Bible translator Paul Schmidt says that not even a civil war in what is now called the Democratic Republic of Congo -- formerly Zaire -- can stop the translation of the Scriptures for the Tembo people.

Paul Schmidt, who is in the United States to speak at a series of Wycliffe Associates banquets and who lost his home, goods and vehicle because of the civil war, said in an interview, "Because of the fighting in the area where I lived with my family, the Tembo people have, for the most part, fled the area. Some are in the forest and others in local towns. But there are very few that are actually remaining in the village of Bunyakiri, where we lived."

However, he had some good news to share. "Despite the situation, we have a team of Tembo pastors, who are based at Goma, close to the Rwandan border, who are translating the Gospel of Luke into their language," said Paul. "Soon, they will begin translating Mark and Acts.

"Kathy, my wife, plans to complete phonology and grammar write-ups this year, while I hope to finish the first edition of a Tembo dictionary."

Paul Schmidt and Kathy, and their children, began the Tembo translation project in 1993 along with Jon and Cindi Hampshire, when they moved into a small Tembo village of Bunyakiri in the central African nation, which was then called Zaire.

"The Tembos had first heard the message of the Gospel from missionaries in the late fifties and many accepted Christ. They strongly desired to have God's Word in their own language," said Paul, who grew up in Thousand Oaks, California, and majored in religion and history at California State University at Chico in Northern California.

WAR BREAKS OUT

The Schmidt family said that during the first war in 1996, which began a few months after they returned to the United States with their four daughters for a furlough, they lost their home, their vehicle, and all their belongings, which were stolen in three waves of looting.

They later discovered that their vehicle, which they had left with a nearby Mission Aviation Fellowship family in Bukavu, had apparently helped to save the lives of the couple's two sons.

"The family parked it on their compound alongside the bedroom of their two boys," he said. "When the war started, artillery rounds from neighboring Rwanda landed just a few feet from our parked car, which absorbed the shrapnel that could have killed the boys. Our friends credit God's grace, and our vehicle, for possibly saving the lives of their two boys.

"We never saw the car again; although some friends told us that fleeing soldiers had managed to get it going and took it. Shortly after, they abandoned it along the road outside Bunyakiri."

But they did not give up their dream of serving the Lord by translating his Word into the Tembo language. Two years ago, they returned to Africa to continue with their translation project, but they had to stay in Nairobi, capital of Kenya, when the second civil war broke out in the Congo in 1998. So now, they continue translation with the help of three Tembo pastors who remain in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

NO SIMPLE SOLUTION TO SITUATION

When asked about the present situation in the DRC, Paul Schmidt said, "I don't see any simple resolution. I feel despair for the people there as they are the real victims -- the ordinary citizens. You've got these different rebel factions and foreign armies that are playing this cat and mouse game there, and then all the people are caught in the middle. This has directly affected the area where the Tembo people are up to this very day. It has just made what was a very difficult life there prior to the war, even more difficult."

He said that he and the family enjoyed living in the Tembo village and have learned a lot from African Christians, especially those in DRC.

"I've learned not to complain," he said. "I've seen the conditions that these people exist in and their daily struggles for existence. Things like just feeding their families and getting medicine when a child is sick and being able to send a child to school. And it was continually reinforced to us how blessed we are and how the difficulties that we encountered in our ministry were nothing to what these people had endured. I count it such a blessing to be able to work with these pastors who are making sacrifices far greater than I've been asked to make, to translate the Word of God into their language.

"They spend more time away from their families than I spend away from my family. They are not leaving their families in very safe conditions. They do it because they are driven, their calling is, I am convinced, every bit as strong as my calling to missions and I can't stop admiring these men that I work with. I count it a big privilege to be a part of what I am doing and to be able to work with the kind of men that I'm working with.

"These men, like all of us working on this Tembo project, realize that these people need to hear God's Word."

Paul Schmidt is just one of many Wycliffe speakers who will be speaking at 100 banquets sponsored by Wycliffe Associates that began on March 27 in Erie, Pennsylvania, and end on May 9 in Houston, Texas.

"People can go to a banquet and find out how they can get involved and they will also learn about Vision 2025, a new Wycliffe Bible Translators program which has as the goal to see a Bible translation project in every language needing one by 2025. There are 3,000 languages still needing Bible translations," said Bruce Smith, the CEO of Wycliffe Associates.

Organized in 1967 by friends of Wycliffe missionaries, Wycliffe Associates is a ministry that supports Wycliffe Bible Translators, around the world. Wycliffe Associates has over 50,000 members and friends across the US who support Wycliffe by praying, going as volunteers, and giving. God often works through the banquet series to call people to serve in tangible ways.

For further information on the upcoming banquet series or their various volunteer programs, log onto the Wycliffe Associates Web site at or call (714) 639-9950.