Eyes to See, Ears to Hear

Archive for the ‘Malila’ Category

In honor of my friend via Twitter @radiobill, I’m going to try to write out a big picture glimpse of what our goals are and where we currently stand in them.
Around this past New Year, Dana and I decided to shift our lives to a different location. We’re still doing the same thing in striving to make God’s Word available in non-print (primarily audio) format. It’s just that such work isn’t critically necessary here in Tanzania. There are other places in the world where my expertise is critically necessary for the most important thing to us to be heard and understood by all. That thing is the gospel of Jesus Christ.
One month from this Saturday, we will leave our home of the past 2+ years… Mbeya, Tanzania. We’ll travel back to our hometown, Charlotte, NC, for a 6-7 month furlough. During that period, we’ll visit friends, family and ministry partners. We’ll also be seeking more financial support as our upcoming path will have a considerable amount of expense.
We hope to leave in January 2011 for Chambéry, France.  We are scheduled for a 14-month French-learning plan at a language school there.  From there, we will travel directly to our new assignment in the country of Mali.  Our first six months there will have us learning yet another language… Bambara.  Then, we will hope to settle into our new home before leaving for the USA for our second furlough as we seek to take those every two and a half years.

So, where do we stand in that now?  In what seems like a whole new beginning!  I currently have SEVEN working days left in Tanzania and I’m on pace to complete what I set a goal to do by the end of this month.  I have one big project remaining that has so far been about 70% recorded.  I hope to attain the remaining 30% tomorrow, edit it all on Friday and submit it to the Malila language translators on Monday for an accuracy check.  There are other smaller projects I need to finish up but The Gospel of Mark in the Malila language is the biggie.

All prayers will be welcomed at the door.

On two hands I can count the number of workdays I have left in the great country of Tanzania.  With today passed, that number is all the way down to single digits… NINE to go!  It has come much, much faster than I expected and before I know it, I’ll be nostalgically looking back on our life in Mbeya from the comforts of life in the USA.

Over these next nine workdays, I’ll attempt to complete the following:

• Finish recording the remaining eleven people needed for Mark in the Malila language
• Edit all the recording of Mark in the Malila language
• Test the recording of Mark in the Malila language
• Test the recording of Ruth and Jonah in the Vwanji language
• Transfer the 18+ GB of my work onto the office server
• Submit cassette and CD covers of Mark in the Malila language for approval
• Submit cassette and CD covers of Ruth and Jonah in the Vwanji language for approval
• I’m sure there are other things I’m forgetting… hopefully, I’ll remember at some point over the next nine days.

Flying by like speeding bullets have been my first three days of the work week.  Mondays and Thursdays are my days for going to the office for tea break, devotion and meetings.  I woke up Monday morning with a small hope of being able to record some of Mark in the Malila language this week.  Little did I know that one of our Malila translators was ready to come back to the studio with me after our team meeting!

That’s the way it is here and I’ve gone quite used to it.  You take what you get when you can get it.  It took us the remainder of that day and most of yesterday to record all of Jesus’s words from this gospel.  Making good progress.  Good thing with only 17 workdays left in Tanzania.

On Friday, I took a trip up to Ilembo in the Malila language area for the testing of Ruth and Jonah. Those who went were Pastor Mwahalende, Pastor Mwampamba (both Malila), a new Scripture Use colleague named Jo and me.  The trip started off well until we stop for a water-the-forest break, if you catch my drift.  When I was getting back in the car, I noticed the right rear tire was looking low but I thought it may have been because we were sitting on a hill.  So, we continued and I kept an eye on the tire.  Sure nuff the tire was going down so I looked for a good flat place to stop.  Twenty minutes later, we were back on the move.

We got to Ilembo at a good time, only two hours after we left Mbeya.  When I got out of the car, I heard, “hhhsssssssss…”.  I only wish it were a snake!  The SPARE was going flat!!!  We raced around the village trying to find a tire repairman.  We discovered there were only 2 in town and the first one we went to see wasn’t there.  On to the 2nd… PLEASE, let him be there!  He was so the SUV got backed into his shack while some Tanzanian friends carried my equipment to the church in which I’d play the audio.

We listened to Ruth first and they absolutely loved it.  They complimented the Malila speech of the speakers/actors in the recording.  They only had a few things to discuss with Mwahalende and Mwampamba about the actual translation itself.  A few times, those discussions took place using Malila so I just propped my head on my hand and waited for them to have their say.

We took a break before carrying on to Jonah so I took that time to check on the car.  They were remounting the tires, by hand, no machine, and preparing to fill them with air.  I was told it should be ready by the time Jonah is finished.

Jonah went just as well as Ruth.  No changes.  No suggestions.  They loved it.  So, we packed up the repaired car, said our goodbyes and headed back to Mbeya.  It only took 45 minutes to make it back down… hehehe…

While stopping in town after dropping everybody off, I heard the dreaded sound AGAIN!!  The right rear (the original spare was mounted) was hissing at me.  So, I got home as quick as possible and stuck the jack under the car to catch it before the tire went all the way down.  It sat like that until this morning when I needed to use it again.  Fortunately, original right rear seems to be thoroughly repaired.  Wait, let me go double-check….

I can say that right now is probably the most exciting time work-wise since I started in the language project well over a year ago.  I’ve got nine completely recorded audio books of the Bible, not counting the two books already released in the Sangu language.  NINE!!!  Wow.  Ruth and Jonah make up eight of them in the following four languages: Kinga, Nyakyusa, Malila and Vwanji.  Nyakyusa will be distributed on Sept 17.  Malila will be community tested with a group of pastors on Sept 18.  Kinga may be tested next month.  Vwanji will be distributed next month.

The ninth book has been and is remaining the biggest task… The Gospel of Mark in the Vwanji language.  It is the first language to get this gospel and a big celebration/dedication is planned for the end of October up in a Vwanji village.  I’m taking the generator and the big speakers to play the gospel to the Vwanji people in the language they understand the best… their own.  Most Excited.  Me.

It’s exactly how I’m feeling sitting here on Friday evening.  Wasn’t yesterday Monday?

This has been by far my most active week in that I made seven different trips to the office to pick up people to speak on recordings.  The highest was four in one day, Wednesday.  Couple that with a couple of shopping trips to town, installing new shock absorbers in my driveway and taking Asher to the doctor way out in Ifisi and you have high octane fuel making the week fly by.

But, and that’s a big ol’ BUT, I accomplished some key goals all by Christ’s strength that He gave to me.

Nyakyusa is now only one person away from having their corrections recorded.  In the first drafts of the completely recorded stories (Ruth and Jonah), we found a handful of needed re-do’s.  Three of those four people have been to the studio to record this week and hopefully the fourth will come next week.  Once that happens, we can move ahead with the testing with a group of Nyakyusa pastors and make any needed changes they perceive.  Then, it’s duplication and distribution.  (Insert WEE-DOGGIE! here)

Malila now has all of the people recorded for the books of Ruth and Jonah.  I began putting their first drafts together this afternoon.  This is exciting because a lot of these people really acted out their parts.  Chances are that we’ll come across some needed re-do’s in these books but this is definitely great progress!

I spent most of today editing Jonah in the Malila language.  Things went very well.  Almost perfect.  Except for 20 words I discovered were missing out of chapter one.  I looked through all my audio files.  Nope.  Then, I looked at the scripts we used.  The words weren’t printed!!!  Gggrrrrrr….  Small correction to make but annoying none-the-less.  They are narrator’s words which were spoken by one of our Malila translators, so getting him up to the studio for half an hour should be my quick fix.  Then, it’s on to testing the recording with a group of Malila pastors.  That part is awesome to see.

Screenshot of Jonah in Malila in Apple Soundtrack Pro 2

The following is an article set to appear in our 2nd quarter newsletter which is about to be released:

This was a CRAZY busy quarter in terms of all the things I’ve been able to do.  Let me begin by addressing the preview items from last quarter’s newsletter.
The Nyakyusa recordings will be tested and distributed. We’re still in the test phase because we found some inconsistencies with the audio compared to the printed Scripture.  I’m waiting until after our branch conference (early July) to schedule some correction recording sessions with four different speakers.  Why so many?  Well, two of them will be coming in for single word recordings.  One said, “cha” when he should’ve said, “kya,” and another said “Abinalamu” when he should’ve said “Aminalabu.”  I caught neither of these things while we were recording nor while I was editing!  Our goal is to distribute a quality, accurate recording so you can see how the work can easily become very intensive.
We will begin a weekly radio broadcast playing Scripture and biblical songs in the local languages. I’ve put this project on hold for the time being.  Not because I don’t think it can happen but because when it does happen, even the very first broadcast, I want it to be done right.  I don’t think I’m to that point yet so I’ll continue to seek advice and feedback on all of my ideas.
The Gospel of Mark will be recorded in the Vwanji language in preparation for a later-in-the-year dedication ceremony.  This task has gone very well.  We’ve only spent one week recording so far and in that short period, we completed 57% of all the lines in the book!  Soon after conference, we’ll resume the recording with all the words of Jesus up next.  After that, we’ll only have to record the short-appearance characters.
The translation department asked for the audio to be ready to accompany [Mark] and other study materials we’ll release that day.  [The Vwanji] will have Ruth and Jonah recorded and made available as well. I’m happy to inform you that both Ruth and Jonah have completed the recording phase!
At least two other languages will have the recordings of Ruth and Jonah begun. Two other languages… not yet.  But, we’ve almost finished one of them.  Jonah in the Malila language has been completely recorded and I am now only lacking the voices of the women in Ruth.  The Nyiha language recording should begin in August.

No matter what you call it, I have finished seven of them. The radio station is scheduled to cycle through the set playing one at 7am and one at 7pm everyday for a month starting today. Here’s a summary of what you can hear in the ads posted below:
1-6 sec : Language specific translation of Jonah 2:2
7-29 sec : Swahili describing our need for full-time scripture use & literacy workers to be based in each respective language area.
30-35 sec : List of nine languages in which we’re hiring folks; these names are all said in their respective languages: Ishinyiha, Ishimalila, Kivwanji, Shisango, Ishisafwa, Kikinga, Kinyakyusa, Hibena, Ichindali.
36-60 sec : Swahili describing applicant qualifications, where to get an application and the last date to submit an application.

Vwanji Advertisement (click to play)

Sangu Ad

Safwa Ad

Nyakyusa Ad

Ndali Ad

Malila Ad

Kinga Ad

And here are some pictures of the recording happening in my studio:

Today was a good day.  Finished building the studio.  Found out we can order a good (or at least better) mattress from Dar es Salaam.  Both water tanks are slap full.  Scheduled a repair appointment for the car.  Ate a chocolate and caramel candy bar.

But, all this moving and building activity has put me behind in my work.  I was scheduled to record RUTH and JONAH in Nyakyusa in December.  Was scheduled to begin a radio broadcast and record RUTH and JONAH in Malila in January.  This month, I’m scheduled to record RUTH, JONAH and MARK in Vwanji.  Feeling a little pressure here.  But it’s all good.  I am happy to have taken time to get my family into a better, safer place to live.  And I’m happy to have the resource of a studio.  I just wonder how much it will help me catchup.  Let’s see…