Does anyone know that hymn? It used to be one of my favorites. For the next two years, it can be my theme song. I'm moving from the capital city of Madagascar (Antananarivo) to a little outpost on the southwest coast, called Toliara, to work on a storying / training / translation project. But more about that later.
Toliara is one of the few places in Madagascar that I did not fall in love with the minute I saw it. Mostly when I travel in Mada, I do so with wide, dreamy eyes and gently parted, smiling lips . . . I love this country and its amazingly diverse landscapes so much! But Toliara is not a lovely place--it's dirty, somewhat smelly, with no mountains. The first time I visited, I thought, "Well, I don't think I'd ever want to live here!" 18 months, 4 trips, and a lot of prayer later, I'm moving there for the next two years. Don't know how it happened, but now I love Toliara with all my heart. It's the gorgeous sunsets, I guess.
Some people think that the whole country of Madagascar speaks the same language (and some people have never really given it a thought!) But, while there is an "official" Malagasy language, those who live off the central plateau (where the capital is located) speak a multitude of dialects, some of which are vastly different from the official. Good work is being done in Bible translation, but as yet the only existing complete Scripture in Malagasy is in official Malagasy. This is a problem.
Another problem is literacy. Many of the dialect-speakers are illiterate, so even when translations of the Bible are completed in their dialects, they won't be able to read them. This is another problem.
As an extremely literate culture, we in the West have a sort of subconscious certainty that the best way to transmit and preserve information is through writing. We quote others' writing in our research, read billboards and road signs, and often communicate most frequently with those closest to us through texting! For a non-literate person from an oral culture, however, communication does not happen through reading and writing--not effectively, often not at all. Even if we give them a Bible in their language/dialect and teach them to read, at least for the first generation, written Scripture will not be the quickest way to their hearts. As literate missionaries try to figure out what is the quickest, surest way into the heart of an oral culture, the storying method is born.
It's very simple. The Bible is a narrative, a collection of deeply related stories that all reveal the reality we call the Gospel. God created the world. The world turned away from Him to sin and selfishness. He wanted the world, but couldn't commune with sin. So He sent His One and only Son to become one of us. In the end, this Son took our place, absorbing the righteous wrath of God and restoring those who believe to His perfect communion with God. This is the Gospel. This is the story. And when you tell it from beginning to end, as God does in His Word, even people who have never heard the name of Jesus understand it.
I'm very new to the concept of "storying" as a method of evangelism, as well as to the paradigms of orality and translation. But the reality is that at least 5 dialects are clustered in the southwest corner of Madagascar, without complete Scriptures. My job will be to help native speakers of these dialects create versions of some specific Bible stories to share with their people. This is not an oral Bible project, and this work certainly does not take the place of the significant, necessary long-term work on Bible translation in this area. We are praying, though, that this project can help meet the need of this moment in southwest Mada, and that through these efforts God will continue to bring "the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ" to the Malagasy people (2 Cor. 4:6).
I imagine that this project will look quite different at the end than we're expecting from the beginning. And I feel sure that I'll learn things I never anticipated learning, and discover every day more and more that I don't know. But believe me when I tell you that Madagascar is one of the most amazing places in the world, and that the Malagasy people are awe-inspiring: beautiful, hospitable, ingenious, fascinating, lovely. You won't regret taking this journey with me. I'll update once a week, I promise (to try). Come with me . . .
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