Joy resounds among the Ambai!

by Tamara Price

The banner read “Dedication and Distribution of the New Testament – Ambai Language Translation Serui - March 30, 2010”.  What a joyous day that was for the Ambais, the Prices and the Silzers!

But how did this long-awaited day come about?  Pete and Sheryl Silzer started working on Ambai language learning and translation in 1978, but by 1984 they were drafted into Administration and were unable to keep up the work.  The Silzers released their data and programme to us (David and Tamara Price) in 1987, and eventually left Indonesia in 1992 – yet God was faithful to the Ambai people, He did not let them go. At church earlier this year we sang a song that really resonated with me.  The words that stuck with me were from the chorus:

 Oh no, You never let go

              Through the calm and

              through the storm.

   Oh no, You never let go.

              In every high and every low,

   Oh no, You never let go.

              Lord, You never let go of me.

I can remember back when I was a confused college student, grappling with my faith.  I prayed “God, don’t let go of me, even if I am wandering away, pull me back!”  That song reminded me that through the 25 plus years since then, He has not let go of me, nor of the Ambai translation.  Here we are at the culmination of the work we committed to as singles in our separate countries – to translate the New Testament for a group of people who do not have the Scriptures in their own language, and God never let go.

Translation is a hard and tedious process.  After a couple years of language and culture learning, David started working on revising the Life of Christ book (a short synopsis of the four gospels) that the Silzers had drafted.  That was published in 1991—the first published Scriptures in the Ambai Language.  The first full Scripture book, Luke, was published in 1994.

Many different men worked with David on these books but when Nataniel finished Bible School in 1993, he became the main co-translator.  Paulinus joined the translation team in 1999 and worked with them until 2003.

Through the highs and the lows, when we were translating the first books, we looked forward and thought, “This is impossible, we can’t do it!”  How many times over the last 20 plus years (including this last year!) have we said, “Forget it!  We’re out of here!  We are weary and this is TOO HARD!”  But He never let go.

How did He encourage us?  Through those choice moments when our co-translator understood for the first time what the Scriptures were really saying.  For instance, in 1999 David wrote: “Today Nataniel and I worked solidly on 1 John.  In the late afternoon we came to 3:19-20.  I could tell from his rough draft that he hadn’t understood the passage at all, and in my preparation I had translated it as I believed an Ambai would say it.  So we discussed the passage and then we read my effort.  He was silent for the longest time and then I realized that he was struggling to hold back tears.  I waited and then he said, ‘I never knew it meant this.  It cuts me up, it almost makes my tears flow.  It has resurrected my hope!  God’s Word … I need to tell the young men about this.’  We finished there and he typed it up hurriedly and went off.  As he was going he saw his cousin, Amida sitting out on her house.  He went out there and excitedly shared it with her, waving his hands about until she understood.  Tammy and I thanked God for bringing His Word to life and for encouraging us.”

Our time was spent with more than just translation work.  Our visa to work in the country stipulated that we must also do community development work.  Thus, literacy and community development work has gone on concurrently with the translation work.  We ran a couple of mosquito net sewing projects as well as typing classes (pre-computer).  We also started a toilet-building project that is being finished now.  In 1999, Paulinus and Nataniel attended literacy workshops and produced the Ambai literacy primers.  Three teacher training workshops have been conducted over the last 10 years.  Many other books have also been published, including health books as well as cultural books.

To God be the glory – great things He has done!  

  
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