Tremble at my Word!

by admin · Published March 30, 2022 · Updated September 30, 2022

These are the ones I look on with favor: those who are humble and contrite in spirit, and who tremble at my word.
Isaiah 66:2

Handling the Word of God is a fearful thing! We must approach Bible translation with serious hesitation and somber fear when we realize that the Scriptures are the very words of God.

Last month when we began to put the Kunda New Testament into an audio format, we built our own miniature sound booth. We turned three twin beds on their side, tied them together, and placed them against a wall. For a ceiling and a door we used several blankets. Inside this tiny compartment, there was a desk, a chair, a small laptop, and a microphone. With an additional three people seated outside working as proofreaders, and two others as sound technicians, the small room in which the sound booth was located became very hot.

We built this recording booth by putting three beds on their side, and we used blankets as a door.

*Everyone uses headsets to listen to the recording.*
*Reuben and Jacinta monitor the sound levels while the three proofreaders (in the back) make sure that the reader in the sound booth does not miss a syllable.*
*Behind the drawn blankets, it was dark inside the sound booth.*

All the 11 readers were local village people. To record, they entered the sound booth one at a time. With the blanket door closed, the tiny compartment was completely dark except for the one small, illuminated computer screen. Within this tiny enclosure (about the size of a phone booth) they would read the words of God. It reminded me of the Holy of Holies told about in the Old Testament where the priests would meet with God once a year.

Some of the readers were actually shaking as they entered into the tiny enclosure. So at times, the sound technicians, Reuben and Jacinta Musau, (a husband-and-wife team from Kenya working with Faith Comes by Hearing) had to calm the readers down. Perhaps they were nervous and wanted to make sure that they read everything correctly. Perhaps they realized what an awesome task they had. They were the ones chosen to record the very words of God for their tribe. Generations that would come after us would listen to this recording.

*Francisca, on right, played the part of Martha.*
*In the back, Fidelis, Jacinta, and Reuben control the recording equipment.*

*On the first day of recording the Kunda New Testament, it rained so hard that the entire area flooded.*
*We took this photo in the same location to show how thankful we are to be standing on dry ground.*
*With Ken stands Reuben, Pastor William, and Jacinta.*

After four weeks, we finished the recording of the Kunda New Testament on March 14^th. The team worked hard, even working on the weekends to complete everything in time. The next step is to edit all the audio files and make them available on data cards. This will take several months. After that, we hope to put the audio New Testament on the community radio station, telephones, and other audio devices.