Since before the Tower of Babel it s been an established

truth that the best way to talk to anyone is in his or her

own language.

Babel made the point in a negative way. Pentecost--

something of a Babel in reverse-made the point again.

That was Bible translation from heaven and an indication

of the significance of the particular message. Since then

however, the process of translating that message from one

language and culture to another has been long and labori-

ous. But it s not without deep value, high interest, and

again, dependence on help from heaven.

Translating the Bible into a language that has never

been written is no easy task. First the language must be

learned--and that without the normal methods of text-

books and bilingual teachers. An alphabet must be

devised, a grammar analyzed, and a complete word list

compiled. To add to the challenge, it must be done on

location, where the language is heard continually, and

where there is a total immersion into the ways and means

of the culture.