For the first time, this year the Lughulu people of central Tanzania can read the Christmas story in their native language. According to Steve Salowitz with The Seed Company, they now have the Gospels Mark, Luke, and John in print, reportsMNN. "This is the first time that they will have -- especially Luke -- in their language. They'll be reading the shepherds' story in some of the congregations during the Christmas season." Just over 800,000 Lughulu live in a very rugged, mountainous region of Tanzania. They grow maize, cassava, sorghum, sweet potatoes, coffee, and fruits on terraced mountainsides. Missionaries are working to teach literacy among the Lughulu in their native language. The terrain of the region is rough, and some communities of people can be difficult to reach. However, newly-translated books of the Bible come in small booklets, which circulate rapidly through the community and its churches. "Last June, I was with the Lughulu, and we did that [distribution] with the Gospel of John," Salowitz explained. "So the people did receive it, and they were able to begin reading right away. And pastors could preach and teach from it at the same time. So, they circulate fairly quickly through the communities and can help the churches in that way." The Lughulu churches also use discipleship materials provided by the The JESUS Film Project. The JESUS film, as well as a Bible overview booklet, has already been translated into Lughulu. Salowitz said the people get excited when they see literature and film in their heart language. "They really can't believe that in the Jesus Film, Christ is speaking Lughulu. They can't believe that someone has taken the time to really analyze their language and put it down into script, and they really get excited," Salowitz said. "They have a love for the language because it does get used in the home, and especially in the remote communities. The national language of Tanzania is Swahili, and it's not spoken very much in these very remote areas, especially with older women and children." About 50 percent of the Lughulu profess Christianity, but most of them still live in bondage to fear of witchcraft and evil spirits. It is hoped that translations of the Scripture will open their eyes to the truth and free them from this bondage. The books of Ephesians, Colossians, I & II Corinthians, and I & II Thessalonians are expected to reach completion soon. "The New Testament should be completed by the end of 2012, and the Old Testament should take about another 5-6 years beyond that time," Salowitz said. "So we're looking at maybe by 2017 they could have the whole Bible."
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