In Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), 127 refugees were killed in a refugee camp in early February. Two of them were Bible translators and ministry partners with Paraclete associate Bruce Smith.
“The 127 people killed were among a group of people who were already refugees displaced from their homes by the violence,” Smith said. “Now they’ve lost family members—primarily the adult men who were responsible for these families.”
DRC is one location among several where refugees are the ones doing Bible translation, despite their limitations, Smith said.
“It turns out that refugees have more free time to give to Bible translation than when they are living and working at home,” Smith said. “This is not an idea I developed. It is an idea the local people developed as a way to make more progress in Bible translation. Their thirst for God’s Word is insatiable.”
Smith is raising funds through Serve the Global Church to fulfill a list of items the family members have requested, including rice, beans, mattresses, soap, sale, blankets, tarps, and seedlings.
“It’s humbling to see the basic things they are requesting,” Smith said. “Can you even imagine trying to live without these basics? Did you see that they are asking for a small amount of money for seedlings—so they can grow their own food? These are the kind of people we serve.”
Serve the Global Church sent $10,000 from their emergency fund and raised an additional $7,000 this week. Paraclete is the incubator for Serve the Global Church, which was formed in 2021.
DRC’s violence is rooted in its ancient tribal rivalries and modern political corruption, Smith said. That has made Bible translation difficult for the past 60 years, particularly for American and European translators, leading to evacuations and interruptions in the work. That began changing in 2016 with the introduction of Mobilized Assistance Supporting Translation (MAST), which allows the Congolese to lead their own Bible translation. So far, they’ve launched translation projects in 100 languages with dozens of New Testaments already completed and a few dozen more almost finished, Smith said.
“The Congolese are much wiser and more adept than foreigners in dealing with the local dynamics,” Smith said.
Donors have given through Paraclete to provide funding for Bible translator training and for Bible printing and binding equipment so that the New Testaments can be published and distributed.
If you would like to participate in the relief effort for the refugees, you can contribute at www.servetheglobalchurch.org. Here are the items each family is requesting.
- 1 bag of rice = $25
- 3 bombas of beans= 15×3= 45$
- 3 mattresses= 30$×3=90$
- 1 can of oil= 40$
- 5 pieces of soap= 10$
- 5 packets of salt = $10
- 6 masks = $6
- 5 blankets= $30×5= $150
- 2 pairs of pans= 15×2= $30
- 5 cups= 3×5=$15
- 5 seedlings= 3×5 = $15
- 1 tarp = $35
Total=$471 per family for 100 families affected = $47,100.