On Friday, February 23, we received a DHL Express package from South Korea that contained the first five copies of the Enga-English New Testament! Because Martha and Asher were out of town for an eighth grade field trip, I didn't open the package or share the news until Sunday. After breakfast on Sunday morning, I told the family that I had something special I wanted to show them. I had them gather in our dining room area, telling Martha to film a Marco Polo video message for Jacob and telling Bella to film a regular video with my phone. Martha, Bella, and Asher were all confused, but they did what I asked. I then went into the bedroom and brought out the box. As soon as I announced what it was, Martha was overwhelmed with emotion and tears started streaming down her face. The fact that we were about to hold in our hands what we had spent the last fourteen years working so hard for was a deeply moving experience that touched us at the core of who we are.
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| The Enga-English New Testament |
As I reached into the box to pull out the first copy, I was deeply aware of the promise I had made to my grandmother in 2010. She was the first person to support us, making a generous donation of $1,000, and I promised her that I would dedicate the first New Testament to her. As I held the New Testament in my hand, I declared that it was dedicated to her memory. (She had died in 2016 at the age of 100.)
Feeling the cover of the New Testament in my hand, I was impressed by the quality of the material. The imprinted title and Celtic cross stood out beautifully, and the cover felt sturdy. The sewn binding allowed the New Testament to lie flat as I placed in on the table, and we began examining the print, illustrations, and color photographs.
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| The spine and gilded pages with rounded corners |
After showing the New Testament to Martha, Bella, and Asher, I explained the significance of the colors we had chosen. Because the Enga flag includes the colors green, yellow, white, and black, we wanted the New Testament to have the same colors. Thus we chose a green cover with a gold (yellow) imprint, gilded pages, black braided bookmarks, and of course white paper for the interior pages. The New Testament also includes a custom illustration to go along with Romans 11:17-21. The original illustration is the printer's emblem used by Robert Stephanus, who produced a beautiful edition of the Greek New Testament in 1550 known as the Royal Edition because of the highly skilled typesetting involved in its production. The emblem shows an olive tree with branches grafted in and other branches being broken off by the spoken word of God. While the original emblem reads noli altum sapere, which is Latin for "do not be high minded," I erased this text and changed it to read Kamongo paka kaeyalapape, which is Enga for "fear the Lord," a quotation from Romans 11:20.
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| The illustration accompanying Romans 11:17-21 |
Soon after unboxing the first New Testament, I told Martha and the kids that the last illustration of the book had a very special meaning for me. Last July we found out that Benjamin Leo, the owner of the land where we had built our house in Enga, had been killed by enemy mercenaries who had set up a road block along the Highlands Highway, some distance from our village. In the wake of my father's death, Martha's father's death, and the death of my uncle, it was hard to take this news. At that time we were in the midst of finalizing the typesetting for the Enga-English New Testament. So I decided to add the illustration below as the last page of the book. It is Jesus with his arms opened wide, and the Scripture quotation is from Matthew 11:28, which says, "Come to me, all of you who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest." This illustration is how I picture Jesus receiving Benjamin into his eternal kingdom, where I believe that Benjamin is now at rest from the trials and tribulations of this world. It is a promise for all of us who put our faith in Christ, and I look forward to one day entering Jesus' outstretched arms and remaining in his presence forever.
Click here if you would like to watch a three-minute video of the unboxing of the Enga-English New Testament.
Update on Jacob
In the midst of the emotion of receiving the first printed copies of the Enga-English New Testament, we also received word from Jacob that he had arrived safely in Costa Rica. He is living with a family in the district of Escazú, canton (which is like a county) of Escazú, province of San José. He is about 15 minutes by bus from downtown San José, which is the capital of Costa Rica. The family he is staying with does not speak any English, so Jacob will have great opportunities to learn Spanish. Please keep him in your prayers as he adjusts to a new country and culture and learns more about his role with Push the Rock doing sports-related ministry.
