Community of 4,000 celebrates their first Scripture translation
On Alor Island, crops of vanilla, tamarind, and cashews cover the hills where the small community of Lembur people just celebrated the arrival of an even richer food: the Gospel of Mark, translated into their language.
The gospel first made its way to the many language groups living in Alor 100 years ago. Though today 70 percent of islanders consider themselves Christian, their only option has been to read the Bible in Indonesian, a language they learn for trade, but not the one that speaks to their hearts.
In 2016, Seed Company launched the Alor Cluster, a multi-language project with a mission to start Scripture translation for five island groups that lacked a single Bible verse. Those groups are now advancing toward a completed New Testament.
But the Lembur—a community of only 4,000 people—are just getting started. They joined the project in 2023 and now work alongside eight other language teams. With a smaller population than many of their neighbors, the Lembur face marginalization, putting their language at risk of extinction.
But God sees the Lembur. He always has. And now His Word, much like the plants of their fields, is springing to life.
On November 1, 2024, the Lembur dedicated the completed translation of Mark. Translators placed copies of the Gospel in food baskets, signifying the Word is as necessary to the soul as food is to the body.
“These days it seems like the Lembur language is disappearing,” a man named Yusuf Saufa said after reading Mark, “but this translation itself is evidence of God’s love for us. I’ve been weeping for several days with the realization that God loves us so much, He’s making this translation happen. We are hidden in the shadows of everyone else, but God knows us!”
When Tobias Samoy, a Lembur woman, read Mark’s account of Jesus sending out the 12 disciples, she said, “I felt as if the Lord Jesus was right here, calling me.”
The work is far from over. Right now, the Lembur team is translating Genesis, and in just a few months their people will have access to the stories that provide a foundation for the coming of Jesus. The Bible is making its way to this community book by book, because God’s heart is for His people everywhere, even on the distant island of Alor.
