Books (by Thom)

Amanda took the kids to the library today. We're really blessed to be living so close to Dakar Academy, a boarding school for missionary kids. I've been told it's the largest English-language library in West Africa. A couple of times per week they walk over to the school and come back with 6 or 7 new books to read. I love reading to the girls and the way they select them is hilarious; they don't care what the story is about but if the front of the book is pink or orange (Miri) or green or blue (Hannah) they will love the book. I guess you can judge a book by its cover! :)
We love this easy access to new stories but it got me thinking this afternoon about how poor the access is here to the Greatest Story Ever Told. According to Operation World (a phenomenal resource, by the way. You can buy it directly from them), there are about 12 million people in Senegal, of which about 450,000 are Christians. Of the remaining 11,550,000 people, about one in three can read. Even among those people, very few have the complete scriptures in their own language. The largest language spoken in Senegal is Wolof but there are 38 other languages spoken in this country. There are only three full Bible translations, three New Testaments (including Wolof) and 19 other translations in process.
I know I have the tendency to take my Bible for granted. I have a digital copy on my PDA (which is my primary use) and a couple of nicer, leather-bound Bibles in my house. We have picture versions for Miri & Hannah and we have French translations for when we worship in that language. With all these available it's so easy to slip into 'careless-mode' and forget how desperate others are for the Word of God. I know none of this is new information to you but I remember a story one of my colleagues told me when we were in Mali. He lives in a very remote village where there (at the time) were no believers but rather everyone followed either the majority religion or a traditional ethnic religion. Despite this, the elders were so eager for a Bible translation in their own language that they committed personally to making sure that it got done.