Bible Society Annual Report 1998

The hardship experienced by our country last year was repeated this year. Our hope in the new government which came into office in May 1997 was shortlived. Again we faced economic, social and political crises throughout the country: civil servants not being paid regularly, money becoming scarce, an increase in the cost of living, looting in various places, and a general feeling of insecurity. Then, on August 2, war broke out again in the East and West of the country.

All these problems have had a negative impact on Bible work and have made our lives miserable. We even had to let some of our staff go on leave for several weeks to reduce the salary load. Our planned distribution of Portions and Selections, which could have brought the Bible Society great visibility and recognition by the State, did not take place because the two containers carrying these Scriptures were destroyed by rebels at the port.

Translation work, on the other hand, made good progress under the leadership of Dr Jean-Claude Loba, our new Translation Consultant-in-Training. Dr Loba was assisted by one manuscript examiner and one keyboarder. The two former translation officers were dismissed for incapacity. The following translation projects were completed during the year: the Uruund Bible (without the Deuterocanon) was sent to Nairobi for production, and the Lingala Bible manuscripts are also finally in Nairobi. Other projects underway include the Old Testament in Kanyok, Kikongo, Kiluba, Kisongye and Otetela, and the revision of the Kisongye New Testament. Also, we received a request to resume our support for the Alur, Mbandja and Lendu projects. So in spite of the war, translation work has continued, although communication between the translators and the translation consultant was difficult.

Audio Scriptures are being produced in cooperation with the Sango Malamu Studio. As well as continuing cassette production in Lingala, the studio produces Scriptures for daily reading on radio, using Bible Society texts. This aspect has great potential for development, due to the existence of many private radio and television stations in our country which can be used by the Bible Society. The FCBH program, a joint venture with Hosanna in the USA, continues to bear fruit, but the insecurity caused by the war has prevented this program from reaching other provinces.

During the year, we have had good contacts with all the churches – Roman Catholic, Kimbanguiste, and all the Protestant denominations. We discussed translation, distribution and fundraising matters with them, and they all promised to support our work. We have appointed one staff person to be in charge of fundraising. In spite of the adverse economic conditions and the war, our fundraising was US$8,810, which is 63.79% of our budget.

Towards the end of the year we made three remarkable changes: the Society’s name became l’Alliance Biblique de la République Démocratique du Congo; new by-laws and regulations were adopted; new structures were set in place and officers were named for the transitional period.

We are very grateful to the UBS fellowship for their constant prayers. God has been answering all our prayers by protecting us and giving us courage, determination and enthusiasm to face these difficult situations and carry on our mission.

May God continue to bless us and use us as his instruments to bring peace in this land.