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It is impossible to talk about our translation work without talking about "The Committee". Those of you who have followed Mark's saga for many years are very familiar with them, but for the rest of you, let us introduce the committee to you.
Luke is our typist. He is painstakingly meticulous, which of course makes him
an ideal typist in an industry where the addition or deletion of a single letter
means the difference between heresy and orthodoxy. He comes from (and
represents) Mobou, which is the easternmost of the Kwong villages. He is a bit
of a choleric personality who tends to swing between extremes of undying
friendship and fits of pique when he thinks some right (usually having to do
with money, and usually imagined, not real) is transgressed. He is the husband
of Rodea and the father of five children.
Joseph is the longest serving member of the committee, beginning even before
Mark arrived in '91. He is a man like Nathanial "in whom there is no
guile" - utterly sincere, humble, and dedicated. Very
un-Chadian-like, he not only owns a watch, but is punctual in using it.
Unfortunately his schooling was interrupted by the Chadian civil war ('79-82)
and as a consequence he is a bit slow on the uptake of intellectual things like
translation. As a consequence, Mark never knows quite what to do with him. He
mangles attempts at Bible translation beyond repair. Mark has been inclined on
many occasions to "let him go", but has always felt that God still had
something for him with us. If nothing else, he is getting saturated with the
Word of God. His wife is Josephine and they have seven children.
Laurent is our main translator. He comes from Soto, the most ancient of the
Kwong villages. He never finished school (meaning Jr. HS here in Chad), but has
a tremendous amount of natural aptitude. He has quick recall of a vast range of
Kwong vocabulary and is able to break apart and reassemble complex ideas with
relative ease. His personality is very mellow - almost melancholic at
times. His relatives think that since he works with the white guy he must be rolling in dough, which is definitely not the case, but all the badgering makes
him pretty discouraged sometimes. His wife's name is Claris, a very quite shy
gal, and they also have seven children.
There used to be three other men on the committee and Some of you will wonder what happened to them.