Metaglossia: The Translation World

And Elvis was an atheist!

Sorry, not this Elvis, the Elvis of the album cover, but Elvis Guenekean! Elvis, from Central African Republic, was an eager student of humanistic philosophy and dead set against the Christian faith. But as he got involved in translating the Scriptures into his own language and, as his Christian wife persistently prayed for him, God’s Word brought Elvis into a relationship with Jesus. That’s why Wycliffe Bible Translators do what we do!

There are lots of great stories around the Wycliffe Bible Translators websites and blogs at the moment, but I really enjoyed this one about Elvis Guenekean from the Central African Republic.

Wycliffe colleagues working on this project have come home to UK and Elvis is now leading the project!

‘If we are to understand the word of God, God needs to translate himself into our language, so that his words can speak deeply to each person,’ reflected Elvis. ‘It’s the translation of the word of God into my language that is at the base of my own faith.’

Elvis Guenekean was once an atheist, an eager student of humanistic philosophy, and firmly set against Christian faith. It was the process of translating Scriptures into his own language and the persistent prayers of his wife that God used to bring Elvis into a relationship with Jesus.

Photo by Zeke Du Plessis
‘When my wife would return home from prayer meetings, I would mock her, asking her a series of philosophical questions,’ he remembers. ‘I aimed to persuade her that God didn’t exist and that her faith was useless.’ He remembered that his remarks often made her cry, but also that he never dissuaded her from praying for him. [...]