During the first week of February Paul and Marina Briggs Marina made a short trip to Ivory Coast. They met up with a group of twenty-one Loron believers who had been involved in the New Testament translation project, and they had a preliminary presentation of the newly printed Loron New Testament.
They took along several copies of the New Testament that had been sent to them before Christmas, but the main consignment is still on its way to Ivory Coast by ship. Recent storms between Europe and Africa have created havoc with shipping in the region and have delayed the arrival of the crates.The current estimate is that the New Testaments will arrive in port at the beginning of March.
They hired a vehicle to bring the Loron believers to the location in central Ivory Coast where they planned to meet with them and hold the dedication. It was wonderful for Paul and Marina to see them again, for some it had been several years. They really enjoyed catching up with all their news.
Paul and Marina were honoured by the believers with a special ceremony and presentation of Ivorian dress. The Loron folks thanked them for their years of service among them. It was an emotional experience!
Their hosts were very generous and took care of their every need. Several representatives from the mission in West Africa also travelled to be with them for this special occasion. On Wednesday morning, 4 February, they gathered at a nearby church for a time of praise and celebration. During the morning service, they focused on thanking the Lord for all that He had done in their lives through His Word and the Gospel. In the afternoon, they dedicated His Word, in the form of the Loron New Testament, to the furtherance of the Gospel in unreached Loron villages and to the maturing of the Loron believers.
As the sun was setting, they made a presentation of New Testaments to the main translation team: Donald, Samuel, Joel, Gerard and Victor. There were of course many others involved in the project, but these men had spent many years helping to develop the initial draft of many of the books, back-translating the final text into French for the consultants and participating in the final consultant checks. Praise the Lord for their faithfulness and perseverance.
They finished the dedication just in time to catch the last light of the day for some photographs. After that, they spent a couple more hours chatting and catching up with the Loron believers. What a thrilling time!
Paul and Marina are so grateful to have this opportunity to visit Ivory Coast and see the Loron believers again, and they praise the Lord that, despite their physical limitations, they were able to cope with the travelling and the heat. Thank you for praying.