The impact of illiteracy,

During the first 5 years of our marriage, Alexandre and I did not have a car which resulted in numerous taxi journeys. The literal very close interaction (as in: being squeezed together) between us and fellow passengers also had many benefits…I can remember very lively discussions, often about Gospel related topics! But I can also remember my surprise when one lady handed over her phone to me, mentioning a name in a very matter of fact way… It took me some moments to realise what she wanted…. She was asking me to look op that person in her phone contacts so she could phone….because she could not read! Later I came across phones that bypassed this problem as in stead of names phone numbers could be linked to symbols 😉. For many Togolese WhatsApp, with the possibility to send audio is an amazing blessing.

What brings me to this topic is the fact that my mother-in-law is presently staying with us. Joachim has returned from the hospital, and she has decided to cook and care for him for a while. She very much represents an older generation, and she never went to school and does not speak French. Thankfully there are many in the house who can translate for me, including Neline who´s Ewe is fluent! (making her mom jealous). She often listens to the radio, and her frustration was very real when, at the end of a program she could not write down the communicated phone number. She asked Joachim to do it for her, who for some reason refused. `I send you to school and you refuse to help me! Was her frustrated complaint!!

But….in later life she did do a course in learning to read Ifè, her mother tongue…with the team of the Wycliffe Bible translators. Since many of the local languages are written down in phonetic script (each character represents a sound) it is much easier to learn to read! And so….thankfully she does read! Every evening she takes her Ifè New Testament and reads… slowly and out loud…because she discovers what is written by hearing herself say the sounds.

We are greatly looking forward to being able to publish books in the local languages at the Tyrannus Bible Institute. This will help all those who cannot read or write French to improve their reading skills not only so they can read their Bibles better, but also so that they have access to books on topics that are relevant to the culture here.

Alex´ mother is a very convinced Catholic and our prayer for her is that she discovers in the pages of Scripture the importance of believing in: Jesus Alone for Salvation!