Boînën New Testament

Translation Project

To some people it was just an ordinary week-end but for speakers of Boînën, 6 October 2018 was a very special day! It was the launching of the New Testament in their language. A few days before that they celebrated the 413th foundation of the Buhi Municipality. Is it a coincidence? No it is not! “It was appointed by God that Emy Bal-lenas and the Translators Association of the Philippines, Inc. (TAP) came to our town years ago and later started and managed the Boînën New Testament Translation project . This (launching of the Boînën New Testament) is another milestone of our local history”, said Mayor Margie Moran- Aguinillo, the Mayor of the Municipality of Buhi.

The language group has a population of 77,000 people living in the town of Buhi which is located in the province of Camarines Sur, south-eastern part of the island of Luzon around 465 kilometers from Manila.

The town Buhi began as a small settlement of refugees fleeing the outrage of Mayon Volcano hundreds of years ago. The general exodus of people fleeing and being able to escape grave calamities such as Mayon's eruption is referred to in the regional vernacular as "naka-buhi", which literally means “able to flee”.

The Boînën New Testament translation project was conducted in partnership with OneBook of Canada and Philip-pine Bible Society (PBS), and in collaboration with the local Catholic Church and Evangelical Christian communities. This is among the first projects of TAP in which the major role of translation is primarily done by Mother Tongue Translators (MTT). This is also one of the first translation projects that benefitted from the use of the latest tech-nology and digital resources in Bible translation.

TAP rejoices with the people of Buhi for this great blessing of New Testament translation into Boînën language.

Boînën New Testament Translation Project Page 1

Highlights of the Dedication and Launching of the Boînën New Testament

Boînën New Testament Translation Project Page 2

Hands lifted for the prayer of dedication and thanksgiving to our heavenly Father

Reading the New Testament in their language for the first time got these Boînën speakers so engrossed that they forgot it was past lunch time. Watching the interest and joy in their faces led us to declare, “To God be the Glory, great things He has done!”

TAP, Philippine Bible Society, Local Government Unit, churches,

partners, and guests joined in the celebration.

Working towards unity

Boînën New Testament Translation Project Page 3

In the past, New Testament translations can take around twenty years or longer to ac-complish. But with the advent of new technology and mother tongue speakers them-selves doing the translation, the Boînën New Testament took less than ten years to translate. It was fast despite the roadblocks, one of which being the orthography issue.

There were at least 6 sets of symbols for writing the language, 3 were developed in the past and 3 were concurrently being used. Through the collaborative efforts of DepEd Buhi North District, the Municipality of Buhi, TAP, and the Komisyon sa Wikang Filipino, several dialogues and an orthography workshop in January 2018 were conducted. The process was tedious and difficult but through it, the working group that was officially recognized and designated for the task by the Municipal Government agreed on a unify-ing set of symbols under the framework of Ortograpiyang Pambansa.

Kudos to the people of Buhi for their love for their mother tongue and their willingness to work things out, submitting to one another and to authority in order to achieve a united set of symbols for writing their language. May the Lord continue to guide the lives of the people through the Holy Scriptures in their language.

Boînën Orthography Writers

In Memoriam of Nay Mel, Boînën Bible Translator

Kind hearted. Soft-spoken. Loving mother and wife. Devoted teacher. Mother tongue translator. Enthusiastic translation team member. A teammate observed that she read portions of the Bible in Boînën everyday. Many were blessed by her life. She prayed to see the launching of the whole Boînën New Testament. The Lord granted her desire. She had a special part in the program on 6 October 2018 — she read the history of the Boînën New Testa-ment translation. The Lord took her home on 16 February 2019.

Boînën New Testament Translation Project Page 4

Nay Mel with TAP SE Director and TAP Executive Director during the Boînën New Testament Dedication.

Bible translation is not an easy task but praise be to God who provided Emy Ballenas as project manager, TAP Administrative team, Philippine Bible Society, Translation Consultants, and most of all the Boînën Mother Tongue Translators who faithfully did the tedious job of translating the New Testament into their language. Backing them up are churches praying, supporters giv-ing, friends encouraging, institutions funding, and publications personnel working until the fin-ish line.

It Takes Teamwork

Boînën New Testament Translation Project Page 5

From Emy Ballenas Translation Project Manager

I thank God for answering our prayers for a successful launching of

the Boînën New Testament. All needs were provided. I was touched

by the cooperation of the community . Most notable was the active

participation of the teachers. It’s wonderful how people have grown

positively proud of their language. Having a book—actually books -

written in one’s language boosts one’s identity. People are interested in the Bible. They pur-

chase copies of the translated New Testament, give time to read it, and request help to know

more about the Bible.

Executive Director’s Corner

I praise God that His word is now available to the people of Buhi municipality in a language

that speaks to them intimately. I pray that as they read the Boînën New Testament,

the people of Buhi will have a personal encounter with the Lord Jesus and enjoy

an enduring relationship with Him . May the Boînën New Testament be distributed and used

widely by the population of Buhi.

The Lord bless all the people and institutions who contributed to the work.

To God be the Glory!

James Daguman TAP Executive Director

Translators Association of the Philippines, Inc (TAP), a member of Wycliffe Global Alliance

3 Diosdado Street, Don Enrique Heights, Commonwealth Avenue Quezon City, Philippines

http://www.translators.org.ph/ Contact Numbers: (632)9313087, (632)9317651