God 's Word in the Heart Language of the Camsá People
My mind, filled with a strange mixture of fear, hope and faith, raced back through events of the twelve years in which we had worked for this day. I recalled God's clear direction for my wife 
Katie and me to serve as Bible translators in Colombia, and how, when our mission director in Colombia presented the possible indigenous groups that needed a translation of God's Word into their language, the Holy Spirit had given us clear but separate confirmations that it was the Camsá people to whom we were to give His special message of abundant and everlasting life. I would never forget that first trip to the Sibundoy Valley, the nervous expectancy as we snaked through the endless curves, alternately climbing and plunging through the Andes. As I sat waiting in the cold, lonely classroom, I remembered, too, those first awkward encounters with Camsás with whom we struggled to communicate in a rather clumsy mixture of broken Spanish and a few simple phrases we'd begun to learn.
My mind then flashed through the years of language learning and investigating the language and culture of the Camsá people, fundamental steps before we would be ready to begin translating God's Word into their language. I chuckled to myself as I remembered how I had wanted to learn something "simple" like the Camsá word for "delicious" in order to compliment our Camsá hosts for the food they served us when we visited them, only to find that there was nothing simple about the Camsá way of saying "delicious!" Through a series of fumbling attempts and errors I eventually
discovered that there are 20 different ways to say "delicious" in Camsá depending on the shape of the food! I cringed as I recalled the difficulties of some aspects of those first years among the Camsá: the lack of interest in the translation of the Scriptures and in helping us learn the Camsá language, the continual robberies to our little house and the constant disputes among Camsá families. Painfully I remembered our dismay when we unknowingly invited two "feuding" families to come to a party at our house, and how we'd looked on helplessly as the second family arrived and the first family abruptly turned their backs and their benches on them!
As I continued to wait alone in the classroom I began to wonder whether or not the rain would keep the Camsá leaders, invited to hear some of the translation of the Gospel of Luke, from coming. Or would they choose to stay in the warmth of their humble two-room homes, gathered with their families on little wooden benches around a roaring fire in the "kitchen" area? I really wouldn't blame them if they didn't come. Would they ever be able to understand how difficult it was to translate God's Word into their very beautiful but extremely difficult and precise language? How could they realize the challenge of finding a word in Camsá for "prophet"? Over the years we'd tried seven different phrases before we found one that perhaps would communicate all the different 
aspects of meaning! They would never imagine either how the great of variety of baskets used in the Camsá culture would complicate the translation of an otherwise rather simple story like the feeding of the five thousand. Which of all these words/terms for basket represents the kind of basket the disciples used to gather the leftover food? As I remembered the problems and difficulties, however, I also remembered God's faithfulness in giving us wisdom and understanding far beyond our human capabilities to create a translation that was not only faithful to the purposes and content of His message in the Scriptures, but also spoke clearly and naturally in a manner that closely resembled how a Camsá speaker would talk with his family and friends. Just as the writers of the original texts were inspired and guided by the Holy Spirit, we continually recognized as we translated that what we were doing was not a human endeavor but rather God's work in which we were privileged to participate and see His provision, power and wisdom manifested in the Camsá translation. When we reached our limits in ability, understanding and creativity, He, time and again, provided the solution for expressing the concept or phrase in the Camsá language, even though at times He had to wake us up in the middle of the night to give us the answer we needed.
As I pondered God's tremendous faithfulness for many years in the translation process, the door to the classroom finally opened and the Camsá leaders began to arrive. The constant rain had stopped and the moment of truth was about to happen. Would the Camsá leaders sense God's Spirit and presence in the Scriptures translated into their language? Our translation helper, Juan, arrived along with the guests and after we greeted everyone, Juan took the responsibility of introducing me to a few of the leaders I didn't know. We all sat a bit awkwardly in the children's desks in the classroom and the meeting began, although I knew that in keeping with Camsá
tradition, we were still quite far from being able to present the translation to our guests. Juan opened the meeting with a long speech thanking the guests for coming and participating in the meeting and then each of the invited Camsás expressed their gratitude for being included in the meeting followed by my own expression of thanks to them for helping us with the translation.
Finally, Juan began to read the story of the great catch of fish and the calling of Peter, James and John in Luke 5:1 through 11. As he read, my heart pounded as I searched the faces of the Camsá leaders for some indication of what they were thinking about what they were hearing. Juan completed the reading of the passage, and there was what seemed to me to be an interminable silence. Then Maruja, one of the older women, stood up and said, "The words I heard were very beautiful. I understood them well. When my sobren (title of respect) Juan was reading I felt like God himself was coming down from heaven wearing our black tunic with white sash belt, several necklaces of beads, and a bowl haircut like one of our men and speaking our language. It was really wonderful."
Then Carlos rose to speak. "Since I was a very young child, I have faithfully attended the mass on Sunday. As I listened to the priest and others read the Scriptures in Spanish, I thought it sounded beautiful but I wasn't concerned whether or not I understood what was being read since these Scriptures were in another language and for another culture, not mine. I didn't think about whether or not I was going to obey God's Word since it wasn't for me. Now I understand this
message from God very clearly. It reaches all the way to my heart. I can't ignore these words in my language, and I have to decide whether or not to obey them." One by one the invited leaders gave similar commentaries concerning the experience of hearing God's word in the language of their heart. Although I wanted to start leaping around the room shouting "They really understand! God is speaking straight into their hearts," I followed good Camsá tradition and solemnly thanked each speaker as he or she finished their response.
During the following years we have continued to see many evidences of the power and impact of God's word in the Camsá language, convicting some of sin in their lives, helping others to forgive, restoring families, giving hope in the midst of difficulties, and ultimately bringing some to accept Christ as their Savior. The entire New Testament was published in the Camsá language in 1991 and now four-hour dubbed film presentations of the books of Luke and Genesis are also available in the Camsá language. During the next two years, a small group of Camsás will be working on revising, publishing and recording many selected portions from the Old Testament that provide the historical and cultural basis for the New Testament. Those encouraging first responses to the translation that we heard on that cold rainy day in a classroom in the Sibundoy Valley were just the initial signs of how God would work through His Word in the Camsá language, and we continue to rejoice as He allows us to participate in His plan.
Bob Van Zyl
LAM Missionary, Colombia