It was late at night. Around nine in the evening local time. The journey wasn't over yet, but we were forced to stay overnight in a local house to minimise the risks of travelling. This is not Jakarta, or the cities of Java. We were deep in the interior of Toraja. The dirt roads are broken and rocky here and there, with no lighting around. Most of the motorbikes we travelled on did not have motorbike lights, so we had to use flashlights from our mobile phones for lighting. It was not uncommon for the flashlights we used to suddenly die due to the shaking we experienced due to the damaged road conditions. The terrain was mountainous, with downhill and uphill sections. Sometimes we had to close our eyes as the motorbike travelled along a narrow road on the edge of a ravine. Most of the road was slippery, with some loose rocks, so we hugged the motorbike taxis tightly and gripped our handphones tightly to keep from falling off.

Not surprisingly, to get the LAI group to their destination, it cost us one million rupiah per motorbike. That's apart from the cost of petrol and food. Travelling through such extreme terrain, motorbikes are prone to damage. Sure enough, not even halfway through the journey, one of the motorbikes from the ojek we were travelling on broke down. So, there were two pastors who were members of the group who finally had to walk 10 km. The damaged motorbike had to be left behind.

That's part of the story when we visited Kampung Baru Village, Seko Lemo, North Luwu, South Sulawesi. What should have been an hour and a half journey took us more than six hours and even required an overnight stay.

 

The difficult road access means that people in Seko Lemo struggle to make ends meet. Just to buy salt, they have to go down to the city with difficult road conditions and expensive ojek transport. If they have to struggle for basic needs, you can imagine their difficulty in obtaining Bibles and spiritual readings as a ”companion” for them to grow in faith.

The Indonesian Bible Society in collaboration with the Toraja Church Synod Management was present in Seko Lemo to distribute "Kareba Maelo di Beloi" or Good News in Pictures (KBB) in Toraja language. This book is a collection of Bible stories for children translated into Toraja language. With the presence of "Kareba Maelo di Beloi", children in the Seko Lemo area can recognise and understand God's work of salvation from an early age. Instilling the basics of the Christian faith in a language that Torajan children can easily understand and relate to is important. Especially in a world that is changing so fast and knows no boundaries. Once they leave the Seko Lemo area or when they grow up, they will have a strong faith in God, because from a young age they have been taught the values of the truth of God's Word in the mother tongue that is close to their hearts.

In addition, the presence of KBB in the Toraja language indirectly helps maintain the cultural heritage of the Toraja language. When Torajan children read "Kareba Maelo di Beloi" in church, at school, or at home, their hearts will grow to love God and their language. It turns out that God also wants to address them in their language. Our God loves every language in the world. For the children to have readings in their own language, so that their love for the Toraja language itself, will be nurtured.

This dissemination of the Good News in local languages is also in line with LAI's vision, which is "The Word of God Reaches All Generations".

To realise this vision is not easy, LAI needs its partners to join hands and support each other so that the great mandate of the Lord Jesus Christ can be carried out on this earth. Thank you for the support of our donor partners who make it possible for KBB Toraja to be published and present among Torajan children in various places. Your faithfulness has made it possible for the word of God to be present in the lives of many who have longed and waited for it.

For partners who want to know more information about the ministry programme of Lembaga Alkitab Indonesia, please visit our website: alkitab.or.id, or contact us via WA at 0811-1925-400 (Anggun). God bless.

Bible greetings to all.(yanti)