Last Saturday’s celebration took place at Wesley Methodist Church, a Ghanaian migrant church in Amsterdam. English is the language used to communicate in most Ghanaian migrant churches, but for many Ghanaians, Asante Twi is their native language.
Asante Twi
The Twi Bible is bilingual, containing a contemporary English translation and a revised translation in Asante Twi. ‘That language is the everyday language in Ghana that almost everyone speaks,’ Rev. Charles Adu Twumasi said. ‘And for the 5 million Asante, it is their mother tongue.’ Adu Twumasi is the church relations and programs manager of the Ghanaian Bible Society and he travelled to the Netherlands for the presentations in Amsterdam and The Hague. ‘This Bible gives the people who speak Asante Twi the opportunity to better apply the Bible in their lives, and it helps them to use both English and their own language – the language of their heart – in a better way.’
Blessing and cooperation
Choirs from four churches were present last Saturday, brightening the program with song and dance. And there were several speeches, about the Twi Bible and an introduction on the mission of the Bible Society for the Netherlands and Flanders (BSNF) by General Secretary Rieuwerd Buitenwerf. In a moment of prayer, the pastors who were present as well as the representatives of the Bible Societies asked for God’s blessing on the distribution and use of this Bible.
BSNF prepared the Twi Bible presentations in cooperation with Ghanaian migrant churches and the Ghanaian Bible Society. The BSNF works alongside the Ghanaian churches in the Netherlands, assisting with the children’s Bible Basics method, as well as other things. This bilingual method (Dutch-English) is used in a number of Ghanaian churches, with BSNF providing training for the children’s workers. In Ghana, the BSNF supports the Bible Society in the translation of the Bible into the Bono language of which the New Testament will be ready in early 2024, as well as other things.
The Hague presentation and order link
The presentation next Saturday afternoon, March 4th, will take place from 4 p.m. at Wesley Methodist Church The Hague, Hofwijckplein 64. Guests are welcome to attend. The Twi Bible is for sale in the BSNF webshop.