Nomaande

Old Testament

Country

Cameroon

Language(s)

Nomaande

Speakers

19,000

Dedicated local pastors long for foundational Old Testament Scripture to strengthen their remote churches. Church leaders have hand-picked a team for extensive training.

the Need

For centuries, the Lemaande people who speak the Nomaande language have lived in the remote mountainous savannah region of central Cameroon, in many ways untouched by all the changes taking place in their country’s urban centres. After the New Testament dedication in 2008, the church spoke of a deeper faith, and they expressed a desire for the Old Testament, digital access to Scripture, and a wider literacy program to increase engagement with Scripture and facilitate spiritual growth.

The Project

Nomaande project team members, trained by staff from our national partner in Cameroon, have made the commitment to:

Revise the Nomaande alphabet according to government standards and edit existing literacy materials.
Make essential revisions to the New Testament translation.
Translate the Old Testament.
Promote the use of mother-tongue Scripture in churches and engage the language community with God’s Word.

BIble Translation Progress

Drafted

Community-Checked

Quality-Checked

New! (2024-2025)

Like Honey

Daniel is a catechist from a Nomaande village. He helps the translation project as the interchurch committee treasurer. Every morning, at 4 a.m., he wakes up his brothers and sisters in Christ so they can pray together. Every Sunday, he reads Scripture in front of his congregation in the Nomaande translation so his church can understand the words. Through his involvement in the project, Daniel has realized just how sweet God’s Word really is. “It’s like honey,” he says. “The person who goes to collect honey from the beehives is the first person to taste the sweetness. He can’t help but get his fingers sticky and lick the honey. We, the project workers, are the first ones to benefit from God’s Words. I’ve heard colleagues say, ‘As I read this text, I realize there are things that I can no longer do. I realize that they are not pleasing to God. I belong to God so I cannot think and act in ways that displease Him.’ That is the deepest way that God’s Word can benefit us. It corrects us and instructs us.” Daniel continues to faithfully pray for his community so others may also know the sweet words of Scripture.

Beyond Words

The goal of the alphabet workshop was to collect a significant amount of Nomaande words to inform the Old Testament translation and improve other translated materials. Jean, a member of the project team, expected it to be a breeze—after all, wouldn’t they just make a list of words they knew? However, once the work got underway, Jean started to appreciate the work of language development and translation in a way he hadn’t before. Each word was considered for its meaning and naturalness, and the best ones were selected. Jean explained, “Although this activity seemed easy in our expectations, it is not at all. It is very interesting, however, and helps us enrich our vocabulary both in French and in Nomaande.”

God Hears and Understands

Micheline had heard the story of Pentecost before, but she never really understood it. The thought of everyone hearing other tongues was a bit too confusing—it was hard to understand the passages and sermons in the national language. She couldn’t imagine hearing God’s promises in Nomaande. Then Micheline joined Mme. Minette’s listening group. Each week they gathered to listen to Scripture in Nomaande and discuss. When the group came to the book of Acts and Micheline heard the story of Pentecost in her own language, it all became clear. “Even my mother tongue, Nomaande, is recognized in heaven because all the multitudes of mother tongues spoken that day were heard in heaven!” Now, Micheline prays with a new hope and confidence. “When I pray in Nomaande, God hears and understands!”

"In my life, my attitude towards God has changed. I have learned about things in my life that need to change. When I read God’s Word in my language, I am hungry for more."

Richard, project translator from the Nomaande community

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