Hearing In Your Own Heart Language
Bessie McPeek works on translating Bible truths into OjiiCree
Bible for Children, Noah and the Great Flood, OjiCree Syllabics
Bible for Children, The Birth of Jesus OjiCree
Bessie McPeek works on translating Bible truths into OjiiCree
A community's "heart-language" is one of the great ties that binds individuals to their own unique history and culture. This awareness is important in Christian ministry. When Bible truths are shared in the "heart-language" of the hearers, the beauty and logic and power of God's love can transform lives.
Bessie McPeek is into "heart-language" ministry! Bessie's Dad was an Englishman, who came to Canada to serve as a missionary in an OjiCree community in northwestern Ontario. He became very fluent in speaking OjiCree, and also in reading and writing in syllabics.
Bessie's Mom, who is Northern Ojibwe, spoke only OjiCree all her life. That helped Bessie to learn to read and write in syllabics when she was only eight years old. She learned English when she left home to attend a town school about 300 miles south from home. But Bessie's "heart-language" remained OjiCree.
In that same town, to the delight of her godly parents, Bessie responded to the gospel invitation and received Jesus Christ as her Savior and Lord. She immediately recognized the need to share God's Word and promises with others.
A couple of years after graduating from Bible school, Bessie met and eventually married George McPeek, a student who was learning Cree at Northern Canada Evangelical Mission's language school, as he prepared for missionary work. Bessie and George served the Lord together in gospel preaching, Bible teaching and developing Christian literature ministries, including Indian Life Ministries.
Now a widow in retirement years, Bessie continues to share with others her testimony of God's love and faithfulness. She lives in Winnipeg, but reaches out to OjiCree children across the land by translating Bible stories into her beloved OjiCree language. Working as a volunteer with Bible for Children, Inc., Bessie has translated six stories out of a total set of sixty illustrated Bible stories from Genesis to Revelation.
Bible for Children, Noah and the Great Flood, OjiCree Syllabics
The entire set of Bible for Children stories is offered freely on the Internet to the world's two billion children in over 700 languages and from many platforms. Though primarily a digital ministry, the stories are downloadable and are available in full color versions and also in coloring book formats.
These Bible for Children stories are widely used in over a hundred countries of the world-in some cases being one of the few Christian outreaches in countries where Christian witness is prohibited. The entire BFC stories and teaching materials (including Bessie's OjiCree stories) can be viewed at http://www.bibleforchildren.org.
Since its inception in 2003, Bible for Children has prayed and searched for volunteers who would translate the stories into many of the beautiful languages of North American Indigenous people groups. Bessie is the first one to step up to the challenge.
"It is a privilege for me to serve the Lord this way," Bessie says. "The process is quite simple. I translate the text from English to OjiCree using the syllabic alphabet. Because some OjiCree readers prefer the phonetic text, Bible for Children converts each story file and puts both versions up on the Internet for anybody who wants it. As I work on each story, I pray that God will speak through His Word to someone whose heart language is OjiCree."
Bessie's ministry to the folk who share her heart language is an encouragement and a challenge to folks in other language groups.
God's Word exhorts all believers in Jesus to "occupy until I come." Bible for Children invites anybody whose heart the Lord has touched, to talk about how the children who share your heart language can benefit from you doing what Bessie is doing-sharing the good news of God's redeeming love. Will you rise to the challenge? Contact Greg@bibleforchildren.org and let us know.
Our Lord Jesus Christ said, "Let the little children come to Me, and do not forbid them; for of such is the kingdom of heaven." (Matthew 19:14.)
May the Lord bless you as you fulfill your part in the Great Commission!
