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In the community of Cubulco, Baja Verapaz, they celebrated the first Bible in Achi de Cubulco on Saturday, September 21, 2019. The people celebrated the completion of the Bible translation with a parade and a celebration. Children, youth, adults, and elderly marched together glorifying God for what He has done for them. Children sang praises and pastors rejoiced in receiving the complete Bible. The Achi de Cubulco speakers have waited years for the completion of the Bible. The translation began in 1995 by the Vineland Free Reformed Church. In 2011, the Bible Society of Guatemala began collaborating with them to complete the Bible. Now more than 52,000 Achi speakers have access to God’s Word.
Thank you for being a part of this journey with the Achi de Cubulco people in fulfilling their dream to have God’s Word in their language.
Below is a link of a newspaper write-up about the event: https://www.soy502.com/articulo/cubulco-celebra-primera-biblia-idioma-achi-32419?fbclid=IwAR2XXwJEkj6UkcUyIsXp7bC7rwH2Yl1vC-zmVY7Iqvmhubwdo_16NMZhexE
Scenes from the day photos are available on wetransfer: https://boards.wetransfer.com/board/sra9nwxv5jgbqqyvq20191002144331/latest?token=6093fc90-4cba-4f23-bfd0-7ff82f9431e3
Testimonies of a few recipients of the Bible:
1. Trinidad López, 39 years old, Assembly of God in Cubulco
“This celebration is very important to me because it is an achievement and a blessing to have the Bible in our language.
These are my first scriptures. The New Testament already existed, but I had never had a Bible of my own, but now I have a full Bible in Achí.
To come to the Celebration, I traveled an hour by car from Patzijom Village, Cubulco. This translation is a blessing from God that He speaks to us through His Word and nurture our language, we are not going to stop talking Cubulco Achi. It is a blessing to us.
My favorite verse is in Psalm 23:
“Jehovah is my shepherd; Nothing will be missing”
It is my favorite verse because He is the true pastor for us.
I hope to understand more the word of God, learn more, know more about God through the verses in Achí.
Additionally, off video, she shared, “I feel happy and grateful to God because the Bible is in our language. We can understand the Word and not stop talking our mother tongue. We are happy because we have our own Bible and we can read the Bible now and share it with others. When we get into problems now, we can read the Word, and we receive peace and know that God can help us. To the donors, we are grateful to everyone who from the beginning until now have given a lot. To have the dedication to translate, we know we cannot repay but God will repay them for this great work, and He will give back to them. Continue forward and continue in this work of the Lord.”
2. Francisca Ruiz Ramos, 30 years old
“For me, it is a huge blessing that we know that from now on we will better understand the word of God in our language.
The Pastor who comes to preach to our village announced that part of Bible Society and other nations were supporting the Bible translation in our own language.
I wanted to be at the right time for the dedication of the Bible and it was not possible for me to be on time with the bus schedule. So in the morning I went on foot to be on time. I feel happy to have the complete Bible in Achí because little by little I will learn and understand better the Word of God.
My favorite verse is John 3:16:
“For God loved the world so much that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not die but have eternal life”
I hope to be able to move forward and to learn to read better in Achí so that I can understand more what God wants me to do and therefore be able to share it with other brothers who cannot understand the Spanish language. In the Spanish language there are words that we do not understand and with the Bible in Achí we will understand it better and gradually we will learn.
I thank God for each of the donors, and I hope that one day God can reward them for all the effort they made for our people in Cubulco, because through their donations and their help, today we can read the word of God better and understand.”
3. Ángel Gonzales Ruiz, 25 years old.
“For me it is important to be here, because it has been of benefit to our spiritual life and I think it has helped us so much to feed our soul, not only to us as a community, but to others to testify that Christ lives and that He gave his life for us on the cross.
I come from a village called Santa Rosa and we travel in a van to be on time here, to come and see the complete Bible, which is something new for us. We got up at 3:30 am and we had to walk to reach the bus and be able to come to this place.
I already had the New Testament in Achí and it has been of great importance in my life because we did not understand some words in Spanish and this New Testament has helped us to understand better the Word. The verse that impacts me the most is John 3:16, which tells us that Jesus gave his life for all of us.
I have a great joy for owning the whole Bible, because now I can understand all the words so easily.
Thank you very much to the donors. Thank you to everyone, for the people who gave us the translation. I am grateful too for all the churches of Cubulco, we give thanks for everything.
4. Rosario Reyes: “For me the Word is helpful to help me teach my friends. I went to the church for the celebration and we walked here arriving at 7:30 am. I received the New Testament before. It impacted me and I liked to read in Achi. I am happy to read the complete Bible in Achi. It is a great blessing that God has permitted us to have his Word, so thank you a lot. Thank for accompanying us in this process and making this possible.
5. Yesenia Inés, 11 years old.
“My name is Yesenia Inés and I am 11 years old; I live with my parents near the Church. What I like most is that they talk to us about God and we learn a lot because they guide us in the way of God. I often come to the Church to receive the classes, the book they gave us teaches us a lot. Every time I come, I learn a lot from God. That is what always makes me feel better.
I love living here in my community because it is a special place. It is where I was born and where I live. In school I am in 5th grade. After school, I get home and help my mom, I like to learn from her and help her. I have 3 older brothers and a smaller sister, who I would love that she learns too about God and the work we do in my house with my mom.
My mother registered me at school when I was younger, but after a while several classmates began to bully me and despise me. They told me that I was not a good person and that they did not want me there. When I heard that I became very sad and disappointed. At home they realized it and my sister encouraged me and invited me to the Church and since that day I am here serving the Lord. I like to learn about the Bible, that’s why I like to come to Church.
When I have a difficult time, I am sad or worried, but there is always a person in my family with whom we come to church together and always encourages me to move on in God’s ways.
The lesson of the book that I like the most is “KO JONIK” because it tells about Maria and Anna. I identify with her because it says they were sisters that do their jobs and were always obedient. I like that and that’s why I want to be obedient in my house.
The verse of the lesson that I like the most is:
“Those who accept my commandments and obey them are the ones who love me. My Father will love those who love me; I too will love them and reveal myself to them.”
John 14:21