On Mission in Manipur

Published 07/29/2019
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Enjoy the following report as Baptist Theological Seminary student, Emma Dobson, explains what she did, what she learned, and how God used her on a recent trip to be part of a Bible translation team in Manipur, India.
This past summer I spent 6 weeks in Northeast India, Manipur completing my summer internship for the M.A in Bible Translation from Baptist Theological Seminary. Before embarking on this journey, the Lord guided me to claim His promise in Philippians 2:15-16.
That ye may be blameless and harmless, the sons of God, without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, among whom ye shine as lights in the world; holding forth the word of life; that I may rejoice in the day of Christ, that I have not run in vain, neither laboured in vain.
Philippians 2:15-16

Though Manipur is a nominally Christian state, the missionary with whom I serve stated: “There are many good things taught, but the main thing is often missed.” And that main thing is the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Hours in the translation office taught me how to use Ulphilas, a computer software program developed by a missionary and Bible translator in Nepal. The first draft of the New Testament has been completed by a team of Liangmai translators, and God could not have orchestrated a “better” passage for me to be involved in editing-John 12-17! Time and time again the Holy Spirit gave wisdom in practical decisions concerning word choice, sentence structure, and parsing.

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It was remarkable to hear a discussion about Liangcon punctuation and the importance of using quotation marks in John 12:14, a direct quotation from Zechariah 9:9 one day. Even more remarkable was how the Word of God came alive the following day as I prepared a lesson from that very same passage concerning the relevance of fulfilled prophecy during the Passion Week of Christ for the Lungsiat Play School Teachers Training. God’s Word is not bound, and truly is the Life Giving Source.
The greatest part of the trip was watching God’s Word crush strongholds of Hinduism and Roman Catholicism in transforming lives.

The greatest part of the trip was watching God’s Word crush strongholds of Hinduism and Roman Catholicism in transforming lives. One young girl trusted Jesus as her personal Savior on Saturday, June 29th. During daily counseling sessions, she came to understand the fullness of her identity in Christ, how Jesus had delivered her from the power of darkness into His marvelous light, and how to stand in truth and her authority as God’s child, belonging on His team. The next generation in India is being impacted for the cause of Christ.

I am so thankful for the privilege and opportunity afforded me to go, to learn, and to see disciples being made by those faithful servants of God who are holding forth the word of life in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation.

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