“For you have been born again through the living and enduring word of God.”
Opuwo, a village in northwestern Namibia. Meaning “end of the road” in the local language Dhimba was where the gospel was first introduced to the Himba people. For them, Opuwo was not the end but a new beginning.
In 2017, a local pastor felt God’s calling to preach the gospel to the Himba. At that time, the Bible in Dhimba was virtually non-existent. In response, the Namibian Bible Society, Wycliffe, and Samaritan’s Purse worked together to begin translating the Bible into the Dhimba language. After collaborating with a well-known storyteller, 35 Bible stories and gospel praises were created and distributed on a MegaVoice audio device.
MegaVoice’s Michael Cardy said he can’t forget the moment a pastor first played the audio Bible to children. As the creation story in Genesis flowed in the children’s language, they began to dance with surprise and joy.
Children placed stones around a tree and began to congregate regularly to listen to the Bible. As parents noticed the children’s changes, five villages ended up participating in the gathering. As the rainy season approached, the community sought a more stable place of worship, and Samaritan’s Purse helped build a stone church. This church became a centre of biblical propagation.
Now, the pastor doesn’t even know how many churches were formed. This is because of the nomadic lifestyle of the Himba people. Every spring, livestock and children leave for the pastures, and with the spread of the solar-powered audio Bible, the word of God is delivered everywhere they go.
At night, instead of sharing stories of ancestor worship, villagers listen to the Bible and begin to say, “What is it that we heard? What does it mean, and how can it be applied to our lives?” The Himba have a culture of oral traditions, so they naturally memorise the Bible while listening to it, and when they don’t need to listen to it, they deliver devices to other villages, spreading the gospel.
However, the spread of the Bible does not mean the end of the mission of the church. Local churches continue to foster lay leaders, and Cardy emphasised that “spreading is important, but deep rooted is more important.”
For the roughly 50,000 Himba people, the audio Bible has become a very effective tool for evangelising them. He said, “The word of God never returns in vain,” and asked for prayers for the Himba to accept Jesus Christ and grow in faith.
The MegaVoice ministry also needs constant prayer and support. Cardy smiled and said, “Even in a small town somewhere in the Kalahari Desert, the gospel is being heard in Himba, and you can hear it here, too.” (Source: Mission Network News, Prayer 24·365 Edited)
For you have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and enduring word of God. For, “All people are like grass, and all their glory is like the flowers of the field; the grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of the Lord endures forever.”And this is the word that was preached to you. (1 Peter 1:23-25,NIV)
God, thank You for bringing the nomadic Himba people of Namibia to faith in Jesus Christ through Your living Word and causing them to be born again. Thank You for spreading the gospel through them wherever they go. Just as You remembered those once deceived by ancestor worship and standing at the edge of destruction, and shined the light of truth into their darkened hearts through Scripture and praise—let this joy of salvation reach every tribe. May the word of eternal life take deep root in the lives of those who believe in You. Establish churches of Jesus in every place they dwell, and raise them up as steadfast witnesses, preparing for the return of the Lord.
Prayer 24·365
prayer@prayer24365.org
