William Cameron Townsend “Cam” (1896-1982) graduated from high school in 1914. He went to college for a little while, but dropped out to become a Bible salesman. In 1917 his employer, the Los Angeles Bible House, sent him to sell Bibles in Guatemala. In his travels around Central and South America, he quickly learned that many of the rural, indigenous people had their own tribal languages, and could not read the standard Spanish translation that he was there to sell. A man from a remote tribe once asked, “If your God is so mighty, why doesn’t he speak my language.” Cam decided he would do something about that.
Cam and his new wife Elvira selected a single indigenous community, the Kaqchikel Maya people of Central Guatemala, and settled among them. They would live with them for fourteen years. They would get to know the people, their culture, and their language; and only then could Cam’s work begin. Their language, like many tribal languages in the world, was only spoken. Having learned to speak Kaqchikel, Cam then had to devise an alphabet, analyze and understand the grammar, translate the entire New Testament into that language, and then, teach the people their own written language so they could finally read God’s Word. Cam, the college dropout, had no formal training in linguistics, but taught himself, learning as he was doing. By the time he was done, his methods and results were receiving recognition and respect from many of the top linguistic scholars in the world.
Cam then began to develop a plan to get the Bible into the native language of many more people all over the world. There were, at that point, approximately 5,000 spoken languages in the world. Some of these were spoken in only a few remote villages by less than a thousand people. Cam Townsend wanted to reach them all. His vision is best described in the following story (adapted from an article by director Bernie May in an old Wycliffe Bible Translators newsletter).
Peru was one of the first nations into which Cam had hoped to expand his work. He visited the Peruvian government’s Minister of Education, who said: “I remember the day Mr. Townsend came into my office in 1945. He presented the most ridiculous plan I had ever heard. He said he wanted to go out in the jungle with a group of linguists. They were going to learn the languages of the Indians, form alphabets, reduce their languages to writing, translate the Bibles into those languages, and then teach the people how to read. He wanted my blessing on this impossible project.”
The Minister of Education asked, “Mr. Townsend, who is going to do all this work?”
“It will be done by trained linguists,” he replied, “young men and women with college degrees who are willing to spend their lives among the Indians; perhaps their entire life, because that is how long it might take.”
“That is a difficult task,” replied the official. “How many are willing to go?”
“None yet,” said Cam, “but when I go back to the United States I will challenge them, and many will volunteer.”
The official grunted and said, “The jungle is impossible. How will you get those people out to the tribes?”
Cam had an answer for that too. “I plan to use small airplanes to land on the rivers and on jungle strips.”
“How many planes do you have?”
“None. But when I share the word, God will give us enough planes.”
“Who will fly those planes?”
“Hundreds of young people– seasoned pilots and mechanics will apply.”
“How many do you have so far?”
“None, but God will send them along as we need them.”
“There is much disease in the jungle. How will you stay healthy?”
“We will have clinics with many doctors and nurses.”
“Let me guess,” said the Minister of Education, “you don’t have anyone yet.”
“Nope, not a one. But God will supply them.”
The exasperated official then asked one more question. “Who will finance all this? The United States government? A wealthy foundation?”
“Neither,” said Cam. “I will go home and tell the people in American churches this plan, and through them, God will supply. And all the workers will raise their own support.”
The official looked at the strange man in his office and said, “When all this comes to pass, come back to me, and I will bless you.”
Cam got up, gave the other man a big hug, and said, “I’ll be back soon.”
The Minister of Education watched Cam go out the door and said to his secretary, “There goes the craziest gringo I’ve ever seen in my life.”
A few months later, Cameron Townsend was back in Peru, ready to begin. Within forty years, the Bible was translated into every language in Peru, no matter how remote, or how small the tribe.
Townsend went on to establish the international ministry of Wycliffe Bible Translators. Several other organizations have been inspired by Wycliffe and are now also doing Bible translations. Townsend established the Summer Institute of Linguistics to teach Bible translation to the thousands of workers that he knew would volunteer. He also created the Jungle Aviation and Radio Service organization, complete with pilots, hangars, runways, and mechanics—again, all as he predicted. The doctors, nurses, and clinics also followed, though these came through several other organizations.
The Bible is the most translated book in history. At least some portions of the Bible have been translated into 3,400 languages. 1,600 of these languages have the entire New Testament, and 750 of those have the entire Bible. Much of that work has been done in the last one hundred years since Cameron Townsend was asked, “If your God is so mighty, why doesn’t he speak my language.”
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Matthew 28:18-19a — Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations…”
Acts 2:1, 4, 6b-8 — When the day of Pentecost arrived, they were all together in one place… And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance… and they were bewildered, because each one was hearing them speak in his own language. And they were amazed and astonished, saying, “Are not all these who are speaking Galileans? How is it that we hear, each of us in his own native language?”
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Lord God, You long for people from every language to understand the Bible and be transformed. You’ve called Your Church to make disciples of all nations, and we gladly accept this invitation. Please equip Your Church to make the gospel available to all people in a language and format they clearly understand. We are completely dependent on You to see this accomplished, and we pray that all people can encounter You through Scripture. We pray this for Your glory and the good of Your people everywhere. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
–Wycliffe Bible Translators website
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