Amharic (አማርኛ) is a Semitic language spoken in North Central Ethiopia by the Amhara. It is the second most spoken Semitic language after Arabic and the official language of Ethiopia. Amharic is also the official or working language of several states, including the Amhara Region. Amharic has been spoken in Ethiopia since the late 12th century in various industries, including the legal system, commerce, communications, the military, and religion. There are 25 million speakers of Amharic in various countries of the world, mainly in Ethiopia and Eritrea.

Back in February, we told the surprising story [HERE] of a request to translate our book, Simple Answers to Not-So-Simple Questions. CSM has had books in use in Ethiopia since 2010 in both Oromo and Amharic. Several hundred copies of Simple Truths for the New Believer are already in distribution there. But that “little book”, while a challenge to translate given the orthography of both languages, is relatively simple compared to Simple Answers. That is why we were so pleased when a native Amharic speaker, with publication experience, volunteered to translate, design, publish, and distribute the book without ever being asked.

We heard from our translator this week. Here is a portion of what he had to say.

My translation process is going well. I’m almost halfway through the book and writing every day. Translating the manuscript may take some time. After I finish the translation, I will start contacting you to explain the next step. I was thinking to finishing the translation and show you how it is going so far. Since I finished class now and have sometimes to focus on it, I will push it in this summer. I really appreciate your checking upon me Tom. Please do not hesitate to tell me any important information in my translation process that you may want me to know about. I’m so grateful for the opportunity and would like to update my progress soon. 

Blessings, 

Teddy 

Please pray for Tewodros (Teddy). He is in transition after completing his seminary degree, but is continuing to attend to his translation work. There are still several steps to complete until the books are in distribution, but we look forward to the day when we will see the books in the hands of believers there – where following Jesus can be a significant challenge.