Mary Jones lived in Wales. On the very first Pentecost, people heard Jesus' disciples proclaiming the word of God in their own languages. Mary heard the word of God every Sunday in her own language, Welsh. But she yearned to be able to read God's word everyday. Welsh Bibles were expensive back in the last 1790s. She began to save to buy one. After six years, she finally had enough. She heard that a Rev. Thomas Charles in another village had Welsh Bibles to sell. So one morning in 1800 the 15-year-old Mary Jones bundled up her savings, packed a little lunch, told her mother she was going to buy a Bible, and set off on foot for this village--26 miles away. She walked barefoot across countryside like this.
She arrived that evening only to discover that Rev. Charles had already sold all of his Bibles. He was so impressed with her dedication, though, that he arranged for her to get one anyway. Her thirst for the word of God inspired him to join with others in founding the first Bible Society in 1804.
And that is why Keith is in Latvia today. The Latvian Bible Society has him recording a new translation of the Latvian New Testament. And that is why the United Bible Societies published the New Testament in Romani languages, why they have a digital library of Scripture translations, and why they contacted Keith to help get some Romani translations in that digital library.
Recordings . . . digital libraries . . . ways of accessing the word of God have changed since Mary Jones first trekked 26 miles to get her own printed copy. Ever since that first Pentecost, Jesus' followers have found more and more ways to share that Good News in people's own languages.
(Photos taken from Mary Jones Story)
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