In the Mwinika language the common term for fisherman literally means “killer of fish” Jesus said to Peter and Andrew, “Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men.” The idea in Mwinika is that Jesus told Simon and Andrew “Whatever you did with the fish, now you will change and do that with people.”
For the Mwinika, what they did with the fish was to kill them. “Follow Me, and I will make you killers of men.” Hmmm? Somehow that doesn’t communicate the idea that Jesus had in mind. When translating this verse into Mwininka, Phil and Elin Henderson had to communicate “as you previously searched and tried to find fish, so now you will search and try to find men.”
The Mwinika people are hearing evangelistic Bible lessons right now. Read their story online:ntm.org/magazine
Taken from NTM@work Vol.69 – No.4 – May 2011