Spiritual Sight
Though Jose was born with only peripheral vision, he’s a brilliant young man who is eager to learn new things and experience new adventures. His vision issues didn’t keep him from finishing school through the 9th grade and becoming the best reader and writer in his mother tongue of Buglere.
After that, Jose wanted to continue his education, but his peripheral eyesight was getting worse. Somehow, he learned about a foundation with a school for the blind in the city. He applied, was accepted, and spent several years finishing high school and learning to read and write in Braille. A university education was even on his radar – he just loves to learn!
An emergency surgery on Jose’s retinas was unsuccessful and left him almost totally blind, except for shades of dark and light. That he could no longer read the Word of God was a huge loss to him and made him very sad. The translators of the Buglere New Testament investigated pairing a high-tech lighted magnifying lens and a very large print Bible to compensate, but his sight was just too far gone.
He was becoming skinnier and skinnier inside because he could not feed himself spiritually.
Right before his high school graduation, the translators visited Jose. He was his usual outgoing and gregarious self, laughing easily and excited about the new things he was learning, but there was also a noticeable sadness about him. He shared with them that, while he had become very fat in his body, he was becoming skinnier and skinnier inside because he could not feed himself spiritually by reading his Bible. What a graphic statement!
They took him a CD player with all the CDs of the Buglere hymnbook – he loves to sing – and he was thrilled. Then he became even more excited when they told him about the upcoming* audio recording of the Buglere New Testament. Jose could hardly wait to receive this lifeline to continued spiritual growth in the form of a Mini Proclaimer.
*This testimony was received via email from one of the translators, just prior to the Buglere Audio New Testament field recording. Jose is now able to enjoy his beloved Buglere Bible again through listening. The translator shared, “Thank you for your part in providing this for people like Jose. He also thanks you from the bottom of his heart.”
