Original Video support
From SPARK
Unpublished
Reference
Introduction
BACKGROUND The Central America Branch (CAB) has been using audiovisual media to support language programs. One strategy used is vernacular Biblical drama. Drama has been highly prized by the Maya. One famous version of a pre-conquest drama is still performed by the Rabinal Achi people of Guatemala. Currently, dance dramas form an important part of their ritual expression. Skits and dramas are an integral part of special programs in many Indian evangelical churches. Using this medium, CAB has hoped to impact the Maya with Scriptural truth and promote interest in the written Scripture. Using video began when the Branch was given a 16mm set of the New Media Bible’s Genesis Project in Spanish. This set contained Luke and Genesis narrated and acted out professionally. Impressed with the films, translators thought they would be more effective if the sound track was in the language of the people (Rabinal Achi). An Achi reader recorded Luke onto cassettes. They were played with the movie. These were well received by the Rabinal Achi people. This encouraged the Video Department to put the sound track into all the different languages of Guatemala.
The Video staff successfully put vernacular language narration onto the New Media Bible films. The CAB Video staff made its own scripts, noting the beginning and ending time for each block of narration. The vernacular script was sectioned to fit the time blocks rather than attempting to “lip sync”. Instead of one narrator, various voices were used to read the different roles in each of the fifteen to twenty minute films. This adds interest. Literacy specialists coached the Indian narrators. The sound track was recorded in the CAB audio studio.
In many of the language areas, video showings are a community event. Attendance may be five hundred people or more. They are part of one to three night conferences organized by local pastors. Lightweight portable equipment is used. Videos are shown in local churches, the town square, a playing field, or under large tents. People sit on the ground or stand shoulder to shoulder. Some have babies on their backs. The video showings last two hours or more.
Even with short or no public notice, people flock to see the videos. Some return night after night to watch them over again. They often bring others with them.
RESULTS OF USING THE VIDEOS Some Mayan language groups have all or part of Genesis and/or Luke recorded on video. Over 12,000 Mam speakers have seen the Genesis/Luke videos in their own language. Pastors have reported numerous conversions and healings.
After seeing the response of the Mam people, a local Guatemalan ministry decided to use native Mam speakers. The video and preaching in Mam have given prestige to this vernacular language. This is unusual in a country where the national language has prestige and vernacular languages are considered not true languages. This also increased the truth and importance of the Scriptures in the vernacular.
The spoken Word has great impact to change lives and motivate people. The sound track of the Genesis Project Life of Christ Video consists of Scripture narrated in the vernacular languages. The video may not always be available but Scripture will continue to be available. One goal of vernacular video is to direct people to written or audiocassettes of the Scriptures.
In the Rabinal Achi language group of over 20,000 people, the videos are some times shown in the translators’ home. The audience might be just one visitor. More often the small room is crammed with thirty or more people. Agricultural workers awaiting transportation in front of the translators’ home often wander in to watch the videos.
One teenager heard the video from the street and went in to see it. The next day she invited twenty fellow workers to view it. These are people who have never visited the translators and have never attended an evangelical church or, for some, any church. Other than personal testimony this might be the only way they would hear God’s Word in their own language.
The videos have strengthened faith. One couple was very touched by the scenes about Elizabeth’s barrenness. In Achi culture, it is common for a man to divorce his wife if she doesn’t give him children. This couple shared that they had been married 10 years and had no children. The man turned to his wife and said, “Isn’t this just what I’ve been saying? We must be patient. Nothing is impossible with God. He can still give us children, and if He doesn’t, then He knows best.” They went away with encouraged hearts and renewed faith. Soon after this conversation, they went to Bible school to prepare for the pastorate.
The videos have spoken to individual needs and dispelled ignorance. When the next-door shaman came to have his picture taken, the translators persuaded him to see the film along with his wife. He was very impressed and remarked on what power Jesus had.
The videos clarify the Biblical narratives. Some Achi people believed that the shepherds in the nativity story were church leaders. The Spanish word ‘pastor' means the minister of the church or a pastor of sheep. Few Achi people have even seen a sheep. The videos clearly show the work of shepherds and what sheep look like.
People have memorized the Scripture used in the videos through repeated showings. The viewers move their lips along with the actors or narrator. They make sure that newcomers understand what they are seeing. They make comments such as, “Now Jesus is going to do this. Watch carefully.”
One advantage of videos is that people can see them over and over. This impresses the message on their minds. Each time they understand more than they did the last time. Videos can be stopped. This permits added explanations or questioning of the people to check their comprehension.
At the end, an application of the video content can be made to everyday life. This serves as a teaching tool for many illiterate adults who may never learn to read the Bible.
PROCEDURE FOR LARGE-GROUP SHOWING The key to a successful video presentation is to work with churches or the town hall in setting up for it. Showings need to be on neutral territory (bipartisan) and in a central location. Local pastors or officials are necessary for advertising the event. Flyers, radio or loudspeaker announcements are helpful.
Showings can be from two to five nights in one location. This way the people in attendance can see the video little by little, rather than five hours all at once. This gives a reason to return the following night and an opportunity to internalize what they have seen.
Videos have been used at the beginning of a church’s evangelistic campaign to attract people. After 15 to 30 minutes of showing the video, the local pastor will share a message and/or expound on the video. A large majority of the people will stay for the message, knowing that more video showings will follow. Usually a table is set up to sell Scripture books and portions on tape. Many Scripture portions are sold over the course of an event. The local pastor is in charge of follow-up.
To show videos in outlying areas of the country where villages dot the mountainsides, the video team frequently must hike with the equipment to the site where the video will be shown. Here in Guatemala, the video equipment is transported by vehicle, mules or on people’s backs.
At present the Branch is using Kodak video projectors. These are the same size as a normal VCR, weighing under 10 pounds and cost about $3000 each. Along with the video projector, a VCR and cables are needed. To project the sound, two speakers, cables and a 30w to 50w amplifier are needed. Depending on the viewing location, a screen might be necessary if no clear flat wall is available. A standard movie screen can be used for most viewings. The CAB video team recently used a 15 foot portable screen with aluminum frame in the Jacaltec area because of the large number in attendance. Another consideration is power. If electricity is not available, a small generator (400w) can supply the power. In total, the initial investment in portable equipment is between $2000 and $5000. This breaks down as follows: Kodak projector $3000; VCR $200-$400; amplifier $75-$125; speakers $75-$125; screen $100-$300; cables $50; generator $250-$400. For home showings a TV monitor with a large screen at a cost of $500 is desirable.
An introduction to the films is important. For example:
“What you are going to see is the acting out of some of the incidents in Luke’s Gospel. Actors were used to represent Jesus and the others. The people making the film studied about the times of Jesus to make this as accurate as possible. What you will hear is a reading from the Gospel of Luke. This has been translated into your language (show them the book). We hope that in a few years the whole New Testament will be available. You may notice that the people in the film are not speaking a language you know. The people in Jesus’ time spoke a Hebrew-related language. They didn’t speak Spanish or English.” This helps overcome the mistaken notion that the videos show actual pictures of Jesus. For instance, some Achi were overheard commenting to one another, “Well, of course, they are all just actors portraying the people in the Bible.” The New Media Bible video is then shown. This is sometimes followed by a devotional message and singing, led by a speaker of the local language, not the translators.
PROCEDURES FOR SMALL-GROUP SHOWING The Barreras feature one film a week, shown each afternoon and at other times upon request. The main showing consists of the Luke videos, but they occasionally vary the program with other videos, including educational ones or health concerns. They also show a few videos in Spanish which describe other Indian cultures, such as Between Two Worlds, which speaks to the issue of cultural identity and bilingual education among the Guahibo of Colombia. Within the last year the CAB video department has filmed two videos in which the Achi young people enacted parables. (These are described in another article.) Educational videos are a helpful supplement, but the Scripture videos remain the heart of the program. In one town where people saw videos for the first time, the Barreras showed several types of videos, then asked which one they would like repeated. Almost unanimously, they replied, “We liked them all, but we want most of all to see the one about the life of Christ again.”
After years of seeing a limited use of printed Scripture, a new interest in vernacular materials has surfaced. Some of this new interest may be attributed to the video emphasis. After seeing a Luke video, the people are encouraged to buy Scripture portions, either printed or on tape.
This past year, 10 short reading/writing courses, varying from three days to a week, have been held for the Achi in different towns. Out of these courses are coming laymen and leaders, prepared to read, write and record Achi and make use of Achi Scripture.
Follow-up cassette tape programs using Scripture portions interspersed with music have also been helpful in reinforcing the Biblical message of the videos. One seven-year-old Achi boy who cannot yet read recently borrowed a Luke tape after seeing the video. He has already memorized half of Luke from listening to the tapes and has repeated the chapters in church to the amazement of all present. Part or full-time tape promoters with battery-operated cassette players circulate from house to house in small villages playing the tapes, loaning them, or selling them.
CONCLUSION Encouraging, teaching, and motivating people to use the Scriptures has been our main focus. The New Media Bible films have proved an invaluable aid, though not without cultural problems that have to be addressed. With this medium and the follow-up efforts of audio and literacy, we are seeing an increase in literacy, greater interest in hearing and reading the Scriptures in the vernacular, Scripture memorization, and pride in one’s own language. by Carole Passerello
