Let me tell you about Mary Jones, a girl who lived a long time ago. She was born in a small village in Wales in 1784. Mary grew up in a family that loved God very much. Even as a little girl, she had a strong desire to learn more about God by reading the Bible. But in her village, there weren’t many Bibles available, and the ones they had were kept locked away. Mary really wanted her very own Bible, so she made up her mind to save money to buy one.
Every day, Mary worked hard on her family’s farm, and she saved every penny she could. Finally, in 1800, at the age of 16, Mary had saved enough money to buy a Bible. When Mary looked for a Bible in her village, she couldn’t find one. So, she decided to go on a journey to find a Bible. She set out on foot, walking over 25 miles across rugged terrain to reach the nearest town where Bibles were sold. It was an arduous journey, but Mary’s faith sustained her every step of the way. When she finally arrived at the bookstore, she found what she had been searching for – a copy of the Bible in Welsh.
News of Mary’s extraordinary journey spread quickly, capturing the hearts and imaginations of people across Wales and beyond. Her story inspired others to cherish the Bible and to value the freedom they had to read and study it. Mary’s journey also had a lasting impact on the wider community. Her determination to acquire a Bible led to the founding of the British and Foreign Bible Society, an organization dedicated to making the Bible available to people all over the world.
One of the primary functions of the Bible Society is translating the Bible into different languages to make it accessible to people worldwide. This involves linguistic research, translation work, and collaboration with local communities to ensure accurate and culturally relevant translations.