Reverend Willis says that he rejoices with those who translated the bible into Kriol, and through their work, the Word of God is now available for the indigenous people in the top end of Australia in their own language.
"I rejoice with the team who have worked so hard in preparing this translation," said Reverend Willis. "Their work has meant that the Word of God is now available in the most common indigenous language spoken across the top end of Australia."
Also attending are Dr Roger Chilton, former Chairman of Bible Society NSW and now board member, and other Bible Society staff from across Australia.
Bible Society in Australia organised the printing of the Kriol Bible, which was completed early this year. "It was wonderful to see the final printed Bible," said Reverend Willis. "After 27 years in the making, indigenous people across the Territory and parts of Queensland can finally say, 'God speaks in Kriol'."
Bible Society NSW announced today that they will fund the recording in Kriol of the Gospel of John. "We wanted to help this project reach even further and our experience is that by recording one of the Gospels, which will be available in a variety of formats, more indigenous people will be able to hear the story of God's love in their own language," Reverend Willis said.
Whilst there have been some school materials in Kriol, this is the first formal written text in the language and in the same way that Luther and Tyndale's translations of the Bible formalised German and English, it is believed that this Bible will do the same for the Kriol language.