It gives us great joy to be able to write this report on one of the unsung heroes in the Southern African translation work. Her name is sister Elaine Erasmus.
We recently took some time to speak to her about the early years, and to gain some insight on how she got involved with the translation work in South Africa.
As early as 1989, Brother Theo Erasmus (her late husband) had involved her in the work as a typist for Brother Allison Mbatha (Zulu), South Africa’s first translator. Thereafter, other languages were added to her typing workload! Some of the first translations she typed for VGR were rejected due to errors in the translation, which were caught by our line-checking department.
She was curious to learn how they were able to find the errors, since they obviously did not understand any of the languages.
The line-checking process was then explained to her, that each translated sentence was checked versus the English and thus missing sentences, punctuations, or missing names were easily identified.
Armed with this newfound knowledge, she undertook the added responsibility of proofing each translated manuscript (after she had typed it), and then had them corrected by the respective translators before sending them on to VGR.
As the number of languages that she typed increased, and the number of translations in each language grew, her workload became larger and larger!
Thankfully, the Lord had made a way to lighten the burden. VGR provided computers for each of our translators, thus enabling them to do their own typing.
Sometime after the passing of her husband in 1998, Brother Joseph wrote her a letter, enquiring whether she would be willing to line-check translated sermons for VGR. Referring to this letter, she remarked: “The Lord must have laid it on Brother Joseph’s heart to ask me.” She then related to me how much this work means to her and that it gives her a reason for living. Pretty soon we were both trying hard to hold back the tears.
I conveyed my gratitude to her for the meticulous work she does as a line-checker. I then reminded her of the countless souls that have benefited from her commitment and dedication over the years. We may not realize the true impact of her work right now, but One Day Over Yonder, we'll hear all about it!
Thus far for 2015, she has line-checked 133 manuscripts in 13 languages. The magnitude of her contribution cannot be stated enough, as her work ensures that each translated manuscript is ready to be sent to VGR (one step closer to printing), and saves countless hours for the VGR staff in Jeffersonville.
The light of the Message came her way in 1965! Fifty years later, the Message still burns within in her heart as her "reason for living!"
She’s so grateful for the opportunity to be working with the Word of God, as spoken by the prophet of Malachi 4. It seems quite fitting that we should be doing this article in her Jubilee year (exactly 50 years after she first believed).
God Bless
Steven Young
RSA Translation Team