Item 5001 - Neil Klassen

This photo of (l-r) J.J. Neufeld and Neil Klassen that appeared in the MBH, November 2, 1984. The caption read: What does "Efeesa and Tesaloonicha" sound like to you? Anyone who speaks Low German will know. That's Ephesians and Thessalonians, and John J. Neufeld, speaker on the Low German radio program Licht von Evangelium has just seen his translation of the books come out in print, in cooperation with Wycliffe Bible Translators. Neufeld has been doing his own translation of the New Testament since he began broadcasting in the Low German vernacular in 1959. It is estimated that at least 80,000 people of Mennonite background in the Americas use Low German as their language. Wycliffe has provided Neufeld with an editorial assistant, Viola Reimer of Steinbach, Man., along with Peter Fast of Calgary, who has prepared a primer to help Low German speakers learn to read the language in print, and linquist Joe Grimes, who is the advisor to the project on matters of language usage and interpretation. The Canadian Bible Society will publish several advance booklets in anticipation of the complete New Testament, scheduled for late 1986. Above, Neufeld receives a copy of Ephesians and I and II Thessalonians from Neil Klassen, right, director of MB Communications.