Cameron Townsend: Planting God’s Word Text © 2004 by Renee Taft Meloche Illustrations © 2004 by Bryan Pollard Published by YWAM Publishing, P.O. Box 55787, Seattle, WA 98155 ISBN 978-1-57658-241-1 Printed in China. All rights reserved.
A boy named Cameron Townsend loved to figure out new things like puzzles, riddles, mysteries that could be challenging. For Cam, as he was nicknamed, had a quick and eager mind. He liked hard tasks that made him think whenever he had time. But life was busy on his family’s California farm. Each morning Cam would feed and milk the cows out in the barn. Cam helped his father plant and harvest barley and wild oats. His family thanked God for their lives and were hard-working folks.
Each year, Cam watched as tiny seeds began to slowly grow. They’d sprout and form green little buds and then, before you’d know, they’d turn into tomatoes—fresh and juicy, ripe and red. Cam’s family, though they were quite poor, were healthy and well fed. Cam’s father read the Bible to his family every day. They sang a hymn of praise and then together they would pray.
In college Cam found out about an opportunity to help distribute Bibles to some villagers in need. And so in nineteen seventeen Cam lived among a tribe of native villagers in Guatemala’s countryside. Since Cam had planted crops, he thought, Perhaps I can plant seeds of faith with Spanish Bibles that the villagers can read.
While Spanish was the language largely spoken all around, some other tongues were spoken, too, in small and rural towns. So when Cam gave a Spanish Bible to one native man, he said, “It’s in a language that I do not understand. If your God is so great, why can’t He speak my language too?” Cam shook his head. He tried to think of something he could do.
He wanted them to read the Bible in their language, yet no one had even started writing down their alphabet. Cam wondered, Could I manage to develop a good ear to hear their language, and then write it down so it is clear?