For
three months in 1955 a teacher named Julius taught me his local Zanaki language
in the rectory of Musoma Town Parish in Tanzania.  During this time he made up
an English/Zanaki grammar and translated two catechisms from Kwaya into Zanaki.  
He then translated the Sunday epistles and gospels into Zanaki.  He was a very
brilliant translator.  He started off with a Swahili translation which was very
poor.  Then he went to English.  Then one day he said, “Do you have the Latin
Missal?” and I said, “Yes, can you translate from Latin.”  He said, “Yes.” 
Another day he said to me, "St. Paul is difficult to understand.  Do you have
the Greek New Testament?” And I said (laughing), "No, I left it at home in New
York.” And he said, “Oh, I can translate from it too."  Yes, this committed
Tanzanian layman could translate from all those languages.

    During this colonial
time Julius got involved in politics.  So while he was teaching me and doing
this translation work, he was thinking about his TANU (Tanganyika African
National Union) political party and the campaign for independence.  He told me
that if he went to jail he would translate the whole New Testament into Zanaki
for me.

And now “the rest
of the story.”   In 1961 my teacher and translator named Julius Nyerere became
the first President of the newly independent country of Tanganyika, now
Tanzania.