When Jonathan Harris began working for the Bible Society Australia (BSA) in 2017, he never imagined how deeply his family’s history was intertwined with the mission to Open The Bible to all people everywhere by all means possible. “Before I worked at BSA, I thought they just printed Bibles,” Jonathan recalls. “When I started, I saw this incredible legacy of all these people that have gone before me for 200 years plus, getting Bibles to people all over the world.”
That legacy turned out to be closer to home than he realised. Jonathan’ grandparents, Dick and Nell Harris, were missionaries who had served in Arnhem Land since the 1930s. He was stunned to learn that Nell was one of the first Bible translators for the Kunwinjku Aboriginal language. “I found out after one year of working with the Bible Society,” Jonathan explains.
Jonathan asked his father, Wilfred, about his grandmother’s translation work. Wilfred directed him to the shed, where Jonathan uncovered three suitcases and a large travel chest filled with thousands of documents chronicling the family’s 60-year history of working with Aboriginal people.
When Jonathan learned that the Kunwinjku Bible translation was due to arrive in Australia from the printing press, he took the opportunity to personally deliver the Bibles to the community. “To see the impact of people Opening The Bible and reading God’s word in their first language, not their second or third… to see the tears when they were able to understand what God’s promises were to them. It was amazing,” he reflects.
Wilfred helped Jonathan to record that story, and helped him understand the importance of what his grandparents did. “Then dad started telling me about what he did on the mission with my mum, helping Aboriginal people,” shares Jonathan.
Just a few months after that conversation, Wilfred was diagnosed with cancer and passed away shortly after.
That was when Jonathan and his siblings learned of their father’s bequest. “Dad had left in his will a bequest that he wanted me and my brothers and sister to give to people that partnered with Indigenous Australian people,” he says. “We had it left in our laps to decide where that went.”
The family chose to support a special project initiated by Nami, an Aboriginal Pitjantjatjara translator. Nami had approached BSA to help create a children’s picture book that would allow her grandchildren to understand God’s word. “Nami had the idea of helping the next generation get God’s word through art. This is exactly what dad would have wanted,” Jonathan says. The family committed a large portion of their father’s bequest to this project.
“I can take my children to visit that project, and I can take my wife and my brothers and my sister. Just to see the impact that dad’s made, even when he’s not here. That’s so special to have the legacy going on generation after generation, a legacy of faith,” shares Jonathan.
After many months the beautiful children’s book, called Godaku Tjukurpa (‘God’s Story’), is completed and will soon be distributed to the Pitjantjatjara children Nami had in mind. “It will be distributed not just in the Indigenous community, but all around Australia. I’m hoping that’s going to inspire many other translation projects in indigenous languages to do the same,” says Jonathan.
Jonathan’s story is a beautiful reminder of the impact that a prayerfully considered bequest can have. Writing or updating your Will is an opportunity to consider the legacy you want to leave. It allows you to reflect on what truly matters, to think about the people you care about, and to decide how you want to be remembered.
Who are the people you hope to bless after you’re gone? Those you know, and those you may never meet in this life? Your Will is a chance to extend the life-affirming restoration found in Scripture to others, both your loved ones and those beyond your personal reach.
Thanks to BSA’s partnership with Safewill, you can create a free Will between 2nd – 9th September 2024. This is an opportunity to consider leaving a bequest to Bible Society Australia (BSA) in your Will. You don’t need to leave a gift to claim your free Safewill Will, but doing so will help create a lasting impact for many people.
Safewill offers a convenient, secure, and user-friendly way to create your Will:
Supporters who name the Bible Society Australia in their Will help to place the Bible in the hands and hearts of a new generation. Bequests help the BSA to continue to Open The Bible to all people everywhere, by every means possible.
Get your free Will today and leave a legacy that impacts the generations to come.
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