The Story of Gambarambi

A man in Zimbabwe named Gambarambi (Gahm-ba-rom-bee) would sit by the side of the road talking with people and smoking his hand-rolled cigarettes. A Bible translator who was translating the New Testament into Gambarambi’s language and he really wanted Gamabarmbi to have a New Testament. When he told Gambarambi this, Gambarambi told him that it probably wouldn’t be a good idea as he would tear the pages out and use them for his cigarettes.

The translator was in a quandary as to what he should do as he knew that Gambarambi needed to read about Jesus but he didn’t relish the thought of the New Testament being used for cigarette paper. He prayed about it and came up with an agreement for Gambarambi.

The translator told Gambarambi that he would give him a New Testament and Gambarambi could use the pages for cigarette paper, BUT he needed to read the pages first, before using them for cigarette paper! Sensing a good source of cigarette paper Gambarambi agreed.

Fifteen years later the scene is at a United Bible Society meeting in Zimbabwe, and up on the stage is Gambarambi. As he looked over the audience, he spotted the translator who had made the agreement with him fifteen years earlier. Gambarambi got up and told the audience about the agreement he had made with the translator. He said, “I smoked Matthew, I smoked Mark, I smoked Luke, and I smoked John - until I got to John 3:16, and then I could smoke no more!”

Now, instead of smoking the Gospel, Gambarambi was preaching the Gospel.