Onesimos Nesib

Onesimos Nesib (in Oromo orthography, Onesimoos Nasiib; about 1856 – 21 June 1931) was a native Oromo who converted to Lutheran Christianity and translated the Christian Bible into the Oromo language. His parents named him Hika as a baby, meaning "Translator"; he took the name "Onesimus", after the Biblical character, upon converting to Christianity.

Onesimos Nesib is included in the American Lutheran Book of Worship as a saint, who commemorate his life 21 June. The Mekane Yesus Church honored him by naming their seminary in Addis Ababa for him.

Born near Hurumu in modern Ethiopia, Onesimos lost his father when he was four years old. According to an account he later wrote for the Board of the Swedish Evangelical Mission, he was kidnapped by slavers in 1869, and passed through the hands of eight owners until Werner Munzinger freed him at Massawa and had him educated at the Imkullu Swedish Evangelical Mission in that port city. There he proved a good student, and eventually received baptism on Easter Sunday (31 March 1872). He was sent to the Johannelund missionary seminary in Bromma, Sweden for five years to receive further education; upon his return to Massawa, he married Mehret Hailu.

He attempted to immediately return to his native Macha Oromo people, and to circumvent the travel restrictions Emperor Menelik II had imposed on foreign missionaries attempted to reach Welega by way of central Sudan. His party got no closer than Asosa, and were forced to return to the border town of Famaka, where Onesimos suffered from a fever. The party was forced back to Khartoum, which they reached on 10 April 1882 just as the Mahdist revolt broke out. Onesimos recovered from his illness, and found his way back to the Imkullu Mission, where while waiting further instructions he began the first of his many translations into Oromo. After attempting another unsuccessful mission to reach Welega in 1886, he began his translation of the entire Bible.

...
Wikipedia