(look at the different generations gathered to read the Bible, listening as the dad reads aloud the Word of God in his heart language for the very first time.)
In 2004 when my family began the process of deciding to become missionaries, we picked up this little book called "From Akebu to Zapotec". It's a book we used to help prepare our kids to move overseas and think about other kids their age. You may have seen it, we showed it to a lot of kids. It was a children's book that featured a group of people without the Bible in their heart language, for each letter of the alphabet.
This story below, is an excerpt from Bob Creson's book "The Finish Line", specifically about the entry under the letter "U" that our family found so interesting. I had not known this story was going on in the background the whole time and I find it fascinating how God works. It's awesome when we experience those moments were some small piece of the intricate tapestry God weaves is revealed to us.
(The main focus of Bob's book is how there are still 1900 Bible Translations left to be done in the world, but for the first time in history, the number of needed translations isn't going up as we discover new people groups. It's going down. The finish line, the time when there will be zero Bible poverty in the world, is solid. It's a set number, and we're closing in on it!!! The finish line has stopped moving and we have it in our sights. By 2025 our goal we'll have SOME Scripture in every language in the world. The work won't be finished by then, but we will have begun the climb to the finish line.)
EXCERPT:
Children can pray, too. Just ask Andy and Andry Minch, who helped the Amanab people of Papua New Guinea translate the Scriptures into their language. After the dedication of hte Amanab New Testament in 2001, the Minches moved out of the village.
Two years later, during Christmas of 2003, the Minches returned for a visit and found abundant evidence that the Word of God was impacting Amanab lives. In fact, the Amanab people were sending one of their own as a missionary to a neighboring unreached people group.
The church leaders told Andy and Audrey that they'd received a request for help from the Umeda people, who lived a day's hike away. The Umeda wanted someone to come live with them, teach them aboug God and help them start a church. The Amanab church, after praying and fasting, felt God leading them to appoint a man named Simai as their missionary to Umeda.
Several months later, in his role of overseeing translation programs to Papua New Guinea, Andy received a request from Wycliffe, USA for permission to translate some stories about Papua New Guinean people groups from English into another language. The stories were part of a children's book called "From Akebu to Zapotec".
This little book contained colorful illustrations and brief descriptions of twenty-six unreached groups (one for each letter of the alphabet) that at the time were still waiting for God's Word. The book was designed to encourage children to pray for these groups by name.
Leafing through the book, Andy discovered that one of the featured language groups was the Umeda. Up until then, he'd assumed only a handful of people even knew that this tiny group of three hundred people existed. Suddenly he realized that thousands of children knew about them and were praying for them. And God had answered. He'd created a hunger in the Umeda people to know Him, and He'd created a willingness in the Amanab to stretch their meager resources to send one of their own to tell their neighbors about Him.
......
Today, the Umeda people have been changed, and have begun their own church.
......
Today, the Umeda people have been changed, and have begun their own church.
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END EXCERPT
This story says a lot. It talks about how God's Word changes lives, it talks about the power of prayer, it answers questions people ask us often like "why are you translating Bibles for people?"
This story personally gives me great hope as when a Papua New Guinean group, is so affected by God's Word that they begin their own missionary endeavor is to me, a miracle. Living amongst them, and knowing them as I do, this is truly a miraculous event.
God is awesome. I share this story with you so you too will experience that awesomeness.
God's Word changes lives! Join us in that task.
God's Word changes lives! Join us in that task.
