Impact

On Aug. 10, 2020, my wife Jo and I celebrated a significant anniversary of a major life event in 1990. The location was a Canela village in Brazil. The occasion was the distribution of newly printed Bible portions, which Jo and I helped translate in partnership with the Canela people.

God’s Word, coming in accurate, natural and clear Eastern Apurímac Quechua, deepens and expands the impact the gospel is having among these hardy mountain people.

Seeing their poverty, we did not leave them in need, and God did in their hearts much more than we could have thought.

Our aim was to put the Gergiko New Testament into the hands of the church, and that goal kept us going during very difficult times.

By the time the translated New Testament was published in his language, Laka had worked on it for 16 long years. He had also walked more than 9,600 km in and out of the mountains.

One day, while a young Siarlak man was reading his lines from the “JESUS” film script, an audio technician named Bennis noticed a change in the speaker’s voice and pressed the “pause” button. Looking up, Bennis saw tears in the young man’s eyes.

Afaafa decided to read the first Bible verse she set her eyes on–and it “happened” to be Galatians 5:1. That night, she dreamed that God was inviting her to choose slavery or freedom.

While Budy was working in a village 85 km from his home, recording the “JESUS” film, a massive 7.5 earthquake hit his home city in Central Sulawesi, Indonesia.

Maximiliana thought attending church was a waste of time—until literacy skills taught by ATEK helped her understand the Scriptures.

Commissioned by Wycliffe Russia, three men on a language survey team were sent to learn more about the Nanai people of Siberia and their language.