A Bible translation for a large language group of Asia should be completed within two years. However, over two million speakers of a southern dialect of this language have nothing from the Bible yet in written form. They live in a neighboring country and use a different script. In 2011 the Gospel of Matthew was adapted into this second dialect. A few trial copies have been distributed. Please pray that God will prepare people's hearts, that even this first portion of God's Word will bear fruit, and that a team will soon be formed to work on the whole Bible.

Pray for the Suau people of Milne Bay province as they make preparations to receive Erika Cavalcante into their community and translation program. Erika will work with the Suau language and translation team. Pray for Stephen Moyaru, the language team leader, as he works with his people to build a house for Erika and helps her to settle in the language community.

Praise the Lord for progress in the Manambu New Testament translation. Ken and Rosa Nayau praise the Lord that Rosa completed the back translation* of Matthew just before Christmas. Ask the Lord to bless their efforts this year as they prepare for consultant checking** on a number of books that are ready. Pray for good health and strength throughout the year.

*A back-translation is the result of translating drafts of vernacular scripture back into a language that the translation consultant understands and can use to check for omitted or extraneous material, or possible misconceptions.

**Consultant Check: A consultant thoroughly goes over the translation with the team, checking for accuracy, clarity and naturalness, and looking for omissions, extraneous thoughts or possible misconceptions.

Pray for the Urat team to make great progress in Bible translation this year. They have completed the first draft of the New Testament and are working through the many details of checking and correcting the manuscript. Ask the Lord to protect the team from any hindrance to their progress. Pray for a positive and healthy working team spirit amongst them.

The Ayta Mag-Indi participated in a long-anticipated Creative Worship Workshop. Most of the Ayta Mag-Indi churches currently worship the Lord in a language other than their mother-tongue. Please pray for the church worship leaders and members who attended the workshop. As a result, may they find great joy in expressing worship in the language of their hearts.

Over 1.3 million Meetto speakers live in Mozambique and Tanzania. Please pray for God to provide a new translator and team member to work on this New Testament project. Ask the Holy Spirit to lead this person to the team soon. The test edition of the Book of Acts is also getting a warm reception. Praise the Lord that translated Scripture is already in use and chang­ing lives. Pray that Meetto believers will feed on God’s Word and grow spiritually strong.

In view of Vision 2025, SIL leaders and their partners are developing plans for all the remaining language development and Bible translation work worldwide. One comprehensive project team hopes to address the language needs in a number of countries across the Mediterranean region. Their next planning meeting will be held 13-15 February. Pray for God’s guidance and wisdom as they define leadership roles and look for suitable people to fill those roles in the project. May God bring together a team that will effectively serve the language groups of this large region.