Pray for Ethiopia

DAASANACH; Ethiopia; 35,000. The translation team has made good progress. Lift them up as they process the final details to prepare the New Testament for typesetting. Ask God to give them and the typesetter focused concentration, good health, and a continuing sense of God’s call on their lives. Pray that any mistakes may be caught and corrected in the proofreading stage. Pray that the printing will go well and that the published copies will have durable binding. Pray that the Lord would prepare the Daasanach to say with the Psalmist, “I rejoice in your word like one who discovers a great treasure” (Psalm 119:162, NLT). The team hopes to hold a Scripture celebration at the end of 2013.

BASKETO; Ethiopia; 57,800. The detailed checking process all Scriptures go through is effective! Praise God that in the final check of the Basketo manuscript, small errors were found and corrected. It was sent for typesetting and is expected to be printed in Korea, in early 2013. Pray for quality printing and binding, and safe delivery of the books back to Ethiopia. Ask God to bless the newly revitalized literacy efforts so that when the New Testaments arrive there will be people who can read it in their mother tongue. Thank the Lord that the two main Basketo translators have the opportunity to get further education in Bible translation and theology.

ANUAK; Ethiopia; 97,600; Ethiopian Evangelical Church Mekane Yesus. The whole Anuak Bible arrived in Ethiopia after it was printed during 2012. Praise the Lord, and pray for the team as they plan a Scripture dedication event. Some division among the spiritual leaders seems to be healing. Also, pray for Anuak believers suffering from political unrest and violence in their homeland. Ask God to provide an answer to the complex situation there. www.eecmy.org

ME’EN; Ethiopia; 151,500. The Me’en translation team has made good progress, and many New Testament books are being checked, tested, and revised. Please pray for the Lord’s protection over the team members as they travel to and from workshops, community testing, and other daily routines. Praise the Lord for the work being done among the Me’en, and pray that He would bring a spirit of unity between the churches as they begin to record the Gospels of Mark and John. www.theseedcompany.org

MAJANG; Ethiopia; 40,000. When this project began, the Majang people at large did not have a very deep understanding of the Bible, despite widespread church attendance. The Majang translation team wanted— and still wants—to change that! Praise the Lord that people have been gathering to listen to the four Gospels on audio for several years now. The team continues to work diligently, drafting and revising the other books of the New Testament and hoping to be done by 2014. Pray that they will have creative ideas to establish and promote literacy programs in their community, which will likely produce a desire among the participants to study and learn Scriptures. www.theseedcompany.org

KOORETE; Ethiopia; 104,000. On January 29, 2012, a long-term dream became a reality when the Koorete people received the New Testament in their own language! Pray for the churches in the area to take this precious Word to their people so that God’s kingdom will grow rapidly among them.

SIDAMO; Ethiopia; 2,900,000. Last year the senior translator left the project for a higher-paying job—a big setback for the team. Since the Old Testament is ready and the New Testament revision is close to completion, they plan to print the full Bible in one book. Both Testaments are undergoing a final manuscript check by a Bible Society consultant. Ask God to give Kesela and Tefera, who remain on the translation team, encouragement and perseverance to push on till the whole Bible is complete. Praise God that there is good interdenominational support for the project. Pray that the funds for the printing will be forthcoming. Pray also for good distribution and use of the newly published Sidamo children’s Bible.

In mid-2012 a team began developing beginner reading materials for children in the Komo language . Because Komo had never been written before, the team needed to make decisions about how to write the language so that it would be easy for children to read. The team produced a 103-lesson book to introduce reading and writing, along with a teacher's guide. The book will now need to be tested with children. Before that can happen, trained teachers are needed. Pray that good teachers can be found or trained so that Komo children can learn to read and write in their mother tongue. 

The Ethiopia Comprehensive Plan (CP) is a joint venture of six organizations to translate the Scriptures into Ethiopian languages. Four new translation projects will be launched in 2012, reducing the number of languages with no translated Scripture to twenty-five. Eighty-eight languages are spoken in Ethiopia. Pray for the six CP partners as they work together and as they raise awareness within the Ethiopian church of the importance of translating the Bible into the mother tongue of each community. Pray also that the CP partners will be successful at raising the needed funds to accomplish their goals.

On June 10, 2012, the Gamo people arrived by the thousands at Chencha Town Square.  Before and during the communist regime in Ethiopia, many Gamo Christians were brought to this square to be beaten, tortured, and martyred for their faith in Jesus. On this day, however, they had come to celebrate the launch of the New Testament in their language.  Pray that the Gamo will have "spiritual wisdom and insight so that [they] might grow in [their] knowledge of God" (Ephesians 1:17) as they read His Word in their language.