Pray for language

One people group in South Asia is still waiting for development. They live in a horseshoe-shaped valley with abundant natural resources. Their traditional healers know much about the medicinal herbs available locally. But most of them live without formal education. Pray for a committed couple to live among them and initiate a language development project leading to translation of the Word. Ask God for wisdom about other areas of need for community development.

The life of Deva, Bible translator for the Koya tribe in Andhra Pradesh, is amazing. Five years prior to the completion of the Koya New Testament, in 1999, Deva had a paralytic stroke. He completed the Koya New Testament working out of a wheelchair. Recently, he was still in his wheelchair, but with severe restrictions in his movements. He is almost totally paralyzed, neck downward, but his mind is as active as ever. Deva continues working on the Old Testament translation with the help of a young assistant. Deva's response is, "God is faithful, I have not done enough for Him."

Even in the face of many challenges and problems, the Amam translation team under the leadership of Awi Manga is moving forward with their work. Tribal fighting continues amongst four tribes in the language area. Praise the Lord for His protection over the translation work, the team members, and their properties. Pray for these men and their families to persevere and hope in the Lord. And pray for them in their efforts to bring peace to the warring peoples.

Pray for Oral Bible Storytellers in the Sepik Province. Pray for those in the Kwomtari, Kukwo (Urim), Pouye, Malinguat, Kombio and Urat languages as well as the Tok Pisin team in city of Wewak. Thank the Lord for the Bible stories that are being told in these language communities and bringing encouragement and blessing to the Body of Christ there.

Praise the Lord for a successful three-day workshop on translation awareness held in the Mekeo language area. Thank the Lord for the new people who attended the workshop. They learned about Bible translation and the processes involved in this task. Pray that the Lord will continue to stir ther hearts to participate in Old Testament translation in various ways. Also, pray for interest to promote and distribute the New Testament which was finished in 1999. Pray for Victor and Ana Opungu as they provide leadership in the Mekeo work.

Pray for the Enga Bible translation project. Ask the Lord to prosper the work of translator Yakasa Maniosa and his team in their work. Pray for special wisdom when they translate difficult passages into Enga. And praise the Lord for good leadership and teamwork in this group.

Pray for Anselm Kuloi and Martin Ponomb of the Maring translation project. They have been provided a new computer for use in keyboarding their work.  Thank the Lord for Mara Iyama's visit last month to deliver the computer and train them in the basics of the Paratext computer program. Thank the Lord for the new resolve of the Church and community to complete the translation. One of the leaders challenged his people saying, "If we don't have the Word in our own language, then we are missing a very important part of our lives...we must complete the task!"

From August to October, around 25 students from ten countries are planning to take training in EthnoArts at Payap University in Chiang Mai, Thailand. These students will learn how to research and analyze their own or host culture's art forms, and then apply this knowledge to their work in language development, multilingual education, literacy or in the local church. Many of these students have requested scholarships. Please pray that God would provide.

Thank the Lord for the faithful team working on the Old Testament translation for the Matigsalug people. Bern, Ricky and Diony are being trained to work with Alex in the translation office. Another person, Tano, is finishing his advanced degree. Then he hopes to split his time between translating and serving as a translation consultant for other teams. Pray for ongoing funds for these talented translators. The translation facilitators are having difficulty finding funding for a trip back from New Zealand to work with the team. Pray that funds are provided for their coming trip and also for their monthly needs.

The Chadian Arabic New Testament was recently dedicated in N’Djamena, Chad’s capital. 20,000 copies in Arabic script are now available for sale, but the container with 20,000 copies printed in Roman script has still not arrived in Chad. Having the New Testament available in both scripts will mean more people can read it in a language they understand. Pray that God will use this translation mightily to reveal Christ.

This New Testament is a joint project of WEC International, Bible Societies and SIL International, Wycliffe's key partner.