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Dear Emma,

I know you love God’s Word. I know you’re committed to helping Christians all over the world translate the Scriptures, to share God’s Word with their own people.

That’s why I’m THRILLED to bring you some amazing news:

Friends have pooled their resources to offer us a $70,000 Challenge fund—which will combine with your gift to dramatically accelerate Bible translation for language groups who’ve been waiting for GENERATIONS to fully experience God’s Word!

Especially people living in hostile Islamic areas, where national Bible translators must work in secret to avoid being detected—possibly arrested, tortured—and their translation work destroyed.

If we provide computer tablets, they can work safely and efficiently, “under the radar.”

This challenge gift is perfect timing—God’s timing—because national Bible translators from 843 language groups are ready to start work in 2020. They’re passionate. They would be at work already if they could! They simply need computer tablets and the training we provide.

Give them these critical tools and they will start work right away, translating God’s Word into their own heart language.

After generations of waiting, they’ve caught a glimpse of hope. Now—finally—incredibly—with tablets and our MAST strategy (Mobilized Assistance Supporting Translation)—they can translate God’s Word for themselves!

But it will take around 470 computer tablets to equip all the national Bible translation workshops necessary for just the first two months of 2020.

A tablet is only $300, but this means the total cost is $141,000. So I’m asking for your help.

Please give a very special “Christmas gift” online. Your gift combined with the $70,000 Challenge fund will provide more Tablets for National Translators . . . for the sake of people who’ve never seen a Bible in the language of their heart!

Thank you! God bless you!

Until the task is done,

Bruce

Dear Emma,

I can’t tell you the name of the country—it’s too dangerous—but a member of our U.S. team visited a pastor there to help plan training for a secret team of national Bible translators.

Our team member was under constant surveillance during his time in the country, but the authorities left him alone, never approaching him.

Three months later, our team member returned.

That was a terrible moment.

The pastor was gone, his church and seminary padlocked.

Where were the translators?

Until the task is done,

Bruce

Dear Emma,

Thank you! We needed funding for 570 computer tablets for national Bible translators for the first two months of 2020—and generous friends contributed enough funds for more than 588.

I am grateful. Thousands of people will finally have the Scriptures in the language of their hearts. They will finally be able to experience the truth of God’s Word fully, deeply, in the same language they think in, and dream in, and pray in.

There is still an enormous need for computer tablets on the field. We’ve seen Christians showing up at our workshops with manila envelopes full of their handwritten pages of Scripture—they’ve started on their own, painstakingly translating God’s Word verse by verse, with pencil and paper. They have a fervent desire to have the Bible in the language of their heart!

Tablets will accelerate their work. Translators will finally be able to work efficiently, together, checking their work, helping each other—all thanks to the technology that you have provided.

So if you haven’t given yet, or you feel led to give again, I hope you’ll give today—As you do, you will be a huge blessing to someone who still needs the Word of God. Thank you in advance.

God bless you!

Until the task is done,

Bruce

Dear Emma,

I want to make sure you saw this from earlier today. We have just a few hours left to start the new year of Bible translation with funding for computer tablets—so national Bible translators can share God’s Word with their people in the language of their heart.

Tablets are critical. God has raised up Christians to do the work—many at tremendous risk to themselves—but we’ve got to give them the tools. We can’t let a lack of tools be the reason God’s Word never reaches these forgotten people groups!

Forwarded message:

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From: Bruce Smith <bruce@wycliffeassociates.org> To: Emma Subject: A New Year of Bible Translation Dear Emma, We hope and pray we will start the new year with funding for computer tablets for national Bible translators. So they can give God’s Word to their people in the language of their heart. Thousands of Christians are ready and waiting—they’re hoping, they’re praying, that the tools and technology will be available to them, so they can finally—after generations of waiting—FINALLY have Bibles in their own heart language. Please give generously to fund the new year of Bible translation. Your gift combined with the $70,000 Challenge fund will provide more Tablets for National Translators . . . for the sake of people who’ve never seen a Bible in the language of their heart! The technology is inexpensive for us, but life-changing for them. $300 is an amazingly low figure, especially when you see what God can do through a single computer tablet in the hands of a national Bible translator. Any gift you give will be a blessing. So for the sake of people who’ve never seen a Bible in the language of their heart . . . where national Bible translation could begin this coming year if we can give them tablets . . . please give with as much generosity as you possibly can. I’m asking for the sake of a grandpa led to the Lord by missionaries decades ago, who has spent his whole life praying for a Bible translation he can truly understand. . . . For a young Christian secretly worshiping Jesus in the heart of an Islamic country, so longing for God’s Word in his own heart language that he’s begun painstakingly translating the New Testament by hand . . . For millions weeping in the darkness, as they cry out to God for someone to bring them the hope in God’s Word in the language of their heart. . . . Please join me in giving them wonderful news, as the new year begins: Together, we can say YES to national Bible translators! You can translate God’s Word, into your own heart language, YOURSELF! No more waiting! Let me hear from you with your compassionate online gift. Thank you! God bless you! Until the task is done, Bruce

Dear Emma,

I want to share a story I recently heard from our team about a believer in Zambia. His reaction shows how eager Christians are for God’s Word in their own heart language. They need computer tablets!

A group of national translators began their Bible translation workshop in Zambia when a man named George showed up from a different language group. He wanted to be part of the training but his car broke down at the border. Despite this, he showed up anyway! Arriving late, he watched while others translated the Scriptures into their own languages using their computer tablets.

Tears welled up in his eyes—he couldn’t believe what he was seeing as he watched God’s Word come alive. “How do I get that?” he cried out. “Please! How can I take this back to my village?”

With no tablets to spare they decided to send George back to his village with our translation apps for his personal computer—just one device for the whole language group. And it has inspired George to assemble a translation team prepared to share God’s Word with others in their own heart language—just as soon as they could get their hands on more tablets.

To help national Bible translators, we need to extend our goal by 100 tablets—from 470 to 570—for language groups like George’s. Can you please help?

Every $300 given provides another computer tablet, loaded with software and resources, to help national Bible translators give God’s Word to their people in the language of their heart.

If you can give $300, great. If not, please do whatever you can!

People like George are praying for the tools to translate the Scriptures into their own heart language. It’s the only way they can fully experience the truth of God’s Word.

Please donate to provide tablets. Thank you for understanding this need, and responding from a heart of Christlike compassion!

Until the task is done,

Bruce

Dear Emma,

We hope and pray we will start the new year with funding for computer tablets for national Bible translators. So they can give God’s Word to their people in the language of their heart.

Thousands of Christians are ready and waiting—they’re hoping, they’re praying, that the tools and technology will be available to them, so they can finally—after generations of waiting—FINALLY have Bibles in their own heart language.

Please give generously to fund the new year of Bible translation. Your gift combined with the $70,000 Challenge fund will provide more Tablets for National Translators . . . for the sake of people who’ve never seen a Bible in the language of their heart!

The technology is inexpensive for us, but life-changing for them. $300 is an amazingly low figure, especially when you see what God can do through a single computer tablet in the hands of a national Bible translator. Any gift you give will be a blessing.

So for the sake of people who’ve never seen a Bible in the language of their heart . . . where national Bible translation could begin this coming year if we can give them tablets . . . please give with as much generosity as you possibly can.

• I’m asking for the sake of a grandpa led to the Lord by missionaries decades ago, who has spent his whole life praying for a Bible translation he can truly understand. . . .
• For a young Christian secretly worshiping Jesus in the heart of an Islamic country, so longing for God’s Word in his own heart language that he’s begun painstakingly translating the New Testament by hand . . .
• For millions weeping in the darkness, as they cry out to God for someone to bring them the hope in God’s Word in the language of their heart. . . .

Please join me in giving them wonderful news, as the new year begins: Together, we can say YES to national Bible translators! You can translate God’s Word, into your own heart language, YOURSELF! No more waiting!

Let me hear from you with your compassionate online gift. Thank you! God bless you!

Until the task is done,

Bruce

Hi Emma,

Here are a few highlights from our blog about how God is accelerating Bible translation through the work you make possible. As you read these reports, we hope you experience the blessing of seeing God's work of Bible translation in action.

Project Update: Unity Replaces Division to Reach Nigeria with God's Translated Word
When it comes to the body of Christ, Satan wants nothing more than to divide and conquer. In the case of Bible translation, it's no different—and Nigeria is a prime example. Not long ago, division was at the heart of Bible translation efforts among varying groups in this country… Read the rest here!

Bruce's Blog: Light in the Darkness
“Why does it seem that people in other parts of the world are so interested in the Bible when people in the U.S. seem to have lost interest?” This question surfaced in a recent conversation. I think it is difficult for us to imagine living in spiritual darkness… Read the rest here!

Devotion: She Chooses Her Name
The 18-year-old girl stood at the front of the room, gazing into the eyes of a compassionate and loving Deaf church community. Until now, she’d literally been nameless. She had been rejected in the past due to her deafness… Read the rest here!

Prayer Watch: Tablets Accelerate Bible Translation
I can hardly wrap my head around the fact that another year is done. Here we are in 2020. And I begin this new year with a real desire to know God better, to read and study His Word more consistently, and to listen to Him with my whole heart… Read the rest here!

Check our blog frequently as we post the latest news throughout the week. And remember to share the news with your friends and family to let them know what God is doing through His churches around the world, Wycliffe Associates, and people like you.

Until the task is done,
Your team at Wycliffe Associates

Dear Emma,

I keep hearing one word over and over again: Can’t. 

It’s a word I hate—every can’t is a lie from Satan.

The truth is, we have an opportunity to turn every Can’t into Can—by training national Bible translation leaders in “closed” countries and sending them to people groups we could never reach. If we train and send them, they will start Bible translation workshops themselves to launch Bible translation in, God willing, 600 new languages. They’ll share God’s Word with millions of people who have never seen a single verse of Scripture in the languages of their hearts.

It’s dangerous. These are areas so treacherous for Christians; I can’t tell you the translators’ names. Places so dangerous, you and I literally cannot go there. Places so hazardous, we can’t even risk slipping in to conduct the training—we have to bring the translators to a safe place to set this all in motion.

But we can! Your help provides the tools—computer tablets with Bible translation software and resources—as well as the training, travel costs, and basic expenses for the translators.

The leaders are ready. They are prepared to risk everything. That’s how hungry their people are to experience God’s Word in their own heart languages. But the total cost for tools and training will be $250,000.

The only question is: Will you and I turn “can’t” into “can”?

You'll be sending bold, local believers to bring God's Word into Muslim- and communist- controlled regions to reach hundreds of language groups. 

This is our “Beyond Borders” strategy—for people groups who are trapped behind a border of oppression and darkness, people the enemy wants to stop us from reaching, people who live in areas we could never go.

The key to their success is simple but crucial: They are local. They blend in. They can move about freely. They know whom to trust. They know how to protect themselves. They have become experts at surviving in the midst of hostility.

With your generous gift today, you’ll help send God’s Word “Beyond Borders”—deep into these regions. You’ll give the tools for Bible translation to brave believers who can go to these places.

Please do whatever you can to help put translation tools in the hands of national translators to send God’s Word into these 600 isolated language groups. And for the first time ever, these groups will finally, fully, deeply grasp the love of the Father, His grace, His truth.

Until the task is done,

Bruce

Dear Emma,

If you simply utter his name-Jesus-you could be arrested.

This is how it is in some parts of the world. Christians are living under severe oppression, in fear for their lives-keeping their faith secret, simply to stay alive.

 

It wouldn't surprise me if national Bible translators withdrew . . . backed off . . . if they said, "It's just too risky!"

 

But that's not what they're saying. They're saying, "We need God's Word in the language of our hearts. Please help us get God's Word in our own language."

 

When I heard about this situation, I felt the need to share this important request with you. Two language groups are asking for help to work on Bible translation! Would you prayerfully consider helping to meet this need?

 

These two groups-working in a region where authorities have been merciless in their persecution of believers during COVID-19-need the hardware, the software, the teaching-so they can do the work to launch national Bible translation in their own heart language.

This is so heavy on my heart today. Some groups are so driven to translate God's Word that they've started work by hand, laboriously translating line by line. But their handwritten translations are at risk of discovery and seizure by authorities. Our training and tools would enable them to work far more effectively and to upload their work online, protecting it instantly.

It only takes $19,500 to launch translation in a whole new language, so today, we are asking God to provide $39,000 through friends like you to help both groups.

 

Please give as God leads your heart, to give to provide the resources for Bible translation that our brothers and sisters need.

 

You and I don't really know how it feels to be targeted. They are targeted. Your gift today will equip and keep them working safely-translating God's Word and saving it electronically-so it can be easily shared with friends and family, dispelling spiritual darkness in a place that is hostile to the gospel.

Please give today to help these two translation groups get the tools they need to translate God's Word!

Blessings,
Tim
Interim President/CEO

P.S. National translators are looking to us for help. Together, we can provide the tools and resources they need to start two translations. They are willing to stand up to persecution to see God's Word in their heart language-please stand with them through your prayers and gifts!

 

Dear Emma,

We thought everything was lined up for the Dayak people's Bible translation to start-location chosen, dates communicated-but when the day arrived, no one showed up. We tried to get in touch with them, hoping a text message or phone call could get through.

Wrong. Communication had been completely cut off-due to a faulty internet connection, they never received the messages about the translation event. The only possible way to communicate with these national Bible translators would have been to travel multiple days into the jungle on a motorcycle or by foot to deliver a message in person.

Yet even that method has now been stopped due to COVID-19 and the ban on travel and gathering in groups. Bible translation projects in these remote parts of the world are stopped indefinitely . . . but there is another way!

Bible Translation Acceleration Kits (BTAKs)-solar-powered satellite modems-give national Bible translators access to the internet . . . access to the outside world and to each other . . . even in the most remote location. 

We had planned to raise funds for 50 of these kits. But the isolation of Christians in rural villages is so widespread due to COVID-19-we have to do more! With this simple technology, everything will change. Let's help provide technology to 10 more language groups!

It will cost $90,000 to put 60 satellite modems in rural communities so that stalled translation projects can start!

AND-a friend of Bible translation has been deeply moved by the need and has offered us an additional $3,000 matching challenge gift!

This means gifts given today will be DOUBLED up to the $3,000 matching challenge amount!

The Dayak people need to be able to communicate with other believers, other national translators. They need to be able to start their translation project-even virtually-and know that their hard work will be saved and safe from being lost if persecuting authorities decide to crack down.

Your generous gift today will bypass a global pandemic that the enemy thinks is going to stop God's Word from going forth in Indonesia.

And there is no better time than during this spring season-this season we celebrate our Lord's resurrection and new life in Christ! Our goal is to raise the funds for these kits by the end of this week.

Please prayerfully consider how you can give to help national translators start their stalled translation projects.

Until the task is done,

Bruce

Dear Emma,

A friend I'll call Ben has devoted his life to Bible translation, even in a closed, hard to reach country. Having translated Scriptures should be a time of rejoicing. But not yet . . .

When we asked Ben how God was moving in his homeland, he said sadly, "There has been no revival because the Scriptures are not printed."

 

Ben doesn't say that flippantly. He knows first-hand how God's Word can soften a communist's or atheist's heart. He has witnessed the miraculous life-transformation just from hearing God's powerful Word . . . because that's what he witnessed in his own family members. One-by-one, their lives were changed.

 

But, until Ben is able to see God's Word printed and put in the hands of his people, he knows the work is not finished yet . . . the mission is not over.

Over the next few months, Christians in some of the most remote corners of the earth are working to complete their translations of God's Word into the heart languages of their people! Even as the world reels from the COVID-19 crisis, these translators are committed to getting God's Word into their people's heart language.

Yes, the translated Scriptures will exist in each of these languages. But the people won't be able to see God's Word-hold it in their hands-read it for themselves-study it-internalize it-pray, worship, or celebrate-they won't be able to share it . . . simply because they have no way to print God's Word.

With your generous help today, we can provide Print On Demand units to believers longing to study and share God's Word, even in areas of intense Christian persecution.

Our goal this month is to raise $45,000 to provide this printing equipment.

National Bible translators are hoping and praying for a way to print the Scriptures that they are risking so much to translate. They don't know when this answer will come . . . but you could be that answer TODAY!

 

Your generous gift today can have an eternal impact on millions of people-you could change the trajectory of an entire community for eternity. Please help provide printed Scriptures!

Blessings,
Tim
Interim President/CEO

P.S. Translators are working, but their people cannot yet hold Scripture in their hands. Help give them Print On Demand units, and you'll help answer the prayers of national Bible translators eager to hold God's Word!

Dear Emma,

I hope you saw the message I sent earlier-but just in case you missed it, I am sending it again. I would love to be able to tell Bible translators that their projects will be able to start soon. Please join with us and stand with these faithful translators!

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From: Bruce Smith <bruce@wycliffeassociates.org>
To: Emma
Subject: The clock is ticking

Dear Emma,

As this global pandemic continues to shut down the world, the enemy is working hard to overrun the expansion of the kingdom of God in Indonesia. National Bible translators in many remote villages of Indonesia are literally cut off from the outside world. If they don't get access to the internet, they will not be able to begin the translation projects they have been planning for months.

My heart is breaking for these brothers and sisters who are locked down and isolated. They have been sacrificing so much to see these translation projects start . . . and I know that we have the technology they need to keep moving forward. We just need your help this week. Please don't wait any longer.

To provide 60 isolated communities with a Bible Translation Acceleration Kit (BTAK)-a solar-powered satellite modem-to get these rural villages access to online Bible translation resources and allow them to hold virtual translation workshops, it will cost $90,000.

This is our opportunity to stand with these national translators.

These communities need God's Word now more than ever. In times of uncertainty and confusion, there is hope and power that can only be found in God's Word.

Please prayerfully consider a gift right now to help provide the technology to start virtual translation workshops.Your gift combined with the matching challenge funds will help even more Bible translators. And what joy they will experience to digitally break through the isolation and keep working on God's Word!

Until the task is done,

Bruce

P.S. Isolated without God's Word . . . the looming shadow of a global pandemic . . . imagine the feeling of hopelessness. Your gift today will help national translators gain access to the internet and their translation resources-and ultimately help them put the Word of God into the hands of their people.

Emma,

On behalf of the Board of Trustees, please join me in welcoming Dr. Tim Neu as Interim President/CEO of Wycliffe Associates.

Tim has served Wycliffe Associates with professional excellence over the last 12 years in areas of finance, Bible translation technology, translation services, and, most recently, as Chief Operating Officer.

As Interim President and CEO of Wycliffe Associates' global Bible translation efforts, Tim is prepared to lead staff and supporters in advancing and expanding translation efforts by equipping and empowering local churches and leaders to fully embrace the challenge of Bible translation-so they can finally have God's Word in the language of their heart.

"I have a passion for everyone, for every language and people group, to have God's Word in its fullness," Tim says. "If they have only a Scripture portion, they need the rest to understand the heartbeat of God. If they have only the New Testament, they also need the Old Testament to understand the context of the stories and the prophecy. Our commission is to present the Word of God in its fullness, proclaiming Christ, that all may be presented fully mature in Christ (Colossians 1:25, 28 NIV). This has been and will continue to be our work."

Thank you for your ongoing prayers and partnership as Wycliffe Associates follows God's leading under the leadership of our friend and colleague, Dr. Tim Neu!

Linda Allen, Chair

Board of Trustees

Dear Emma,

Three-year-old Bita (I've changed her name for her safety) witnessed the unthinkable . . . she watched a local Islamic leader kill her father.

As she grew up in this oppressive country, she wrestled every day with how a religious leader could get away with murdering her father and leaving her family in shambles.

Finally, as a young woman, she and her husband fled their homeland to live as refugees and seek a better life. That was when Bita and her husband came to know Jesus!

But in the midst of her new-found joy, her heart grew heavy. Bita realized she was not able to read God's Word in the language of her heart-the language she grew up with-because there was no translation of the Scriptures in her language.

Yearning to have God's Word in a language she could understand, Bita was able to connect with a group of national Bible translators-and she could finally begin her translation project.

Still, she won't be able to reach the people of her homeland without printed Scriptures. Translators like Bita need a way to complete this final step-printing Scripture-so God's Word can finally get into the hands of their people.

But there is a solution.

Our Print On Demand (POD) systems are compact, high-speed printing systems designed to print Scripture whenever and wherever it is needed. Because of this technology, copies of the Scriptures can be printed and distributed into the community almost immediately.

We have requests to provide printing equipment from language groups all around the world . . . so they can print God's Word. And right now, we want to provide POD units in some of the most desolate, most hard-to-reach places. With your help we can do this . . . and national Bible translators can hold God's Word in their hands with a POD system.

Our prayer this month is to raise $45,000 to provide this Print On Demand equipment.

Your generous gift today will help provide a POD system for a language group ready to print God's Word and share it with their people. This is the answer they have been waiting for!

Blessings,
Tim
Interim President/CEO

P.S. One Print On Demand unit has the power to reach a whole community of lost people with the gospel. Help national translators like Bita get the printed Word into the hands of their people!

Dear Emma,

Prison. Beating. Torture . . . even death.

 

This is the reality for many national Bible translators who are working in countries that oppose the gospel and where governments actively seek to keep God's Word from taking root within their borders.

 

But in the face of the daily brutalities leveled against these translators, our faithful brothers and sisters are committed to sacrificing everything for the sake of their people-their language groups-for having God's Word in their heart language.

 

We have witnessed their sacrifice firsthand-they will do whatever it takes to get their hands on God's Word.

 

Just months ago, several persecuted Christians in a dangerous region of South Asia traveled to attend a Bible translation workshop. They had to pass through areas of brutal violence to get there . . . a region where Christians are pushed out of their homes, beaten, and even murdered because of their faith. These believers had even hired a "guide," a man who knew how to navigate through the region and bring them through alive. Terror was on full display, a horrific reminder of the spiritual darkness and the grip the enemy has on this region . . . the emotional and physical stress was overwhelming.

 

When the translators finally arrived at the translation workshop, they were so shell-shocked, we thought they might not be able to work at all. But they insisted on starting right away, and by the end of the workshop, they had translated the books of Mark, Titus, and Philemon.

It was truly a miracle. Translating God's Word was like a balm to their weary and hurting souls. And when they returned to their home country, they recruited more Christians to help with the next Bible translation project!

More and more, language groups are crying out in desperation for the tools to translate God's Word! They are ready to start a translation workshop; they just need the tools.

God, in His infinite grace, has made a way for us to equip Christians with our MAST translation tools-Mobilized Assistance Supporting Translation-in a virtual format.

Today, we need to provide 200 tablets to launch key translation projects around the world. Each of these tablets costs $300, so we need a total of $60,000 to meet the needs of these national Bible translators. Would you consider giving toward a tablet for a national Bible translator today?

By using these small, but powerful, computer tablets-full of translation resources-national translators can fly under the radar of hostile regimes. And should anything happen . . . if these men or women are arrested, or if their tablets are confiscated, their hard work will be safe, backed up to the cloud.

A generous donor has seen the need and already provided $20,000 toward our goal. Your gift today will combine with their $20,000 and help provide translation tablets to start new translation projects.

Now is the time to stand with national translators. Long before COVID-19 isolated much of the world, these brothers and sisters have been isolated-and persecuted-because of their faith. Your gift to provide tablets will help national translators give God's Word to their community in their heart language.

Please give now to provide tablets today!

Until the task is done,

Bruce

 

Dear Emma,

It is alarming how COVID-19 is threatening the progress of God's Word in Indonesia.

This global pandemic has brought much of the world to its knees, and in rural communities in Indonesia, isolation literally means being cut off from the rest of the world. Before their local lockdowns, these communities were planning to start their Bible translation workshops, and now, everything has come to a screeching halt.

Because national translators have no access to the internet, they cannot access the online Bible translation resources. They cannot upload and back up their work to protect their translations. They cannot communicate with their teams to work through questions or collaborate on translations.

It is simple. Without internet access, translation projects can't even begin!

But I know God is greater! He has already provided a way for Indonesian national translators to get back to work . . . we can give them special technology developed with these remote areas in mind.

Bible Translation Acceleration Kits (BTAKs) are solar-powered satellite modems that give national translators the access to the internet and online resources that they need.

We need to provide 50 BTAKs to remote villages in Indonesia so national Bible translators can get their translations started. To provide these translators with a way to access to the internet, it will cost $75,000.

To help us reach our goal, a generous friend of Bible translation has offered a matching challenge of $20,000 to help restart these translations this spring. This match will DOUBLE the value of your gift today and provide twice the translation technology-up to the full $20,000 value of the matching challenge.

Will you please give today to help these Christians access vital resources? Remember, any gift you give today will help DOUBLE the technology available for national Bible translators, up to the $20,000 challenge, to reconnect to their online translation tools and complete the task of providing God's Word for their communities.

The reality we're being faced with today is that without the $75,000 for this technology, these translations of God''s Word are in jeopardy! If we don't step up, millions of people will continue waiting for Scripture-and who knows when that wait will come to an end?

COVID-19 has already caused many things around the world to stop, but wouldn't it be amazing to advance God's Word in Indonesia right now? It would be wonderful to tell these translators that they will have the technology to make the translation of God's Word!

Respond today, make your gift go even further through the $20,000 matching challenge, and let your gift show them HELP IS ON THE WAY.

Until the task is done,

Bruce
President/CEO
Wycliffe Associates

Dear Emma,

God only knows how far they are from civilization. Roads lead to rivers. Rivers lead to footpaths. Footpaths lead to remote villages.

The Kombai people live in one of these remote Indonesian villages, hours away from the nearest airstrip and only accessible by boat.

Over 100 years ago, missionaries brought the gospel here, but they are still waiting for God's Word in their heart language. When they heard that a nearby tribe received help to start translating, the Kombai approached us asking if they could start translating God''s Word, too.

There was one issue. Our translation tools and resources are all online . . . but the Kombai people had no access to the internet.

Through Bible Translation Acceleration Kits (BTAKs)-solar-powered satellite modems-we were able to give the Kombai access to the internet, access to Bible translation resources, access to ask translation teams questions about their translation work . . . and now, the Kombai are working to bring God's Word to their people. Their wait is coming to an end, praise God!

Now, COVID-19 has pushing people deeper into isolation. But it isn't just people that are being affected . . . because people are no longer allowed to gather, and Bible translation projects have been stopped dead in their tracks.

You and I both know God's Word cannot be stopped!

Right now, you can help to provide 50 BTAKs to communities with stalled translation projects, and you can help make an online Bible translation project a reality. It will cost $75,000 to bring this technology to all of these villages, and your gift today will be the answer these Indonesians are praying for.

And your gift today will go even further because a generous friend has offered a $20,000 matching challenge to get translation projects back online!

This is the way that the Word of God will go forth in these spiritually dark regions of Indonesia.

Because of your gift right now, translation projects that have been stopped will start up again. Please help provide the technology they need to get online.

Until the task is done,

Bruce

Dear Emma,

I am rejoicing in the miracle today! My heart is full of gratitude and thanksgiving. Because of your generous giving, remote villages in Indonesia will no longer be cut off and isolated from God's Word. Thank you!

The world continues to reel because of COVID-19, and my heart broke when I heard some translation projects were stalled as a result of the virus. Shelter-in-place laws meant utter isolation-no travel, no gatherings-for many rural Indonesian villages.

Without any type of intervention, Bible translation efforts would have been completely stopped-indefinitely.

When I presented a technology solution to you-Bible Translation Acceleration Kits (BTAKs) including a solar-powered satellite modem-you stepped up to help provide this technology across the country of Indonesia. These faithful men and women are now able to hold online translation workshop to keep translation projects moving forward!

I thank you from the bottom of my heart for faithfully standing with these men and women to help them get online and start their Bible translations.

My heart rejoices knowing translation projects that were at a standstill will now begin again. And I know that the powerful Word of God will continue to transform these remote communities until God establishes a mighty body of believers in these hard to reach places.

Until the task is done,

Bruce

P.S.  Much of the country where Christians live is without reliable communications, and we have only scratched the surface of villages that need access to the internet to continue their Bible translation projects. If the Lord is leading you to give again, please do so. You can have an impact on Bible translation in one of the hardest-to-reach areas of the world!

Dear Emma,

The situation in Nigeria right now is so bad that it leaves no room for exaggeration-a perfect storm created by the decrease in food supply due to the global economic shutdown and the rise in attacks against Christian communities by militant jihadist groups.

National Bible translators in Nigeria and other poverty-stricken parts of the world are reaching out in utter desperation, hoping we can at least help them keep from starving!

This is just one of many desperate messages I have received from our Bible translation partners around the world:

"This double jeopardy of the food shortages-and impending starvation-caused by the coronavirus pandemic and the jihadist attacks is making life unbearable for many of our church members."

Food shortages are rampant all across Nigeria, and the simple livelihoods our brothers and sisters relied on-agriculture, fishing, trading-are all but destroyed. Many lack the money to provide even the staples for his or her family . . . a simple bowl of rice.

Together, we can help them through our Emergency 911 Fund! Our large network of partners on the ground in these countries can help access food and deliver it-if they have the funds.

To provide emergency relief for our brothers and sisters around the world-right now-we will need $400,000. Please help rush food for hundreds of national Bible translators and their local churches.

Starvation is an imminent threat to the survival of these Bible translators and their families-and a threat to Bible translation work itself. Without food, translation work will come to a screeching halt.

Please give today to help send food to Nigeria and other parts of the world struggling because of COVID-19. Help us answer these cries for help right now!

Thank you in advance for answering these pleas with your generosity.

Until the task is done,

Bruce

PS. Help national Bible translators today by providing food and relief during this time of uncertainty due to COVID-19. Help them know that we stand with them and want to see God's Word translated for their people.

Dear Emma,

Three-year-old Bita (I've changed her name for her safety) witnessed the unthinkable . . . she watched a local Islamic leader kill her father.

As she grew up in this oppressive country, she wrestled every day with how a religious leader could get away with murdering her father and leaving her family in shambles.

Finally, as a young woman, she and her husband fled their homeland to live as refugees and seek a better life. That was when Bita and her husband came to know Jesus!

But in the midst of her new-found joy, her heart grew heavy. Bita realized she was not able to read God's Word in the language of her heart-the language she grew up with-because there was no translation of the Scriptures in her language.

Yearning to have God's Word in a language she could understand, Bita was able to connect with a group of national Bible translators-and she could finally begin her translation project.

Still, she won't be able to reach the people of her homeland without printed Scriptures. Translators like Bita need a way to complete this final step-printing Scripture-so God's Word can finally get into the hands of their people.

But there is a solution.

Our Print On Demand (POD) systems are compact, high-speed printing systems designed to print Scripture whenever and wherever it is needed. Because of this technology, copies of the Scriptures can be printed and distributed into the community almost immediately.

We have requests to provide printing equipment from language groups all around the world . . . so they can print God's Word. And right now, we want to provide POD units in some of the most desolate, most hard-to-reach places. With your help we can do this . . . and national Bible translators can hold God's Word in their hands with a POD system.

Our prayer this month is to raise $45,000 to provide this Print On Demand equipment.

Your generous gift today will help provide a POD system for a language group ready to print God's Word and share it with their people. This is the answer they have been waiting for!

Blessings,
Tim
Interim President/CEO

P.S. One Print On Demand unit has the power to reach a whole community of lost people with the gospel. Help national translators like Bita get the printed Word into the hands of their people!

Hi Emma,

Here are a few highlights from our blog about how God is accelerating Bible translation through the work you make possible. As you read these reports, we hope you experience the blessing of seeing God''s work of Bible translation in action.

Bruce''s Blog: How Much Is Enough?
When you hear that around 700 languages have the complete Bible, does that seem like a lot or just a few? Current research suggests around 7,000 unique languages spoken in the world today. Unofficial estimates are even higher, suggesting the number could be two or three times that amount. Does that change your perspective?. Read the rest!

"Why aren't you working on Bible translation?"
After a long day of Bible translation, Ayo was taking a walk in his village when he suddenly heard his name being called. He turned to find a gentleman approaching him with an excited look on his face. "Why aren't you working on Bible translation?" the man asked. Read the rest!

Prayer Watch: Pray for Bible Translation Beyond Borders
There have been times in my life, and you may have experienced this, too, when my soul felt parched and dry. In that place I feel like I'm in a desert. It feels foreign to me. I grew up in New England with woods, streams of water. Read the rest!

Opportunities: Help from Home - Russian, Hindi, & More Needed!
If Russian, Hindi, Gujarati, Persian, or Vietnamese is your first language and you are bilingual in English, we need your help with an ongoing project which you can support from home!. Read the rest!

Check our blog frequently  as we post the latest news throughout the week. And remember to share the news with your friends and family to let them know what God is doing through His churches around the world, Wycliffe Associates, and people like you.

Until the task is done,
Your team at Wycliffe Associates

 

Dear Emma,

The COVID-19 pandemic does NOT have to shut down national Bible translation. People who have waited generations for the Scriptures do NOT have to keep waiting. God, in His infinite grace, has made a way for us to equip Christians with our MAST translation tools-Mobilized Assistance Supporting Translation-in a virtual format.

 

National Bible translators could go on working-even remotely, even in areas of intense persecution, even in places where they are subject to surveillance by hostile authorities. We call this strategy V-MAST.

 

Emma, we must provide the tools-we have a goal right now to send 200 tablets to the most urgent locations. At just $300 each, it will take $60,000.

But praise God, a generous friend of Bible translation has offered a $20,000 matching challenge to help meet the need of every national Bible translator crying out for translation resources. Right now, your gift will be doubled up to $20,000!

Imagine the millions of people you could impact, people who have praying for years to finally have a Bible so they can understand God''s love!

National Bible translators in hundreds of language groups are asking us not to back away because of the pandemic and its economic shockwaves-they are so close to finally sharing God's Word with their people . . .

 

We must answer the cry of their hearts. Christians are so eager for God's Word that several national translators dared to travel from their dangerous homeland to attend a Bible translation workshop. They witnessed brutal violence on their journey and were so shell-shocked upon their arrival, we thought there was no way they would be able work. But they insisted on starting immediately-and within days, they had translated the books of Mark, Titus, and Philemon.

 

Translating God's Word transformed them! These translators went from being traumatized to feeling like God was using them. When they returned to their homeland, they recruited more Christians to help with Bible translation. This is how hungry people are for God's Word.

 

Tablets are absolutely crucial.

 

Your gift today-when combined with the generous $20,000 challenge gift-will have an even greater impact to give Bible translators a safe, private network and the ability to collaborate with others, even across closed borders. You'll help provide a library of translation resources to speed the work and ensure accuracy-plus tools for their work to be backed up and stored virtually so it can't be confiscated or destroyed by enemies of Christianity.

 

But most important of all, your gift today will mean someone will experience God's Word in their own heart language for the first time ever. I hope to hear from you soon.

Until the task is done,

Bruce

Dear Emma,

The last two weeks have pulled all our lives in some unexpected directions. The situation surrounding coronavirus (COVID-19) has been rapidly escalating. We have been quickly responding, trying to prayerfully determine the best course of action for our ministry.

I know, too, that this is impacting your life as well. You have been on my heart and in my prayers.

As we navigate these unprecedented times, I want to affirm a few things that are not changing: 

1. Our faith and confidence is in God. He is in control, and we trust in His wisdom and guidance.
2. Our mission and our calling is to accelerate Bible translation. We serve the local church around the world, helping believers to bring God's Word to their people groups.
3. We are surrounded by prayer warriors, like you, who are lifting up Bible translation and the translators on the ground before the Lord on a daily basis.

Right now, around the world, our team is taking every reasonable measure and precaution-including reducing travel and encouraging national Bible translators to conduct their translation workshops with virtual support from our operations team. This is possible thanks to Bible translation technology and training that supporters like you have provided-THANK YOU!

Praise God, the work of Bible translation continues despite the crisis. Because even while taking precautions, national translators are more committed than ever to provide their people with the truth of God's Word as quickly as possible. They know how important it is, in times of confusion and fear like this, that people know the truth and solid foundation of God''s promises.

There are not only millions of people around the world still waiting for God's Word in their heart language, there are also hundreds of language groups primed and ready to begin their translations this spring. They don't want to delay their Bible translations, and we don't either.

Bible translation is too important. Eternity is too important.

We know that while the COVID-19 threat is real, it cannot stop the spread of God's Word among the nations.

Today, we are in need of your prayers-and your financial help-as we respond to changing conditions and equip translators around the world to continue the work of His hands through times of uncertainty. Please give generously today!

Please also know that as partners in this ministry, you are precious to us. If you need prayer in the coming weeks, I invite to call our team at 1-800-THE WORD; one of our staff members would be honored to pray with you.

Thank you,

Bruce
President/CEO
Wycliffe Associates

Dear Emma,

Secret messages. Phone calls spoken in code. A nerve-wracking 500-mile journey carrying the contraband to a pre-arranged drop-off site. At every turn, the risk of betrayal.

 

If caught: Prison-maybe torture. Possibly ritual mutilation under Islamic law. And very likely, death.

 

This is not the plot of a new movie. It's what actually happened when Christians in a Muslim country finally got so hungry for God's Word and couldn't wait anymore.

 

A small house fellowship had been secretly passing around a single copy of the Bible-hundreds of pages they printed off the internet-taking turns studying the Word and sharing Bible stories with their children. They reached out to us, longing for their own copies of God's Word.

 

I can't tell you all the details. It would be too dangerous for them if somehow, word was leaked. All I can tell you is this: to get just 10 Bibles in their hands, 10 Bibles in the language of their hearts, they were willing to risk literally everything. Even life itself.

 

When those 10 Bibles finally arrived-after a perilous five-week journey-these families had an actual Bible in each of their homes for the first time in their lives!

 

But right now, there are thousands upon thousands more families who are hungry to hold God's Word in their hands . . . longing to feel the joy of having their own copy of Scripture, a daily hope in their harsh environments.

 

And you and I have what it takes to end their waiting. We can provide Print On Demand units that begin printing Scripture as soon as it's translated so that Bible translators can share God's Word with their people right away!

 

Our goal this month is to raise $45,000 to provide these Print On Demand units in some of the most desolate parts of the world.

 

Your generosity right now can help put the translated Word of God into the hands of believers who have waited generations to have Scripture in their own heart language! Your gift can help give these brothers and sisters the ability to run to God's Word-powerful and encouraging passages of Scripture-in the midst of oppression, when the weight of persecution and their harsh environments feel overwhelming.

 

Don't let them wait any longer! These brothers and sisters are eager for Print On Demand units so that God's Word can be printed and distributed.

 

Help give them the capacity to print the Scriptures now so they can hold God's Word and experience it just as you and I experience it in English.

Blessings,
Tim
Interim President/CEO

P.S. Even in areas where it's dangerous to own a Bible, Christians are pleading for printed copies of God's Word. We can get Print On Demand equipment to them. We can give them the capacity to print Scriptures themselves . . . quietly, secretly, safely. Please help these Christians!

 

Dear Emma,

If you simply utter his name-Jesus-you could be arrested.

This is how it is in some parts of the world. Christians are living under severe oppression, in fear for their lives-keeping their faith secret, simply to stay alive.

 

It wouldn't surprise me if national Bible translators withdrew . . . backed off . . . if they said, "It's just too risky!"

 

But that's not what they're saying. They're saying, "We need God's Word in the language of our hearts. Please help us get God's Word in our own language."

 

When I heard about this situation, I felt the need to share this important request with you. Two language groups are asking for help to work on Bible translation! Would you prayerfully consider helping to meet this need?

 

These two groups-working in a region where authorities have been merciless in their persecution of believers during COVID-19-need the hardware, the software, the teaching-so they can do the work to launch national Bible translation in their own heart language.

This is so heavy on my heart today. Some groups are so driven to translate God's Word that they've started work by hand, laboriously translating line by line. But their handwritten translations are at risk of discovery and seizure by authorities. Our training and tools would enable them to work far more effectively and to upload their work online, protecting it instantly.

It only takes $19,500 to launch translation in a whole new language, so today, we are asking God to provide $39,000 through friends like you to help both groups.

 

Please give as God leads your heart, to give to provide the resources for Bible translation that our brothers and sisters need.

 

You and I don't really know how it feels to be targeted. They are targeted. Your gift today will equip and keep them working safely-translating God's Word and saving it electronically-so it can be easily shared with friends and family, dispelling spiritual darkness in a place that is hostile to the gospel.

Please give today to help these two translation groups get the tools they need to translate God's Word!

Blessings,
Tim
Interim President/CEO

P.S. National translators are looking to us for help. Together, we can provide the tools and resources they need to start two translations. They are willing to stand up to persecution to see God's Word in their heart language-please stand with them through your prayers and gifts!

 

Dear Emma,

I want to make sure you saw the email I sent earlier this week . . .

There's still time to help national translators asking for the tools to start translation projects around the world!

And right now I have great news-we have another $5,000 in matching challenge funds to match gifts made today! So your gifts will have an even bigger impact on Bible translation.

Requests for computer tablets are pouring in-national Bible translators could start translating God's Word right now.

Without the proper tools for translation, these translators will continue to wait . . . which is what they have been doing for GENERATIONS. All of that can change when you respond to this email today. If you haven't had the chance yet, or if you'd like to give again, please give a tablet today!

FORWARDED MESSAGE:

---

From: Bruce Smith <bruce@wycliffeassociates.org> To: Friend Subject: Persecuted-translation goes under the radar Dear Emma, National Bible translators in hundreds of language groups are pleading for Bible translation tools-they are so close to finally sharing God's Word with their people, and I know we can help them! Here's how . . . A generous friend of Bible translation-motivated by a deep passion to stand with national translators-has put forth a $20,000 matching challenge to help provide computer tablets full of translation resources. Tablets are critical . . . especially now when translation teams cannot meet in person due to restrictions from the global pandemic. And in countries where persecution is a constant threat, computer tablets are inconspicuous. But even if they are ever confiscated, all of the translation work is safe, stored in the cloud! Because of this generous matching challenge, we can respond to the multitude of requests that have been pouring in and start providing tablets for national Bible translators. Right now, our goal is to provide 200 tablets for language groups-translation projects that are ready to start TODAY! Each tablet costs $300, so we need a total of $60,000. When you give today, your gift will be doubled through the generous matching challenge, right up to the full $20,000! Computer tablets, together with the collaborative MAST translation strategy, give translators access to a library of translation resources that ensure accuracy and help them work quickly to translate the Bible! Translators are waiting, ready to start translating God''s Word for their people! But they need the right tools-they need tablets. Please let me hear from you quickly. Please respond to the needs of these national Bible translators. Please don't let these language groups wait any longer for God's Word! Until the task is done, Bruce P.S.: Your gift today will be doubled up to the full value of a generous $20,000 matching challenge. Help provide tablets for national Bible translators ready to start translating God's Word today!

Dear Emma,

"We're so hungry"-This is the heartbreaking cry of national Bible translators as you read these words.

You know they're committed to translating God's Word for their people-willing to risk everything-but today, they're facing a more extreme threat than ever before. Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, whole regions are suffering incredible food shortages.

In remote and poverty-stricken parts of the world, Bible translators and their families are facing starvation:

• The unemployment rate in some areas is over 50 percent.
• Government-ordered lockdown keeps some from farming their land.
• In other areas, lockdown keeps trucks from transporting and delivering food.
• Where food is available, prices have skyrocketed, making it impossible for these translators to buy any.
• Some families are so desperately hungry, they have no choice but to eat their own planting seeds-risking their tomorrows just to stay alive today.

My heart broke to read the report from a translator in Africa: "The situation is so bad that it leaves no room for exaggeration." From India: "Translators are starving."

We've got to help them-through our Emergency 911 Fund. But this crisis is so vast; our Fund could be depleted in just days. Can you give NOW to help keep national Bible translators from starving? They urgently want to continue their work, but the harsh reality is, they'll grow weaker and sicker if they don't get food soon.

Bible translators from more than 50 language groups-in Bangladesh, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Chad, Cote d'Ivoire, India, Indonesia, Malawi, Malaysia, Mali, Namibia, Niger, Nigeria, South Sudan, Tanzania, Togo, Uganda, Zambia, Zimbabwe, and many other countries we can't name for security reasons-are pleading for food.

Our partners are on the ground. They can access food and deliver it-if they have the funding. We're going to need $400,000 to meet the rising demand in the next few weeks. Please give whatever you can now. Thank you.

Until the task is done,

Bruce

P.S. We can't let national Bible translators and their families go without food. Please hurry.

Dear Emma,

My heart is burdened for so many countries during this pandemic, but the Christians of Indonesia are especially heavy on my heart today. COVID-19 has further isolated rural villages and shut them off completely from the outside world.

We have lost our ability to meet with the local Bible translators we have been working with to plan new Bible translation launches. Our plan was to bring these national translators together for workshops where they would work as a team to translate God's Word into their heart language.

Coronavirus has changed all of that. Not only can they not gather in groups, they can't even leave their counties . . . and many have no access to the internet.

I can only imagine the hopelessness they feel, thinking that their Bible translation projects are going to remain stalled with no sign of starting any time soon.

But now, imagine their surprise and joy when they find out that you are standing with them during this global crisis, and we are ready and willing to provide the tools and technology they need.

Bible Translation Acceleration Kits (BTAKs)-solar-powered satellite modems-can get translators online. And once they are online, they can hold a virtual translation workshop with access to all the online tools and resources they will need. It will take $75,000 to provide 50 BTAKs so that national Bible translators can have access to the translation tools needed to start their projects.

God's Word will not-no, CANNOT-be stopped by this virus. The power of God's Word will continue to impact people in villages across Indonesia . . . just like it did for the Sawi.

The Sawi have had Scripture in their language for more than 50 years, and the truth of God's Word is now deeply rooted in their community. When Muslims tried to establish a presence in the Sawi community, the Christians were unfazed. They resisted Muslim influence. They fully and deeply understood the Scriptures, and they clung to God's truth-because they had the Bible in their heart language.

And because a generous friend has offered a $20,000 matching challenge, your gift today will help provide DOUBLE the technology needed to get translation projects online, up to the full $20,000 value of the matching challenge, and put God's Word in the hands of Christians as they fight hostile authorities.

We can't let these brothers and sisters be isolated and left without the tools to start translating God's Word.

There are translators there . . . just waiting to start. And I would love to be able to deliver the good news by the end of April-your translations can start again!

Please prayerfully consider what you could give right now to bring online tools to virtually connect national translators and move these translation projects forward.

Until the task is done,

Bruce

P.S.  We must stand with these national Bible translators who are in need of support from their Christian brothers and sisters. Please give today to provide the technology they need to start their translation projects, and make your gift go even further through the matching challenge.

Dear Emma,

For the most utterly unreached people groups on the face of the earth-deeply entrenched in false teaching, totally antagonistic toward Christianity-faith still comes by hearing!

By God's grace, Nyan found the Good News in an intensely Buddhist country.

He and the few other local believers began praying fervently that God would make a way to share the Scriptures with their people in their heart language-and they needed a way to record the translated Scriptures in audio form too, so those who did not read could receive God's Word.

With God's help and the generous support of caring friends like you, we held a Bible translation training workshop in his country.

One day, Nyan brought his father to the translation workshop. Usually, his father's response was, "Don't tell me about your God!" But when the Word of God was read aloud in their heart language, Nyan's father's heart began to soften. He was transfixed by this man Jesus, and he wanted to know more.

Before long, Nyan's father gave his heart and life to Christ!

This is the power of hearing God's Word in your heart language. Romans 10:17 is true: "Faith comes by hearing!"

Right now, we have requests from 479 more Christians like Nyan. They are asking for the tools and resources to help translate God's Word into their heart language in audio form-so everyone can hear!

For these languages, translators need a Bible Translation Recording Kit (BTRK) with a computer tablet, microphone, and software for translating and recording. The cost is just $500-but to provide all 479 recording kits, we need a total of $239,500.

Generous friends have stepped forward to give $55,000 toward a BTRK Matching Challenge fund. This is a wonderful start, but there is still a long way to go-and we need you!

We know what God can do. Nyan knows what God can do . . . will you help provide the tools for another language group? Your gift will be combined with the Matching Challenge fund to have an even greater impact!

 

Please respond with your generous gift of compassion today-so all may hear!

Until the task is done,

Bruce

PS. Many national Bible translators are so excited to share God's Word that they can't wait-they go home from the workshop each evening and play the day's newly recorded audio Scriptures to their family and friends around the fire. The impact of your gift today will be immediate. Thank you again for however you can help. God bless you for it!

Dear Emma,

As this global pandemic continues to shut down the world, the enemy is working hard to overrun the expansion of the kingdom of God in Indonesia. National Bible translators in many remote villages of Indonesia are literally cut off from the outside world. If they don't get access to the internet, they will not be able to begin the translation projects they have been planning for months.

My heart is breaking for these brothers and sisters who are locked down and isolated. They have been sacrificing so much to see these translation projects start . . . and I know that we have the technology they need to keep moving forward. We just need your help this week. Please don't wait any longer.

To provide 60 isolated communities with a Bible Translation Acceleration Kit (BTAK)-a solar-powered satellite modem-to get these rural villages access to online Bible translation resources and allow them to hold virtual translation workshops, it will cost $90,000.

This is our opportunity to stand with these national translators.

These communities need God's Word now more than ever. In times of uncertainty and confusion, there is hope and power that can only be found in God's Word.

Please prayerfully consider a gift right now to help provide the technology to start virtual translation workshops. Your gift combined with the matching challenge funds will help even more Bible translators. And what joy they will experience to digitally break through the isolation and keep working on God's Word! 

Until the task is done,

Bruce

P.S. Isolated without God's Word . . . the looming shadow of a global pandemic . . . imagine the feeling of hopelessness. Your gift today will help national translators gain access to the internet and their translation resources-and ultimately help them put the Word of God into the hands of their people.

Dear Emma,

We have just one day left in 2020 to fund technology for national Bible translators-tools they will need in the first few months of the new year to begin translating God's Word for their people!

Without God's Word in their heart language, local believers are missing a key ingredient required to mature in their faith and grow deeper in their discipleship. And lost men and women are trapped in spiritual darkness, unable to know the hope of freedom in Christ . . .

God's Word is essential to seeing communities established in their faith, and the Word is the foundation for evangelism!

And in order to get all of God's Word into their heart language, national Bible translators need tools and resources for translation.

There's still time to give the gift of computer tablets for national Bible translators who want to translate God's Word for their communities! We have hundreds of requests for these technology tools . . . and thanks to a $50,000 Matching Challenge given by generous friends, your gift will go even further to help provide 400 tablets for the few months of 2021. Your year-end gift will be an answered prayer for those who are still waiting for God's Word in the language of their heart!

Please respond quickly to help put tablets in the hands of translators!

Every tablet costs $300 and is packed with resources and tools needed to translate God's Word. Please prayerfully consider how you can help today.

• Help enable translators to work quickly and effectively, collaborating online.
• Help put an online translation library at the fingertips of national translators.
• Help these translators protect their work by storing translations in the cloud.
• Help translators work "under the radar" in dangerous places.
• Help set the stage for God's Word to be immediately duplicated, printed, and shared!
• Help provide a way forward for believers to hold God's Word in its fullness!

Don't miss out on this opportunity-help provide tablets to national Bible translators so they can begin translating!

Blessings,

Tim

P.S. We have so many requests from national Bible translators for tablets to help them in the translation process. Please consider giving a gift today-before this year ends-to provide these translators with the resources they need to get God's Word into their heart language!

Dear Emma,

From the bottom of my heart, thank you!

Thank you for how you stepped up and joined in the vision for every language, for each group to have God's Word in its fullness.

Because of your generous giving-for sharing whatever you had to give-hundreds of national Bible translators will now have the tools to see their translation projects through to completion.

And more men, women, and children, longing for God's Word, will have the opportunity to grow in maturity in Christ through the power of Scripture in their heart language.

Your faithful giving impacts people like the Kiraman people, who are so isolated in the mountains of Indonesia, they are often overlooked-waiting generations for a Bible in their language. They hoped someone would launch a Bible translation project for their language, but nothing ever materialized. Once they heard that they could do Bible translation on their own, they jumped at the chance and have eagerly began translation. They now have the tools they need, and they are overcome with joy and thankfulness! Nothing will stand in their way to have God's Word.

Millions more in this region will now have the opportunity to read God's Word in their heart language because the local church will have the translation tools they need-tablets, translation software . . .

One national Bible translator said it like this: "When people hear God's Word in their language, they are being restored!" This is the power of God at work through translation tools like tablets.

And as we launch into a new year, many churches in Indonesia and other countries will have the chance to launch the translation projects they have prayed for-because of you. To God be the glory!

Thank you again for your passion for Bible translation and for standing with national translators once again to see God's Word in every language!

Blessings,

Tim

P.S. There are still many translation projects to be done. National Bible translators are waiting, hoping, praying for the tools they need. Please help provide more tablets today!

Dear Emma,

I wish you could meet my friend, whom I'll call Pieter. He leads our Bible translation effort in a rugged, underdeveloped, overwhelmingly Muslim nation. Pieter is boundlessly energetic, brimming with joy-but his heart cries out for impoverished language groups in the far-off mountains of his country. . . 

Pieter is receiving numerous requests from believers who long to have a Bible in their heart language. Without Bibles they can read and understand, he fears that his people will never escape the grip of spiritual darkness-for one heartbreaking reason:

They don't have God's Word in the language of their heart. They don't believe God speaks their language.

So, here is what Pieter is asking for: Please help provide tablets to translate God's Word for people longing to climb out of spiritual darkness and know the Truth!

We have a goal to raise funds for 300 computer tablets by the end of this year to help these national Bible translators accelerate their translation work.

Your gift now will help provide more tablets, speeding the translation progress and protecting the work of churches that are actively working to translate Scripture into the language of their heart.

And because of a generous $50,000 Matching Challenge, your gift will double in impact.

Please prayerfully consider giving a generous gift that will have double the impact! You can help believers grow and deepen their faith through the power of God's Word!

Blessings,

Tim

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