One of our national translators in Tanzania reported to me the following incident.

Returning home to his village for the funeral of an uncle, this translator took with him the most recent draft of the death and resurrection of Jesus in Mark's Gospel (Mark 14-16). This passage was newly translated into Rangi—the language spoken in that area.

While in the village, the translator's neighbors and family called on him to read God's Word in Rangi over and over again. And when it was time for them to return to their home villages, they pleaded for copies of the Gospel.

But he had only the one.

So he tore his copy apart, page by page, to satisfy the people's unquenchable thirst for the Water of Life. That way one person from each of the many surrounding villages could have at least one page of God's precious Word.

The need for Bible translation in Africa is great.

The lack of Scripture in the heart languages of so many people hinders the spiritual growth of believers and churches.

The need is overwhelming, yet the solution is so simple with help from people like you.

Wycliffe is meeting the challenge with an important project called Scripture Access for All: Tanzania and Uganda.

It is part of our larger, worldwide Last Languages Campaign to provide for "the least, the last, and the lost" who still hunger for the Scripture in their language.

Scripture Access for All is an enormous effort. Wycliffe missionaries are working with national translators and like-minded organizations in remote areas of Tanzania and Uganda to translate God's Word for nearly 2 million people.

I'll post Africa Journal updates regularly to tell you about our work in Africa to help Christians and seekers alike hear and read God's Word in their own languages.

I'll let you know when those reports are posted via Facebook (Wycliffe Bible Translators USA) and Twitter (Wycliffe_USA), so please watch for them.

We need $88,700 to fund translation work this year in the Scripture Access for All: Tanzania and Uganda initiative. If God so leads, please send a gift today by using the secure online form to the right of this note (click here to go to the top of the form).

Your support, through your prayers and gifts, will help ensure that churches grow stronger and more people hear the life-saving message of Christ.

Thank you for providing Scripture for the unreached people of Africa.

Please Pray for Scripture Access for All: Tanzania and Uganda

"Put on all of God's armor so that you will be able to stand firm against all strategies of the devil . . . hold up the shield of faith." —Ephesians 6:11, 16, NLT

Pray for the stamina and health of the mother-tongue translators and their families. Pray for wisdom and helpful advice from translation consultants. Pray that people will embrace the translations to find Jesus and deepen their faith.

What's Next?

Now that you've prayed for the Rangi translation, you may be inclined to ask, "What's next?" If God so leads you, please send a gift today by using the form to the right (click here to go to the top of the form).