A few years ago I needed a new Bible. It took me a few weeks to choose one because of the extensive list of options available. Which translation did I want? King James? English Standard? New American Standard? Do I want cross-references in text? Do I want the words of Christ printed in red letters, or black? What about font size — small or large text? Slim line? Compact? Devotional? We have so many options to read God’s word here in America. In our house alone, we have at least 10 printed copies of the Bible, and then there’s the Bible app for cellphone, on the e-reader, and all the digital translations available on the internet.
But the Bible isn’t as accessible for everyone. What about those people who speak languages that have never had the word of God printed in their language. What about those who can’t read because they speak a language that has never been put into print? This is the reality for many people groups in Papua New Guinea.
Romans 10:14 says “How then shall they call on Him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher?” We may not be linguists, or Bible translators. We may not be church planters. But we can do something! We can serve the missionaries who are doing these important jobs by making sure the computers and other tools that help them in their daily work are working properly for them.
The red book is a New Testament printed in the language of the Iteri people of Papua New Guinea. The Iteri people were reached with the word of God by New Tribes missionaries who were determined to present the Gospel so that they could hear and believe. How can we, with our stack of English language Bibles that we can open up any time we want to, know that there are people in the world without any Bible at all, and not be moved to do something? This was one of those realizations that confirmed to us that we needed to become missionaries.
Would you consider supporting us as we go to Papua New Guinea?
Margaret Fischer says
Praying for people to partner with you so that those who have never had the opportunity to hear may hear.