July 19, 2018 Growing with “the gizmo” By Samuel Ko Back to all stories Workers with AIDIA, Wycliffe Canada’s partner organization in Peru, were surprised when they visited the community of Pacayura, site of a newly planted church. They were impressed with the Bible knowledge of a 65-year-old man named Cerefino, a speaker of the Eastern Apurímac Quechua. They asked him how he could tell Jesus’ parables. Cerefino said one of the church planters had given him “a gizmo that only speaks the Bible.” “Every day at 3 o’clock in the morning, I turn on the gizmo and for three hours I listen to the Bible,” explained Cerefino. “Sometimes I go to the city; during that time I’m listening to the Word of God. So, I learned from the Bible. Also every weekend, I hang the gizmo in the molle tree and let my neighbours listen.” When the AIDIA visitors asked him about the gizmo, he went home and returned with it—a Proclaimer audio player filled with God’s Word translated into Eastern Apurímac Quechua by the AIDIA Bible translation team. In this remote village, audio Scriptures are impacting an old man. Learn more about the ministries of AIDIA , sponsored by Wycliffe Canada. Posted in Impact Previous Next

November 20, 2024 Prayer Point: Asarɨ’o By Ruth Richert Back to all stories The Asarɨ’o people are an indigenous language group in the mountainous jungles of Papua New Guinea. This focus project supports Bible translation, Scripture engagement activities, literacy and the development of local Christian leaders. Participants in an oral Bible storying workshop pose for a photograph. Photo: Jon Jagt “You are holding something good. Good things are coming out from you and bringing positive changes in people’s lives. You yourself do not realize this, but we outsiders see it.” A bird’s-eye view of an Asarɨ’o village . Photo: Jon Jagt Three men had journeyed through thick jungle high in the mountains of Papua New Guinea to share these words with Freddy Sarong, a translator with the Asarɨ’o project. They had just completed an Asarɨ’o-led Scripture training workshop in their own village, and they wanted to tell Freddy in person how much the workshop material meant to them. In a project that is facing many obstacles, their words were a great encouragement to Freddy and the rest of the Asarɨ’o team. Workshops—in Scripture engagement, literacy and pastor training—have proved to be an essential part of the Asarɨ’o project. In a region that lacks easy access to formal education and church training, workshops provide an opportunity for learning and growth, and their communal format is culturally relevant. After receiving training from a workshop, local pastors are following Scripture more closely in their preaching than they did before. In a region where Christianity is often melded with traditional animistic beliefs, this is an important shift, and it marks a growing commitment of the local church to the project. “This growth in local ownership is a big deal!” says Jon Jagt, the project facilitator. Members of the translation team meet to discuss their work. Photo: Jon Jagt Please join us in thanking God for this encouraging development, and in praying for spiritual breakthrough in communities where witchcraft and false beliefs still have strongholds. Would you like to receive regular prayer updates and requests from our field partners? Sign up for prayer emails at wycliffe.ca/pray/ Posted in Engaging with Scripture Previous Next

December 5, 2022 SIL International among winners of Amazon’s AWS IMAGINE Grant By Wycliffe Canada Back to all stories Wycliffe’s key partner, SIL International, is one of 10 organizations selected to receive the Go Further, Faster award, one of two awards in the Amazon Web Services (AWS) IMAGINE Grant. Winners were announced Nov. 29 on the AWS website at aws.amazon.com . SIL was recognized for its efforts “to curate multilingual text, audio, and video datasets, representing more than 2,000 living languages to better represent local languages in AI [Artificial Intelligence] ‘foundation’ models and natural language processing (NLP) systems.” The award consists of a “holistic package of resources” from AWS. According to SIL’s website, they will receive $50,000 in unrestricted funding, $10,000 in AWS computing credits, and engagement with AWS technical specialists. Proposals were judged on several factors including the innovative and unique nature of the project, impact on mission-critical goals, and clearly defined outcomes and milestones. Other winners in the Go Further Faster category included CARE, Save the Children, the International Society for Infectious Diseases and Stop Soldier Suicide. Learn more Posted in News and updates Previous Next

December 6, 2024 Prayer Point: Kinsha Scripture Engagement By Wycliffe Canada Back to all stories Kinsha is a Bible translation effort for 13 language groups in a sensitive area of Southeast Asia, representing 3.5 million people in three countries. It includes Scripture engagement initiatives such as Christian parenting workshops. Daily life in the Kinsha region of Southeast Asia is extremely difficult. The volatile political situation and recent environmental disasters mean that people don’t know what hardships they may have to face on any given day, or even where they might end up sleeping that night. But living in a large-scale drama doesn’t mean that they are free from the concerns that are common to people everywhere: how to have healthy families and raise children well. If anything, the acute stress that all age groups are experiencing makes a healthy family foundation even more crucial. A family of construction workers in the Kinsha region stop for a break during their work day. Photo: Derryl Friesen Workshops based on Scripture that help to strengthen families have become an integral part of the Kinsha project. Dedicated local facilitators travel long distances to share God’s heart for families and give them principles from Scripture that will help them parent well. In many cases, these are the first parenting resources that families have ever been given, and they are bringing hope to many. One participant shares: These lessons are very helpful for me to reflect on myself. Since day one, learning lesson after lesson, I regret so much about the way I parented in the past. As soon as I arrived back home that day, I kneeled down and asked God for forgiveness, to forgive me for what I had done to my children, the way I treated them. While I was praying, a visitor [a non-believer] stepped into our house—I didn’t even notice her since I was praying and crying to God. After my prayer, I saw her, and she was also crying with me while hearing my prayer. It might be late, but I believe that it is never too late in God’s time. Join us in praying for courage, endurance and protection for Kinsha parents. Parenting is always challenging, but their context makes it particularly difficult. Pray that they would see God as a loving father who wants to care for both them and their children. Would you like to receive regular prayer updates and requests from our field partners? Sign up for prayer emails at wycliffe.ca/pray/ Posted in Engaging with Scripture Previous Next

Posts By Sue Fonseka Hope in Every Sign | Surprising facts about sign language Bible translation June 16, 2025 | By Sue Fonseka Learn six surprising facts about sign language translations and how they’re bringing hope to Deaf communities around the world. Read More Search Search Recent Posts Why God Sent His Son Document Not Alone Document A Grandmother's Legacy of Faith Document A Dream Come True Document Faith: More Than Just Believing Document PREV 1 1 ... 1 ... 1 NEXT

August 30, 2021 It’s about the process By Guest Contributor Back to all stories Recently, I was reminded by a colleague that our work here in Ethiopia must be more about the process than the end goal. “But Rob,” you might be thinking, “isn’t your goal rather straightforward? Isn’t it simply to translate the Bible into as many languages as possible?” No, that is not the goal of our work. Our goal is to see people transformed by the Word of God. Simply handing them a Bible doesn’t make that happen. This is why it is so vitally important to remember that the process is more important than the goal. How we minister to people, as we journey, is more transformational than the end product (which at times has simply been left on the shelf). Let me tell you a story that illustrates this principle. Last week I was invited to say a few words at the closing ceremony of an Oral Bible Storytelling (OBS) workshop. There were four language communities from southern Ethiopia represented: the Bench, the Dizi, the Kafa, and the Sheko. This ceremony marked the end of their fourth two-week training session. The workshops are designed to train both lay and formal church members to leverage the strength of their oral culture to use Bible stories to minister to their local communities. Several months ago, during their second workshop, the OBS teams learned the story of Jesus healing the Roman centurion’s servant (Matthew 8:5-13). After returning to their local communities and being motivated by this story, several Kafa church workers planted a church. The most incredible part of this story is who the church was planted among. Touching the “untouchables” Unknown to us, living among the Kafa and the Dizi language communities is another ethnic group, the Menja. Like the “untouchables” of India, they are severely marginalized and treated as a lower class of people. However, when the Kafa ministers who attended the workshops were reminded of how Jesus reached out to the Roman centurion, they were spurred to reach out to their own cultural “untouchables.” During the closing ceremony, I heard one of the Menja participants explain how he has been transformed by the love shown by the Kafa ministers who had reached out and planted a church among his people. He felt, for the first time, that he was being treated as an equal. If the Kafa church ministers had simply stuck to the original plan and only ministered to their own community, they would not have been motivated to open their eyes to a whole other cultural group that has so often been ignored in the past. When we have ministry “goals” we must not trample people along the way to meeting them. It’s about the process. It’s about walking together. Story by Rob Bustin Posted in Engaging with Scripture Previous Next

February 11, 2025 Transformation in Peru: Timoteo’s story By Wycliffe Canada Back to all stories This post shares Timoteo’s story from our Annual Renewal campaign. Learn more about how regular monthly giving helps end Bible poverty at wycliffe.ca/sowers Perched high in the Andes mountains of Peru, the region of Apurímac is blessed with stunning natural beauty. It’s dotted with rushing rivers and deep gorges, evergreen trees and enormous succulents. But the beauty belies the challenges: harsh growing conditions and a lack of roads mean that poverty is widespread. Daily life is full of struggle and hardship, and many people turn to alcohol as an escape. But it’s one that only deepens wounds. A distant road cuts a switchback through the mountains of Peru’s Apurímac region. Photo credit: Ruth Richert Timoteo, a 70-year-old Quechua speaker, is all too aware of this trajectory. For decades, he battled an addiction to alcohol, and struggled with a profound sense of hopelessness and regret as his life increasingly centered on it. “Every activity or celebration was a reason to drink…” he recalls. The fallout from addiction His addiction came to dominate his life and relationships. In particular, his marriage suffered. “There were often fights and arguments at home because of my alcohol problem, and on numerous occasions, I mistreated my wife.” Tragically, along with alcoholism, domestic violence is widespread in the Apurímac region. It was clear to Timoteo that he had a problem—that much was obvious. What he didn’t know was how he could solve it, or how to address the underlying pain that had led to his addiction and the conflict in his home. He wasn’t sure where to find answers. But that would change when his wife began attending a church in their village. Timoteo holds up his Proclaimer, an audio device that plays translated Scripture. Photo credit: Luis Cervantes A surprising answer One day, she came home from church with a “Proclaimer”—a device that stores and plays audio Bible recordings. It was full of newly translated Scriptures in Eastern Apurímac Quechua, Timoteo’s language. The medium was ideal medium for their community, where many people don’t yet know how to read, or simply prefer to learn by listening. Timoteo’s wife was glued to the Proclaimer. “My wife listened to the audio Bible every day,” Timoteo shares. “From dawn to dusk, she had it on…Little by little, I became interested in listening.” He began borrowing the device, bringing it with him to the fields so that he could listen while he worked. “The teachings were fascinating. God touched my heart and made me understand that the life I was living was not good at all.” A transformation begins As he listened to the Scriptures, Timoteo found freedom from addiction, and began working towards restoring his family relationships. The Bible helped Timoteo understand God’s grace and forgiveness. Eventually, he came to a saving faith in Jesus, and began growing as a disciple. “I can say that, thanks to the teachings I heard on the Proclaimer, God has changed my life,” says Timoteo. “I am currently going to church with my wife to continue growing and learning from the Word of God.” “I can say that, thanks to the teachings I heard on the Proclaimer, God has changed my life.” ~ Timoteo Timoteo’s encounter with God is echoed in other lives and communities in the Andes. Whether people hear the Good News through audio devices like the Proclaimer, or read it in the printed Bible, it changes them. The translated Word surprises them with the transforming grace and forgiveness of the God who loves them and who wants to restore their hearts and homes. Update: In the coming months, Timoteo’s language group– the Eastern Apurímac Quechua –will finally gain access to the entire Bible in their heart language. After over two decades of translation work, over 240,000 Quechua people will be able to read and listen to the entirety of God’s counsel! Posted in Impact Previous Next

April 29, 2019 Genesis Verse Impacts New Believer By Guest Contributor Back to all stories In Papua New Guinea, Stacy Wyse teaches a theological course for pastors who are unable to attend Bible school. The Theological Education by Extension (TEE) course enables them to stay in their own villages or towns while attending courses. On one occasion, a couple of pastors came to Stacey with a special request, just one week before she was to teach a course on Genesis. They wanted to invite a former raskol (gang member) who had come to know the Lord. Stacey agreed, but wondered how this young believer could benefit from studying the book of Genesis. Ok Lord, she prayed silently. You know how. A week later, the pastors and the former gang member were in place when the course began. Nothing remarkable took place until they began reading Genesis 1:26: “Then God said, ‘Let us make man in our image, after our likeness” (Gen 1:26a ESV) . Their guest was dumbstruck. “You could tell he was really emotional,” says Stacey. “He started talking and tears ran down his cheeks. He said, ‘If God has made women in His image, that means I need to treat my wife differently!’” The other men in the room quickly made the connection too, realizing the verse’s implications for them as they related to their wives, daughters and other women in the community. “For the next half hour, I watched them as they all did their own Bible study on that one verse,” recalls Stacey. “I just observed as the Holy Spirit moved in these pastors and this former raskol who had just given his life to the Lord. “I was blown away as I thought to myself, Ah, that’s how God disciples through Genesis! ” Months later, Stacey attended a church commissioning service at another location and saw the former raskol . Throughout the service, she observed how well the young man treated his wife and children, how they interacted with smiles and laughter, and how his community had accepted him back despite his former lifestyle. “It was really exciting to see how God had moved and worked in and through this man.” Adapted from a story by Stephanie Ernandes at The PNG Experience Posted in Impact Previous Next

July 26, 2022 Sign language translation aids Deaf communities to access God’s Word By Doug Lockhart Back to all stories When you imagine the work of Bible translation, you probably picture the end product as a book. Perhaps you see a thick, hard-cover Bible with hundreds of pages of dark print, along with a few illustrations and maps. But would it surprise you to learn that your printed Bible might be of little use to a deaf neighbour? It’s a common assumption that deaf people can read, but in fact, reading requires an ability to hear the sounds represented by the written letters. For those who’ve never heard those sounds, it can be daunting to make sense of the lines, squiggles and curlicues found on a printed page. That’s why Deaf communities around the world have formed partnerships with Wycliffe and other organizations to translate God’s Word into the languages they use to express their deepest thoughts and emotions—sign languages. To date, 144 sign languages have been added to Ethnologue , an authoritative international language register developed by Wycliffe’s key partner, SIL International. But many more are in the process of being recognized as official languages, says Carolyn Rehder, who serves in communications with SIL’s Global Sign Languages Team (GSLT). “The research is just not complete, so our range of numbers is based on estimates and what we know that needs to be documented.” Rehder and her husband Dan are but two of about 50 staff serving on the GSLT. They and others involved in sign language translation believe the total number of sign languages worldwide may well exceed 350. Barriers to Learning In Tokyo, Japan, Uiko Yano works at her desk during a break from a video recording session in Japanese Sign Language. (Photo: Marc Ewell) Whatever the final tally, Bible translation for the world’s Deaf is a monumental task. Population estimates for the Deaf vary; one SIL researcher estimates they number about 33 million, while the World Federation of the Deaf pegs the number at around 70 million. However, the Federation’s estimate includes people with hearing loss who would benefit from closed captioning in videos and televised programs. “Those people aren’t all necessarily part of the Deaf culture,” says Rehder. That’s because people are not always born deaf; some lose their hearing through an accident or illness. Such diversity creates huge barriers for Bible translation—as does the fact there’s no universal sign language to speed up translation for the Deaf. Although some are able to read, it’s estimated that about 80 per cent of the Deaf throughout the world may never gain literacy skills because they have no access to formal education. “The majority are functionally illiterate,” says Rehder. “Typically, hearing people learn to speak a language before they learn to read it. “That is not the case for the Deaf.” Excerpted from the article, Beyond Print: Bible Translation for the Deaf . More: Bible Stories in Sign: A Look at One Team’s Translation Process (Wycliffe U.S. website) Posted in Bible translation Previous Next

Posts By Wycliffe Canada Why God Sent His Son August 12, 2026 | By Wycliffe Canada Vincent Yellow Old Woman is working diligently to show his community that God speaks Blackfoot Read More Not Alone August 3, 2026 | By Wycliffe Canada Translating in remote communities can be isolating—but Bishop Lydia Mamakwa reminds her fellow translators that they are never alone in their work for God. Read More A Grandmother's Legacy of Faith July 20, 2026 | By Wycliffe Canada A translator from Kingfisher Lake First Nation continues her grandmother’s legacy for future generations. Read More A Dream Come True June 3, 2026 | By Wycliffe Canada For Brody Naknakim and his community, hearing Scripture in the Kwak'wala language is a dream come true Read More The Best Love Letter Ever Written May 15, 2026 | By Wycliffe Canada A Wycliffe member shares her joy in attending the Bamunka New Testament dedication after watching the years of sacrifice and dedication that went into it. Read More Another Piece of the Word Becomes Flesh May 4, 2026 | By Wycliffe Canada Visiting the Jade Star sign language team touched the hearts of Canadian church members, and challenged their faith to grow. Read More Encountering God's Good Heart April 10, 2026 | By Wycliffe Canada After wrestling for months with how to translate the word ‘grace,’ the Bali team discovered the perfect expression. Read More We Want All People to Be Able to Have It March 31, 2026 | By Wycliffe Canada A translator with the Southern Pastaza Quechua project hears God speak through His translated Word. Read More Letting Them Fly With Their Own Wings March 23, 2026 | By Wycliffe Canada After completing the New Testament, a translator makes the difficult decision to leave a language community she has grown to love. Read More Freedom for Future Generations March 3, 2026 | By Wycliffe Canada A Ne shaman abandons his former lifestyle after encountering Jesus Read More Search Search Recent Posts Why God Sent His Son Document Not Alone Document A Grandmother's Legacy of Faith Document A Dream Come True Document Faith: More Than Just Believing Document PREV 1 2 3 4 5 1 ... 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 ... 11 NEXT