He put a new song in my mouth, a hymn of praise to our God. Many will see and fear the LORD and put their trust in him. ~ Psalm 40:3 ~
How Many Languages are in the World? 🤷♂️
How many languages do you think there are in the world?
That’s a question I like to ask people who are unfamiliar with Bible translation. Take a moment and think about that question for yourself. The answer may surprise you…
There are actually over 7000 distinct languages in the world! And no, that doesn’t include dialects! There can be dialects WITHIN those languages.
I can hear you asking, “But some of those languages are similar, right?”
Good question! Some languages are similar, like Portuguese and Spanish. But many are as different as Russian and Chinese!
For years, Wycliffe has focused on written languages and the world’s sign languages are equally as important!
Do you know how many sign languages there are in the world? The answer may surprise you. 😊
There are over 380 sign languages, representing more than 70 million people! What a remarkable testimony to the diversity of God’s creation!
The global Deaf community actually represents the largest unreached people group in the world! With less than 2% of the global Deaf identifying as followers of Jesus, there’s a lot of work to be done.
There is Hope in a Wonder-Working God!
But there’s hope! People around the world are joining together, working towards the goal of translating God’s Word into every sign language of the world. And more than 65 sign languages already have some Scripture translated!
Recently, there was a great celebration at the completion of the ASL (American Sign Language) Bible, the only full sign language Bible in the world! Check out this video of the celebration:
Would you join us in praying that every deaf person in the world would have a chance to SEE who Jesus is through a sign language Bible translation?
Partnership Opportunity
Is God calling you to partner in the work of Bible translation, through prayers or financial partnership? Due to a number of factors (including changes to our partnership team, cost of living increases, our growing family, etc), we are currently at about 80% of the ministry budget that Wycliffe sets for us and we are actively expanding our prayer and financial partnership team.
Please let us know if you are interested in learning more! We’d love to share more and partner with you in helping spread the Gospel around the world through Bible translation!
If you feel God leading you to partner with us in our Wycliffe ministry, you can see the options here.
🙏 Prayer and Praise 🙌
- Prayer: For sign language translation around the world.
- Praise: Our house in PNG sold! 🎉
- Prayer: For God to make a way for us to own a house in WA state! 🏡
- Prayer: To finish the interior of our ministry office (see photos below).
- Prayer: For God to provide the partners we need.
God is making Himself known throughout the nations through the truth and power of His Word. Your prayers and financial partnership help make this possible! THANK YOU!!
In Him,
James and Christina
😊 Family Photo Highlights 😍
We’ve been working on a ministry office, and had a nice time celebrating Mother’s Day.
Click the collage below for more highlights.
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