When you think of Somalia, you may remember the famine of the early 1990s or the infamous Black Hawk Down incident. Or you may know Somalia as the birthplace of al-Shabaab, the extremist Islamic terrorist group.
But Somalia is also home to a small but determined group of our brothers and sisters. The majority meet in underground churches and have to be extremely careful. Despite the dangers, they’re bravely serving the Lord and seeking to reach their neighbors.
Through your Summer Surge support, you’re helping a translation team create a new Bible translation in Cushitic Somali. The new translation will make it easier for Christians to deepen their faith and share the Good News in their communities.
Philip, one of the translators, explains, “I am working as a linguist on this project. I work on the books that have been already drafted, and I work with the team when we do the review. The Bible is the Word of God. It taught me about love and gives wisdom to all without looking at someone’s fault. In the letters of Paul, God opened my eyes about how Paul is zealous for the Gospel and still emphasizes on correcting and encouraging them.”
Even while it’s in progress, the translation is still feeding hearts as the team reads the translation aloud for feedback from local speakers. Soon, Luke and Acts will be complete, with the rest of the Gospels and Paul’s letters in the works.
As Philip’s own faith is fed during the translation process, he sees how important this new translation will be for his people. “We need a Bible that we can own and be confident to read and inspire us,” Philip explains. “I will be so happy to see our project reach up to the end, knowing that this Word is going to speak to our people from generation to generation and bring our people to Christ. Pray for us as a team since we complement each other, and also ask for the Spirit of God to be among us.”
Please join us and the team in praying for the translation to continue quickly and for safety for all our brothers and sisters in Somalia.
