God is changing lives throughout the Pacific — people just like those in Badi’s community.

As a Bible translator in Papua New Guinea, Badi felt discouraged when she couldn’t see the impact of her work in her local community. She knew the work was important, but she began to question if she should continue.

Then suddenly, everything changed.

One day while Badi was translating the first chapter of the Book of Ruth into her language, a number of locals overheard her reading the text aloud.

“I didn’t realize [it], but five kids had their chins resting on a table,” Badi said. “They were listening to the story the whole time. Also, three ladies were sitting by the open fire preparing their meals. At the end of the story, they said, ‘Wow! That story sounds so sweet because it’s in our language.’”

The group’s reaction revived Badi’s hope in the transformational power of God’s Word. That encounter led her to reach out to a local pastor and, with his permission, Badi was at church the next Sunday to share the translated text with the church members.

Badi shared that before she began reading, people had been falling asleep. “But as soon as I started to read the Book of Ruth in a language they could understand, their eyes popped open. I saw the elderly people leaning forward. Tears trickled down their faces because they had never heard Scripture in their own language before.”

In that moment, Badi and the rest of her community grew closer to Jesus through the life-changing Word of God. Suddenly, Jesus was no longer an outsider, but a member of their community who understood their suffering and was able to provide them with hope.

Your support will be especially meaningful for a group of people in Papua New Guinea who are part of a language cluster in Madang Province, which is one of the most linguistically diverse places in the world. Even though there are more than 80 different languages spoken in this cluster, the people are united in their desire to have a translation of God’s Word they clearly understand.

Will you help share the Good News of Christ with them so they can come to know their true Savior?