According to The World Factbook,* “Indonesia is now … the world's largest archipelagic state … .” Indonesia, an archipelago of over 17,000 islands, stretches between southeast Asia and northern Australia. Indonesia is home to over 279 million people — making it the world’s fourth largest population — and only an estimated 500 people speak Weng.

The vast majority of Weng people follow a traditional religion and believe in spirits that rule their way of life. As a result, many people find it difficult to deviate from these traditional religious practices, which they believe must be observed to appease these spirits.

Leaders have noticed that their congregations often don’t have a clear understanding of God’s all-surpassing power. However, as more Scripture is translated into Weng, church leaders and translators anticipate people will move away from traditional beliefs and grow in knowledge of the Lord.

Since translation work on the Weng New Testament began in 2017, Christian leaders have been encouraging young people to get involved in the work. Over the past few years, two young men in particular have done just that — even though they didn’t know who God was at the time.

Like them, others in the community have been doing what they can to contribute to the translation work, some through being part of the translation and some by giving resources such as food or medicine.

As the translation team works to produce more Scripture in Weng, the Christian community in the region has long-term plans to use it to raise up pastors. They also are working to equip pastors with resources in their language so that they can effectively teach others about Jesus.

The Weng translation team has numerous goals. They want to complete the Gospel of Luke, as well as translate and publish Acts 1-7. They also hope to draft and produce a Scripture memory set featuring portions from Matthew and John. The team is also working to dub the Luke “LUMO” film — a movie in which the Gospel of Luke is narrated directly from the text.

A project facilitator shared: “Several villagers have given their lives to Christ as a result of hearing God's Word in their … language.”

God is transforming the hearts and lives of people in Indonesia and around the world today, and what a joy it is to witness!

* Source: cia.gov

Prayer points:

• Health and strength for the teams and their families.


• That the team will be able to complete the Gospel of Luke.


• Smooth transportation and logistics, since the Weng live in a remote region, so the project can be completed!