Approximately 94,000 Deaf people live in Romania, using Romanian Sign Language to communicate. They are scattered across the country, but many prefer to live in urban areas where it’s easier to find others who also use Romanian Sign Language.

Some Deaf people have been members of Christian churches for many years, but because they have no access to Scripture in Romanian Sign Language, they have received limited discipleship. A Romanian Sign Language translation will equip them with a deeper understanding of the gospel and allow them to experience the life-transforming power of God’s Word for themselves.

That’s why a team is working to translate various stories from the Old and New Testaments — ranging from creation and the fall to salvation and redemption — into Romanian Sign Language. These stories are recorded and produced as videos, which takes significantly longer because the team must ensure that the body position, movement, facial expressions and even eyebrows accurately convey the story. Each story is filmed individually, then checked, edited and revised before finally publishing the recordings. The team will also work on producing commentaries to help people understand what they’re seeing.

“If you understand what God has been doing in Romania with Deaf people,” said a project adviser, “it becomes clear that translating the Bible could be the next wave to see more Deaf people come to faith.”

The team recently tested a chapter from Genesis during a worship service at a local Deaf church. Attendees were very excited to see God’s Word come to life in their sign language, and eagerly gave the team helpful feedback on the translation. As more stories and passages are completed, the team will immediately distribute them by uploading the videos to a YouTube site and sharing them via phone apps, DVDs and flash drives. And as the Deaf community engages with God’s Word, their lives will be transformed by the power of the gospel in their own language.

• Pray for the translators as they diligently work to create videos of the stories in Romanian Sign Language.

• As the team works to translate these stories accurately and authentically, ask God to provide wisdom and insight to ensure quality recordings.

• Pray that the Romanian Deaf community would be transformed by the gospel.