Jason and Angie Bechtel Bringing Hope to Unreached People Groups _img.jpg)
God is at work among the Lauje people of Indonesia. He was preparing the way before missionaries first made contact in the late ‘70s. He was changing people’s understanding of the world around them as missionaries taught the Bible. And now that missionaries have only an itinerant ministry in the tribe, God is still maturing the believers.
Last year when I had the wonderful opportunity to hike into the tribe for a Sunday, I had no idea that God was going to have me join the team that is preparing the New Testament. Since the late ‘70s, the missionary team has been faithfully working towards the day when the New Testament can be read with understanding by the Lauje people. The end is now in sight. There is still more translation that needs to take place, and lots of checking to ensure accuracy and understandability, but God is at work.
Barry Williamson, one missionary shouldering the majority of the translation project, recently visited the tribe after 6 years of working from town. Here is an excerpt from his update:
“Church was packed on Sunday with, I am guessing, close to 200 (maybe more) worshiping together. And they were there not just because I was present (because they had no clue we were coming and were not expecting us at all). I was delighted to see so many young people and young families eager to hear God’s Word and to participate in worship. I spent a short time sharing about the value of the Word of God and how it is God’s message to us and is for our instruction and encouragement, how it has been entrusted to God’s people down through the years and is to be shared with those who are yet to hear. Afterwards I asked to meet with any Bible teachers and leaders present. We talked together about the size of print and line spacing they wanted in the New Testament, whether or not they wanted any helps included in the back, what kind of cover, how much people could pay and how many copies we should print. We talked about a literacy drive and the urgency of getting people involved in teaching reading. In the discussions that followed, I was reeling from the immensity of the work load these men are carrying. They told me that there are now 60 men teaching through the Bible and discipling others far and wide. They gave a rough figure of 800 families who would be ready to receive a New Testament right now if we printed it today. Wow!”
Tags: Lauje tribe
