Every summer Pioneer Bible Translators sends teams of interns to various locations overseas and in the U.S. And every spring we ask our prayer partners to pray for these interns as they complete their preparations and then embark on their summer of service.

This year we sought prayer for eight teams of interns preparing to serve in Eastern Europe, the Caucasus, Italy, and five other locations. One prayer request focused on the interns’ desires for meaningful interactions with people in their host communities. Another request was that their experiences would help enable them to discern God’s leading into long-term ministry.

Here are some of the ways God answered these prayers, as reported by Recruitment Director Nathan Davenport. Please join in thanking and praising God.

• One intern got to draft the very first known verses of Scripture for a people group who are primarily animal herders. He chose to translate Psalm 23 — the shepherd’s psalm.
• One team collected and analyzed language data from a Bibleless people group in Eastern Europe. They did such an amazing job that we now have more direction for how to begin Bible translation for the people who speak this language.
• Two of the interns on the Eastern Europe team told the leader of this people group that they feel called to serve this language community.
• The software development interns created an inventory tracking app for our team in Papua New Guinea. This will save our teammates hours of precious ministry time.
• Some of the interns in Italy assisted in language mapping in Milan. The information they gathered and analyzed will help our teammate and others know what refugees reside there so they can serve them with greater impact.
• God gave our Caucasus interns three divine encounters, during which they got to share the Gospel with unreached individuals.
• One intern team was scheduled to do an English camp in a village school. Red tape kept them from using the school, but God opened doors for the camp to take place in a villager’s back yard instead. In this new location, parents stopped by to see what the interns were teaching — something they couldn’t have done if the camp had been inside the school. This led to invitations for our long-term missionary colleagues to visit villagers in their homes, which in turn led to an invitation to purchase property so they can live among this people group. This is an answer to prayers they have been praying for three years!
• Three interns and coaches have already indicated that they want to join Pioneer Bible Translators and serve long-term.

Please join in thanking God for the gracious love He showed to the interns and, even more, to the people among whom they served. And please pray that the work they did will have long-lasting impact. Finally, please pray that God will clearly direct each intern who is prayerfully considering long-term cross-cultural ministry.