Just ten years ago the Mapa people, fleeing bombs and soldiers in their homeland, became refugees in a neighboring country.
There were very few Christians — fewer than 100 Mapa believers out of a population of about 60,000.
And like many rural minority groups, their language had never been written down. They had no books in their language.
But God had a plan for the Mapa. Missionaries from Pioneer Bible Translators, who had lived and worked among them in their homeland, followed them to the crowded refugee camp, and others joined them.
Today — because of generous donors like you — the Mapa people are able to read and write in their own language. They are encountering God through Scripture, and there are now more than 1,000 believers in five churches!
This is the impact of your faithful giving. God is using your gifts to translate the Bible and grow His Kingdom.
You gave the Mapa an alphabet.
You supported linguistic workshops in which the Mapa analyzed the sounds of their language and developed a way to write it.
You helped the Mapa learn to read.
Literacy workers from Pioneer Bible Translators began teaching people to read and then equipped them to teach others.
You gave the Mapa the first books ever written in their language.
Because you gave, Mapa people created books filled with their own stories to preserve their cultural heritage and help reading become a way of life.
The Mapa people began understanding God’s Word.
Groups of Mapa people engaged with God’s Word as portions of it became available in their own language.
Using Mapa Scripture, the church began to grow.
Mapa churches are growing and multiplying as the people encounter God through His Word in their own language.
Bible translation continues.
Already the Mapa have Genesis and Matthew as well as a collection of Bible stories, and the translation team is working hard to bring the whole Bible to their people.
Literacy is empowering the Mapa community.
They have access to vital information — such as warnings about the coronavirus — in their own language. The Mapa themselves now train new literacy teachers.
The Mapa church is growing rapidly.
Over 1,000 Mapa people now follow Jesus. They are leading their own churches, baptizing new believers, discipling them, and planting new churches.
