Wycliffe-Frontlines-Summer-2025 - Flipbook - Page 3
What Are Your Favorite Bible Passages?
Think back over all Scripture passages you have enjoyed reading or listening to. Was there one passage in particular that
stands out for you in your Christian walk — one that has impacted your life more than any other?
The stories below describe how one Scripture passage, translated in a language that people clearly understood,
transformed people’s lives.
The Ndokwa in Nigeria
As several Ndokwa people walked down the streets of their
community in Nigeria, they heard an unfamiliar sound — a
man was reading aloud from John 1:1. They recognized the
words as Scripture, but this man was reading in Ndokwa,
their own language.
The people stopped to find out what was happening. A
Ndokwa Bible translator was reading a draft of John’s
Gospel to a group of people and asking for feedback. He
wanted to ensure the meaning of the text was understood
clearly by Ndokwa speakers.
The group was delighted to discuss the passage and
learned that the Word was being translated into their
language. They wanted to know when it would be finished.
On another occasion, a young woman’s eyes lit up as she
listened to a portion of Luke’s Gospel in her language. It felt
as if the Bible was coming home to her heart. “Is this in the
Bible?” she asked. The Ndokwa translator nodded.
Although she was familiar with Scripture, this was the first
time she heard it in her language. After listening to portions
of God’s Word in Ndokwa, both the woman and her
daughter decided to follow Christ.
The Yambetta in Cameroon
Leonard Bolioki understands how powerful translated
Scripture is.
During a Good Friday service at his church in Cameroon, he
began to read the story of Jesus’ crucifixion. In previous
years, the congregation had heard the story in French. This
year, for the first time, it was being read in Leonard’s own
language, Yambetta.
As he read, the congregation was quieted by the words. A
few of the older women began to weep. After the service,
they demanded to know where he found the story. “We have
never heard anything like it before!” they said. “We didn’t
know there was someone who loved us so much that He
was willing to suffer and die like that — to be crucified on a
cross to save us!”
That is what truly motivated Leonard to translate the
Scriptures into Yambetta. He wanted the Bible to be
available in a language his congregation truly understood,
because as people encounter God’s Word in their language,
their lives are transformed!
Have a story about a passage that impacted your
faith? We’d like to hear from you. Please send us
your favorite passage on the enclosed reply card!
