For centuries, the Pygmies have been recognized as the oldest inhabitants of the African rainforest.  Throughout the forests of Cameroon, Gabon, and Congo, there lives a group of Pygmies known as the Baka.  Because they are so remote and widespread, there has been no accurate count of their population.

They are the people of the forest, with a vast knowledge of its animals and plants along with its natural medicines and cures. The women build their traditional, dome-shaped forest huts with branches and leaves. Newer, more solid homes are rectangular with mud walls. Baka family ties are very strong, and traditions and history are passed down from one generation to another by word of mouth.

Since the early 1800’s, these people have been claimed to be Catholic, but to this day they practice their traditional animist religions. They have no Scripture in their unwritten language.

Summer 2014

The Aimaq Char of Afghanistan is a people group comprised of four different tribes: Taimani, Firozkohi, Timuri, and Jamshidi. It is estimated that 250 subtribes exist within these. The population of this group is 334,000 and 148,000 of them live in Afghanistan. Their primary language is Aimaq, but Farsi is spoken in the schools.

Foods commonly eaten are thick wheat bread, chickpeas, rice, potatoes, and other garden vegetables. Chicken, eggs, or lamb are often eaten at festivals. The women dress in bright, vibrant colors, but outside their homes they wear dark head-to-toe coverings. Men wear turbans along with a type of cloak that hangs from the shoulders.  The people measure  wealth by the amount of animals owned.

This people group does not have a Bible in their language. By law they are forced to profess and practice Sunni Islam. Because they trace their lineage back to Abraham, many of the Old Testament stories are somewhat known to the people. However, there is no missionary work nor outreach to this group of people. God is calling. Who will go?

Spring 2014

The Miao are one of the 55 officially recognized minorities in China. With a population of 9.6 million in China alone, they form the country’s fifth largest ethnic minority. Because of past oppression and multiple migrations, they are scattered across several provinces in Southeast China, and many Hmong (a Miao sub-group) have settled in Southeast Asian and Western countries.

The language family of the Miao includes 35-plus languages, only three of which have Bibles. Most of the Miao languages are unwritten; but they are widely spoken, living languages. Mandarin Chinese is taught in the schools, but many Miao do not have an education past elementary school.

The Miao are a gentle, friendly, and peaceable people— known for their love of music and for their bright, ornate clothes. They have an honest, trusting nature and have historically lost wars due to lack of strategy.

Most Miao practice animism and live in fear of evil spirits. However, when the Big Flowery Miao (a Miao sub-group) were given an alphabet and the New Testament in their language in the early 1900’s, thousands came to Christ. But what of the many other Miao languages still without the Word of God? Who will take it to them?

Winter 2013-14

The Pamiri Tajiks live in extreme isolation on the border area of four countries: Tajikistan, China, Pakistan and Afghanistan. Their traditional homeland is the Pamir Mountains, the world’s second highest mountain range. Different sources recognize between 120,000 and 350,000 Pamiri Tajiks. This number includes several distinct sub-dialects. All of these dialects are still unwritten.

Being primarily farmers, the Pamiri Tajiks raise sheep, yaks and horses. Their villages consist of small houses built of stone and clay.

Nearly 100% of the Pamiri Tajiks are Muslim. Most hold to the Ismaili sect of Islam while also mixing in traditional Zoroastrian practices. They are unique from most Muslims in that they meet in homes to worship rather than going to a mosque.

The Pamiri Tajiks are in great need of the Gospel, particularly in China, where there has never been a church established among them. There is no Bible in any of the Pamiri dialects.

Do you believe in the power of prayer? Will you intercede for these forgotten people? Ask God to raise up a team of laborers to take the Gospel to them. And ask Him to prepare their hearts to receive it.

Summer 2013

The Idaca are one of 68 distinct peoples of Benin and live in the south-central part of the country. Differing sources number them at 41,800 and 140,000. They belong to the Yoruba people cluster, one of the three African people groups from which Voodoo originated.

Yams, millet, and sorghum are raised by traditional farming methods and provide the Idaca’s basic diet. This diet may be supplemented by hunting, fishing, and gathering.

Most Idaca still practice their ethnic, animist religion which involves the worship of family spirits. They believe that upon death, a person’s soul either joins the supernatural forces of nature, or is reincarnated. Sacrifices are made to appease the dead and these supernatural forces. How will they be freed from this bondage without a Bible?

The complete religious freedom provided by Benin’s constitution is respected and enforced by the current government. Though local headmen may oppose Christians and missionaries, all religions are free to practice their faith. Discussion of religious belief in Benin is a protected right of free speech.

Spring 2013

The Lao Phuan people live in Laos and Thailand. They have a distinct language (Phuan) and culture. The Lao Phuan enjoyed social prominence in Laos for centuries. That changed in the 1800’s.  After several decades of war, over half of them migrated to Thailand where they live in small communities.

Most Lao Phuans work in the textile industry or farming. They wear colorful pakamas (not to be confused with pajamas!) which is a sarong-like garment that they manufacture.   Rice is the Phuans cash crop. Their kitchen gardens yield fruits, vegetables,  spices and herbs. Chickens, ducks, pigs, and fish provide protein.

96.5% profess Buddhism. Those in Thailand practice regular Buddhism, but those in Laos are actually animists who worship “the guiding spirits.” The Lao Phuan are in bondage to these spirits. Only about 1% profess Christianity. Of those, most are Catholic.

There is little if any missionary work being done among this large people group (341,000) and they do not have a Bible in their language, not even a small portion.

Winter 2012-13

You could walk for weeks and never meet one Amdo Tibetan person who has heard the name of Jesus Christ.

These nomadic people travel around the country-side with their herds of animals. They can assemble their houses in just over an hour, and work hard day in and day out to survive. They watch their herds closely, monitoring their safety, giving them food, protecting them, and giving of themselves for the good of their animals. It is sad to think that they don’t know about the Great Shepherd who has done the same for them. They wander aimlessly through life, trying to earn good karma so that they may be granted a better status in the life to come.

There are over one million Amdo Tibetan people, scattered across the Himalayan mountains.  There is no Bible  written in their language. Some Amdo can speak the Central Tibetan language, which has a Bible. However, that Bible has many problems, using the same word for God as they do for Buddha and the word “karma” for sin.

Please ask God to tear down Satan’s stronghold and enable missionaries to overcome the political, geographical, and religious barriers; learn the Amdo language; and translate the Bible. As God’s Word is provided, so will the light of truth penetrate this spiritually dark region of the world.

Fall 2012

The official language of Algeria is Arabic, and the national language is Berber. However, as Algeria was a French colony for 132 years (1830-1962), French is still widely used in business and education. Algeria also has seventeen ethnic languages, one of which is Chenoua, or Chenoui.

There are 81,000 speakers of Chenoua living in northwest Algeria. They are descendants of the Berbers, a North African people group who were conquered by Muslim invaders in the seventh century. There are no Scriptures in Chenoua; in fact, no writing system has ever been devised for that language. There are no gospel recordings or films; the people are in darkness with no witness.

A law implemented in 2008 makes any religious activity not regulated by the state a crime, and persecution from Sunni Islam, the state religion, is intensifying. Is it right to conclude the task of taking the gospel to the Chenoua’s to be impossible? Should we not rather ask God to intervene?  Jesus did not tell us to pray for laborers for the easy places, but rather for the harvest field. And the Chenoua are a part of His harvest.

Spring 2012

In the hot, dry northeastern part of Cote D’Ivoire (Ivory Coast) live the 206,000 Kulango people. Their villages consist of many extended families led by the eldest male. Ev-eryone is involved in working the family farm which provides food for the winter. The area has only one rainy season a year, and that is sometimes not enough. Their entire living depends on their crops and the harvest they bring in each year. Thus, when there is a drought, they suffer physically.

In the same way that their lives are controlled by the rain or lack thereof, the Kulango’s spiritual lives are controlled by the amount of truth they have. Because the Word of God is not in their language and missionaries are few and far between, they are experiencing a drought of God’s truth. In essence, they are spiritually dying from lack of “spiritual rain.” The Kulango cannot be saved without the Word of God; someone must share it with them. “My doctrine shall drop as the rain, my speech shall distil as the dew…Because I will publish the name of the Lord:” Deut. 32:2-3.

Winter 2011-12

Far removed from the metropolis of Tehran, the Khorasani people have survived centuries of numerous invasions of other peoples. They have retained their culture despite the influences and governing of various Turks, Mongols, Arabs and Afghans. While farming is the main livelihood, they also produce magnificent, original rugs and tapestries. Because of their Islamic beliefs, family is an extremely significant part of their lives. Isolated for many years, schools are now being established throughout the province and education is becoming increasingly important. Over 800 thousand Khorasani inhabit the northeastern part of Iran, where there is no known witness of the Gospel. Not only is there no one to tell them of God’s salvation, but they also do not have a Bible in their language. Therefore, the Truth of the Gospel is virtually inaccessible.

Khorasan translated means “land of the rising sun.” Of course this refers to the sun in the sky, but what these people really need is someone to share with them the Risen Son, “the Sun of Righteousness with healing in His wings” (Mal. 4:2). While physical healing is important to all, what the Khorasani people need even more is the glorious healing they can have spiritually through a relationship with the Risen Son.

Fall 2011

Surely only the most isolated  people are without a Bible in their language. Well, that is what one might think, but it is not always the case. There is a people group of over 5 million without Scripture in their native language. A society that produced renowned artists, explorers, and scientists: the Sicilians!

Once the central location of the known civilized world, Sicily was a great treasure that European, African and Persian empires desired to own.  Nearly 3000 years of history are on this island, roughly the size of New Jersey.  There are stone ruins, temples of ancient people, monasteries, amphitheaters, and endless vineyards and olive groves.  The family is at the heart of Sicilian culture. Family members often live close together, sometimes in the same housing complex, and sons and daughters usually remain at home with their parents until marriage. The Catholic Church is an important fixture in Sicilian life. Almost all public places are adorned with crucifixes, and most Sicilian homes contain pictures of saints, statues, and other relics. Each town and city has its own patron saint, and the feast days are marked by gaudy processions through the streets with marching bands and displays of fireworks.

Although many of the younger people are bilingual, speaking Italian and Sicilian, there are several previous generations that know only the Sicilian tongue, and consequently have no Bible! Perhaps this has not been of importance to them as they trust their “church” to tell them what they need to know. However, we know that they are being given error—error that will result in an eternity without Christ.

The Agaria is not only a tribe, but also a caste whose occupation is iron smelting. Their name is a reference to their iron ore kilns; historians state that it comes from either the Hindu god of fire (Agni) or their tribal demon who was born in flame (Agyasur). There are numerous  other important deities (both  tribal and Hindu),  including the supreme sun god, their ancestral god, and the iron demon, Lohasur. When there is sickness, a village sorcerer determines which deity is offended and must be appeased.

Iron smelting is a family affair. Both men and women collect the iron ore and make charcoal for the kilns. The women operate the bellows while the men pound the iron ore to shape it. When a new kiln is constructed, even the children help.

Over the last decade, progress has been made in Bible translation for the people groups of India, but groups like the Agaria have even more hope in the future. South
India Baptist Bible College and Seminary is offering their first linguistics and translation classes, beginning on June 20th. Pray for the students, for an ever increasing commitment from the college leadership, and for strength and wisdom for the missionaries involved in helping to establish this course of study.