The Ogbia people in Nigeria are looking forward to this spring season with much joy and celebration. Why? They have received God’s Word in their own mother tongue!

Thanks to the faithfulness of caring partners, the Ogbia people dedicated the New Testament Bible with excitement and praise late last year.

“I am very excited and happy. God will be speaking to me directly in my language,” native speaker Kemi* says about her own copy of Scripture.

About 98 percent of the 600,000 Ogbia people in southern Nigeria are Christian. After five years of translation work, they finally have the New Testament in their own language! The entire Bible is projected to be complete by 2022.

The New Testament translation brings much-needed hope to a nation where 40 percent of the people live in poverty. And after the COVID-19 pandemic hit Nigeria last year, conditions there grew even worse. In the midst of unemployment, high food prices, and increasing poverty, the people now have Scripture to turn to for hope and comfort.

Solomon*, a retired teacher, says, “This Bible will transform the lives of the Ogbia people. Without this Bible, it was like we lacked God’s presence; but with it, we have reached the promised land. I love the Word of God.”

The ongoing support of our efforts for Bible translation in Nigeria and around the world is a blessing to so many. Many thanks to our friends for giving people God’s Word in a language they can understand and relate to.

* Names changes for privacy