Imagine hearing or reading God’s Word for the first time in your own native tongue. How powerful to finally know that God speaks your language!

The Elhomwe speakers of Malawi in Africa experienced that recently when—after a lifetime of reading the Bible and listening to sermons in a language that is not native to them—they received the first ever New Testament in their heart language.

Sitting in a small, mud brick church in a village in southern Malawi, farmer Manuelo Paya looks on with pride as his 12-year-old daughter, Falice, reads out loud from Matthew 5. It’s the first time she’s read something in her own language, because the Elhomwe New Testament is the first book ever published in the language.

“This is a wonderful book!” Manuelo exclaims. “I love that it’s in my mother tongue.”

The Elhomwe language project is just one of the many translation efforts American Bible Society’s financial partners help to make possible. Join us in praying to see translation efforts begun in the remaining languages without God’s Word. Of more than 7,000 languages across the globe, only about 550 have complete Bible translations. There are more than 1 billion people who still need the full Bible translated into their language.

With the support of American Bible Society’s financial partners and the combined effort of partner Bible agencies, we will begin the Scripture translation process for the world’s remaining languages by 2026 in order to reach these 1 billion people with the gospel of Jesus Christ.