Being a Christian in Muslim-dominated areas of the Middle East can be dangerous, even deadly. For people who are suspected or known to follow Christ, surveillance is almost certain.
If Christians can’t gather safely for church or fellowship, then Bible translation is next to impossible for believers who are living without God’s Word in their own language.
Yet despite the dangers, there are multiple language groups in the Middle East asking for the tools and training they need to begin translating the Scriptures for their people.
How, where, can these believers gather to safely work on Bible translation?
Willing to Risk All to Have God’s Word
For decades, with the prayers and partnership of people just like you, Wycliffe Associates has equipped teams in dangerous places around the world. We have developed technology that enables them to work under the radar, but risks are still high.
Sometimes persecuted Christians are able to successfully translate Scripture and realize their dream of having a Bible in their own language. Sometimes they are discovered or betrayed. Sometimes there are raids, beatings, torture, imprisonment.
These believers tell us they are willing to take risks because it’s not an option to endure another year—or another decade—without God’s Word in the language they can read and understand. Especially when they live each day under the threat of persecution without the comfort of Scripture that other believers have so readily at hand in our Bibles, devotionals, apps on our phones, and more.
They also know that God’s Word transforms hearts and lives. They are trusting in the day that their newly translated Bible will turn the hearts of their persecutors into brothers and sisters who live for Christ.
A Safe Haven for Translators
These Bible translators are willing to risk everything: their freedom, their livelihoods, their very lives if necessary... for one bottom line:
"We must give our people Bibles in their own heart language, so they can fully and deeply grasp it—live it—share it—and let it transform our nation."
But we cannot simply provide them with technology and training. Our brothers and sisters must also have security—secrecy.
They must have safe havens in order to conduct Bible translation safely.
Wycliffe Associates has identified places where safe havens can be established. These are quiet, anonymous, humble places where Christians can work, safe from discovery by hostile forces.
Often, a safe haven is just over the border of a hostile country because, sadly, it’s safer for Christians to leave their own country than to translate the Scriptures at home.
One Refugee’s Unquenchable Dream to Translate Scripture
One refugee from a particularly dangerous Middle Eastern country was running for his life, choosing to flee his homeland rather than renounce his faith. For his safety, we cannot publish his name.
But even in the midst of homelessness, he was driven by an unquenchable dream to share the Word of God with his people... to introduce them to his newfound Savior. His people group numbers more than FIVE MILLION, yet they have never seen a single verse of Scripture in their own heart language.
With no tools or training, this zealous young refugee went to work, struggling to translate line after line of Scripture on his own. It was painfully slow, arduous work until he came into contact with a team of our partners who were actively seeking translators!
The team could see from the young refugee’s work that he clearly had a God-given passion as a national Bible translator. He received the tools and training he needed and is now working with several Christians from his nation—fellow refugees—translating God’s Word into the various languages spoken by the tribes of that country.
But these believers are working under difficult conditions, in a place that is not a safe haven. If news of their Christian faith should reach back into their home country, their families could face persecution, even those who are not Christian!
This is why Bible translation must be conducted on an undercover basis in certain parts of the world. This is why safe havens must be established so translation teams can work on Scriptures instead of living in fear for themselves or loved ones.
Establishing Safe Havens for Bible Translators
Wycliffe Associates’ Middle East team has identified four places where safe havens are most urgently needed right now. It will take a total of $80,000 to secure facilities, equip them with Bible translation technology, and outfit them for the translators. Please know, these places are nothing fancy, but they will provide a safe place to translate God’s Word.
Safe havens are absolutely essential—they can literally be a matter of life or death. Please pray for the translation teams and give to help raise the $80,000 it will take to establish and equip safe places for national Bible translators to work.
