This Christmas, the North Wahgi believers of Papua New Guinea will celebrate God’s faithfulness to bring them His Word in their heart language. Five hundred North Wahgi New Testaments are on their way! Praise the Lord with us for the completion of this thirteen-year translation project and pray for the impact He will have through it.
The translation began in 2011 as Andrew Wilson and Dan Hulley prepared for teaching through the Bible in the North Wahgi language. Levi Lenz was able to start helping with translation in 2013. After the Wilsons left, the translation was split with Levi focusing on the Gospels and Dan the epistles. There were also four main translation helpers who were vital to bringing this project to completion. The final translation check was completed in 2021, when Levi then took on the task of formatting, adding pictures and proofreading.
The believers are looking forward to having the full New Testament in their hands after having separate printed portions over the years. The team hopes to receive feedback from the believers that will help them make revisions to offer an even clearer representation of God’s Word in the North Wahgi language.
The official New Testament dedication with the wider community will be January 3, 2025. The team is praying that this event will open up other Gospel opportunities in the area and create interest among other religious groups. They plan to promote reading classes and raise awareness of the availability of the North Wahgi New Testament in surrounding communities.
Please join us in praying that the people of North Wahgi will not just be receivers of God’s Word, but will read, meditate on, and study His truth so that generations will be impacted and transformed by the glorious message of the Gospel.
Written by Summer Zimmer, Connection Coordinator, NTM PNG.