Corn is the staple food. It is ground into flour and then boiled to make a thick dough-like substance called nshima.

More important than the physical harvest, we want to tell you about some of the spiritual harvest that has occurred as well.

We asked you to pray and through your gifts we were able to give a significant amount. Then, in July the remaining funds were received from others through The Word for the World.

With this prayer answered the New Testament can now be printed. Please continue to pray as the big tasks of transporting and distributing the first copies of God’s Word in the Taabua language are ahead of us.

Our co-workers and Zambian members of The Word for the World, Reuben and Doreen Kabwe, traveled a year ago to be missionaries in another country. They traveled to Tanzania where there are 117 different languages, most of which have no translated Scriptures.

Recently, they visited with us and told us some amazing stories of how God is using them on the mission field.

They have already researched and helped begin five different translation projects. The village leaders at one project excitedly said, “Yes. You have now come, and we believe that this is the time for us to receive God’s Word!”

People from the other language groups are also excited and are now taking translation classes.

Recently, we had the privilege of being with another Zambian missionary family, Charles and Helen Chansa. They are missionaries to the Taabua people of northeastern Zambia.

They live on a large lake in the Rift valley. The lake water is chocolate brown and is unsuitable for drinking but a community well gives each family ten gallons of water per day. Charles has to travel 50 miles by bicycle on a rough dirt road to buy the simplest of things such as soap.

There are no churches in the area. Those that were previously planted have died. It is an area of great spiritual need where one of the oldest mosques in Zambia is located.

Church planting and Bible translation go hand in hand. Please pray and thank God that He has people like Charles and Helen who are dedicated to go to isolated areas no matter how difficult it may be.

During one of our previous visits in the USA we were privileged to speak to a group of children. One boy, after hearing us talk about the needs of people who don’t have the Bible in their own language, approached Ken. He said he wanted to give something to the work of missions. Then he pulled out of his pocket something that he really treasured: a bag of gumballs.

Thank God for a child’s heart that wanted to be involved! It blessed us.

A Bible translation, whether in a new language, like Taabua or in English, doesn’t nourish unless we take it in daily. Don’t forget to “water the seed” that God has planted in you through reading His Word daily.

One of our translation students

In Nigeria, one group of people, the Gwandara-wara, was resistant to the gospel. Every attempt to plant a church among them failed.

Later it was learned that the name Gwandara means, “the people who dance”. So when the Gospel was then presented to them through dance, many accepted it and now churches have been planted among them.