Wycliffe Associates Bringing Bible Translation Technology to Indigenous Translators Lacking Internet Access

(Worthy News) – Wycliffe Associates, an international organization that empowers mother-tongue Bible translators and partners with local churches in the advancement of Bible translation, is working to provide Christians in 35 language groups across Indonesia and Southeast Asia with Bible Translation Acceleration Kits (BTAKs)—and the training to use them.

Each kit includes a computer, special translation software, Bible translation and technology training, and when needed a satellite connection. This gives indigenous Bible translators all the technology they need to translate the Bible into their language quickly, efficiently, and safely.

“They can’t engage in online activities that we have come to take completely for granted,” says Mark Stedman, Vice President of Technology for Wycliffe Associates. “Christians are singled out—blacked out—simply because they’re Christians. But with a BTAK, light can break into the darkness. Within months, they’ll have Bibles in their hands.”

Indonesia is home to more Muslims than any other nation on Earth. People there are surviving unthinkable forms of persecution simply because of their faith in Jesus Christ.

And even when persecution is non-violent, acts of aggression are being committed against Christians. While vast Muslim-majority sections of the country have internet access, Christian areas are cut off. Christians also are being forced out of jobs and schools because of their faith.

“In places where Christianity is so hated that authorities have cut off internet access or believers can only meet in secret, a BTAK, in many cases, is their only hope for translating God’s Word for their people,” says Stedman.

One Bible translator in Indonesia, for example, walked from her village with her laptop to connect to a kiosk, where it can take as many as five hours to get a stable internet connection. And once a connection is established, it can take three hours to upload a translated book of the Bible. Translating the entire Bible this way can take years.

However, with BTAKs, Bible translators can continue their work in rugged, remote places where the internet is inaccessible. BTAKs give translators the ability to work on their translations in secrecy.

Bible translators can access online resources and also collaborate with other translators to ensure maximum accuracy, enabling them to check and double-check the quality of their work. They also can store their translations in the cloud, keeping it safe from weather disasters as well as confiscation or destruction by hostile authorities.

“Entire communities are transformed as people encounter the truth of God’s Word and the power of God’s love in their own heart language,” says Stedman. “A BTAK will give an entire people group Scripture in their own heart language. And the prayer of generations, of centuries, finally will be answered.”

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