The Chiwit* Deaf are an unreached and unengaged people group in Eurasia. A team of Deaf translators is working hard to finish a series of 32 evangelistic Bible narratives in Chiwit Sign Language.
Boris*, a Deaf translator, shares the following update:
The main religion in Chiwit is Orthodox Christianity. It’s normal to see religious icons in every home. Most Deaf people believe that the icons – not God — help protect them and give them health. Some of our Deaf friends recently reconsidered this belief after watching portions of the Chronological Bible Translation (CBT) in Chiwit Sign Language.
When my wife and I visited our Deaf friends in another town, I brought a flash drive that contained some of the passages we were working on. We watched them together, and it allowed our friends to see and know what I was doing as a Bible translator for the Deaf.
Some passages were about the Ten Commandments. My friends were surprised to learn that God had commanded the Israelites to worship Him alone, not any other idol. They started asking me about the icons in their home. They asked me what they should do about them.
I explained what the Bible teaches about worshipping images and that the religious icons cannot listen or help. Only God can do that.
Our friends asked if they should throw away the icons in their home. I told them it was a decision they needed to make for themselves. Please pray for our friends as they ponder this decision. Ask the Lord to reveal His truth to them, and help them act in a way that honors Him.
Please pray with us for Boris and his friends.
- Ask God to continue revealing His truth through the CBT.
- Pray that Boris’ friends will obey God’s instructions.
- Pray that Boris will continue to boldly share God’s Word.
*– Name changed for security purposes.
