Today we got to go into the SIL Nigeria office with Rachel. They currently have over 100 workers there. It was an honor to meet so many servants of God. Many of the workers are native Nigerians. I was blown away by the sophistication of their work. It was like walking into a lab- except it was languages under the microscope.

Everyone expressed incredible appreciation for Rachel and for Bethany. They love her and they are thankful for those from our church who make it possible for her to be a part of their team.
Two people in particular that we got to meet were Richard and his wife Anna. Richard is Rachel’s direct report. He is Nigerian and is an example of the success of the ministry here. Over the past twenty years they have not only been successfully translating Nigerian languages, but they have also been training Nigerians to do so as well.

A fact that I learned this morning is that Nigeria has over five hundred living languages. Only half of those languages have translation projects even started in them. The country is quite large in population- over 218 million. How awesome would it be to see this population of the world armed with God’s word in their own heart languages?

Have you ever struggled to understand a Sunday morning sermon? Or perhaps a bible study? I know I have. This experience is magnified when the language being preached or taught is not our heart language. Would you pray with me if you are reading this? Would you pray that God would raise up laborers who are gifted like our Rachel? There is so much more work to be done!

-Jimmy