One of my favourite photos from last year's collection was one that I took whilst at the launch of the Lambya Bible in Malawi. It’s a photo I often use when visiting churches. Across the top of the photo I quote from Psalm 119:48, which says: “I reach out for your commands, which I love, that I may meditate on your decrees”. I then ask people to look at the faces of those who are eagerly reaching out for a copy of God’s Word………...

The New Year is a chance to look forward, but also a chance to look back to assess what we've been doing in previous years. This issue is therefore all about numbers…… whilst also recognising that it’s not all about numbers! Because, hiding behind every number, there are real precious lives that have been changed and influenced by the Word of God…………………. 

Ex 36:6 tells us that “the people were restrained from bringing more, because they now had more than enough to do the work”. During the last week of August, we launched the “Sinai for Sena” project and an appeal was made to help TWFTW provide 10,000 Bibles for the Sena people of Malawi. Many people have responded to the call and have been very generous in the process. On the 1 Dec 2025 we closed the GoFundMe page and were able to say, with thankfulness, “we’ve now got more than enough to do the work”!! 

Scenic Sinai Photo Gallery - plus a video taken on the summit.

The latest innovation sweeping the planet is of course AI (artificial intelligence) – but is that something Bible translators should be using? Afterall, we’ve all heard of the potential risks that the AI monster brings to the table! Job displacement, bias, data breaches, manipulation, misinformation, lack of transparency and accountability; the list goes on! Maybe we should leave it to one side…… or should we?

Nearly everyone on the planet has heard about the influence of people like Mother Teresa and Billy Graham – but let me tell you about one of the most influential British Bible translators in church history, who has gone almost unnoticed. Outside of the Bible translation world, few people will have heard of her, but within, she was considered to be a legend!……………………………..

The Turning Tide! At the recent leadership conference in South Africa one of the speakers told us that, due to our continued growth, we should get prepared for a tsunami of Bible dedications and launches! In the June edition of this newsletter I reported on the Lambya full Bible launch in northern Malawi, and for this edition I’m focussing on the launch of three New Testaments in SE Asia. Next month, three more NT’s are being dedicated in Tanzania; Uganda have recently completed the drafting of 10 NT’s, and the three Roma NT's in Serbia/Croatia are also nearly there!………………………..

M&M’s - not the sweets! Last month I travelled to Hermanus in South Africa for five days of Management Meetings. Travel plans and connections all went very smoothly; no delays or setbacks, so to those who prayed for this trip, thank you. Many of the sessions included personnel from one of our funding partners, the Seed Company, who are now in their fourth year of partnering with us…………………..

Article written for TWFTW event April 2025 - produced here with permission

It was my privilege, back in mid-April, to attend the launch of the Lambyan full Bible in the far north of Malawi – and what an event it was! Despite the fact that the trip meant four days of road travel (much of it bumpy!), and the best part of two flying days covering 13,000 miles, it was well worth the effort!

As we look around our troubled world today, I am reminded of a song we often sing in church: “Great is the darkness that covers the earth, oppression, injustice and pain. Nations are slipping in hopeless despair….watching while sanity dies, touched by the madness and lies”.

I recently received an email from a team leader in a country which we’ll call MM, where TWFTW is heading up 8 translation projects.

I recently had the privilege of doing some Bible teaching on an Oak Hall trip to one of the most unreached countries in the world, Japan! We spent time in Tokyo, Osaka, Hiroshima, and the Mount Fuji area.

A few weeks ago one of our staff in Myanmar sent us this urgent prayer request: “The country is facing civil war in many areas, along with devastating floods, creating unimaginable suffering for so many people.”

Imagine what it must feel like to qualify for a place at the Olympics, and then to be considered as one of the favourites in your particular sport to win a gold medal. Imagine what it must then be like to have to pull out of your scheduled race after months and even years of training. It must be gutting.

The Guji people have waited 26 years for a full Bible in their language. Meet the Guji community in Ethiopia. This is the story of how in June 2024, they finally received the entire Bible translated in their native language. To celebrate, thousands gathered together to throw a massive party and praise God! But unfortunately, there are 3,000+ other languages that do not have God’s word in their native language.

Imagine what it must be like to wait 25 years for something to happen! That’s how long the Guji translation project has been on the go – but, just two weeks ago, the Guji people of Ethiopia finally received their full Bible.

The reason for this focus of this newsletter is mainly as a result of last month’s newsletter! A friend of mine responded in connection with an Albanian pastor, which led to a visit to Bristol, which in turn led to a visit to the nearby George Muller museum – where I was able to see his well-worn Bible!

Imagine living in a country that is completely closed off from the rest of the world, and where it’s forbidden by law to believe, or even speak about God! Imagine what it’s like to be banned from owning your own house, and to live under a regime that bans and burns Bibles.

It’s all about eggs – or is it!? Over this Easter period it’s estimated that 90 million chocolate eggs will be eaten in the UK – and if you laid them all side by side, they would stretch from the UK to Sri Lanka!