Sheryl just returned from a trip to Papua New Guinea and the Philippines where she visited translation teams there. She says it's great having God's Word in written form, but it doesn't do any good if people can't read it. "In remote areas, you've got obviously great illiteracy problems. They can't read [the Bible]. They have to hear it in order to have God's Word there."

That's why Faith Comes By Hearing has a goal to record God's Word in 2,000 languages around the world. "We have 512 recordings to date, so we are really moving toward our goal of 2,000. We're not there yet, but each year we're adding more recording teams and we're getting closer."

PNG is a challenging country. "You've got so many remote areas and challenges that the recording teams face with tribal warfare," says Sheryl. "These people still live as if they were still in the stone-age, and there is tribal fighting."

Sheryl says it hasn't been easy for one of their teams. "We've got a team recording in a remote area where there is fighting going on. There's been a few people killed already — not in our recording team, but that's all around us."

People and money are needed to accomplish the work. Sheryl says Christians in Europe and North America need to be involved. "This is just the continuation of Judea, Samaria and the uttermost parts of the earth. We have to help. These poor countries don't have the resources financially, or physically/materially at all. We've got to be able to help carry that Word beyond our own borders."

While some of the national recording team members have never seen an e-mail or other technology, God is using them to have a great impact for Christ. Pray that God will use you and other Christians to help translate God's Word into the heart language of many in PNG, Philippines and other places around the world.

"This has resulted in a climate of fear," says Ken Little of Christian Reformed World Relief Committee. Some tribes have set up a "land defense force" in order to attack members of the other group.

"In some cases they've planted crops that they can't harvest. In other cases they just can't get to the land in order to produce food for themselves," says Little. 

In response to an appeal from the Reformed Church of East Africa, CRWRC has designed a program to provide food rations to approximately 4,000 families, or 24,000 people total. The
maize and beans they are providing will be distributed to families over the next four months. 

The funding for the initiative has come from the Canadian Food Grains Bank and the Canadian Government.

Without this help, many who have not found jobs yet would have very few options to feed their families. Some young women may be forced to resort to prostitution. 

CRWRC first located the areas with the most displaced families and, therefore, the most vulnerable areas. "And that, I think, is really quite a witness. Some other agencies have distributed food. and basically they just come into the area and dump it off a
truck. Those who are strongest get it rather than those who are most vulnerable. So I think we're making a statement." 

Their practical help is a way of sharing Christ with those in need. "In this context, I don't think there would be any problem with sharing the verbal Good News of Jesus, but our
focus is just to assist those that are needing the love of Christ at this time," Little said.

"There are signs that some of the conflict issues will be resolved, and we're hoping that we'll help them out in the meantime," said Little.