Last month the Kuna people received the translated books of Psalms, Proverbs and Exodus. The great “I AM” of Exodus 3 is the same Shepherd Lord in Psalm 23:1. And the Kunas can read those portions and get to know their God better for the first time.

Missionaries Jerry and Joyce McDaniels delivered the books when they attended a Kuna leadership conference. 

“It’s always a thrill to be able to reconnect with our Kuna friends, study God’s Word together, sing and hear reports of how God is working in the churches,” write the McDaniels..

Praise God with us that by 2013 the Kuna people will have the entire Bible in their language. Pray for the final steps to preparing to print the Bible. A critical need is literacy training for the Kunas.

“The printed Kuna Bible will be wonderful, but how will it change lives if people cannot read with understanding? Next year we will be working hard to get this important step [literacy training] completed,” write the McDaniels.

You can help teach Kunas to read and write their own language.

Not many tribal people have the Old Testament translated in their own language, but the Kuna people of Panama are about to join the fortunate few.

The Kuna Old Testament translation is nearing completion, scheduled to be delivered in 2013.  The Bible translators are a team of mother-tongue Kuna believers with Keith and Wilma Forster, Wycliffe missionaries overseeing the work.

NTM missionaries Jerry and Joyce McDaniels, serving among the Kunas, are excited to see the goal in sight.

“Just think of it!” they wrote. “Soon our Kuna friends will be able to read the Psalms and all those wonderful Old Testament books in their own language for the first time!”

But illiteracy threatens to keep the scriptures out of reach for many Kuna people. Even among those who can read, many cannot read well.

So, in partnership with the Kunas, the McDaniels developed a literacy program — a series of student books, writing practice, comprehension drills, flash cards, homework papers and teacher’s daily lesson guide.

It’s designed in the hope that the Kunas will grip God’s Word in their hearts and not just their hands.

The Lord is certainly preparing the way for His Word.

Trial copies of Scripture portions, given or sold at print cost, were quickly taken.

And as news of the Kuna literacy program spread, many people who were not interested in hearing Bible teaching expressed a desire for learning to read and write their own language.

Find out how you can help fund the printing of literacy materials, travel costs, and training of Kuna literacy teachers and a literacy supervisor.

Despite some last-minute issues that cut into attendance, the Aug. 13 dedication of the Embera New Testament went well, translator Doug Schermerhorn wrote.

“We did have over 500 Embera people come from different rivers and most voiced their joy at receiving the Scriptures in their own language. The church services on Friday and Saturday night were attended by around 600 people,” wrote Doug.

The day before the dedication in an Embera church in Panama, the Bibles were taken upriver by canoe, and the process was completed before the day’s rain began.

The New Testament was a joint project of New Tribes Mission and Wycliffe Bible Translators, and is designed so it can be used by both major Embera dialects – the dialect used by the Emberas in Panama, where churches are planted, and by the Emberas in Colombia.

“It was a great blessing to be a part of that day and to participate with the Emberas that attended. God has given me a great priviledge by allowing me to get to know these people and be involved in their lives. Their friendship and love will always be a special part of my life. The blessings of all this will be added to each of you that has supported this project through your prayers and gifts,” Doug wrote.

The death of a Kuna believer is stirring the hearts of other Kunas to listen to God’s Word.

Eneida’s recent death left her husband, Edelfonso, to care for eight children. The couples’ 23-year-old daughter, Yanera, and her husband have moved back into the village to help Edelfonso, and other believers have come to help Yanera with all the tasks she has inherited.

Seeing the believers come to the aid of Edelfonso, a Kuna church leader, has been a testimony of God’s love to unbelieving relatives.

Edelfonso’s father, a chief of the village, has always opposed the Gospel message and the believers. But God is using Eneida’s death to soften his heart. Recently, while visiting in the city, he attended a Kuna church with Edelfonso. He listened to the teaching and later told his son, “I am close. I believe this is God’s Book.”

Other unbelieving family members in the village are asking questions that show they are contemplating the Truth. Many are coming to Edelfonso’s house to listen to the audio Kuna New Testament.

Edelfonso asks us to join him and his children in prayer that God will use their lives to bring many more to Christ.

“This is something for which Eneida and I have been praying for a long, long time,” Edelfonso tearfully told Jerry and Joyce McDaniels, who are now visiting their Kuna friends. “If this is what it takes to bring others to Christ, then may God’s name be made great in our pain.”