One copy is great, two would be better
Scott Phillips was talking with Debatoma, a Dao believer, about the upcoming printing project of the Dao translation of the book of John.
“One isn’t enough—can I please have two copies?” Debatoma asked Scott.
Scott asked him if he wanted an extra copy for a friend.
“No, both copies for me,” returned Debatoma. “But there is nowhere that I go and nothing that I do without my Scripture booklets that you translate and give to us. Sometimes in the jungle, the rains let loose on me and they get wet and sometimes I brush against vines and dirt gets on them. My books in my string bag take a beating and the pages wear out. I don’t want to ever be without our Creator’s leaf book, so I want to keep one safe in my hut and carry the other one.”
Scott couldn’t help smiling as he listened to Debatoma’s reasoning. And then, hearing him speak, many other believers chimed in as well, “Yes, I will need two also; please give me two!”
Later that evening, Scott and his wife, Jennie, reflected together on the changes God has brought to the Dao valley in the 10 years they have lived there.
“When we first stepped into the Dao territory, their language did not have a written alphabet. Not a single person in the valley could read or write. No one had ever even heard of the ‘Creator’s leaf book’ and the last thing that they cared about was having two copies of it instead of one. The change that has taken place in Dao believers’ growing passion for God’s Word … is nothing short of miraculous,” says Scott.
Scott and Jennie are encouraged and rejoicing at God’s faithful work in seeing His Word come in power and transformation to the Dao people. The glimpses they see of His ongoing work in Dao believers sharing the gospel with others are overwhelming.
“The gospel continues to move forward!” Scott writes. “God is doing His thing and working out His agenda through His people … Praise Him that as of this past week, the Dao people now have their first few copies of the completed book of John available to them in their own language.”
“And some even have two!” he adds.
One decade of Scott and Jennie Phillips’ lives have been devoted to the mission of sharing God’s powerful and transforming Word with the Dao people.
Can you think of a better way to invest ten years?
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