“We listen to it daily. At noon we listen to it. We listen to it before going to sleep. Then we pray. Then we sleep.”

—a Kanwasa villager speaking about the solar MegaVoice audio Bible.

Gifts to last year’s Wycliffe gift catalog helped provide audio Bible players for people in Papua New Guinea. These audio Bibles brought the Scriptures to life in their heart language.

In many of the language groups living in Papua New Guinea, literacy is growing slowly. However, many still primarily share important information orally. In the highlands, thirty-nine New Testaments have been published in the local languages but are not audibly accessible to the people.

We’re excited to report that six of these New Testaments have now been recorded! The files have been placed on flash drives and small solar-powered audio Bible players. Translated Scripture in numerous other languages has been checked, and recordings have been made of as much as half of the New Testament.

The Impact of Translated Scripture in Audio Form

One Kamano speaker in Papua New Guinea reported how much his children love listening to the MegaVoice audio Bible. Local pastors are also using the audio Bibles during their sermons instead of reading from the trade language and translating orally. In addition, public school principals in are now asking for these solar Bibles to give to their teachers to play for class language study and devotion times.

Many families confess to listening to turning on their audio Bible during their evening meal and listening until the batteries go dead (four or five hours later). Children are asking if they can “recharge the batteries by putting the players close to the fire” so they can finish listening to one of the Bible stories.

These audio Bibles make translated Scripture accessible to thousands of people in the highlands of Papua New Guinea. Translation has bridged the language barrier, and Scripture in this format is bringing God’s Word to the ears and hearts of the people.

Thanks to our contributing authors at Wycliffe USA. We are thankful for ministry partners like Wycliffe for their amazing work among unreached people groups (UPGs). Because of Wycliffe’s Bible translation work, countless millions are encountering Jesus Christ for the first time.