What Cannot Be Extinguished
Above: Amil's widow and her coworkers embark on a 10-day trip through the rain forest to return home from Bible translation training.
To his captors, he was no doubt a nameless face, another cross-border traveler to be murdered in the name of revolution. Shrouded in the depths of an Asian rain forest, his life was extinguished—and quickly forgotten by the guerrilla soldiers who shared his last moments.
It was a seemingly covert, conclusive end to Amil’s* ministry.
But God wasn’t finished.
Today, two years later, the life of this young Asian Bible translator continues to impact thousands, as his widow, coworkers, and organizations such as JAARS continue the costly work of bringing God’s Word to Amil’s people.
One Question
Amil discovered Christ in the most unlikely of environments—as a 15-year-old in a non-Christian home, in a nation where the meager Christian population was often persecuted. Faced with the likelihood of disapproval, ridicule, even violence, Amil instead set his mind on one simple question: If Jesus died for my sins, why not serve Him?
The answer would change the course of his life—and eventually, thousands of others.
While in his 20s, Amil began pastoring a church and dedicated his life to translating God’s Word into his own language. He soon joined a team of translators whose work was coordinated by Evangel Bible Translators across the border, in a nation more tolerant of Christian ministry.
And month after month, Amil’s dedication was fiercely tested.
To meet with his cross-border mentor for training, and to enter translation data on a computer, the young man conquered 10-day-or-more treks through sprawling rain forests, often at the mercy of ruthless weather. Both sides of the border promised the potential danger of bandits or guerrilla soldiers.
Inevitably, a one-month stay could easily become a two-month journey.
In 2007, Amil set out for yet another training session with his mentor—and never arrived. The devoted translator was captured en route by guerrilla soldiers; soon after, his life ended beneath the emerald-colored canopy that so often sheltered his travels.
“It has to go on.”
The next year found Amil’s widow tracing his steps through the rain forest, accompanying several coworkers for a Bible translation workshop. Though her life had been laced with sorrow, she was not ready to give up the vision of Bible translation for her language group.
“She came back,” remembers David, a JAARS vernacular media specialist. “She wanted more training; she brought more people from their people group to become Bible translators, saying, ‘I’m not going to let this work die. It has to go on.’”
Despite bereavement, and despite dangerous circumstances, their team is making rapid progress. They have completed translations of Matthew and Mark; Luke and John are underway. In addition, the team has helped create a dictionary, hymnal and gospel audio cassette in this lesser-known language.
Today, nearly half of the 140,000 people in Amil’s language group are Christians—including his entire family.
On the Same Wavelength
While literacy rates are rising within Amil’s language group, roughly 90% of its speakers are unable to read and write in their own language. Like many Asian societies, they prefer to communicate orally, often incorporating stories, songs, poetry and proverbs.
And Scriptures are no exception.
To speak to the hearts of many in Amil’s language group, God’s Word must also be available in nonprint versions—and JAARS has partnered with Evangel Bible Translators to make that happen. For five years, two of our vernacular media specialists, David and Jon, worked alongside the organization to develop a media services group in this area of Asia.
One of the duo’s largest tasks was building a permanent recording studio, where Amil’s people and up to 10 other language groups can work with specialists to record gospel stories, songs and other Scripture-related media. The two also spent three years training a local man named Lanu, who will now oversee the studio.
These recordings will open the door for thousands in Amil’s language group to hear God’s Word in their own language—making this young man’s vision a reality that can never be extinguished.
* Pseudonym.
