Ten hours beneath the sweltering sun- and she hasn’t slowed down once.
She is covered in dirt, dust and mud. Dozens like her have been working for hours in the fields. Her family is nearby in the village, drenched in pools of sweat. The air in Southeast Asia is heavy.
It has been a long day and she is depleted. But, one thing keeps her going, day by day.
Strung on a single piece of thread around her neck is an audio track of the Gospel.
WHAT IS OMT TRANSLATION?
Oral Mother Tongue (OMT) is the first language a person learns and can communicate most deeply in. OMT Translation is a movement that brings the Bible to people in their own spoken language, using fluent native speakers to create audio recordings that can be shared through a microSD card.
Instead of reading, they hear the Bible in their own spoken language.
Using this new method, it only takes a laptop and some mics.
Google records that there are over 7,000 known languages spoken in the world today. But the problem is, Google cannot determine how to differentiate between a language and a dialect.
Dialects are countless versions of a language that differ depending on the region and area it is spoken. People on the field are discovering there are so many more languages that we don’t even know about.
On the frontlines of Oral Mother Tongue discovery and translation, we estimate that the global number of actual languages is likely closer to between 30,000-40,000.
Instead of trying to translate the Bible from its original language, OMT translation takes the language and dialect and translates it into the mother tongue using simple recording equipment.
Sabi, one of the translators in South Asia, shares that Oral Mother Tongue Translation is not just about completing a translation, but about the impact they have seen on the people in the villages.
“They feel alive!” He says.
“They feel like God is personally talking to them and doesn’t just feel like a distant religion or distant God.”
The Bible becomes personal, because it is in their own mother tongue.
During the last year of Loren Cunningham’s life, God spoke to him that Youth With a Mission (YWAM) is to release a true movement of Bible translation.
Now, YWAM is excited to be releasing waves of audio-recorded Bibles.
Once a translation is completed, YWAM will partner with a Biblical Christian Organization committed to producing partial and full written translations of the Bible.
“We don’t want inch-deep Christianity around the world,” OMT leader, shares.
“We want mile-deep Christianity. We want transformation.”
Transformation happens listening to stories of Jesus, while she labors in the heat of the day.
Jesus meets her in those moments – as she listens to the Word of God in her own mother tongue.
OMT translation has now completed more than 600 Old Testament translations and over 3,000 New Testament translations, with many more currently underway.
Here’s how you can get involved:
- Register at prayomt.com to pray for a Bibleless language and explore the wide range of OMT resources.
- Start a weekly prayer group and adopt a Bibleless people group to pray for and support financially.
Useful links:
