Wycliffe released the encouraging story of a young Buddhist woman who discovered Jesus and became a passionate Bible translator. As a young deaf person growing up in a Buddhist culture, Pastraporn Sarakong didn’t know much about Jesus. “One day at the deaf school, I saw this book on the shelf in the library,” she said. “It was a book with stories and illustrations from the Bible. The pictures caught my eye. I remember opening it and trying to read it, but I didn’t understand a single word.”

Back at the dormitory Sarakong continued to study the stories, but no matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t understand them. Then one day the Holy Spirit prompted a missionary to invite her to a Christian fellowship. Sarakong was startled. How did the missionary know she wanted to learn more about Jesus? Within a month of joining the Sunday gathering, she decided to follow Jesus. She was just 19 years old. “That same teacher continued to teach me the Bible. She showed me how to draw out the stories so I could understand their meaning.”

Later a friend invited Sarakong to attend a workshop on the basics of Bible translation. There she and other deaf people practiced what they learned by translating Bible stories. During the workshop, one of the translation consultants approached her. “Are you interested in working in Bible translation?” she asked. The question made Sarakong stop and think. She went home, got on her knees and sought the Lord. “After some time, the Lord gave me peace about becoming a Bible translator,” she says.

Because of her passion for the work and her creative ideas, she quickly became the team leader of the translation project. Now, with a deaf person leading, the deaf community has become more receptive to the Bible, and their feedback helps the team revise their work, creating a better, clearer translation. It also leads to deeper conversations. “It gives me an opportunity to explain and share the Gospel from my heart,” Sarakong says.

Source: Pastraporn Sarakon, Wycliffe, Joel News International

Bible Study: Philippians 4:13

SEPTEMBER Praise God He had plans for Pastraporn to find Bible illustrations and to then be invited to church where she was saved.
PRAY she will continue to be an example to all, particularly to other deaf people.