The Emphasis of My Mission: To Bring the Word of God to the Fang People of Equatorial Guinea

Matthew 28: 19-20 says, "Therefore, go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.  And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age."  This is the final commandment that Christ gives to all Christians.  Many have heard that call and taken the Gospel to the people of Equatorial Guinea.  However, one of the greatest loves of all Christian people is the Word of God.  Psalm 119: 105 says that "Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path."  This is something that the Fang people of Equatorial Guinea do not have; a Bible in their own language.  This is the calling the Patrick has dedicated his life to along with the dedicated missionary team of Outreach International. 

A brief word from Patrick...

One of the very first things that I usually get asked as a missionary is how I got interested in Bible Translation. It seems like such an obscure aspect of missions. Actually, 10 years ago I had no idea that Bible Translation was even still necessary. I figured that we lived in such a modern era that surely all languages in the world had at least one translation of the Bible to use. But this simply isn't true. There are about 7,000 languages actively in use in the world today, not including dialects.  The entire Bible has been translated in only 450 languages. Only 2,250

languages have the New Testament or portions of the New Testament translated. That means that more than 6,650 languages do not have access to the whole Bible even if they wanted it. That's more than 2 Billion people.

And what's more, many people in these language groups are asking for translations of the Bible. They want to read God's Word for themselves. But there are simply too few Bible translators to go around. Most of these calls for translations are going unanswered. This is why I became a Bible translator. I can't translate the Bible into 6,650 languages, but with your help, I can do one. That may not sound like much, but to the 860,000 people who speak Fang in Equatorial Guinea, it means eternity!

Now it's very true that the preparation for becoming a Bible translator is difficult and very long. And it's true that the life of a Bible translator isn't the most glamorous or easy life to live. And I admit that I have had doubts now and then. But after translating my first book of the Bible into Fang this last year in Equatorial Guinea, in the middle of the central African rainforest, I've come to realize that the life of a Bible translator is exciting and that there's nothing I'd rather be doing. Being able to see the joy on people's faces as they received their first Old Testament book in their own language was one of the best experiences of my entire life. And even though it's one of the smallest books of the Bible, 860,000 people now can read about our God's great compassion in the book of Jonah in their own language for the first time in history.

Thank you so much for sending me!

--Patrick Mahoney