Al Kalima works only in Modern Standard Arabic, the language of written media – and much spoken media – of the Arab world, but we are always encouraged when others see that our approach could be fruitful in their area.

A woman from North Africa who is working on a vernacular translation in her country visited us recently while she was here for a meeting related to her own project. She is very excited about the Al Kalima translation and wanted to spend her last day helping us in some way. So she came over and read through Romans with us, offering some suggestions and input. She had some good ideas and, just as importantly, felt empowered through the process.

She has already taken a copy of the Gospels and Acts to her friends in her country. While the project she is working on is specifically for the church, she feels the need to reach out to her friends who are not part of the church and she feels that the Al Kalima translation is the appropriate way to do that. She told us that the translation of Romans is the best she has ever read. She is anxiously waiting for the Epistles to be published.