Paranan of Philippines

The Paranan people live in Palanan, a remote coastal region of Luzon Island in the northern Philippines. Two efforts by Philippine cross-cultural workers in the 1980s and 1990s produced 43 percent of the New Testament in Paranan, but work stopped when they left. Today, as a result of the previous Scripture translation, Paranan pastors lead five churches, and other churches have been planted. Traditional religion, which depends on the use of magic and spirit placation, still dominates the lives of most Paranan. Many who openly profess Christianity still rely on some aspects of their traditional religious system. The church believes having God’s Word in their own language will solve such problems.

  • A formal check of the four Gospels and Acts by consultants from the Philippine Bible Society is happening this month. The team is reviewing the NT epistles. also for a check by the consultants.

  • Ten trial photocopies of the NT are now in the hands of local church leaders to give further input before publication. Praise God that His Word is passing through many hands to get it ready for printing. Pray that the Lord will remove all obstacles to this work being completed.

  • 30 new Christian songs based on the translated Scriptures were composed at a camp. The youth were excited about writing these songs in the local language. Pray that God will use Paranan Christian music to draw young people’s hearts to the Lord and intensify their worship.

  • The team has started preparing a topical concordance, which will be a valuable resource to help Scripture-users find and study common words in the Bible. Also at the printers is the booklet How the Jews Lived. The team looks forward to making this volume available to readers of the Paranan Scriptures to assist them in grasping Bible customs.

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