‘I weep with joy’

In Komlan’s village they grow vegetables like cassava and yams – hardy crops, heavy when harvested. It is thirsty work and not for the easily distracted; swing carefully, or the mattock will take off your toes. After one sweltering session in the fields, the woman Komlan worked for that day paid him 1,000 Francs (£1.30). That day, he didn’t spend his earnings on alcohol.

‘I gave my life to the Lord Jesus Christ, because of what I was reading.’

Four months after he went to his first literacy class, Komlan came to know Jesus through the Bible.

‘From the time of my conversion, I abandoned alcohol and my life changed radically,’ Komlan recalls. But he was still an outcast alcoholic to his village.

By a work of God, through a single Bible verse in his language, Komlan’s life has been transformed.

‘What I read in Matthew 5:13–14 has been accomplished in my life,’ rejoices Komlan. ‘I have become salt and light to my village! I weep with joy and I give infinite thanks.’

The years of dedicated work by the Ifè team to translate the Old Testament are bearing fruit. They now have just the books of Job, Psalms, Song of Solomon and Jeremiah to finish and then check – the other 35 are ready. Soon, Komlan will be able to hold in his hands a complete Ifè Bible. This life-transforming work is only possible because of your support. ‘I want to express great thanks,’ says Komlan. ‘May God cover you with his multiplied grace in Jesus Christ.’