Church of the Nazarene members gathered with fellow believers September 22 to celebrate the recent translation of the Bible into the Akateko language, one of the 24 languages spoken in Guatemala.

The Mayan Educational and Cultural Association (AECM in Spanish) began translating the Old Testament into multiple Mayan languages in order to complete the Bible six years ago. The Akateko translation is the first project to be finalized.

The denomination's Baja Verapaz District Mayan Literature Committee, along with the Ministry of Education, has been promoting the reading of Bible in the Mayan languages over the past year and also assisted during the dedication and celebration.

AECM’s division for the Achi language (another Mayan language spoken in Guatemala) is already promoting the use of the language and the reading of the Bible in the language. Three choral groups are visiting churches in the area to raise awareness.

“We thank God because now our Akateka Maya brothers and sisters can hear the voice of God by reading in their mother tongue," said Elías Xitumul Hernández, AECM Achi director and a Church of the Nazarene member. "We have a few more years left for the same thing to happen with the eight other linguistic groups of Guatemala so that they might also hear the Word of God in their mother tongue.”

--Church of the Nazarene Mesoamerica Region