A Bible For Bolivia's Largest Unreached People Group

by Luke Marie

BIMI has missionaries working with Deaf churches in four South American countries, yet the Deaf remain the largest unreached people group on the continent with a total population of nearly 20 million. Less than two percent have been evangelized or profess faith in Christ. The Deaf are a people group with a disability that is invisible to the eye. They appear as if they are fully functioning. Therefore, they live among us but are a misunderstood people group. Most hearing people believe that sign language is the same in every country, but in reality there are more than 300 sign languages worldwide. Another misconception is that hearing people assume that deaf people are literate in whatever language is spoken in their country. However, for the Deaf, that language is a foreign language.

A deaf person’s heart language is sign language. Sign language has its own grammar and structure that does not conform to spoken languages. As hearing people try to reach deaf people for Christ, many use the written Word of God, Gospel tracts full of verses, and other literature without realizing just how little of the written language the Deaf understand. To best reach deaf people, they need to be ministered to in their own language! Because no Bible exists in their language either, this also means that biblical terms most likely do not exist in their language. It is very challenging to develop biblical terms in a way that the Deaf can clearly understand and know God.

The Maries have been missionaries in Bolivia for over 17 years. After they started the only Deaf church in the city of Santa Cruz over seven years ago, God opened a door of opportunity to take on the ministry of translating the Bible into Bolivian Sign Language. The Bible translation project started almost seven years ago when there was a realization within translation communities that many deaf do not read and that they have never had access to the Word of God. I am leading a team of translators who are interpreting the Bible into sign language by way of a series of videos. By means of this video Bible, Bolivian deaf people who are unable to read the Spanish Bible now have access to portions of the Word of God through this translation as we complete new segments of the Bible each year.

Churches are founded on the Word of God. While we can establish numerous Deaf churches if they do not have access to the Bible in their native language (sign language) and they are unable to read the written Bible, then the longevity of the church is limited to the presence of the missionary. God’s Word is eternal and stands the test of time. A church built on His Word will endure!

Rodolfo Yabeta is a Bolivian who was born deaf and who was without language until the age of 17. At that time he encountered a deaf Christian man. This man introduced Rodolfo to sign language. He began learning sign language and when his family noticed his ability to communicate (not with them because they did not know sign language but with other deaf individuals), they enrolled him in school at the age of 20 to begin his education. Rodolfo attended first grade through seventh grade but left school due to the embarrassment for being in the same class as young children. After seven years of education, Rodolfo remained functionally illiterate in Spanish and to this day is unable to read Spanish very well.

At the age of 27, Rodolfo placed his faith and trust in Jesus as his Lord and Savior. He then dedicated himself to pursuing God and has been involved in ministry for many years. Today, he serves as the co-pastor of Iglesia Bautista Sordos Para Cristo. Now at the age of 53, Rodolpho has finally gained access to portions of the Bible and is able to study and comprehend God in his own native language!

Missions within our Deaf community in Bolivia is like working with a blank slate. Due to their limited access to the Bible, their knowledge of God and religion is primarily based on observations and information received from others. The Deaf community presents a field ripe for the harvest—but the number of dedicated individuals to this unique field is very small. Please pray to the Lord of the Harvest for more laborers!

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