Sometimes one story from Scripture can meet us right where our pain is deepest.
When Oral Bible Translation (OBT) consultant and trainer Nelson gathered the Pichi language OBT team in Equatorial Guinea, he asked a simple question:
“How has the story of Ruth touched your heart?”
The room went quiet. Then Lydia, one of the translators, slowly raised her hand to speak. Her voice trembled. “Two months ago,” she began, “I got a call from the police. Something terrible had happened at my sister’s house.”
Immense grief
When Lydia arrived, her world shattered. Her sister and 20-year-old nephew had been brutally killed in a machete attack. Amid the chaos, a six-month-old baby lay crying – covered in blood. Lydia rushed to the child, lifted him from the ground, and began to wipe him clean as tears streamed down her face. That night, she did what no one ever wants to do – she prepared her sister’s body for burial, still cradling the baby in her arms.
In the days that followed, grief settled over Lydia’s family like a thick fog. The man responsible for the tragedy walked free – starting a new life somewhere else.
Her mother, once a strong and respected church leader, couldn’t bring herself to speak. She sat in silence for days, too broken to find words.
Finding hope in the book of Ruth
Lydia felt completely powerless. Until one day, during her translation work, she came to the story of Naomi and Ruth. As she spoke the words aloud in her own language, something began to shift inside her.
“Now I can feel Naomi’s pain,” Lydia said softly. “She lost everything, yet she didn’t give up. She still had hope – hope in God, hope that He was visiting His people.”
That same hope began to take root in Lydia’s heart. “Even when I lost my sister,” she said, “I could see in Ruth’s story that God is still here – still looking after us.”
A new beginning
Today, Lydia is raising her sister’s children. The oldest are back in school. The baby she held that terrible day is growing strong. And little by little, through tears and prayer, her family is finding peace again.
“Hope,” Lydia said quietly, “is the answer we must give to the world – even in the face of violence and hardship. God is still in control. Despite the winds and the tides, God has kept everything.
For the Pichi OBT team, Lydia’s story wasn’t just a testimony – it was living proof. When God’s Word is heard in your heart language, it brings healing to the deepest wounds. It gives strength to keep going, even when everything feels lost.
Source: Spoken Worldwide
