Access Equals Empowerment

Yesterday I referenced the incredible fact that English speakers were once also the "Bibleless peoples of the world", that had no access to God's voice in a language they could deeply understand.

As Bob Creson, the current president of Wycliffe USA, put it, "Did you know that John Wycliffe served the marginalized people of his day? He served the peasants -- the English speakers. Royalty spoke French; the Church spoke Latin; the nobodies spoke English. 'Don't cast the pearls of the Gospel before swine.'---That was the attitude of the Church during the time of Wycliffe, but he had a vision, a mission and a passion that English peasants, who spoke an 'inferior' language, should have access to the Scriptures. He said, 'Everyone has a right, even peasants, to hear and understand the Word of God.'"

In this letter that Bob Creson wrote to encourage missionaries, he went on to draw a connection between Access and Empowerment, telling several stories of how receiving access to the Word brings empowerment for change with it. One of those stories involves the Cacua people of Columbia. They are a small people group living in the jungle, that only received a completed Bible several years ago, but the turn-around in their village is beautiful! It shows a people who have been affected by the Word, not just on a behavioral-level, but in a way that has impacted every level: their self-worth, activities, cultural identity, and the treatment they receive from their surrounding villages. Their story is below!