Can you imagine not having even one verse of God’s Word in your heart language? According to the Wycliffe Global Alliance (2016), for over 160 million people, speaking about 1,700-1,800 different languages, this is the case. Many of these languages have not even been written down; these cultures primarily use oral communication.

But God is using people like Dallas International alumna Robin Ulibarri to meet this pressing need. She currently serves with Faith Comes By Hearing (FCBH) as Director of Oral Bible Strategies. Render is a new oral Bible translation (OBT) software that merges Bible translation with audio Bible recording so that people do not have to wait for their language to be written down in order to receive God’s Word in their heart language.

“God had given me a love for travel, culture and language since childhood,” Robin shared. “I received the call to missions during prayer when I was 18, but it was some time before I would get involved with Bible translation.” In 2004, as Robin was seeking where God wanted to place her in the world of missions, two different people suggested that she consider serving in Bible translation. This advice moved her to find an online article advertising a talk at a nearby church by the president of a Bible translation organization. After hearing him speak, she joined that organization. Next, she studied for a semester at the Canada Institute of Linguistics before transferring to Dallas International, where she completed her M.A. in Applied Linguistics with a Bible Translation concentration in 2007. 

At Dallas International, Robin wrote her thesis on her greatest area of interest: OBT. “At that point, my thesis committee guided me to many wonderful resources and helped expand my thinking,” Robin said. “That study was the most helpful in preparing me for my current work.”

Now, God has used Robin and her team at FCBH to develop Render and facilitate and support OBT projects all over the world. “In addition to developing the software, we implement it through partnerships with other organizations doing BT work,” Robin explained. “We provide training, project setup and support, audio editing, and distribution of completed audio Scripture.” Robin manages this team and works in partnership development and advocacy for Render and OBT in general.

Looking ahead, Robin and her Render team hope to expand their training strategy to help partner organizations launch more OBT projects. “Our most immediate goal is to hire a training coordinator who can help develop our strategy,” Robin said.

Join us in praying that God would bring the right person for this training coordinator position, that He would continue to give the Render team unity, and that He would enable Render’s partnerships to thrive in a spirit of collaboration. Also, please pray that the Father would bless ongoing and new Render projects with success—as Robin put it, “that the technology works well, that people remain healthy and dedicated, that God’s Word comes forth and transforms lives”!