Ramon & Deborah Padilla

In 2020 Ramon and Deb celebrated ten years of involvement in ministry in Oaxaca, Mexico. They primarily served as linguists with a Scripture translation project in one of the Zapotec languages. Despite health challenges experienced in the tropics, their passion continues: to advocate, build capacity, and work with local minority language communities. They are excited to continue doing this as they are invited to join a Scripture Access team working in the North region of the Americas.

In their new ministry focus, Ramon and Deb are exploring ways to come alongside existing diaspora ministries in the Greater Toronto Area to partner with them to more effectively use and have access to Scriptures and other resources in the minority languages of homeland communities of immigrants.

More than 200 different languages are spoken in Toronto, with nearly 5% of residents not speaking any English or French at all—132,700 people! Many of these are mother tongue speakers of minority languages. The languages they speak may not be recognized and may be thought of as ‘dialects’ of a more widely spoken language from their homeland. These speakers may not have access to any written, audio or signed materials in their languages, including translated Scriptures.

Connecting people who desire to connect with the Scriptures in the languages they know and value the most—is a challenging and exciting prospect!

Would you consider partnering with the Padillas' Wycliffe ministry through prayer and financial giving on a regular basis?