Centuries of Islam, Communism and no gospel access cemented shut the hearts of a Muslim people group in a Balkan nation, but Todd and Kimberly believed the Word of God is living and active, sharper than any double-edged sword.

It was overwhelming how many of this Muslim people group had never seen or heard about the Word of God. Todd and Kimberly knew their Balkan communities needed to be saturated with the gospel to loosen the spiritual strongholds.

In 2001, the New Testament was translated into the people group’s language by a well-known Muslim linguist and was published by a Muslim printing house. This was the day Todd and Kimberly had prayed for tirelessly.

Television and newspaper reporters came to a celebration party to cover the historic event. The event was also attended by 150 Muslims from this people group. The Muslim translator heralded the historic importance of the translation and, in front of the spectators and the reporters, read passages from each of the Gospels.

God gave Todd and Kimberly and their teammates a vision to distribute the Bible in written form as well as in audio and video formats to at least 250,000 people living in their country. The IMB bought publishing rights to the new translation of the New Testament, so they were able to mass-print copies to distribute. Over the next four years, Todd and Kimberly, local Christians and volunteer teams from the States and three other countries helped distribute New Testaments.

In 2004, Todd and Kimberly were thrilled to find 97 percent of homes in the capital city of this Balkan nation had access to Bibles. As a result of the Bible distribution, they baptized three people, and 100 people expressed interest in hearing more about the gospel. Others heard that New Testaments were in circulation and were eagerly waiting to receive one. Local Christians caught the vision for getting the gospel message to their people. With New Testaments in hand, Christians who once lived in fear of sharing their faith were empowered to share the gospel with their friends and neighbors. With time, hearts softened, and the good news of a loving Savior saturated the people group.