Nestled in the steeply sloping forests near a nature reserve, the Rumba people have settled in 20 different hamlets. Now, rather than their traditional bamboo huts, they live in sturdier brick houses provided by the government.

In recent years, the Rumba communities have stopped growing their own food because elephants and pigs routinely ruined their carefully planted gardens. Outsiders have taken advantage of the isolated area with rich soil and encouraged many people to grow opium.

The new cash crop, however, is exacting a high price on the Rumba culture as it deteriorates the very fabric of their society through drug addiction and alcoholism.

Most Rumba people follow a major world religion while incorporating their own animistic beliefs about specific mountain peaks, special stones, relics of ancestors and animal bones. Less than 1 percent of the Rumba people are Christians.

The small believing community wants to share God’s love with many more people by translating the New Testament, and sharing it through chronological Bible stories and Rumba Scripture songs.

Many Rumba people will learn about Christ through church-based literacy programs. Scripture in their mother tongue will foster growth for struggling new believers and provide tools for outreach to their neighbors.