At just 5 years old, Sam Anderson decided to pray for the people of Easter Island to receive God’s Word in their own language. That simple decision in his childhood sparked an extraordinary journey — one that God used to form an almost 45-year connection between missionaries, the Rapa Nui people and the Bible translation team called to serve them.
A Missional Childhood Rooted in Generosity
Sam’s parents, John and Joy Anderson, were missionaries with Wycliffe Bible Translators. In 1975 they were serving in Nevada and working with the Northern Paiute New Testament translation.
“As kids, we were given an allowance and if we did chores around the house, we received a wage from Mom and Dad: a whopping 10 cents an hour,” Sam recalled, laughing.
Like his siblings, 5-year-old Sam placed a tithe of his earnings in an old metal Twinings Tea box. The money would go toward supporting a Wycliffe translation project somewhere in the world.
“There was a large world map on one of [the] walls near that box where we could stick a pin on a location indicating a [people group] we wanted to pray for and to support the mission team there,” Sam explained.
A Pin on a Map and a Prayer for Easter Island
Sam studied that map closely. One location captured his attention: Easter Island, located 2,300 miles off the west coast of Chile in the Pacific Ocean.
He placed his pin on Easter Island and said he wanted to pray for and give toward the translation project there.
There was only one problem with Sam’s choice: There wasn’t a translation project there yet.
Sam didn’t give up. He simply told his parents that he would pray for one to begin.
Across the Ocean, God Was Already at Work
At the same time Sam was praying, Bob and Nancy Weber — children of Wycliffe missionaries in Peru — were newly married and seeking God’s direction for their future in ministry. Like Sam, they felt burdened for people who didn’t yet have access to Scripture in their own language.
A New Assignment on Easter Island
Months later, Sam’s parents received a letter from a friend in SIL (Wycliffe’s primary partner) who mentioned that Bob and Nancy were being assigned to a new project on Easter Island!
The Webers were to first focus on helping the Rapa Nui strengthen their language — which was facing possible extinction — and then on working with them to translate the New Testament into Rapa Nui.
Sam’s Prayers Reached the Webers
As the Webers began their ministry, they noticed financial gifts in their Wycliffe statements from someone named Sam Anderson.
“We had no idea that he was just a child [at the time] or that he had started praying for us when he was a very small boy,” Nancy said. “So we wrote our thank‑you notes to a ‘Mr.’ Sam Anderson.”
The Webers discovered that Sam had begun praying for someone to start a translation for the people of Easter Island and had also sold stationary in order to have gifts to send to the Webers. So Bob and Nancy decided to write Sam a thank‑you letter. They told him when they had first been interested in Easter Island — just after he started praying in 1975!
“That really impacted me as a kid,” Sam recalled, “to be praying for something of that importance and then seeing God bring it to fruition.”
Your prayers can make an eternal difference. Want to know how to pray for the nations and for those serving in Bible translation?
Four Decades of Prayer-Fueled Progress
Over the course of more than 40 years of ministry on Easter Island, Bob and Nancy saw the Lord answer so many of their prayers. It was evident that God was at work — from taking care of them and their three children to protecting the translation work in the face of opposition to providing the funds to pay the translators who joyfully and selflessly assisted them.
“Our clear call to the island and to the translation for the Rapa Nui, and the knowledge that many people were praying for us daily, kept us going,” Nancy said.
A Joyful Reunion and a Fulfilled Promise
In early 2019, Sam and the Webers had the privilege of reconnecting at Wycliffe USA’s Orlando headquarters, just months after the completion of the Rapa Nui New Testament! Sam recalled:
“It was amazing to hold the Rapa Nui New Testament in my hands and to see living proof of God’s faithfulness in answering prayer.”
“It was special to meet Sam and his sister Kara, who is with Wycliffe in Orlando, and also their parents,” Nancy said.
Sam readily agreed. “Growing up as a missionary kid, I knew that a Bible translation project is a huge undertaking and takes a long time,” he said. “It was amazing to hold the Rapa Nui New Testament in my hands and to see living proof of God’s faithfulness in answering prayer.”
The story of the Rapa Nui New Testament is just one example of how God is working to start a Bible translation project for every language that needs it.
Track the progress of Vision 2025 and how you can be praying →
The Power of Prayer — At Any Age
Whether you’re 5 or 95 years old, prayer is a vital part of your personal relationship with Jesus Christ and of any ministry done in His name. As Psalm 65:5a (NLT) reminds us:
“You faithfully answer our prayers with awesome deeds, O God our Savior.”
Sam’s story is a powerful reminder that prayer is never wasted. His faithful prayers as a young boy helped spark a movement that would bring God’s Word to a people group on a remote island — people who now have the New Testament in their language.
Just imagine what God might do through your prayers today.
Will you join us in praying for people around the world who are still waiting for the Bible in their language?
Start with a map, pick a country or region and lift the people who live there up to God. Pray for Him to open doors, raise up faithful translators and prepare the hearts of men, women and children in those communities to receive the Good News in their language.
Your prayers can help change lives — and generations — just like Sam’s did.
