Last week Stephen and Ginger Jordan had one of those memorable days, March 6, 2012, a day that will hold a special place in their hearts.

At the conclusion of several hours of language evaluation, Stephen was told he was “ready to begin teaching.”

“After thousands of hours of language study, and after countless prayers … God has brought Stephen to the point of being able to teach the Agutaynens His wonderful message in their own language,” the Jordans wrote. The teaching will be from Firm Foundations Bible lessons, which lay out God’s story from Creation to Christ.

Two missionaries who are skilled in language learning listened to Stephen as he walked through the village and interacted with other Agutaynens in the village. As part of the evaluation two Agutaynens endured six hours of assisting. The men would listen to Stephen as he told a story and then would translate the story back in the national language – Tagalog – so the evaluators would know if Stephen was making any errors. This was done over and over.

“We rejoice in God and ask you to praise Him too,” the Jordans wrote. “Stephen is already preparing his first message in the Agutaynen language.