For approximately 4 days, the General Secretary of LAI, Sigit Triyono and the Head of LAI's Translation Department, Rev. Anwar Tjen, conducted a ministry partnership visit to neighboring Timor Leste. Accompanying the visit was a representative from the World Fellowship of Bible Societies (UBS), Mr. Arun Sok Nhep. He is the Head of Member Relations of UBS-Asia/Translation Roadmap Coordinator of UBS for the Asia Pacific region.

On July 3, 2024, the LAI and UBS teams met with the Bishop of Dili, Cardinal Don Virgilio do Carmo da Silva, SDB. During the meeting, LAI and the Diocese of Dili agreed to hold a joint seminar in Dili on Bible translation and a discussion of the book Identity Identified, a New Testament supplemented with various articles and additional supplements for young people. Based on the initial agreement, the Bible translation seminar and book review of Identity Identified will be held around November 2024 or at the latest in early 2025. On that occasion, the LAI General Secretary symbolically handed over the Catholic version of the New Translation of the Bible, Edition 2, and the book Identity Identified to the Cardinal.

The following day, on July 4, 2024, the Indonesian Association of Indonesian Christians (LAI) team arrived at the Indonesian Embassy in Dili. There, LAI socialized its vision and mission and provided an explanation of the New Translation of the Bible, Edition 2, before the Indonesian Ambassador to Timor-Leste, Okto Dorinus Manik, several Embassy staff, and 18 pastors and activists from Protestant churches in and around Dili. From the Indonesian Embassy in Dili, the LAI team, accompanied by Mr. Aron, continued their activities by meeting with the leadership of the Assembly of God Church in Timor-Leste. The LAI visit was to have an audience with church leaders and to discuss follow-up to the Cooperation Agreement (KKS). The LAI visit was very well received. The Assembly of God church leadership hoped that LAI would soon hold a TB 2 Bible seminar in Dili for the general congregation and that LAI could help provide Bibles to God's people in Timor-Leste.

On July 6, 2024, LAI attended the IPTL (Igreja Protestante Timor Lorossae) Synod Session in Oecusse. In the midst of the trial, LAI socialized the New Translation of the Bible Edition 2 (TB-2) and symbolically handed over the TB-2 Bible to the Chairman of the Synod, Rev. Alvin Dominggus and the General Secretary, Rev. Julient Tumparaja. The General Secretary of LAI, Sigit Triyono, also reminded to follow up on the Cooperation Agreement (KKS) that had been signed in 2019, into various forms of service collaboration and partnership between the two institutions.

Timor Leste and Indonesia may now be separate countries. However, the churches in both countries are united in their faith in Christ and in the same Bible. A mutually supportive and empowering partnership is inevitable, for the sake of our shared calling to manifest the signs of God's Kingdom in the world and proclaim the Good News to the ends of the earth. (ST)