Bible-A-Month

Sharing The Word. For Life.

Bible-a-Month is working to connect God’s Word with the fabric of people’s everyday lives – in a language and format they can read and understand. The power of monthly giving allows CBS to commit to various projects around the world, where Bible Societies are reaching out with the Word of God to men women and children every single day!

“Go, then, to all peoples everywhere and make them my disciples...” Matthew 28.19 (GNT)

The Power of Monthly Giving ends the waiting!

We all know what it’s like to wait for something. But can you ever remember waiting for a Bible? Probably not, because five minutes at the bookstore counter isn’t very long – someone has already spent years translating it and making it readily available for you.

Now, imagine waiting for a Bible in your own Language. Imagine not being able to read it in a language that you can understand, and as a result you think that God must not be interested in you or your community. For millions this is a reality. In fact, it’s true for 4,421 languages that still wait for even one book of the Bible.

This stark reality is called Bible poverty – and Bible-a-Month is working to end it.

It’s because of faithful Bible-a-Month supporters that CBS along with other Bible Societies around the globe, is able to bring new translations to birth – sometimes in languages that have never even been written down.

When you support Bible-a-Month you are making God’s Word available to those who still wait – those who are longing to receive the Bible’s life-changing message in the language of their heart.

Bible-a-Month is a lasting gift from you to them!

Read stories on how God's Word is impacting lives in

• Chile
• Canada
• Congo
• Ukraine
• Palestine
• India
• Mexico
• Vietnam

TOGO: Good Samaritan program makes happy families

Emmanuel Gnagnon and his wife Fransica. He was a church youth leader when he met Fransica on a 'Good Samaritan' training course. He was later appointed Assistant Coordinator to the 'Good Samaritan' program in Togo.

Konstanse Raen was responsible for devising the HIV and AIDS awareness program Where Is The Good Samaritan Today? which is run by Bible Societies in more than 20 countries. She recounts a personal story she heard at a recent Good Samaritan training course in Lomé.

“You must let Emmanuel tell you about his experience with the Good Samaritan,” the group told me. They were the local trainers in the Bible Society of Togo’s AIDS program, and we had gathered for a three-day refresher course in the Bible House in Lomé.

But first, a man whom the others called “pastor” began to speak.

“This program,” he said, “has meant something special for all of us who have taken part. For me in particular, I can only say that it has saved my marriage.

“There was conflict and strife between me and my wife because of HIV and many other problems, and my wife said she wanted a divorce.

“I took the Bible Society’s course first, and then my wife took it. And let me tell you that, thanks to what followed, everything has changed! Now we can speak openly about HIV and the risk of infection, about sex and our married life, we are a happy family and many people come to us for advice! Therefore, I wish that we could learn more about counseling. But do come and visit us. I venture to say that our home today is an example to the neighbourhood!”

With that, he smiled triumphantly, while the others around him nodded in affirmation. Then it was Emmanuel Gnagnon’s turn to speak. He went straight to the point.

“I am a great fan of the Good Samaritan program,” he said, “because it was there that I found my wife! Today I declare that I am the happiest man in the world!”

At this point he was interrupted by laughter and applause. Then he continued:

“I am a youth leader in my church and was offered the chance to take part in a course to train trainers for the Bible Society’s AIDS program, in order to be able to train others.

“I knew about the ideals of faithfulness and abstinence with regard to sex which are preached in the Church – but personally I never took that very seriously! It was more important for me to live fast and have fun! That thing about ‘possible HIV infection’ might apply to others – but I didn’t take it seriously in my own life.

“Then I began to use the Bible Society’s course material from both the Good Samaritan and the youth-oriented program Take Charge. It’s about the importance of making good choices and living responsibly – not least in relation to sex.

“What helped me was the method of teaching: it is not a particular way of preaching and it is not about ‘pointing a moral finger’. The methods are conversation, sharing, questions, drama, role-plays – and these are always related to texts from the Bible.

“By teaching others, I myself was challenged. God’s good plans for my life spoke both to my brain and to my heart. I was confronted with models from the Bible like Joseph and David and I saw the consequences of good and bad choices. The Bible also says that we believers are ‘God’s letters to the world’ and that, by reading these letters, the people around us get to know Jesus. “I realized that my lifestyle made me a bad model for my friends, so I felt gradually more and more dissatisfied. At the same time, I got more and more involved as a volunteer in the Bible Society’s Good Samaritan program. On one of the courses, I noticed a special young lady – she was a distant acquaintance. Her name was Fransica, and when the course was over I contacted her. The result was that, sometime later, she and I became sweethearts. By and by, this ‘bachelor’ had only one wish: that we could marry and have a family as soon as possible!”

Knowing that in Africa preparing a wedding is no simple task, I asked how long it took before they were married.

“It took two years,” Emmanuel said. “The party took place in January this year with more than 200 guests, and I am extremely happy! I now have the best wife in the world and I have a place to come home to. In this way, the Good Samaritan program has meant something very special to me. That’s why I am happy to volunteer, because I know it can change lives. Just ask my wife!”

CHILE: The feeding of the 45 in Santiago Women's Detention Centre

One of the young women in the nursery unit of the Santiago Women's Detention Centre cradles her baby while reading a Portion of Scripture given out at a 'picnic' held there by the Chilean Bible Society.Every month a group of Chilean Bible Society volunteers known as Messengers in Action visit the nursery section of the Santiago Women's Detention Centre to share the message of the love of Jesus with 45 mothers there who have children under the age of two.

On their last visit the volunteers took in sandwiches, cakes and drinks for them. The Detention Centre Chaplain, Juan Quintanilla, and the Director of Messengers in Action, Marcia Lillo, shared briefly with the women from the Word of God.

On the next visit, the volunteers are planning to present the women with two sewing machines. The aim is to create a sewing workshop where the women can acquire a skill so that, on their release, they can earn an income by working at home.

Money to buy the sewing machines was raised on a special fundraising day held across the Greater Santiago area in May.

Please pray for these women that they will come to know the joy and peace that only God’s Word can bring. Thank you for giving so that others can receive The Word. For Life.

CANADA: Cree Translation of the Gospel of Mark Launched

We are grateful for our Bible-a-Month supporters and their prayers as we focus on the needs of Canadians. We thank the Lord for the new Cree translation launched in Saskatoon, May 19, 2010 – representatives from several First Nations and the Canadian Bible Society joined with the public and officials at the Queen’s House Retreat Centre to celebrate the launch of the new Gospel of Mark in Plains Cree.

Rev. Dr. Stan Cuthand, a Cree elder, Anglican priest, member of the Little Pine Reserve in the Battleford District, and recognized expert in his language has been the lead translator on the project, working closely with several Cree people and with the support of CBS consultant Ruth Heeg. He was also the recipient of the 2009 National Aboriginal Lifetime Achievement Award and the keynote speaker at the event. His first draft of the new translation has been completed, but the community review of each book is a careful and ongoing process expected to take several more years.

Father Ron Beechinor, Vicar General of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Saskatoon said, “The opening words in the Gospel of Mark are ‘The beginning of the good news of Jesus Christ Son of God ...’ The last words in the Gospel are a commission of Jesus to all of His disciples to now take that good news and proclaim it to the nations. If that good news is to be proclaimed, and be proclaimed well, to the nations, then it has to be done in the language of the people. Not just the language people understand, but the language that the people own.”

This launch was encouraging milestone in a work that has been several decades in the making and that reflects the Bible Society’s commitment to making Scriptures accessible to everyone in their heart language. Thank you for your continued support.

Bible Translation work in the Democratic Republic of Congo

The war has delayed everything. The Rev Londroma Bandony was working on translating the Bible into Lendu, spoken by one million people here in the north-east. The New Testament had already been translated and printed, but the Old Testament was yet to be translated. “But in 1998 the war came and we had to flee. When we dared to return, everything had been stolen or burnt, including the translation of the Old Testament that we were working on,” he sighs. “The situation is better now, but people are not replacing their lost Bibles. Some cannot afford to, others are waiting for the new translation.”

Besides Mr Bandony’s team translating into Lendu, a group is working in another room translating the Bible into Alur, spoken by approximately 2.5 million people. The current Alur Bible dates from 1956. The leader of the translation team, the Rev Samuel Mikum, hopes that the new translation will be ready for printing in 2014. “But realistically, it will probably not be ready until 2018 because we have to stop working so often when the electricity supply fails,” he says. “Furthermore, we have to deal with frequent changes of team members. When half of the monthly salary doesn’t come because the congregations can’t raise the money, people find a better-paid job, because they need to feed their families.”

There is the same eagerness among Alur speakers as among Lendu speakers when it comes to getting a new Bible. “For most Christians a new Bible is at the top of their wish list. Back in 1956 when the Bible was last published in Alur, every family had a Bible. But since then the number of Alur speakers has doubled, and lots of people lost their Bible during the war.” To address the hunger for God’s Word in Democratic Republic of Congo, the translation of Bibles must continue. Your gift today will be greatly appreciated and will be gratefully received.

UKRAINIAN PRISONERS TELL OF GOD'S WORD AT WORK

There are some 200,000 prisoners in Ukraine. The Ukrainian Bible Society is among the organisations seeking to change prisoners’ lives and prepare them for a fresh start once they are released. The following testimonies show how God’s Word – in formats including the Scripture-based booklets supplied by the Society – is at work among prisoners.

I was born and grew up in Lviv. My parents allowed me a lot of freedom from an early age. I grew up on the street and started to drink, smoke and steal. By 25 I had three convictions for various crimes, including once in which the victim died.

Alone in my prison cell, I cried to God, “Where are you? Why is there so much evil in my life?” But when I started to attend Christian meetings I began to understand the reason for my troubles. I started reading the Bible and at last I discovered that God was always close to me, but I was simply blind. It was a wonderful day when my eyes opened and I accepted the Lord. I know that God will lead me out of here and I will not disgrace myself. - Yuri

In prison I met a Christian who also was a drug addict. I wondered why he was always smiling and did not use foul language, so I asked him. He told me about Jesus Christ and his death and said that he can change me. I started to attend Christian meetings. In time I was baptized and now I live a wonderful life. I don’t want to return to my previous life, as my life today is Jesus. This strengthens me and gives me confidence. I am thankful to the Lord for my wonderful salvation. - Anatoliy

Bible-a-Month today is sharing the vision that every person might know the Scriptures in his or her heart language. Thank you for working alongside us to share God’s Word not only in Canada but in many countries, where just like Ukraine, people like Yuri and Anatoliy can find hope in The Word. For Life.

SHARING THE MESSAGE OF HOPE IN PALESTINE

Your Bible-A-Month support is reaching children and young people who are living with political and civil unrest in Palestine. Partnering with churches and other organizations, the Palestinian Bible Society offers a Bible-based program at summer camps, conferences and other special events. This program helps the children deal with their emotions and gives them hope.

The main goal is to share a message of love – to encourage these young people to laugh and forget what is going on around them and simply experience their childhood. The program first started in 2000 and since then has reached more than 20,000 children!

It is your kind generosity and faithfulness that make programs like this possible. God bless you for helping to bring joy to so many by sharing God’s Word.

Finding New Hope In God

Some people live entirely without hope. Not just temporarily because something bad has happened, but every moment of every day, for their entire life – knowing that nothing will ever change. This is life within a caste system.

Every morning, bleary eyed Ram struggled to sit up and look around. For as long as he could remember, he had been getting up and going to work. But no matter how much he worked, there was never enough.

It was already getting hot when he got to the fields. He took his sack and began digging for potatoes. By noon, the temperature was hitting 110 degrees. He bent down, grabbing as many potatoes as he could in one handful and putting them in the sack. He had done this movement many times. This was his role in life — he deserved it. At least that's what the higher caste people said about his life.

One day, Ram was walking with Avani, his five-year-old daughter. A higher caste woman and her little girl walked by. The other girl looked at Avani and shyly said, "Hello." Ram heard the woman say, "Don't talk to her, she's dirty. She's a Sudra." He looked at his beautiful little girl. Did she deserve this? The only thing he did know is that he was weary of being discouraged and of living without hope.

Then one day things changed for Ram. At the end of the long, hot day, as he walked towards home, he heard a new sound. It was a voice coming from the church ahead. He looked at the church, but kept walking. The next Sunday, he heard it again. Then one day, as he walked past, tired and hungry, dusty and sweaty, he heard the voice saying, "He has brought down the mighty from their thrones and exalted those of humble estate; he has filled the hungry with good things..."

He had never heard words like these before! He went inside to listen. The voice was coming from a black box at the front of the church. It said Proclaimer on it. He sat down and listened. When it got to the place where Jesus stood up in the synagogue to read, Ram could almost see Jesus standing in front of the church and reading, "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he has sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed."

He couldn't believe these words, words that finally gave him real hope! Ram stood up and asked, "How can I have eternal life?"

The pastor explained the salvation message and Ram prayed along with the others to receive Jesus. Ram says that when he did this, "Heavenly peace descended on me and I felt all my burdens roll away."

For the first time in many years he felt great joy and peace as he walked home. It was like nothing he had ever experienced before, or anything he could explain with words. His family quickly noticed the change in him. He explains, "I gave up my bad habits and stopped fighting with others, and peace in my family was restored. Slowly my problems began to disappear and my faith in the Lord Jesus grew stronger day by day." Since then, Ram’s family have all come to know Jesus. Despite the harsh realities of the world they still live in, they now know there is another reality in God, and that their hope is found in Him.

MEXICO: Sharing God's love WITH orphans

Elizabeth Castelazo, is the Director of Casa Hogar Nazareth Orphanage, in Odres Nuevos, Mexico. She tells us about their work among 120 orphans and abandoned children and she appreciates her relationship with the Bible Society of Mexico.

“We are trying to serve the Lord by helping these children who have lived in conflict and abuse. They have been abandoned and we have alleviated their suffering by providing food, clothes, medicines, shelter and Christian education.

We not only provide shelter for these orphans, but every day we pray for them and give them books from the Bible Society – teaching them about God’s love. The children are very excited to know the story of Jesus and many have received Him. In school, we are trying to teach them but we do not have enough materials on hand for all of them to receive what they need.”

Please pray that the needs of the staff and children at the orphanage will be met. Also pray for the Mexican Bible Society, that they will have the Scripture resources necessary to keep sharing God’s living Word with the people of Mexico.

VIETNAM: Catholic brothers and sisters in Vietnam love the Scriptures

Roman Catholics in Vietnam have recently discovered and fallen in love with Scripture,” says Father Nguyen Ngoc Tinh, a Franciscan biblical scholar based in Ho Chi Minh City. “Protestant Christians have had a Bible in Vietnamese since 1926, and it has become a big part of their life and thinking, but Catholics have only had a Bible for the last 10 years.”

“Christians suffered much, both during and after the war, but we learned to call to the Lord and seek help and comfort in his Word,” says Bishop Michel Hoang Duc Oanh, who is based in the city of Kontum.

The bishop recalled one terrible Sunday morning, before the fall of Saigon in 1975, when a Catholic church just outside Kontum was bombed. More than 500 worshippers were celebrating mass and everyone was killed.

Although it was a relief when the war ended, Christians in Vietnam faced yet more suffering. The Church was banned and for many years, religious activities of any kind were illegal and those found breaking the law were punished severely.

Fr Tinh remembers how Pope John Paul II’s words inspired Vietnamese Christians in their darkest times. “When Cardinal Karol Wojtyla became Pope John Paul II, one of the first things he said was, ‘Do not be afraid’, echoing the words of our Lord Jesus Christ. This really resonated with Vietnamese Christians who were being persecuted.”

“Not only did the Church survive persecution but it experienced significant growth,” says Fr Tinh. “We grew from 60,000 members in 1975 to more than 250,000 today.”

Today, as the Church enjoys more freedom, its main focus is mission and evangelism, with particular emphasis on Vietnam’s minority groups, according to Bishop Oanh, “The Bible brings us the knowledge of God, Christ and his salvation, so how can people know God if there is no Bible?” he says. “Vietnamese-speaking people are privileged to have a Bible in their own language, but our minority brothers are still waiting for the Bible in their mother tongue.”

Two New Testament translation projects are under way in the languages of Koho and Jarai, with another Bible Translation in the language of Rade.

Bible- a- Month is bringing the hope of God’s Word to the people of Vietnam. Please pray for those still waiting to receive the Word of God in the language of their heart.