Selections Goal for All-Africa Soccer Tournament (Burkina Faso)

Clothes and Scriptures Reach Villages (Togo)

Mangoes for Scriptures (Togo)

Pledge for the Third Millennium (Togo)

A Golden Key to Literacy (Nigeria)

Arrival of “the Dove” (D R Congo)

Message for the Military (D R Congo)

OUAGADOUGOU, Burkina Faso — To coincide with the Africa Nations Cup soccer tournament held here from February 7-28 this year, and to take advantage of the international crowds that would gather for this occasion, the Bible Society in Burkina Faso (BSBF) prepared and distributed 218,500 Selections. The Selections, which came in a variety of formats, encouraged people to turn away from an earthly treasure that fades and to seek for the treasure that is eternal through Jesus Christ.

The BSBF originally planned to distribute 300,000 Selections but had to make do with 73% of the target partly due to insufficient funds and problems in having the Selections printed.

Almost five million Central African Francs (the equivalent of US $7,925) was raised to cover the cost of production, and teams of distributors were provided by all the church denominations, by Youth With A Mission and Campus Crusade for Christ, and were also drawn from the university Christian union.

As well as the main stadiums in the capital, Ouagadougou, and in Bobo-Dioulasso where the matches took place, the distribution teams also targeted supermarkets, drugstores, petrol stations, hotels, bus termini and other transport depots, the university campus, secondary schools, and the main market.

“Most of the people we approached responded positively to being presented with the Gospel in this way, and this so encouraged our volunteers that they are all keen to take part in the next distribution program,” said Maxime Bakiono, General Secretary of the BSBF.

“There was also a real spirit of cooperation among the volunteers, and this was a witness to the unity of Christ’s body, the church, as it seeks to fulfil his command.

“Six other people wanted to become Christians following their reading of the Selection and turned up at an Assemblies of God church the following Sunday,” Mr Bakiono said.

“And many people have been writing in to the Bible Society telling of meaningful changes happening in their lives as they are influenced by the Scriptures, and all the letters ask for the complete Bible,” he added.

One letter said: “Please pray for me: I want to follow Jesus Christ but my heart is often hardened with doubt which overpowers me. Your Selection was a great help to me. Please can you send me some New Testaments so that I can share my faith with others?”

Another said: “I was given one of your Selections at the Stadium August 4th, and after I read it I began to stop doing things that I had been doing. I am speaking to you with my whole heart: I need some more of these Selections, a Bible even, so that I might better understand the Scriptures.”

An evaluation of the distribution program was held and several recommendations were put forward. It was suggested that enough time be given to fundraising and then to printing well before the intended event during which the distribution would take place.

It was also suggested that the links forged between the BSBF, the churches and Christian organisations should be consolidated and developed, especially in the fields of prayer and fundraising, so that more opportunities could be seized for getting God’s Word into the hands of the people of Burkina Faso.

The BSBF agreed to work with the churches to set up an editorial and distribution committee specifically to look into and plan future Selection distribution programs. (WR 322/9 - 7.98) [PHOTOS]

LOMÉ, Togo — “The Bible Society in Togo (BST) has been through two years of deep crisis which have affected distribution figures and personnel management. Through prayer and with new determination to face the challenges before us we are hoping to meet the new millennium with renewed vision and confidence.

Bearing in mind that our aim is to provide the Bible for everyone in appropriate formats and at a price they can afford, we are looking beyond the print media to the possibilities offered us through information technology. How can we best communicate the message of the Bible using these new means at our disposal, and through audio-video media to which so many are now turning?

Source of hope

We have divided our goal into three parts: first, to reach those who are Christians with the purpose of guiding, strengthening, encouraging, bringing comfort and edification, as they seek to follow Christ. Second, for those who do not know Jesus Christ as their Saviour, that they may encounter him as the source of eternal life, hope and life achievement. Third, that everyone may experience the joy of fulfilling God’s plan for their life.

To achieve these goals and to have the Scripture tools at our disposal we must improve our fundraising and make it an essential part of our ministry. We are following the guidelines of the UBS Mississauga Document in motivating every church, Christian organisation and interested individual to participate in Bible work. We are even planning to approach non-Christian agencies who would be interested in the Bible from a literacy, language or spiritual aid perspective.

We want to motivate people and organisations to feel a part of our work of Bible translation and distribution. We want to bring about the feeling among churches that the Bible Society is an integral part of their life and can even bridge divisions as churches come together over God’s Word.

Out of funds

We are in the process of building a new Bible House, and thank God for what we have been able to achieve, but we have now run out of funds to finish the project. We are currently trying to find the funding to complete the building so that we can move into our new premises. This will be a great motivation as we face the year 2000.

We will be able to get support from the churches and local organisations, but this will come over a much longer period of time. What we need now is immediate support that we can pay back as our fundraising efforts come to fruition. As the churches help us to find the funds for this new building, I believe they will come to realise how much the Bible Society belongs to them, and is an extension of their ministry.

But for the churches, their future is in the hands of our young people. Everywhere, not merely in Togo, or in Africa, but right across the world, young people are searching for the truth, looking deep within themselves, searching for answers to life’s problems.

It is our duty as the Bible Society to carry out research among our young people (more than 60% of the Togolese population) and provide them with the answers from the Bible. How can we guide and educate this section of the population from which the leaders of the Third Millennium will be drawn? This should be our major concern.

A further step is to work alongside the churches to reach our rural and disadvantaged people with God’s Word. We must act fast to offer them the truth before the modern cults can claim them and lead them into falsehood. We see the impact of the growth of these cults in Togo, and know that only a saturation of the Scriptures can counter the spread of false doctrine.

Audio Portions

We are currently distributing some 50 different Scripture audio cassettes which contain Portions of the Bible. The languages available are French, Éwé, Kabiyé, Moba and Bassar, and some of these are prepared in conjunction with other national Bible Societies. Some of them are music cassettes that contain Scriptures in song.”

The Faith Comes By Hearing program is active in three major cities: Lomé, Kpalimé and Atakpamé, and cassettes are being prepared in some of the northern languages to launch the program there. This is particularly important for the many rural people, who are mostly illiterate, and also for those who are visually impaired.

Samah Essosolim, the BST specialist in audio and alternative media, who is also the UBS Audio Scriptures Representative for Francophone Africa, reports on a new program for children.

“Entitled ‘Children and the Bible’, this program is based on a series of cassette tapes presenting Scripture texts and stories in a dramatised format,” he writes. “The cassettes are given to schools and come with a manual showing how the program operates, and giving the teachers guidelines and questions for discussion with every listening session. The transcript of the recorded message is also included, and there is follow-up work which can be set for the class to do.

“In a further step to improve the range and quality of locally-produced Scriptures, a committee has been set up by the BST to prepare Scriptures in a variety of formats from their conceptual stage through to their production, and even to plan for their targeted distribution.

“The committee is made up of people who work in news, publishing and radio broadcasting, actors and other professional communicators. There are also translation specialists in the group, which should have the expertise necessary to push forward the development of new Scriptures which will reach all sections of the population in Togo.”

Out of 42 local languages in Togo, only Éwé-speakers and Kabiyé-speakers have access to a complete Bible. The Old Testament in Bassar is under preparation, as is the New Testament in Moba Loke. A new translation of the Mina New Testament is nearing completion. (WR 332/12 - 7.98) [PHOTOS]

LAGOS, Nigeria — In November last year, Dr Mae-Alice Reggy, UBS New Reader Program Consultant, conducted a New Reader Promotion Workshop here which was attended by some 30 church representatives. Dr Reggy sees the UBS New Reader Portions, graded in two series and leading to the standard of the Good News Bible, if used correctly as a golden key to literacy.

Mrs Esther Enih, Youth Officer of the Bible Society of Nigeria, followed up the workshop by visiting each participant in the early months of this year. Here are some of the results:

The Four Square Gospel Church in Festac Town, Lagos has decided to put the New Reader Portions (NRPs) into their syllabus starting from September this year. Mrs Oluyemisi Akinwalire, who is a pastor at the Four Square Gospel Church and headmistress of the Four Square Primary School at Festac Town, writes:

Gratitude
 
“May I use this medium to express my gratitude to you for coming over to Nigeria to instruct us on the use of the Bible Society New Reader Portions. We appreciate you and thank God for the wisdom God has endowed you with. It is our earnest prayer that God will continue to enrich your life and ministry spiritually so that you will continue to be a blessing to the church worldwide.

“By the grace of God, I gave a report of the workshop to my senior pastor, and we are starting an Adult Literacy Program in our local church next month. We are also introducing the books to parents to purchase for their children. Moreover, it is going to be included on the list of books for our church school next session as supplementary readers. We are trusting God that many souls will come to know the Lord as we use these books in the church, in Bible clubs, in homes and in the adult literacy classes.”

The Women’s Wing of the Seventh-day Adventist Church (SDAC) is planning to start a literacy program in 1998. Mrs Enih hoped to meet the Women’s Ministry Coordinator, Mrs Ola, to discuss the use NRPs in such a program. Literacy and Evangelism International (LEI) is an organisation which has produced Bible-content primers in English and Nigerian languages including Ekajuk, Hausa, Uthobo and Yoruba. Churches starting literacy programs would benefit from the help LEI can provide in training teachers and showing them how to use the literacy primers.

The SDAC was starting Adventurer Clubs – a program to gather children aged 6 to 9 years in each geographical zone to learn the Word of God. Further meetings with the SDAC General Secretary and zonal teachers were being set up.

Bible Clubs

At the Bishop Adelakun Howells Memorial Anglican Church in Surulere, some of the teachers have been using NRPs in their Sunday Schools and Bible Clubs. Attempts are being made to find ways to encourage distribution of the Portions to the children themselves and to Christian families, so that not only the teachers have access to the NRPs. Mothering Sunday has been set aside in their church calendar as an appropriate occasion for the promotion and distribution of NRPs.

The Presbyterian Church – Yaba (Lagos) arranged meetings with its member parents to encourage them to purchase NRPs for their children and to collect money for teachers’ copies.

Further workshops on the value and use of NRPs are being planned to include primary school heads, church education secretaries, adult literacy coordinators, non-governmental agencies, Sunday-Sabbath School leaders, priests, pastors, evangelists, catechists, parents, and all who express an interest.

The vicar of the African Cathedral Church, Salem, (Ebute) wants to use the NRPs with the church’s Christian education program; they had no guided scheme of work, and he also wanted the parents to purchase NRPs for their children.

Another church planning to start adult literacy classes was All Saints’ Church – Ikosi Ketu, near Lagos-Ibadan Express. This church also planned to use NRPs for the literacy program. Mrs Reggy says: “Since the desire to read the Bible remains one of the major motivations for adult literacy in Africa, churches play a key role in promoting literacy education. But it is important to get the literacy teachers trained by an organisation like LEI, familiar with the skills needed.

“We have been asked by the Africa Regional Executive Committee of the UBS to revitalize the New Reader Program, and to this end, emphasis will be placed on the following strategies over the next few years:”

• Evaluation of existing New Reader programs and researching the need for NRPs in respective countries.
• Education of Bible Society boards, national staff and key church leaders and workers about the concept, audience, distribution and uses of the NRPs.
• Seeking government approval of NRPs. Recognising churches, government agencies and local NGOs that are involved in literacy education and developing networks with them.
• Encouraging churches and missions to undertake the preparation of Bible-content primers in appropriate local languages in cooperation with the Summer Institute of Linguistics or LEI.
• Translating and publishing appropriate NRPs in local languages with the appropriate format, text, illustration, layout, and whatever else is needed.
• The development of new formats (e.g. Braille, audio) to meet an obvious local need.
• Determining the need for additional staffing and specialised training.
• Budgeting for NRPs, which has to be planned a year in advance.
• Developing partnerships with donor organizations willing to support New Reader projects.

Mrs Reggy believes that the way to increase the distribution of NRPs is to teach key people how to get the best out of the Portions. Once church leaders are motivated, their congregations will be encouraged to buy their own copies. (WR 332/13 - 7.98)
 

“I have just read to you the story of David dancing before the Lord because great joy filled his heart. The Ark of the Covenant had been returned to Israel and he was so happy that he danced. The Bible coming to the Tongas is like the Ark of God coming. It is for all Tonga speakers, and all Christian denominations. How happy we should be that God can now speak to us in our own language!”

“We are rich!”

“The Ark symbolised the presence of God. He blessed Abinadab, a very poor man who had become very rich while the Ark was at his place. And we are rich today my fellow Tongas – because we have God’s Word in our language. I am so thankful to be here to rejoice with you.”

The Roman Catholic church in Monze was packed with people who had come from all over the Tonga-speaking area and from many different denominations. Local government leaders were also present, along with church leaders.

“For 20 years we have laboured to produce this interconfessional translation of the Bible in Tonga, which is for all the churches,” said one of the translators, Mr Hachibamba, who was part of the team of scholars who worked together in close harmony.

First-ever

“The launch of this new Tonga Bible is a very important occasion in the history of Bible work in Zambia,” said Mr Mpandu Mutala, the General Secretary of the Bible Society of Zambia. “It is particularly important because it is the first ever interconfessional Bible to be published in a Zambian language.” Mr Mpandu encouraged all the churches to follow the Word of God closely.

Bishop Lungu said, “This is the first time in my life that I have attended the launch of a new Bible and I am overjoyed to be able to participate in this ceremony. This Bible is important to us all: it will correct our distorted views of God. I call upon every family to buy a copy, so that there will be one in every home.”

Beamed with delight

A concordance of the Interconfessional Tonga Bible was also made available, and many copies were sold. A copy of the new Bible and the concordance was given to Inspector Mulambo, a member of the Seventh-day Adventist Church, and the commander of the police in the Monze area. He beamed with delight when we showed him how to use the concordance. He said, “I am a preacher, so this will be a great help to me. Furthermore, now you will be able to tell people that even policemen read the Bible!”

At the beginning of the service, copies of the two editions of the Bible – the regular Bible for the Protestant churches containing the usual 66 books, and the interconfessional Bible with the Deuterocanon, used by the Roman Catholic Church – were wrapped in blue and silver paper and carried ceremoniously into the church. Later, these Bibles were unwrapped, and all the Christian leaders joined the President in dedicating the new Bible to the Tonga people.

But the highlight of the service was when the President repeated at the end of his speech: “As David sang and danced before the Lord, rejoicing at the return of the Ark of the Covenant, so we should be dancing for joy on receiving this new Bible in our language!”

In response to this, the local Roman Catholic priest stood up and said: “Indeed, we Tongas are a dancing people, so let us dance to the glory of God in thankfulness for our Bible!” Immediately the choir struck up a joyful song of praise and the people, accompanied by their national President, began to dance, rejoicing before the Lord for the coming of the Bible for all churches.

Two editions

The first Tonga Bible was published in 1962 and is greatly loved by the people, especially in the Gwemba area, and it will continue to be made available to those Christians who want it. The new Interconfessional Tonga Bible is available to the people in two editions: one of 66 books for the Protestant churches, and the other with the Deuterocanon published specially for the Roman Catholic Church.

“We are grateful to God that through his Word the churches are uniting across the barriers of denominations,” said President Chiluba. “We must read the Bible every day, and live out its message in our lives.”

A substantial collection was taken from the congregation assembled for the Bible launch, including many pledges. President Chiluba himself pledged a gift of 5 million Kwacha for the Bible Society and a further 5 million which will be given to the churches in the Tonga area so that they will be able to buy copies of the Bible for the poor people who are unable to afford it even at its subsidised price.
(WR 332/16 - 7.98) [PHOTOS]

LUSAKA, Zambia — Mrs Godfreda Sumaili is the customer services director of a major bank in Zambia. “I love my banking job,” she says, “but more importantly, I love the work which God called me to do when he showed me I should create an organisation called ‘Jesus Cares Ministry’ (JCM).

“There are many people who are lonely and suffering, and who need special help. Many of these are women who turn to prostitution to escape from poverty and end up contracting AIDS. There are non-government organisations such as Tasintha and KARA, which encourage these women to change their profession by teaching them alternative skills like sewing, cooking, or secretarial skills.

“Through JCM we offer moral support and spiritual guidance. We conduct a weekly Bible study where we guide the women through passages of Scripture that give them hope and tell them that God loves them unconditionally. Many have responded positively to this teaching and to the Gospel message, and some are already trying to help their friends find the Saviour.

“Home visiting is another important aspect of our work. Many former prostitutes with AIDS are discharged from hospital only to find that their families reject them, so we minister to their families as well.

Remember me?

“In cities like Lusaka there has been a terrible breakdown in family life. Only yesterday at a church service a woman came up to me and said: ‘Don’t you remember me? I am one of the women you found on the streets. You gave me a Bible and showed me the love of God. You also told me I should go to church. Well, I have been coming to this church for several weeks now.’ This woman has five children and had been spending her time on the streets trying to earn money to take care of them.

“We regard the Bible Society as our partner in this ministry. They have supplied us with many Bibles and those Bibles have touched many, many lives. I have seen women weep as we give them a Bible, and heard them say, ‘I have never held a Bible in my hands before’.

“There are other people who need our help too, such as widows who have been abandoned by their families, elderly people without support, drug addicts, and victims of sexual abuse. All these people need to hear the Bible’s message of hope. So I must emphasise our gratitude to the Bible Society for their support in making Scriptures available for us to distribute to the needy.”

Mr Mwila is a JCM staff member, who works at ‘Hope House’, a residential care centre established for people who are HIV-positive.

Death not to be feared

He said, “As one of the residents said to me one day, ‘When you are told you are HIV-positive you feel so feel depressed you want to die. There is so much confusion in your mind it’s hard to know which way to turn. But the people here at Hope House not only give us practical counselling, they teach us to read the Word of God, and show us that death is not something to be feared.”

Some former residents of Hope House formed their own group called CHEFS, which stands for Christian HIV Evil-Fighting Squad. The people in this group are trained for Bible-based evangelism. “We receive good solid Bible teaching and then we go out to visit HIV sufferers at the University Teaching Hospital. We go from bedside to bedside reading the Bible to them, and they appreciate our visits greatly.”

When they find a patient who can read, the CHEFS approach the Jesus Cares staff and ask for Bibles, which are supplied by the Bible Society. Mr Mwila said, “We have seen thousands of people commit their lives to Christ through our ministry. We also go out onto the street and contact the prostitutes. We find that many of them are seeking help, longing to be free from their present lifestyle; within themselves they are crying out to God.”

“We know this because we have spent a lot of time with these people. Recently we held a camp for about 100 prostitutes. After spending four days together studying the Bible, a large percentage of the women gave their hearts to the Lord and are now growing stronger in their faith as they continue to study the Scriptures.” (WR 332/19 - 7.98) [PHOTOS]

When she was expecting her third child, Charity discovered she was HIV-positive. When she told her husband he threw her out and sent her back to her family home. “I would sit alone, crying for hours, and asking myself why it had to be me in this terrible situation, rejected by my husband and expecting our third child. I felt as though I had been locked up in a prison, the prison of disease, and there was no way I could break out.

Help me

“Soon after this I decided to go back to Lusaka, where I came into contact with the Jesus Cares Ministry. And I can tell you that without these people I would have been lost. I knew that God loved me – I had read that in the Bible, and I believed that somehow he was going to help me. But I needed people to come alongside me with practical support.

“The people at the Jesus Cares Ministry gave me a Bible I could keep. But they didn’t just hand me the Bible and say ‘read it’, they carefully showed me the passages of Scripture that would help me the most. God’s Word spoke to me in my HIV prison and showed me that there was a way out.

Serve him

“Now that I have given my heart and life to the Lord, I want to serve him for the rest of my days, and am already experiencing the wonderful way in which he is taking care of me. I had been very distressed about the fact that my husband had rejected me and refused to pay any maintenance money to help me bring up the children, so I began to pray about the situation. Suddenly, he came to me one day and brought me the money I needed!

“I cannot thank God enough for the way he has spoken to me through his Word, and for the way the Jesus Cares Ministry people have guided me and helped me to follow the teachings of the Bible.” (WR 332/20 - 7.98) [PHOTOS]

“I came across the Jesus Cares Ministry on the streets of Lusaka. They gave me a Bible and introduced me to a church. I began to read the Bible attentively and regularly, and soon I decided to put my trust in God. Since then my life has changed dramatically: God brought me out of my darkness into his light, and now all I want to do is to help other people. Before I met Jesus and started reading the Bible, I believed that there was really nothing good that I could do, that my life was completely useless, but all that has changed now.

“When I heard that a woman with whom I used to work died suddenly on the streets, leaving behind two young children, God gave me the desire to go to this woman’s home and find her children. I discovered that the family were extremely poor and were not able to take care of the children, so I brought them back to live with me. These people are not my relations, I have no responsibility towards them, but it is one of the marks of the change that has taken place in my life that I wanted to look after these children and bring them up as if they were my own.

“As I reflect on the fact that so many of the women I worked with on the streets have now died, I cannot help but praise God for rescuing me from a life of darkness and bringing me into his wonderful light! Now I am determined to live my life for Him, and the counselling and training I am receiving from the Jesus Cares Ministry will equip me to help other people and tell them about God’s amazing love.” (WR 332/21 - 7.98) [PHOTOS]

LUSAKA, Zambia — “When my husband divorced me I was left with no income, and four children to take care of. There was no way I could get a decent job but I had to support my family somehow, so I began working as a prostitute on the streets of Lusaka. I did this for nearly six years.  In 1995 I began to realise that I needed God in my life. I had heard about Vivian Kotongo, who had left her life of prostitution and become a completely different person. So I went to see Vivian to ask her to help me. She introduced me to the Jesus Cares Ministry team, and on that very same day they showed me from the Bible that God loved me even though I was far away from him.  I had never read the Bible, but I knew it was the truth because it touched my heart so powerfully. I repented of my sin and asked God to forgive me, and from that instant I knew my life had changed. Over the past few years I have learned to depend on God. The Bible which was given to me has become a very precious possession and I read it constantly. It is amazing that whenever I face a problem or difficulty, I find reassurance in the Bible and it gives me the strength to carry on. One other thing that has changed in my life: I never had a good relationship with my children, who are now aged between 8 and 22 years. But since I have been reading the Bible I have realised my true responsibility and my attitude towards them has changed for the better.” (WR 332/22 - 7.98)

LUSAKA, Zambia — Joseph Mulenga was brought up in the Roman Catholic Church, and from a very young age wanted to become a priest. After passing through secondary school, he entered the seminary of the Dominican Fathers, but four years into the course he decided he was not a suitable candidate for the priesthood after all.

Joseph got married and now has four children. However, about two years ago he developed a severe cough which did not respond to treatment. His employer dismissed him, cancelling all his benefits and pension rights, leaving Joseph with no way of supporting his family. Some time later, a Christian worker contacted him and encouraged him to seek counselling.

“I suspected that I was suffering from AIDS, and was advised by my new Christian friends to be tested,” said Joseph. “When the test revealed that I was HIV-positive, I was devastated. How could I possibly tell my wife or my friends about this terrible news?”

However, Joseph’s counsellor was able to show him from the Bible that God loved him whatever his condition, and that if he was willing to obey God’s teaching he would know His comfort and help in every situation.

“It was not what my counsellor said that really helped me, but the fact that he continually pointed me to what the Bible said about my condition before God,” Joseph explained. “I gave my life to God and asked him to forgive my sins. Now I find that the Bible gives me strength every day. I was able to tell my wife that I am HIV-positive, and instead of rejecting me, she has encouraged me to continue living with her and our four children as a normal family.”

Joseph continued: “Although I have to face the probability of an early death and consider the implications of that for my family, I find strength and hope through reading the Bible, and God has given me such a tremendous sense of peace that I am no longer afraid of the future.”

Joseph enrolled as a student in the House of Hope, a Christian counselling centre for people who are HIV-positive. He said: “I have dedicated myself to serving God, and completed my counselling course at the House of Hope. Now I am able to counsel other AIDS sufferers, and that includes teaching them the Word of God.” (WR 332/23 - 7.98)

LUSAKA, Zambia — Every Friday, an audio Bible study is held for Jesus Cares Ministry (JCM) staff and volunteers. When Maurice Harvey attended one of these Faith Comes by Hearing (FCBH) meetings last year, there were 20 people packed into a tiny room. After a brief time of praise and worship, the tape recorder was switched on and the Bible lesson began. Everybody listened attentively, in complete silence and stillness, to the recording of chapters 13, 14 and 15 of John’s Gospel, following the passages in their Bibles.

Then there was a time of open discussion, when people commented on the subjects that had helped them in particular. Much of the discussion centred around the passages encouraging us to take our troubles to God. Among the group were former prostitutes and AIDS sufferers, who said that the comfort and reassurance they found in the Bible was of vital importance to them.

Mr Mwila Kabala of JCM gave his view of the FCBH program: “When I am reading the Bible, I often find it difficult to concentrate: my mind wanders and I find myself thinking about my family, or money, other concerns. But when I am listening to recorded Scriptures, my mind is fully focused on the passage and the words are more meaningful.

“For many of us here, listening comes more naturally than reading, and the FCBH tapes bring the Bible message alive so we can understand it better. Since we started this program, we have seen many people develop wonderfully in their faith. And no-one seems to mind being jam-packed together in a small room, or sitting on the floor!” (WR 332/24 - 7.98) [PHOTOS]

LUSAKA, Zambia — Irene Munkombwe is one of the many young people of the Tonga language group to have a new Bible in her language. “The new Bible is much easier to understand, especially for younger Tongas,” she said. She new translation is based on the dialect of the Monze area where Irene comes from, whereas the first Tonga Bible, published in 1963, was based on the Gwemba Valley dialect, which is not so widely used.
     Irene enjoys her job as receptionist at the Lusaka Bible House, where she has worked since 1982. “I believe the Bible is God’s reference guide for those who choose to follow him,” she said. “From the time I became a Christian, the Bible has always been the book I turn to for direction when I’m seeking God’s guidance in a particular situation. The Bible is my source of comfort and encouragement, and the more I read it, the more I learn to put my trust in God.” (WR 332/25 - 7.98) [PHOTOS]

LUSAKA, Zambia — The Bible House sales assistant watched with interest as a customer carefully examined all the English Bibles.

The customer, Mwabila James, had recently become a Christian and had a great yearning to study the Bible. As he browsed in the bookshop and saw the wide variety of Bible editions, his mind filled with ideas of encouraging other people to study the Bible in more depth.

Mwabila had been to another Christian bookshop, but found that the Bibles there were too expensive and was advised to go to the Bible House. “You certainly have some wonderful Bibles here,” he told the Bible House sales assistant. “Could you please advise me as to which one would be best for me? This beautiful NIV Study Bible, or this Good News Chain Reference Bible?”

“It depends on how serious you are about studying the Bible,” said the sales assistant. “Very serious indeed,” answered Mwabila. “I want to study it very very carefully.”

“Then take this Good News Chain Reference Bible. You will find comments and explanations at the foot of each page which will be interesting and helpful to you, and using the Chain Reference Bible will help you follow the teaching of the entire Bible on any given subject.”

“OK, wrap it up!” said Mwabila, taking out his money. And as he left Bible House he added: “I plan to come back to buy more Bible study books, so that I can teach others to delve more deeply into God’s Word.” (WR 332/26 - 7.98) [PHOTOS]

LUSAKA, Zambia — One of the striking features of Zambia’s education system is the teaching of the Bible to all school children. Even though the education system underwent a thorough revision in recent years which has improved the standards with the introduction of what is called a basic education in all primary schools, the teaching of the Bible has been retained. The government’s view is that it is important for all children to be taught the Bible during their early school years.

Primary school children receive two periods of Religious Education (R.E.) every week. For secondary students R.E. is one of the subjects available on the curriculum. Estimates show that about 100,000 secondary school students choose to continue their R.E. classes.

The headmaster of Olympia Basic School, Mr A S Mapani, was delighted when a Bible Society team visited his school to observe the religious education program. Situated in one of the suburbs of Lusaka, the school has 2,500 pupils in grades 1 to 9, and 61 teachers. The lower grades receive two R.E. lessons per week and the upper grades three R.E. lessons per week.

The English Good News Bible is the text studied in all the classes, but not all children have their own Bible – one Bible is shared between two or three children. According to the Bible Society General Secretary Mr Mpundu Mutala, many schools in Zambia face a similar situation, having a lack of Bibles for their R.E. classes. So even though 6,000 Bibles were made available last year at subsidised prices, the real need is much greater.

Mr Harvey was impressed to observe the way the children sat so quietly and listened so attentively to their teacher as she explained the healing ministry of Jesus. She encouraged the children to read for themselves several New Testament passages which described the healing power of Jesus Christ.

Zambia’s government considers the teaching of religious knowledge to be so important that a number of foreign missionaries teach the Bible in schools, as well as many local Christians who have also been trained in this work. (WR 332/27 - 7.98) [PHOTOS]

KAWAMA, Zambia — “Your coming here today is a milestone in the modern history of this school, because as you can see, we have practically no textbooks for the children,” said Mr D K Mawpe, the headmaster of Kawama Primary School. The school is situated close to the Luapula River which forms the boundary between Zambia and Congo.

“But today you have brought us the Bemba New Testament,” Mr Mawpe continued. “I have told the children to write their names inside this wonderful gift and make sure that no-one takes it away from them. I told them they must read it every day and follow its teaching carefully.”

Special occasion

“Visiting this school was a very special occasion for me,” said Mr Harvey. “I came to Kawama in 1961 to study the Bemba language, and was temporarily the manager of the Kawama school, which at that time had about 150 pupils. Today there are 500 pupils, and 16 teachers are responsible for ensuring that the children have regular Bible lessons as part of the official school curriculum.

“Seeing the way this school has grown and the extent to which God’s Word has been received by the people in this area was heart-warming for me. One of the main reasons for this development is not just the work of Christian evangelists, but the fact that so many of the children are taught the Word of God during their school days. The school buildings on the other hand were in a sad state of repair. The government was due to invest in a major renovation program, which was badly needed as the classroom of one of the 5th grades had no roof.

“For their Scripture lesson that day, the children could only sit and listen while the teacher read the Bible and explained the message. They had no spare paper on which to make notes of the lesson, so they repeated the main points of the lesson over and over, in order to grasp the essential elements of the story.”

During their time at the school, the Bible Society team gave each child in the classes they visited a copy of the modern Bemba New Testament with a durable plastic binding. The children could not contain their excitement on receiving the books, and were eager to read that day’s lesson from the Gospel of Matthew. Most of them were able to read the New Testament without difficulty, because, as the headmaster said, “The language in this edition is modern and easy for the children to understand – not like the old Bemba Bible, which only their fathers can understand”.

“We also presented a new Bible to each of the teachers, some in English and some in Bemba, to replace their own worn-out copies. They too were delighted. Sadly, we did not have enough New Testaments to give to all the pupils, so as we left the school we were besieged by children who begged us for their own copy." (WR 332/28 - 7.98) [PHOTOS]