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Bible Workers Respond |
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Please note: Electronic text files of UBS World and Special Reports, as well as other news items from the Communications Services Department, are available via e-mail. For further information, please send an e-mail message to: < biblenws@ubswsc.org.uk > with the words ‘menu’ or ‘index’ in the subject line. This will send you by return e-mail a list of files and their respective ‘keywords’ for you to place in the subject line of a second e-mail message requesting your chosen file.
For those with Internet access, please visit the UBS website at: www.biblesociety.org
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And both the Bible Society of Puerto Rico and the Bible Society of the Dominican Republic suffered losses caused by the storm.
For the Bible Society of Puerto Rico, September began with a determination to raise awareness of the Bible’s power to change lives and combat social ills.
“There is no shortage of Bibles on the island,” explained Dr Wilfredo Estrada-Adorno, General Secretary of the Bible Society of Puerto Rico. It is estimated that there are about 3.6 million Bibles in Puerto Rico – about one per person. And an additional 150,000 Bibles are distributed in the country every year.
But Bibles on shelves or in translations that people don’t read are not very effective, he indicated, so the Month of the Bible was designed to encourage people to read God’s Word, not simply possess it.
At the start of the Bible Month emphasis, Dr Estrada-Adorno prophetically spoke of the Bible’s role in helping people deal with crises.
“In a time of crisis like the people of Puerto Rico are living in, the Bible embodies the return to ethical and moral values, which is the message we want to bring this month and forever,” he said. By the end of the month, he was not only sharing the Bible’s ethical power, but the hope its words bring to those in desperate need.
In a telephone call to the UBS World Service Center after the hurricane had passed, Dr Estrada-Adorno reported that an estimated 10,000 people on the island were made refugees. In response, the Bible Society was planning to distribute Scriptures in refugee shelters, as well as taking God’s Word to two of Puerto Rico’s offshore islands.
Dr Estrada-Adorno also reported that the Bible Society building in Bayamon had water and electrical power soon after the storm had passed, though some of the Scriptures stored in the warehouse were damaged by water. He added that experiencing the hurricane itself was a gruelling ordeal.
As Georges worked its way across the Caribbean, winds of up to 110 mph (176 km) stripped plantations and tore down houses, street lamps, telegraph poles and trees. It cut power supplies and communication links, and heavy rains, which caused widespread flooding, followed the winds.
The death toll topped 300, with the Dominican Republic being one of the worst-hit islands. Dominican President Leonel Fernandez, addressing his nation via radio and television, urged people to “pray and ask the Almighty to help the destiny of our people.”
In San Christobal, 20 miles (33 kms) east of Santo Domingo, the Nizao River overflowed and knocked down part of a school being used as a temporary shelter. At least five people died and dozens were unaccounted for in that disaster.
The Rev Ramon Cornielle, General Secretary of the Dominican Bible Society, reported widespread damage in the wake of the storm. “There is no electricity in most of the country,” he explained. “Most of the population lacks drinkable water, and more than 80 percent of agricultural crops were destroyed. This means hunger will follow, as will disease from polluted water. There are many shelters full of people, but lacking everything, and there is neither the mechanical nor human capacity to clean the Santo Domingo area.”
The Bible House in Santo Domingo suffered damage to four awnings, its sign, and some air conditioning equipment. Mr Cornielle was unsure when electricity or drinking water would be restored to the office. In addition, he said, 93 boxes containing more than 2,200 Bibles were soaked by water that leaked into the warehouse.
As with Puerto Rico, the disaster hit the Dominican Republic in the midst of a Bible Month celebration. “We had to suspend the main fundraising activities,” he said, which will have further financial implications for the Bible Society. Nevertheless, Mr Cornielle said the Bible Society was pressing on with an emergency distribution of Scriptures. “Government authorities and other international organisations will try to take care of food, clothing, medicines, etc., for storm victims,” he noted. “But our mission is to provide these people with the Word of God.”
Beginning with 500,000 ‘comfort and evangelism’ Selections, and 20,000 Portions emphasising God’s promises and strength in suffering, the distribution effort also includes 3,000 New Testaments.
The Rev Fergus Macdonald, UBS General Secretary, indicated that the UBS would use emergency funds from its Rapid Response Reserve to supply the US$13,103 needed for the Dominican distribution.
On Puerto Rico, Dr Estrada-Adorno said that while more than 25,000 people no longer had housing or shelter, there was only provision for 443 people in special emergency houses. “A disaster on this scale is hard to plan for,” Dr Estrada-Adorno noted. “The whole island has been devastated and people are trying to recover from the shock.”
And so as the ‘Month of the Bible’ came to an end with people’s shock
turning to despair, the Bible Societies of the Puerto Rico and the Dominican
Republic were there, sharing God’s Word of hope to help them rebuild their
future. (WR335/1 - 11.98) [PHOTOS]
“Although our house seemed solid enough the windows shook and threatened to shatter,” Dr Estrada-Adorno remembered. “We stayed well away from the windows. We had no electricity and had stored some water knowing that would be cut off too. We used an independent gas stove for cooking, and listened to the battery-powered radio to get news of what had happened. Sometimes the broadcasts would cease as a station went off the air, and so we would re-tune our radio.
The next morning, Dr Estrada-Adorno made his way downtown to check on
the Bible House. “I had a great deal of difficulty in reaching Bible House
due to the debris on the roads,” he said. “When I got there I found that
the heavy rains had got in and damaged the ceiling, part of which had collapsed.
There was also some flooding from the water. We have done our best to clear
things up, and although the building does not seem to have been damaged
structurally, water damage is extensive and some of the Scripture stocks
have been destroyed.” (WR335/2 - 11.98)
The
young inmates particularly enjoy the Bible Society’s easy-to-read
Good News translation.
“This is one of the most rewarding things we do,” Dr Estrada-Adorno said during one such visit. “It is so amazing that the government is working with us so well. They literally open the doors for us. Our saying is: ‘The prisons punish, the Bible rehabilitates.’”
One day, while passing Bibles through prison bars, Dr Estrada -Adorno met a young man who told him that a couple of years before he had played basketball with Dr Estrada-Adorno’s son. Visibly moved, the Bible Society leader prayed with the youth, their hands touching through the bars.
On another floor, Dr Estrada-Adorno met an inmate who told him he had been a member of a church that Dr Estrada-Adorno had once pastored. Still another asked Dr Estrada-Adorno to pray with him: not for his own needs, but for his mother who had cancer.
It was an emotional visit. The young men were eager for the Bibles and for a sign that someone cared. On that day, they received both.
Pedro Marcano is just one of the many examples Dr Estrada-Adorno has met in the Bible Society’s outreach to prisoners. He is young and he is back in prison again. But this time, Pedro says that things are different – he has Jesus Christ with him, and he is studying the Bible.
“I came from a broken home,” Pedro told a prison Bible study group, “but my mother had values in her heart. My friends had helped me warp my mind, and I caused her many sleepless nights. My mother warned me that I would end up in prison,” and she was right.
Pedro was released from his first stint in prison in 1993. The penal authorities thought this example had worked and were not expecting to see Pedro again.
“On the surface I was rehabilitated,” he said, “but then I would go back to the same old places. My brother didn’t want to go, but he went with me, and we ended up committing more crimes. In prison we only had each other,” he said, “and it was a blessing in disguise.” Two years after his first release, Pedro decided it was time for a change, and he and his brother started on a Christian rehabilitation program.
“We didn’t believe in God at the time,” he admitted, “but when they started talking about the promises of God, that got my attention. We stayed in the program, and I started studying the Bible. My life and the life of my brother changed.
“But even then, when I got out, there were still areas where God needed to work in my life.” This time, he said, he was in prison for a technical violation. “I forgot to sign a pass, so I am back in here,” he noted. “But this time the Lord came with me. If the enemy thinks I will go back to my old ways, he has another ‘think’ coming. This time, I am here as a believer with the power of God’s Word in my heart.”
“We receive letters from some of the prisoners,” Dr Estrada-Adorno noted, reading one aloud. “I am here at the prison,” the inmate wrote. “This morning I was deeply depressed. But I read the Bible you gave me, and now I have the courage to go on.”
“This kind of letter lets us know we are touching lives,” Dr Estrada-Adorno
said. “Then they will add, ‘I have a friend here who doesn’t have a Bible,’
and the outreach continues.” (WR335/3 - 11.98) [PHOTOS]
With the easy-to-read Dios Habla Hoy (Spanish Good News) text, the covers of these books feature two local television cartoon characters, ‘Burbujita’ and ‘Bolillo’. The use of the ‘secular’ characters was the brainchild of the Bible Society’s Ricardo Robles.
“Any time he has an idea, it works,” declared Dr Estrada-Adorno. “But at first some people did not like the idea, because the characters were not ‘Christian’. Even the shops at first did not want them.” But Dr Estrada-Adorno told the critics, “I am in the business of distributing Bibles. These characters teach good values. We want to use them.
“Now ‘Burbujita’ and ‘Bolillo’ Bibles are well accepted, and the book stores ask for them. So in a way, we have been able to ‘convert’ these two characters,” he said.
The smiles on the faces of children receiving the special Bibles were ample evidence that the decision was a good one. The Bibles are also at the centre of an outreach project called, ‘Rostros de Esperanza’ (Faces of Hope). It is a program to encourage children to read the Bible.
“Some people say the Bible is boring,” said Dr Estrada-Adorno. “But
we encourage them to ‘Read and Enjoy!’” He added that the children’s ministry
invariably brings adults to the Scriptures too. I have had so many experiences
of placing a Bible in the hand of a child, and they immediately go to their
parent and say, ‘Will you read this to me?’ That’s how we reach both children
and their parents,” he explained. (WR335/4 - 11.98) [PHOTOS]
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“In spite of the rain which, in human terms, is a cause to dampen the spirit, there was warmth and enthusiasm in the air,” said Dr Medarlo Rivera, Philippine Bible Society (PBS) General Secretary. The launch of the diglot Bible was spearheaded by the PBS and the United Methodist Church (UMC) Baguio Episcopal Area, to mark the Centennial of Methodism in the Philippines.
“At the centre of all our celebrations is the Word of God!” said Dr Daniel Arichea, PBS President and Chairman of the Board of Directors, who is also the Bishop of the UMC Baguio Episcopal Area. The Bible Society and the UMC chose the Revised Ilokanos Popular Version and Today’s English Version translations for their emphasis on the meaning, rather than the format, of the Scriptures.
For the first release of this commemorative edition of the diglot Bible,
the PBS printed 10,000 copies. At the launch itself, 2,000 copies were
available for sale at a special price. The excited Ilokanos bought boxes
of the new Bibles, despite the heavy rain and the long journeys ahead of
them. Some were disappointed that they had not brought enough money to
buy as many copies as they could carry. Others, who had travelled far to
attend the celebration, regretted not having vehicles to transport the
heavy cargo. (WR335/5 - 11.98) [PHOTOS]
People wait for relief in flood shelters, and then have to evacuate them as the water keeps on rising. “The situation is extremely bad,” said the Rev James Halder, Bible Society Executive Secretary in a fax dated September 7, 1998. “There is no food, no fuel to cook with, and no roads for aid trucks to reach the worst-affected areas. Some of our city staff have had to abandon their homes, and thousands of people in the villages where our literacy programs were taking place have also been affected. And today’s radio brings news that these floods may last for another three weeks.”
Subsequently, it was reported that the floods were threatening the capital, Dhaka, and troops and civilians were struggling to stave off the rising tide. Two-thirds of the nation is under water, forcing people to move onto the rooftops or to leave their homes in search of higher ground.
More than 1,000 people have died in this season’s floods, but millions
are homeless, and disease and malnutrition are also taking their toll.
In the light of this situation, the Fellowship is called upon to pray for
the volunteers and staff of the Bangladesh Bible Society, remembering the
programs which will be affected by the floods, and asking God to have mercy
on the people of Bangladesh. (WR335/6 - 11.98) [PHOTOS]
News
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... Supplied by Keith Bricknell, Program Consultant |
Mr Bricknell first flew into Oksapmin on June 30, 1962, in a tiny yellow
MAF Cessna 180. It was the first missionary venture into the mountainous
area today known as the Sandaun Province. During the years that followed,
missionary activity developed in the area, and included the building of
a station and an airstrip. But there are still no roads from the outside
world.
As well as caring for the sick and establishing clinics, the missionaries made a start on literacy work. They also opened a Bible school, which became the basis of training Oksapmins in evangelism and in the nurture of new Christians.
The Bible featured highly in this work from the very beginning. Bible stories were told, and literacy was developed to enable people to read in Tok Pisin, which is now one of the country’s three national languages. In the late 1960s, the Bible Society produced the four Gospels in this language, followed by the New Testament. Some years later, the Summer Institute of Linguistics (SIL) sent Marshall & Helen Lawrence from Canada to the Sandaun Province, and they began translation work in one of the Oksapmin dialects, completing a New Testament in the 1980s.
In the early days, frequent use was made of the biblical storybook ‘Ol Stori bilong Baibel’ in Tok Pisin, produced by the Lutheran Church’s Kristen Press. This book was used for its Old Testament stories until the Bible Society produced the complete Bible in Tok Pisin.
On September 16, 1975, Papua New Guinea became an independent nation, responsible for its own internal and external affairs. In 1972, Mr Bricknell joined the staff of the Bible Society in Australia. Seven years later, he paid a brief visit to Oksapmin during the 1979 celebration of Independence Day.
There are some 2,000 children in about 11 nationally-staffed and accredited primary schools. One young man, Arobin, who had been a pupil in the first primary school class, told Mr Bricknell with great pride that he was a Christian. He was also the headmaster of a local primary school. In one generation, the people here have progressed from the Stone Age to being educated up to tertiary level and entering professional careers.
The population has almost trebled, and it is estimated that more than 50% of the people are baptised church members. There are now 37 Baptist Churches, three Adventist Churches and one Independent Church in the area.
Retired SIL translator Marshall Lawrence had returned to the area for six months to revisit the people. During that period he translated the Books of Ruth & Jonah into one of the Oksapmin dialects, and then spent three days working through the books with some of the local people. Following this, one woman went back to her home and gathered 70 friends together and spent three days teaching them from the Book of Ruth!
The word ‘Oksapmin’ means, literally, the people who live ‘far off’,
or ‘a long way away’. The Bible verse: “But now, in union with Jesus
Christ, you who used to be far away have been brought near by the blood
of Christ,” (Ephesians 2:13) is an apt description of the Oksapmin
people today. (WR335/7 - 11.98) [PHOTOS]
Mrs Mou Bazo, wife of a former Bible Society employee, shares her husband’s enthusiasm for Scripture distribution. Day after day she returns to the market with topped-up supplies of Bibles and New Testaments in English and indigenous languages. There she sets up her bookstall in her allocated space alongside the other marketeers.
On the day he was visited by some Bible Society representatives it had
been raining, so David had moved his display table under a shop awning
for protection from the elements. People would stop and talk, and many
bought Scriptures. Both Mou and David undertake this work voluntarily,
but they are paid a commission on the sales they make. The Bible Society
finds this an effective way of making God’s Word available to a wide audience.
(WR335/8 - 11.98) [PHOTOS]
PORT
MORESBY, Papua New Guinea — Stanley Maena was formerly a police officer
in the Royal Papua New Guinea Constabulary, but he left the force to go
and work on a rubber plantation near his home in Sogeri village, close
to Port Moresby.
Sadly, the plantation failed, leaving Stanley to face an uncertain future. With no other means of income, he became very depressed and turned to alcohol. This addiction had disastrous consequences: on November 2, 1993, Stanley was taken to Port Moresby hospital for treatment, where he was diagnosed as being irreversibly blind.
During his time in hospital, Stanley was visited by a worker from the St John’s School for the Visually Handicapped, who advised him to enrol at the school in order to increase his mobility. Stanley also received a visit from Pastor Fokkema of the Reformed Church, who encouraged him to learn Braille so that he could read the Bible.
Bilums come in all sizes and are used to carry all manner of things, from books to babies. People use them in their day-to-day work in the village garden: some are large enough to carry 66 pounds (30kgs) of sweet potatoes; students use them to carry their school books; and politicians have been known to wear them when travelling abroad: one Papua New Guinean delegate to the United Nations used to carry his bilum as a symbol of national identity!
Bibles in Papua New Guinea are usually produced with plastic or plasticised board covers, which make them durable enough to survive alongside other belongings in a bilum.
In an era when there is much talk about Christianity being contextualised,
it is interesting to note that two significant items in the life and culture
of Papua New Guinea have been brought together: the Bible and the bilum!
(WR335/10 - 11.98)
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In worship and in personal study, it is “as if Jesus is there talking to me,” said one woman, echoing the thoughts of those around her.
These are some of the experiences of the translation project co-ordinator Dr Thomas Marmor, the SIL Administrator for Language Programs, who has witnessed at first hand the great enthusiasm for the New Testament:
“As we prepared to hear from their pastor, I noticed that he had a Kabiye New Testament on the table and wondered if he would read from it or just carry it,” Dr Marmor recalled.
Many congregations in the Kabiye area are illiterate, but this church is actively doing something about it by holding a literacy class as part of their activities.
“As people told me, they want to read God’s Word for themselves,” Dr Marmor said. “Three people did buy New Testaments that day. But what thrilled us most of all was the sight of a well-worn New Testament in the hands of a village pastor. His appeal to us after the service was: ‘When will we have the whole Bible? We need it badly!’”
“The pastor announced the passage and a young man stood up with a Kabiye New Testament in his hands. He began to read, and what happened next sent a shiver down my spine. Each time he stumbled in reading, or made a mistake, a chorus of helping voices and correct readings came from the congregation.
“I knew then that many in the congregation were actually following the text as it was being read, and more than that, they were effectively reading their New Testaments.
“Just over a year ago this would not have been possible, because there
were no Scriptures yet available in Kabiye and not many people could read
the language. Praise God for what he is doing among the Kabiye!” (WR335/11
- 11.98)
“Due to insecurity and lack of transport, people rarely leave their homes, especially in the evenings. That is why we felt it important to organise this year’s Bible Week activities on a more localised basis,” he added.
So the capital, Lomé, was divided into 12 zones, where Bible-based events ranging from quizzes to concerts took place from July 25 to August 2.
The Bible Society set up stalls in various parts of the city, drawing crowds of people and distributing large amounts of Scriptures. By the end of the week, staff were delighted to report that their goals had been achieved: people’s awareness of the Society’s work had been increased; many Scriptures had been distributed; and funds had been raised for future programs.
Under the theme: ‘The Holy Spirit moves freely’, one of the main aims
of Bible Week 1998 was to remind Christians that they are guided by the
same Holy Spirit, and to encourage unity between the churches. (WR335/12
- 11.98)
Bible Society representatives met with representatives from the Rwandan Protestant Committee and various churches, including the Seventh-day Adventists, the Catholics, Episcopalians, Pentecostals and Presbyterians, to work out the program for the Week of Prayer.
The Bible Society had set up a stand displaying a variety of Scriptures. This attracted a large number of visitors who were keen to purchase copies of the Christian Unity Portion.
The Minister for Family and Social Affairs, who is also responsible for Religious Affairs, was there to represent the Rwandan government. She implored the audience to set aside their ethnic, religious and other differences, in order to build a new Rwanda based on economic prosperity and social peace.
It was agreed that future events of this kind would be organised at
least once a year. (WR335/13 - 11.98) [PHOTOS]
Bible Society representatives attended the celebrations held at the Amahoro stadium in Kigali, where they distributed a large number of New Testaments.
The other opportunity came a few days later, on July 10 and 11. A new phase began in the life of the Rwandan army when Christian soldiers got together for an evangelistic workshop.
The Bible Society’s involvement in this venture resulted in several soldiers being recruited to take on the responsibility of distributing the camouflage New Testaments among their colleagues.
Delighted with the success of this exchange, the Bible Society looks
forward to the continued impact of the New Testament on the lives of those
who are prepared to die for their country. (WR335/14 - 11.98)
He started his car and drove forward, overturning and smashing the table on which the projector was running. That brought the film to an abrupt end, and by now the audience was angry too! People began to pull the soldier from his car, intending to beat him. But the Jesus film team leader intervened, saying: “We Christians are not ones to beat others because they do not share our beliefs!”
The next day, the soldier went to the team leader to apologise for his
behaviour. The leader spoke to him about the same Jesus portrayed in the
film and, as they talked together, God changed the soldier’s heart. He
expressed his desire to trust in Jesus, and today he is a professing Christian.
(WR335/15 - 11.98)
ANTANA
NARIVO, Madagascar — After eight years of hard work and hope, a new
Braille press was inaugurated on June 14, 1998 at the Fanilosoa School
for the Blind in Antsirabe. The previous press broke down irreparably in
1990.
In 1996, UBS Braille Coordinator Ingrid Felber-Bishof came to Madagascar and visited the Bible Society and the schools for the blind. There were three goals to this visit: firstly, to explore the possibility of producing Braille publications with modern printing technology, secondly, to find out more about the work of the schools for blind people, and thirdly to establish the quantity of Braille Scriptures needed in Madagascar.
It was eventually decided that a new, modern printing press would be set up in Antsirabe. This would produce the required Braille publications directly onto paper, thanks to a computer-linked printer. So, after an eight-year break in production, the new press was opened.
Among the guests at the ceremony were Mr and Mrs Baumann from Proson Sonneheerdt, as well as representatives of the Norwegian Missionary Society, the Malagasy Lutheran Church and the Malagasy Bible Society.
Rev Rakotomalala of the Malagasy Lutheran Church based his sermon on John 15:1-5. “Our God is a God of action,” he said, “and we Christians are the branches of God’s vine here on earth. We must therefore work hard to produce good fruit.”
Marc Rakoto, General Secretary of the Malagasy Bible Society, emphasised: “An important task has been accomplished: the press is up and running and we can produce Braille Scriptures again.”
As Mrs Felber-Bishof emphasised: “If we really want to meet the needs
of our visually-impaired audience, then we need to work closely together.”
(WR335/16 - 11.98) [PHOTOS]
This occurred when the rebel factions succeeded in reaching Kinshasa despite the intervention of troops from Zimbabwe and Angola.
But the rebels then advanced on Kinshasa and there were running battles in the capital in which some civilians were also killed. “We thank God that none of our staff members were hurt,” said Mr Nlandu.
And when they arrived in their new home of Mwene-Ditu, they found that the major occupation was farming. “I had no training or experience in agriculture,” said Mr Ntambwe, “I used to work in an office.
“I was beginning to worry about the future, when one of Jesus’ questions came to mind: ‘Can any of you live a bit longer by worrying about it?’” (Matthew 6:27).
“I was working for a national mining company when the conflict broke out in 1993. Like many Kasaien families, we were forced to leave our home in Katanga, taking with us only our clothes and a few personal effects.
“But that is in the past. Now we are settled here and I have a job. Once a month I go down to the Mbuji-Mayi depot to collect my supply of Bibles and New Testaments in Tshiluba and French, as well as Bible Comics for the youngsters.
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John recently returned to Azerbaijan to ascertain the needs of the churches for Scriptures. Meeting with Asif and Goulshan Gousseinov, he was also updated on the development of Kitab Shirketi, the book company which supplies Scriptures to Azeri Christians.
BAKU, Azerbaijan — [OPEN LARGE QUOTES] “It is nearly two years since I was last in Baku, in October 1996. I had expected to see some changes, and did so.
I saw three brand-new mosques under construction as Asif and I drove into town, the first right by the airport runway. And there were at least twice as many new petrol stations, and seemingly three times as many new supermarkets, restaurants and cafés, refurbished boutiques and shops.
Baku certainly looks both a lot busier, particularly in the evenings – no more curfew – and a lot more prosperous. Shops, restaurants and pavement cafés are full of people spending money and enjoying the dry, hot summer weather. Although there is a growing inequality between the rich and the very poor, living standards for people in general are rising. “Azerbaijan will soon be a second Kuwait,” people say.
I attended two Sunday services. The Russian service in the Baptist church began at 10.00 a.m. and went on for the usual two hours. I brought a greeting, and when I asked how many of them owned a Bible, nearly every hand shot up. The church was not quite full, it being August and extremely hot.
In the afternoon I went over to the Kirche, as everybody calls it – an old Lutheran church, still used by the Lutherans in the morning, by Greater Grace Church in the afternoon and by the Apostolic Pentecostal church in the evening (not to mention the Adventists on Saturday) – for the 14.00 service, which was followed by a wedding.
It was great fun, not least because the ceremony had not been rehearsed in advance and readjustments were constantly necessary to ensure that everybody was standing in the right place. The couple made extensive public pledges to each other. Teymur told Maarifa that she was the most beautiful girl in the world, and Maarifa told Teymur that she loved him. Tumultuous cheering each time. It was emphatically clear from their vows that the man is very definitely head of the household in Azerbaijani society.
In the absence of a Bible Society in Azerbaijan, Kitab maintains good and close relations with the churches. There are regular gatherings (six-monthly) of all the church leaders and some key lay people, and these are held in the Kitab office where people receive reports on progress in translation and distribution.
The Portions of Ruth and Jonah in the new Azeri translation are ready for printing in Baku, and the Institute for Bible Translation (IBT) has completed a prior production run in Moscow. Also waiting for production are Genesis, I and II Samuel and I and II Kings.
Errors have been found in the Azeri version of the Jesus film – subtitle
errors and one major mistranslation whereby Christ asks the Father to forgive
him his sins. Attempts are being made to have these errors corrected.”
[CLOSE LARGE QUOTES] (WR335/19 - 11.98)
Although she spoke both languages from childhood, she went to a Russian school and for this reason was called a “Christian” by Azeri friends. But she was not a Christian; at 16 she believed that she hated Jesus and she was afraid of the cross.
But I realised that I was a sinner, and I was afraid that I would never get to paradise. I tried to obey all the laws but it was impossible. I had no contact with Christian believers at the time, but I began to ask God to show me the way.
Then at the age of 17 I enrolled in the Institute of Foreign Languages in Baku, and here I met Emil, a young Christian man. There was something different about him, something strange.
I was getting fed up with my life and was looking for something without knowing what it was; I was even ready to consider Hare Krishna. Everything was too difficult for me; my soul could not find a place for itself.
On March 9th 1997 I was baptised and I am now a full member of the Baptist church in Baku. Now nothing can separate me from Jesus. My life before had no meaning, and now it has meaning. My aim is to follow Jesus and to love him. He has changed my character. Before, I was proud; I wanted to love people but I couldn’t. Now he helps me to love them.
Emil and my pastor have helped me to understand the Bible. One of my favourite chapters is 1 Corinthians 13. I cannot imagine life without the Bible. I try to read it every day, because I know that with God every day is new, and that every day he works not only through me but also through other people to change them.
My father lives and works in Russia and does not yet know that I am a Christian. I saw him last just one month ago. I am praying for him; I want him to see Jesus in my love for him and not only in my words. My mother is still not happy that I am a believer. However, one of my sisters has now repented and accepted Jesus, and I am trusting God to bring all my family to himself.
I advise everybody all over the world to read the Bible and to invite
God into their lives.” [CLOSE LARGE QUOTES] (WR335/20 - 11.98)
[OPEN LARGE QUOTES] “I am 18 years old and became a believer when I was 15. I will never forget my second birthday on June 15th, 1995.
As a child I had loved God and prayed to him. But as I grew older I became more and more unhappy. I was finding it difficult to live with the sins I saw everywhere. Maybe, I thought to myself, there is love somewhere, there is happiness and good things, but I don’t know where they are. Nowhere could I see the love I was looking for: not even in my family and my friends in school.
I continued to pray regularly to God from the age of 5 until I was 14. I tried to find God. I was ready to do anything for him but somehow I could not find him, no matter where I looked. In school I learnt that God sees everything that we do. I tried to be good, knowing that God could see me and would punish me.
I came to the point where I asked God with sarcasm: “Why did you create me? I don’t want to live the kind of life I am living. Please kill me.” And for one year I tried various ways to kill myself. I knew that God would not come and kill me himself with pistols – I was just 13 years old. I drank a cocktail of medicines one night hoping to wake up in another world, but I did not die.
I began to wonder if God could be found in church. We had Russian friends who were believers, and one evening in their apartment we watched an animated film about the life of Jesus called Superbook. The film showed how Jesus called children to himself, how he raised a 12-year-old girl to life, and how he cured a sick woman of an illness from which she had suffered for many years.
But in May 1995 a person whom I had known for three years and who had become a close friend of the family said to my aunt: “Let us go somewhere where you will find peace.” Without knowing what to expect I went with my father, my mother and my aunt to a Baptist church.
Nevertheless I loved the atmosphere in that place, and I did not want to leave.
That is how I began to attend Bible classes in the church with my mother, and I learned a few verses from the Azeri New Testament. This was the first time I had encountered the Bible and I found it rather difficult to begin with. I also started to study the Bible in Russian.
Earlier, when I had wanted to kill myself, I was prevented from doing so because I was afraid of the effects it would have on my father. But I felt that I had nothing really to live for. Then, gradually, the Gospel became my home. When I began to read it, I felt as though I were eating something.
To be honest, I do not now read the Bible every day, as I often come home very tired from work. But if I have a question God always answers me through the Bible, and I underline the verses that speak to me.
It is amazing that the Bible has existed for such a long, long time, but today God speaks to everyone through it – to academics, to scientists, to workers, to children. My own brother says that if you want God to speak to you, you must read the Bible. I agree with him. The only way to the truth is through Jesus.”[CLOSE LARGE QUOTES] (WR335/21 - 11.98)
He was speaking about the suggestion that the new translation of the Bible into modern Lithuanian would be published and finally made available by the end of 1998.
And there is a need. Recently an article appeared in the national press pointing out that the translation had been completed and that now more than ever, the people of Lithuania needed the Bible. What was the hold-up?
There have been several problems: first, what was originally planned to be one Bible, has turned out to be two. Old Testament translator Fr Rubšys had prepared a text with extensive Roman Catholic notes in the USA. A trial edition was published a few years ago in four paperback volumes, and the Catholic Church is now preparing to publish this Old Testament together with the Kavaliauskas New Testament as one Bible, and this will also include an extensive commentary.
There has also been a problem as regards the copyright – Fr Rubšys makes no claim concerning his translation – and for three years the uncertainty has persisted.
On their side, the non-Catholic churches decided to sponsor a Bible Society edition of the same Old Testament – New Testament combination, but without the Catholic commentary.
An interconfessional review team in Vilnius was set up, and then the problems arose. It was decided to make extensive changes to the text of the trial edition of the Old Testament, including modification to the Lithuanian renderings of Hebrew proper names, in keeping with the decree of the State Language Commission.
“Basically this means modifying all the older terms and names which are no longer in use, and finding equivalents in Lithuanian for certain terms, where before we had only used one,” said Dr Mikalajunas. “For example: ‘sanctuary’ and ‘temple’ are two words in the Hebrew, but in Lithuanian we had been using one word for both of these.”
[OPEN LARGE QUOTES] “Until now the Bible has not been very well known in Lithuania. In the Roman Catholic Church we have only been using an old translation which is not very satisfactory. The knowledge of the Word of God has been very limited. There has been no Bible study material available in Lithuanian, and indeed in the Roman Catholic church there was little awareness of Biblical studies.
My first encounter with the Bible came from the words of Christ in the
New Testament. I gradually gained knowledge of the Bible through the liturgy
and during retreats. Looking back, I see how the Bible enriched my life
as a seminarian. And now I see that here in Lithuania there are a lot of
young people with a big appetite for the Bible. Also, there are a number
of small groups meeting to study the Bible and to present it in dramatic
form.” [CLOSE LARGE QUOTES]
Today there are many false prophets; the newspapers are full of them. There is a need to promote the Bible in the churches in a very serious way. In our church we are doing a lot of Scripture distribution. This summer we distributed 5,000 free New Testaments and a lot of leaflets and other materials. We learned a lesson from this, because we could see that people were keeping the New Testaments but were throwing away the other material.
The Bible is my life – it is my ministry. I am really jealous of my students who have to do nothing else but study the Bible for two whole years! I come from a Christian family, but of course we had very limited access to the Bible in my early days. My grandmother had the only Bible, and it was used by three families.
So, in 1971, I was the only young person I was aware of who had a Bible; in those days people were writing out the Bible by hand in order to get a copy. My pastor said to me: “You have a Bible so you must preach,” and so at 16 years of age I started to preach.
Here Nellie came to know Christ and joined the church, where she is now one of the most active members. As she came to the end of her testimony a woman in the congregation stood up: “My name is Yadviga,” she said, “I was the one who put the little book into your purse.”
We need more Bible stories retold for children in Lithuanian. I would like to see a Lithuanian version of the large-size Children’s Bible in Russian which was printed by the Bible Society in Moscow.
The Bible needs to reach the people; clergy, ministers, pastors know
the Bible, but the people do not. We are very grateful when we receive
help from the Bible Society; they make sure that we get the Scriptures
we need at low prices.” [CLOSE LARGE QUOTES]
“That has been my experience,” said Hildegard. “Until I had a Bible I did not know what to do; how can we believe in God if we haven’t got his Word?”
[OPEN LARGE QUOTES] “ My parents were believers, in fact my father was a Lutheran pastor, but I myself did not believe. I wanted to believe, and prayed to God to give me faith, but nothing happened.
Then one day somebody gave me a Lithuanian New Testament. I began to read it but I could not understand it. Though perhaps I should rather say that it is one thing to understand, but another thing to believe.
I kept reading, and started to read books about the Bible. For example
I read Professor Rubšys’ How to Understand the Old Testament. I
began to attend Bible studies. But by now all this information was a muddle
in my head. I had no peace, neither day nor night.
One night I woke up, and opening the New Testament, I began to read
I Corinthians chapter 15. [Here she opened her well-thumbed New Testament,
the pages of which were beginning to fall out.] And it seemed as though
those lines were written just for me. But it was not until two years later,
on September 25th 1997, that I finally came to Christ.
What a difference it has made to be a Christian. Now I feel joy; I read the Bible and it speaks to me directly. Earlier when I read it, it did not touch my heart, but now each line has its own significance. And I find answers to problems in the Bible.
Once I lent some money to one of my daughters and she did not pay it
back. At first I was unhappy about this but then I asked myself, “Do I
need this money?” and I opened the New Testament at random and it fell
open at Matthew 25: 29, “Everyone who has something will be given more,
and they will have more than enough.” Soon after this I got the money back
from quite a different unexpected source.”
In
1993 the ship Anastasia put into port in Klaipeda and someone on
the ship gave Janete a New Testament. Previously she had never heard about
God or the Bible.
[OPEN LARGE QUOTES] “ My parents were not believers; in fact they were atheists. I was a Pioneer as a child, and we were taught that there is no God. God was never mentioned at home.
Then I met an acquaintance who had joined the Jehovah’s Witnesses. He began to explain the New Testament to me according to their doctrine but I felt something was wrong.
My mother had also begun to be interested, and said to me, “Let us go to a church to be baptised.” But I was not ready for that. Then I met a boy, who later became my boyfriend, and he invited me to the Baptist church. In this church I also began to study the Old Testament, and the Holy Spirit led me deeper and deeper into the Bible.
Now my boyfriend is my husband and I am ready to be baptised and to join the church. I have a sister in Russia but she is not a believer. Every time I write to her I tell her to read the Bible.
We are praying and longing for the new interconfessional Bible. There is a big shortage at the moment.” [CLOSE LARGE QUOTES]
However, I was fascinated by it. At school sometimes I did not eat at break time because I wanted to read the Bible. I was fascinated by the fact that old people knew the Bible by heart and quoted it all the time; they had a word from the Bible for every situation. How could that be?
I had difficulty becoming a Christian. I saw people praying, and then not living by the Bible. But then one older Christian man, Hildegard’s father, had a great influence on me. I could see that he lived by his faith. And what he said to me I believed.
Then a miracle happened. I wanted to find a more modern translation
of the Bible in Lithuanian and had heard that one had been published in
the USA. But how could I get hold of one? Then one day I saw a book lying
on an open window-sill of our house. It was a copy of the New Testament
in this new translation. “Blessed are those who are humble in spirit,”
it read, which gives quite a different meeting. What relief and joy filled
my heart!” [CLOSE LARGE QUOTES] (WR335/23 - 11.98) [PHOTOS]
Brother Louis, as he is now known, had led a rebellious life. The line between good and bad, truth and lies, had disappeared, and alcohol, drugs and crime were the ‘norm’. “For twenty-five years I lived the way people expected me to live,” he said, “until one day I got sick of my own debauchery and became increasingly depressed.”
That was three years ago. Brother Louis went on reading the New Testament, eager to learn more about Jesus. “When I read that Jesus called his followers ‘friends’, I knew that he would help me face the future. Also, now that I, too, was a friend of Jesus, I realised that he wanted me to tell others about his love.”
So Brother Louis and some fellow Christians started up a group called ‘Jesus’ Friends’, who go around telling people about God’s gift of salvation through Jesus Christ. They also distribute Scriptures and show videos of biblical films.
‘Jesus’ Friends’ have their own ‘upper room’, where they meet to pray and read the Bible. “Things inÊour lives that we would never have thought of confessing to anybody are being dealt with by God through his Holy Spirit. And he keeps on healing us,” said Brother Louis. His eyes were full of joy and serenity as he thanked his audience for listening.
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