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As you are aware, the Colombian cities of Armenia and Pereira were devastated by a powerful earthquake in late January.

The Distribution Coordinator for the Colombian Bible Society (CBS), Manuel Badillo, was on his way to the airport in Pereira when the quake hit.

“Buildings began to crack and fall apart,” he reported. “The earth was moving like a giant wave.”

When the scope of the disaster became known, some 800 people had been killed and about 4,000 people were hospitalised. Almost a quarter of a million people were made homeless in a few minutes. Many lost their jobs as their places of work were now only heaps of rubble.

And while the physical toll is terrible – and can be measured – the spiritual toll is more difficult to assess, and it is not easy to organise help for the heart. But that is what the CBS is setting out to do.

The government and relief agencies, of course, have their work cut out: it will take months before everyone can be re-housed. It could be much longer before some people manage to find a job again. It will be years before the demolished buildings can be rebuilt and this will cost millions of dollars.

But for the survivors, there is no replacement for loved ones that are gone. And there is only one source of comfort in the face of death and devastation – God’s Word.

That is why the Bible Society has taken up the challenge to bring the hope from God to those who are suffering such deep spiritual and emotional pain.

The key to this hope is a project to supply 1,555,000 Scriptures between now and the end of October. Included in the project are replacement Bibles for those whose own copies were lost in the quake, New Reader Portions for children, and a Portion on spiritual healing to address the emotional pain being felt throughout the region.

The CBS is raising almost half the cost of the Scriptures and will co-ordinate distribution using church volunteers.

They are asking the UBS fellowship to provide the remaining US $67,000 to help pay for the Scriptures. The UBS has already pledged $50,000 from its Rapid Response Fund to enable the CBS to move forward with the program.

The CBS General Secretary, Alfonso Corzo, said: “We can rely on the help of the government and overseas aid to solve the material needs, but for long-term problems, for spiritual searching and questioning, we need to make God’s Word available.

“With the help of the Bible Society fellowship, we hope to bring some light and encouragement to those who have been touched by this disaster.”

We are asking for your help to support the Bible Society in its efforts to comfort people with God’s Word. You can be a part of this relief program by making your contributions.

And no difference is being made: both Protestant and Roman Catholic Christians will benefit from the program.

The first $17,000 raised by this appeal will be added to the money already pledged by the Rapid Response Fund. What is received over and above this figure will go to replenish the fund for future emergencies.

If your Bible Society and its supporters can help, please e-mail your pledge to Simon Strachan, Senior Coordinator for Management Services, at the UBS World Service Center, at: strachan@ubswsc.org.uk.

Or you may fax it to him on +44 (0) 118-950-0857. All funds pledged will go towards producing the Scriptures that will help bring God’s hope for the future to victims of the earthquake in Colombia and their families.

On behalf of the CBS and those they are aiming to help, we thank you for your prayers and pledges to bring comfort to those who mourn.

WR 340/20 - 4/5.99) [PHOTOS]

NEW BRUNSWICK, Canada — Aaron Whynder is now 25 years old, and is heading for the full-time ministry via Atlantic Baptist University where he is currently studying. The following is his testimony to the power of God’s Spirit working through the Bible:

“I hardly know where to begin so I will tell you a bit about my past. I grew up in a single-parent home in Halifax with my four sisters. I had developed a lot of anger and distrust, and I started to hang around with the wrong sort of people... That is how I became involved in the illegal drug trade – using them and selling them.

I dropped out of school and started to get involved in other crimes. I carried a gun. To cut a long story short, one night my anger took control of me and I ended up shooting a man in an argument over drugs. I was only 17 years old, but I was most definitely out of control.

“The Lord started to show me what a difference I could make because of my past experiences. They would listen to me; they were interested in my story: I had been one of them.”

For some reason I narrowly missed being tried by an adult court. I know now that it was God’s grace that kept me in the youth court. I was sentenced to five years: three in custody and two on probation. And I believe from this moment God began to work on me.

When I first came to the Youth Centre I was on remand – it was not until a year later that I would be sentenced. In that year of remand God opened my eyes, made me start to think about things and realise the pain I had caused. I started asking myself how I would have felt if that man I had killed had been a member of my family. I realised how terrible that must be for his family.

I then began to assess my whole life and came to the conclusion that it was bad: so bad that I thought of ending it. I was not sure if there was a God, but I had been given a Bible provided by the Canadian Bible Society through a prison ministry group called ‘New Song’. I started to read it.

After being on remand for six months I prayed to God and asked him to forgive me. And to give me another chance. In return, I promised to dedicate my life to him. God went to work. I started to understand the Bible like never before. I felt different, I thought different, but most of all I began to understand that God loved me in a special way and that he had a plan for my life. I began meeting regularly with the chaplain at the Youth Centre, and in December 1992 I became a Christian.

Through all this time I was telling the other guys in the centre about what God was doing for me. I was surprised just how little they knew about him. I became more determined to turn them into Christians. After a year or two, being older than most of the young people who came to the centre, the Lord started to show me what a difference I could make because of my past experiences. They would listen to me; they were interested in my story: I had been one of them.

“God went to work. I started to understand the Bible like never before. I felt different, I thought different, but most of all I began to understand that God loved me in a special way and that he had a plan for my life.”

God did find a way, and the following February I received a letter offering me a place for the next intake. I could not believe it. God had done it. He had taken me from nowhere to somewhere. I was so full of joy and happiness that I thanked him over and over again, all day and all night. In fact, I am still thanking him now. When I told my Mom she cried. It made me feel really good to hear my mother crying for a good reason instead of a bad one.

I feel that God is with me more and more. I have been privileged to go to churches to speak, to give my testimony. And what I have experienced after these meetings has only convinced me more that God is leading me in the direction of the full-time ministry. Many teenagers see pastors and the clergy and will not listen to them because they do not think such people can really understand them. However, having been through many of the experiences that are troubling these youngsters, and in some cases worse, I can reach out to them in a unique way.

Even with older people I believe I can be of some help, demonstrating that no matter how far you fall, God will rescue you through Jesus Christ, pick you up and set you on your feet. He has worked so many miracles in my life, I am always grateful that he is still in the miracle business. And I thank him for the people who provided that Bible where I first learned about the Saviour.” (WR 340/21 - 4/5.99) [PHOTOS]

	‘As Colombia begins to bring physical relief to the victims of its devastating earthquake, the question is: who will care for their broken spirits . . . ?’
Photos: Scriptures being unloaded (right), ready for distribution to victims of the earthquake which caused widespread death and damage (inset above) The following appeal letter was sent out to all Bible Societies on March 2