l LEBANON — The inauguration of the new Bible House in Beirut will take place on May 15. The Bible Society in Lebanon had to relocate following the destruction of its original premises during the 16-year civil war. (Please see World Report May 1992, 261/10.) The new Bible House will enable the Society to expand and cope better with the increasing volume of work not only in Lebanon but also in the neighbouring countries of Syria and Iraq. General Secretary Lucien Accad said: “We are confident that enough of the new building will be finished, ready for us to move in by May. The building project has been halted several times due to lack of funds, but we hope to be operational from the new Bible House soon.” He thanked all those who had contributed towards the new building. (WR 340/IB1 - 4/5.99)

l NEW ZEALAND — When Sarah Dench, who works in the offices of the Bible Society of New Zealand, read a newspaper article about rock singer Marilyn Manson’s recent concert here, she saw an opportunity to promote the Bible. Prior to his coming to New Zealand, some Christian leaders had protested and asked the authorities to refuse him permission to enter the country. However, he was allowed in, and as a gesture of defiance against these protests, Manson tore up a Bible during his concert and threw the pages out to the audience. Sarah remembered reading how just one page of the Bible can significantly touch a person’s life, and she wrote to the newspaper pointing out a positive side to this incident that most people had overlooked. New Zealand’s largest evening newspaper, the Evening Post, published her letter: “I was pleased to learn that ‘shock’ rocker Marilyn Manson has now joined the Bible distribution cause. Handing out pages from a torn-up Bible during his Big Day Out concert was a wonderful gesture. He might be surprised at the positive impact reading even a single page of the Bible can have on a person’s life. So, go girl!”
(WR 340/IB2 - 4/5.99)

l KENYA — An extensive teacher-training program is being set up by the Bible Society of Kenya (BSK) and the Ministry of Education. The new seven-vowel orthography has to be taught to the teachers. Throughout April some 3,375 teachers will attend workshops to be held in every educational division, and 5,000 wall charts have been prepared for the training sessions. The BSK sees this as an opportunity to distribute half a million New Reader Portions in Kimeru and in English. The Kimeru Portions will help to prepare people for the new Bible translation. The BSK is hoping to distribute these Portions by the end of May. With a strong recommendation from the Ministry of Education that these Portions are suitable for use in primary schools, it should be possible to extend such distribution to other areas of the country.
(WR 340/IB3 - 4/5.99)