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HERRENBERG, Germany — It was a hot day, and the sun was shining from a clear blue sky as 700 young people, arriving at different intervals throughout the day, flung themselves down, exhausted, beneath the shady trees at Alten Rain.
They had just participated in the fifth ‘Bike for Bibles’ event, cycling many kilometres from their different towns to help raise money to send Bibles and New Reader Portions to Christians in Sudan.
The event was organised by the Württemberg branch of the German Bible Society and a Christian youth organisation.
The effort was definitely worth it – by one o'clock $5,472 had already been raised by the cyclists who had arrived. By the end of the day, that figure had grown to almost $40,038.
The most prominent participant, Bishop Eberhardt Renz of the Württemberg Protestant Church, made a significant contribution with his efforts. He was sponsored by readers of the local church newspaper, and raised $2,194 for his 17-kilometre-long trip. He arrived on his bicycle at Alten Rain with the Mayor of Holzgerlingen, and with members of two youth groups.
Once all the cyclists had safely arrived, the celebrations began. The heat deterred many from taking part in organised activities such as rock-climbing, volleyball and soccer, but they were entertained by the Christian rock group, Ararat. Hot dogs, fresh off the grill, were served by the General Secretary of the German Bible Society, Dr Jan Buhner.
The Bishop was then invited onto the stage, where he was ‘interviewed’ by a group of confirmation students from Altdorf. Among other things, they asked him if he had broken any of the Ten Commandments. Entering into the spirit of things, he told them that he had probably fallen short of the eighth Commandment before, but that he had never tried stealing, or killed anyone.
On a more serious note, however, he emphasised the importance of events such as ‘Bike for Bibles’: “We are all responsible for our brothers and sisters elsewhere in the world who are suffering from hardship and deprivation,” he said.
At the end of the celebration, the day’s winners were announced. The group who had raised the most money were from Nurtingen – they had cycled 52km and had raised nearly $4,020. The best solo-biker was Daniel Keller from Filderstadt who cycled 166km, raising $2,577.
All the participants were thanked for their contribution, and a closing prayer was said by Hans Veit from Evangelisches Jugendwerk. (WR 344/31 - 10.99) [PHOTOS]
HARARE, Zimbabwe — The Bible Society of Zimbabwe (BSZ) recently ventured into the theatrical world to raise funds and to publicise its work.
Alice in Wonderland, organised by the BSZ fundraising committee, was performed to a full house at the popular Reps Theatre in early August, raising nearly $1,140 for the Bible Society.
A Scripture display at the entrance attracted many people, and sales were made. The 400-strong audience were treated to a buffet meal during the interval, provided by local churches and other BSZ supporters.
The BSZ General Secretary, Gaylord Kambarami, commented that apart from raising a substantial amount of money, the event cultivated a lot of goodwill for the work of the Bible Society.
One member of the audience in particular voiced her approval of the event: “The Bible Society should try to maintain its image to the public. The turnout at this show reveals the interest and high hopes the people have for the Word of God and the work of the Bible Society.”
Another recent event that BSZ took part in was the Zimbabwe International Book Fair, held in Harare from August 3 - 7. More than 3,200 people visited the Bible Society stand, which had a prime location at the entrance gate, and some 483 Bibles and Scriptures were sold.
Among the visitors to the stand was the Director of the National Museum, Professor George Kahari, who complimented BSZ on its translation of the Bible into Shona and Ndebele. “Your Shona and Ndebele Bibles are becoming the most reliable texts of the two languages,” he said. (WR 344/32 - 10.99)
LAUNCESTON, Tasmania — Hiking ‘The Inca Trail’, exploring a Peruvian rainforest, and glimpsing Macchu Pichu, the ‘lost city of the Incas’ – these were just a few of the adventures enjoyed by 150 people on August 7, all within the safety of a church building.
The adventures were part of a unique ‘virtual tour’ around Peru, organised by the Launceston Christian Fellowship’s (LCF) Global Impact Group, to raise money to support Bible work in Peru.
Billed as an “interactive, multi-media simulated travel experience”, the hour-and-a-quarter-long Peru Adventure Tour was a huge hit among the participants, raising more than double the amount of money expected.
More than $2,100 was taken through ticket sales, sales of displayed goods, and donations, all of which will be used to fund Bible projects in Peru.
The tour began with a ‘virtual flight’ to Peru. The travellers were each given a passport and some fake Peruvian money, and checked in at the airport, passing through Immigration and security. They then boarded the aircraft, designed by the leader of the LCF’s Global Impact Group, Mark Brown.
During the journey there were in-flight announcements, with all the appropriate sound effects, pre-recorded by a Melbourne-based Christian who makes professional recordings for airlines. Two flight attendants served refreshments, including a drink very similar to Peru’s most popular soft drink, Inca-Kola, while passengers watched an in-flight movie about Peru.
After landing, the travellers passed through Peruvian Customs and Immigration. Unfortunately, several of them were caught trying to smuggle drugs into Peru, and were ‘arrested’!
Next was the opportunity to take in the sights and sounds of a typical Peruvian market-place where a variety of local goods was on display. There was a mock shop to wander through, selling groceries and tinned foods.
The Bible Society in Peru and Christian Literature Crusade in Chile had sent the tour’s organisers tin wrappers and supermarket advertising signs in Spanish, which helped them to create an authentic-looking Peruvian shop.
Other shops to visit included a bookshop, where books on Peru and South America (loaned by the Launceston Public Library) were on display; a souvenir shop, a music shop featuring instruments unique to the Andes region; a clothes shop, a travel agency, and a Bible Society shop. Peruvian food, prepared from recipes provided by the Bible Society in Peru, was also served to the travellers.
Leaving the market-place the virtual travellers went to view three alpacas, which had been brought to the event by local alpaca farmers, Glen and Kellie Boyd. It was a real thrill for the participants, especially the children, to see these indigenous Peruvian animals for the first time.
The next activity was a trek through a Peruvian rainforest, created by a local teacher, Evelyn Hooper and her son, Tim. The assortment of plants and the coloured lights, in combination with the fog machine and sound effects, all combined to give the travellers a sense of being in a real rainforest.
No journey to Peru would be complete without a visit to the legendary Macchu Pichu, the ‘lost city of the Incas’, discovered by explorers earlier this century. After watching a video about the Inca Trail, the virtual travellers were given two options – they could either hike their way to Macchu Pichu, or go by bus.
Those who chose to go on foot set off into the bush, where they were ambushed by ‘terrorists’. Luckily, these were easily bribed with some of the fake Peruvian money.
The bus-riders experienced an authentic South American bus journey, with Spanish-speaking children on board, selling chocolate to the passengers. Each received a genuine bus ticket from Peru, which has Bible verses printed on the reverse side – 150,000 of these tickets are sold every day in Peru by a bus company in Lima.
The bus was covered in signs saying “Lea La Biblia”, which means “Read the Bible” – a campaign organised by the Bible Society in Peru.
The two groups then joined together for the final hike to catch their first glimpse of the lost city. This magical moment was created by an overhead projector which threw a giant-sized picture of the ancient city onto an outdoor screen.
A Peruvian church service was next on the agenda, and the travellers participated in a vibrant Latin American worship service, led by a group of twenty Spanish-speaking Christians from the Hobart Assembly of God congregation.
Sadly, the adventure came to an end, and the evening of virtual travel concluded with a concert, and a showing of two videos about Bible work in Peru, produced by the Bible Society in Australia. But the memory of their ‘visit’ to Peru will remain with the travellers for a long time.
One of the travellers, the pastor of Launceston Christian Fellowship church, Michael Vos, said : “I feel like I've been on my first missions trip!”
The main purpose of the adventure tour, however, was to help support Bible work in Peru – and this was more than adequately achieved.
State Director of the Tasmanian Bible Society, Alan Harris, was amazed at the amount of money raised.
“I am absolutely thrilled at this tremendous response which will provide hundreds of Bibles for the Bible Society to distribute in Peru,” he said.
“Peru is slowly coming out of the grip of poverty and terrorism, and the Bible has an important role to play in restoring hope to many people whose lives have been shattered,” he added.
One of the projects in Peru that will benefit from the proceeds of the adventure tour is the ‘Bread of Life’ project. This provides children in poor areas with a nutritious meal every weekday, and teaches them about the Bible through stories and songs.
The Peru Adventure Tour is just one of many fundraising initiatives undertaken by churches in Tasmania and Australia to support the Bible Society’s work in Peru. (WR 344/33 - 10.99)
HOBART, Tasmania — Bible work in Peru recently received a boost from a fundraising idea, inspired by the miracle of Jesus turning water into wine – a local soft drink manufacturer agreed to donate one of their drinks to help raise money to send Bibles to Peru.
The Hobart-based manufacturer, Crusade Beverages, was approached by Tasmanian State Director of the Bible Society, Alan Harris. He discovered Peru’s most popular soft drink, Inca-Kola, while on a trip to that country to make two videos about Bible Society work there.
On returning to Tasmania, he found that a local soft drink, Ice Cream Soda, tasted and looked like Inca-Kola, which gave him the idea of using the drink as part of a major fund-raising initiative, taking people on ‘virtual’ adventure tours of Peru.
Re-labelling the local drinks with Inca-Kola stickers, they were sold to the virtual travellers during the tours on August 7, making their experience of Peru even more authentic. Sales of the soft drink have already raised more than $100, which will be used to provide Bibles and Scripture material for children in Peru. (WR 344/34 - 10.99)