MAPUTO,
Mozambique — Heavy rains and cyclones hit this
country one after the other between February and early March, bringing misery
to more than a million people. |
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Mozambique:
When
the Water of Life Became the Waters of Death
Tragedy, Like the Flood, Spreads to All Corners
of Society
Victor Watched as the Floods Carried off his Whole
Community
No Bible for Teacher
Thousands of Bibles
Lost, Thousands More Needed
Christians Suffer
in the Wake of Imposed Religious Law (Nigeria)
Nigeria’s
President Commends Bible
Cyclones Savage Island of Long Bible Tradition
(Madagascar)
Bible Society of Uganda to Publish Special
Selection in Wake of Mass Killing
UBS Scriptures
Help Polio Children (Tanzania)
Hope in Despair for Ethiopians?
Gospel Compact Disc Makes History (South
Africa)
Prison Chief Welcomes Bibles (South Africa)
Selections for Zimbabwean Voters
Cyclone Victims 'Lack Spiritual Food' (Zimbabwe)
How Mozambicans in the flooded areas are
coping with the tragedy, and
how the Bible will play a key part in the recovery of their communities
MAPUTO,
Mozambique — Heavy rains and cyclones hit this
country one after the other between February and early March, bringing misery
to more than a million people.
The southern half of Mozambique was badly affected, with large areas covered in floodwaters for weeks. Some people were trapped by the rising waters that came upon settlements suddenly and often at night-time.
The floods destroyed roads and bridges, affected power lines and fresh water provision, drowned crops and livestock, and killed hundreds of men, women, and children.
Scores of villages and towns were left isolated from assistance other than by airlifted supplies, much of which is being provided through worldwide relief efforts.
Following widespread distribution of the Bible in many of the local languages throughout 1999, the response of the Bible Society to this disaster was to assess the need and bring hope and comfort to victims with whatever Scriptures were at hand.
After this initial distribution a more methodical distribution effort is taking place to provide people with the Scriptures they most need.
The longer-term aim is not only to replace lost Bibles, but also to give people passages from the Scriptures that will encourage them to rebuild after this tragedy.
Over five days, Judy Kendall, a freelance photojournalist, accompanied staff of the Bible Society in Mozambique (BSM) distributing Scriptures and visiting flood victims. The BSM was also affected, having had its Beira depot badly damaged by the storms, the entire Scripture stock being ruined in the process. Scriptures were also water-damaged at Bible House in Maputo. (WR 351/04 - 6.00) [PHOTOS]
MAPUTO,
Mozambique; March 2000 — Maputo’s bustling
metropolitan facade belies the overwhelming damage that the deluge of rain had
caused to its neighbouring countryside and towns.
It also seems to deny awareness of the ominous food shortages and threat of disease that the entire southern half of the country will be facing over the next few months.
Mozambique’s capital carries on its daily routine of business as usual but it too has suffered blows to its infrastructure. The powerful force of cyclone waters hit any weak spots in construction – some buildings are showing obvious signs of storm and flood damage. In Madagascar, the same storms had virtually wiped out two whole towns.
In the aftermath of the cyclones, what more is there for Maputo residents to do than to carry on with their daily routine, adjusting to every situation as they encounter it?
Homes and businesses had been flooded. Already people in hospital are showing the tell-tale symptoms of troubling conditions that follow such disasters in this part of the world.
Cases of cholera have been occurring with greater and greater frequency. The hospital resources and those caring for the sick are being stretched to breaking point.
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Mozambique is one of the poorest countries in the world. Only recently it was burdened with many years of war which deprived the country of healthy development.
In the early 1990s when the civil war finally ended, Mozambique dusted its knees and set off down a long road to recovery. Progress was remarkable, and in the eyes of the rest of the world Mozambique was an exemplary third-world country because of its reconstruction efforts. A few days of dramatic weather and with the contribution of the overflowing rivers, Mozambique was again reduced to its knees.
Visibly, the damage in Maputo is small compared to the impact of the floods in outlying areas but the damage to the social infrastructure and the cost of getting back to where things were before the deluge is beyond reckoning at present.
Maputo overlooks the sea but it sits far enough from any river mouth and is elevated high enough to stand protected from the worst of the flooding. North, along the coast, the elevation drops into lowland plains that are farming and pasture lands.
It is almost unthinkable that these were once lush green fields; all you see is a covering sea of water. Farmers have become net-fishermen trying to find something to eat now that everything they owned is under water.
The coastal road is the country’s main artery from the capital city of Maputo in the southernmost province of the same name to all nine other provinces of Mozambique’s 812,400 sq kms (313,669 sq miles). Wide stretches of this road which first reaches Macia – a few hundred kilometres from Maputo – have been washed away. Road crews toiling through the night were only just making this artery passable on March 11, more than two weeks after the damage.
The nearest large city, Xai Xai, a further 150kms (91 miles) from Macia, could remain cut off for days or weeks to come. It is located at the mouth of the River Limpopo and took the brunt of the flood damage. Every village affected by the water now depends fully on international flood relief services provided by non-government and government organisations for its survival.
Thousands of people were still flocking to centres established in towns that lie on higher ground to receive food, medical care, drinking water and survival kits consisting of blankets and cooking utensils that will serve a family of five.
In Macia, I discovered a passion for the Lord Jesus that I had never before experienced. A relief centre was set up there. The centre was comprised of an enormous empty hall with only about a dozen grain bags stacked at the far end.
One exhausted relief worker sat behind a small wooden desk feverishly registering by hand each member of a large crowd of villagers waiting anxiously for relief supplies.
Thousands of flood victims were being assisted at this centre. Most of them had laid out their few salvaged possessions on the scorching dirt grounds around the centre.
They were waiting for the floodwaters to recede so that they could return to their homes, but they feared they would find nothing left alive.
When the Bible Society began distributing bread to the lines that had formed, desperation struck. Some pushed their way to the front. Fights were on the verge of breaking out.
Suddenly one realises that these people are desperate for something good to eat. The old and the weak stood back, glum, accepting that they would lose out to the boisterous youngsters, but their faces had a kind of noble pain and weathered resignation that silently bore the fear of death with dignity.
Women with infants at their breasts were also resigned to watching with heavy eyes and the burden of another precious life to feed. Somehow they had to trust that God would pull them through.
Then Agostão Jose Zita, Promotion and Distribution Officer of the Bible Society in Mozambique, started distributing Scriptures from the Society’s vehicle. He stood on the back and handed down the Scriptures. Instantly, a mob of people engulfed the truck and a sea of arms reached out for the precious Word of God. Faces pleading for a Portuguese Bible, a Book of Psalms, a Portion called Living in Hope or just a bookmark.
“Tio, Tio!” they were shouting – “Uncle, Uncle!” – trying to catch Mr Zita’s attention. When one of them received a Scripture, their face would light up and they would blurt out hoots of joy.
Here now was something special that held the potential of hope and healing. I had never seen such hunger for the Bible, such desperation to have access to God’s Word. Nowhere on earth could a Bible have been more ardently received than here in this relief centre in flooded Mozambique.
Within a few chaotic minutes all 200 Bibles, 400 Portions of Psalms and 400 Living in Hope Portions were gone. Those who had been given something were beaming with delight; those who had nothing numbly walked away or held on, hoping someone would find some more miraculously. (WR 351/05 - 6.00) [PHOTOS]
MACIA, Mozambique; March 11, 2000 — After distributing food and Scriptures to flood victims at Macia’s relief centre – some 130kms (79 miles) north of Maputo – the Bible Society of Mozambique (BSM) encountered Victor Victorino. It was too late to give him a free Bible.
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He presented himself at the Bible vehicle after all the boxes had been torn apart and emptied by the Promotion and Distribution Officer, Agostão Jose Zita. The precious Scriptures had been given to the famished crowd who had been crying out for God’s Word.
Unlike the young and vigorous recipients quick to reach the truck, eagerly reaching up for the Scriptures, Mr Victorino, 52, felt too weak to shove his way to the front of this encircling mob and waited until the crowd had gone and all supplies had been exhausted before coming forward.
He pleaded his case so well in English that everyone started searching in every nook and cranny of the BSM vehicle to see if perhaps one Scripture had been overlooked. Finally, a very last Bible was found behind the car seats, tucked away among sundry other supplies.
Mr Victorino’s story was similar to many in that area. He was one of thousands living in Chokwe who had awoken at midnight on February 25 to the sound of someone beating at their door, warning them of the coming floods. Finding his bed already surrounded by the muddy waters of the River Limpopo, he climbed onto a table to stay dry.
The great river had not only burst its banks but had absorbed the whole of the fertile plain surrounding it in its flow, and still the water levels rose. After half an hour Mr Victorino knew he could not stay there. He was forced to flee to the relative safety of the roof where he soon became trapped.
He watched in horror as the floodwaters carried off household possessions, animals and livestock and, what was worse, people from his community. He knew them.
He saw family members dragged away in the flow. He was helpless as the river took away everything without roots, even vehicles.
This educated man had owned many books in English, French and Portuguese. He had an English Bible too. He was born and raised in a mission where his father was a teacher. His family regularly attended church and read from the Bible.
“Our lives were driven by the Bible,” Mr Victorino reminisces. He was 12 years old when he started attending a seminary because he had hopes of becoming a priest.
He studied hard for seven years. He remembers reading over and over about the end times, and he wondered if he would ever experience the things Christ talked about or that were detailed in the Book of Revelation.
Now he recalls the Book of Isaiah and believes that the prophecies about floods in that book are coming true. Before the Bible Society team had come, Mr Victorino had no Bible to refer to. He told us that perhaps most precious of all the possessions he lost was his family Bible.
Due to the anti-Christian feeling under the communist regime in Mozambique, Mr Victorino abandoned his hopes of the priesthood but he remained a keen Bible student. He could not express adequately his joy in receiving a new Bible.
Mr Victorino said that the Bible was the preferred guide for many people in Macia and in the outlying villages. “If we know the real way, which we find in the Bible, we can avoid becoming a devil man,” Mr Victorino said. “If we follow the Bible we feel free inside and rejoice.”
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It grieved the Bible Society team to think that there were such limited quantities of Scriptures to go round, to supply the help and guidance, the comfort and hope for people who were desperate to use it in rebuilding their homes and lives.
As one person put it: “If the people cannot get their hands on the Bible, how can they know of God’s teachings, how can they know God and how will they enter his kingdom?” (WR 351/06 - 6.00) [PHOTOS]
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MACIA, Mozambique; March 11, 2000 — Sara Calvino Maposa arrived after all the distribution had ended. She is a schoolteacher and until the flood came she was leading Bible study for a group of 16 children of all ages. Although she herself escaped from her waterlogged village near Chokwe, she lost every volume in her library: 48 Christian books, all useful in her Bible teaching, together with her study materials, were swallowed by the floods. She was desperate for a single copy of the Bible so that she could resume work with her students. There were no Bibles left now, not even under the mats on the floor of the vehicle, nor wedged between the seats or stuffed in the glove box. Nothing! This scenario repeated itself wherever the BSM distributed Scriptures. In Chokwe, at the Limpopo river’s edge, both young and old dropped their water buckets and ran to the Bible Society pick-up truck in the hope of receiving Scriptures. In Chihaquelane, Chokwe’s closest large-scale relief centre, there were hundreds and hundreds of pleading people. (WR 351/07 - 6.00) [PHOTOS] |
MAPUTO,
Mozambique; March 2000 — The Bible Society of Mozambique
did not escape the ravages of the floodwaters.
In Mozambique there are currently three Bible depots. In the Beira depot – Beira, a coastal town at the mouth of the River Pungüe – they bore the brunt of the storm. The depot’s roof was ripped off and the entire stock of Scriptures was destroyed. In Maputo, the Mozambican capital, Bible House has a large stock of Scriptures in two basement cellars.
Although most boxes of Scriptures were lifted off the ground on wooden pallets, floodwaters still managed to destroy hundreds of Bibles, New Testaments, books of Psalms and Portions. Boxes and boxes of Scriptures were waterlogged and are now covered with mould and wormholes. It is a disturbing sight when one knows how desperate the flood victims are for Scriptures.
In total, 5,409 Bibles, 1,284 New Testaments, 430 Portions, and 39 New Reader Portions were destroyed at the Beira and Maputo depots – a loss amounting to just under US $20,000. There is an emergency appeal to provide 332,000 Scriptures – Bibles, New Testaments and Portions – at a cost of $155,571.
In reality, the needs are far higher, given that the number of flood victims is estimated in the millions. What is troubling the staff of the BSM is that here is a wonderful opportunity to spread God’s Word throughout the land, at a time when people are eager to hear what God has to say, and want to turn back to his commands.
How will they ever be able to take full advantage of this demand? When will there ever be such an opportunity in Mozambique again?
Dozens of international relief organisations and the governments of many countries are currently extending assistance in the form of food-stuffs, medical care and supplies, agricultural and domestic recovery kits, grain and materials to rebuild, even financial help. The country’s skies and roadways have been buzzing with helicopters, aeroplanes, and trucks in fulfilling relief missions.
The onus of spiritual help, however, has fallen upon the Bible Society. It is this organisation’s moment of truth: to supply the Word of God and the spiritual seed that will yield a harvest of faithful people in the years to come. (WR 351/08 - 6.00) [PHOTOS]
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Violence continues to cloud the early
stages of Olusegun Obasanjo’s presidency. Although the northern Nigerian
states have been the theatre of conflict in past years, the current spate
of violence began after the imposition of ‘sharia’ in several
states. Sharia is the Islamic religious and civil code adopted in some
Muslim countries. Christians fear that the code will restrict their freedom
of worship. Nigeria has a religious and cultural division where the north
is mostly Muslim and Arab while the south is predominantly Christian.
The Rev Dr Frederick Babatunde Odutola, Acting General Secretary of
the Bible Society of Nigeria (BSN), gives
details of events recently experienced by Christians in the north:
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The violence did not stop there: as a consequence of this many churches were set ablaze and Bibles were burnt.
Among those who narrowly escaped the violence were 65 Anglican bishops travelling to Kaduna from all over Nigeria to elect the next primate of the Church of Nigeria. The bishops were warned in time to convene in Abuja, further south.
Joshua Kurmi Pyeng, Bible Society Regional Sales Coordinator for the north, was forced to stop his activities and put the BSN distribution vehicle safely away in the garage.
Ayo Durodola, BSN Manuscript Examiner working in the Translations Office at Ibadan, lost his brother-in-law in the conflict. The young man had been based in Kaduna.
The body was flown to Ibadan for burial and the mourning and expression of grief was overwhelming. The family could only take some solace from the fact that he died a Christian.
Kate, a young Christian woman, was fatally stabbed having refused the demands of her attackers to deny Christ. As Kate bled to death she forgave her attackers, committing them to the mercies of God and praying that they would know Christ as their Saviour rather than as their judge in the last days. She was happy to have remained faithful to her Lord Jesus and her faith.
These are just some examples of the aggression coming out in the northern states where peaceful protest against the imposition of sharia has turned to violence. Not all Christians have been as restrained in their opposition to the demands of the fundamentalists.
We must continue to pray that the true peace of God will prevail for both Christians and Muslims in northern Nigeria and throughout the country. We must also pray for President Obasanjo, a Christian man, who is facing great opposition from the fundamentalists, and political opponents who aim to make political gains by siding with them.
The BSN sent a message of encouragement to the churches in the troubled regions through the Christian Association of Nigeria, offering support to all Christians facing troubles or persecution.
The BSN has sent a token gift of 50 Bibles to the churches affected by the recent crisis; these include English, Yoruba and Hausa Bibles. We have yet to ascertain the quantities of Scriptures destroyed.
“I come from a Muslim background myself, and know what it is like to face the opposition of the Muslim community,” said Mr Odutola. “It takes only a small matter to ignite religious feelings in some of these communities. The people there negotiating between the faiths need patience, understanding and the love of God to win through.” (WR 351/09 - 6.00)
LAGOS, Nigeria — President Olusegun Obasanjo was the guest of honour at the first national prayer breakfast organised by the Christian organisation CORD, held at the Nicon Noga Hilton Hotel, Abuja, recently.
Heads of churches, federal ministers, senators and governors were among those who attended the breakfast. The Bible Society of Nigeria (BSN) was present and 200 Scripture calendars and BSN diaries were distributed to participants by the Rev Dr F Babatunde Odutola, Acting General Secretary of the BSN.
More than 1,000 guests from all over Nigeria listened to Bishop David Oyedepo, leader of the Living Faith Church in Lagos, who challenged Nigerian Christians to be the light in a nation bedevilled with negative publicity. “Great things can happen in Nigeria once again, if only the citizens would turn from their wicked ways back to the Lord Jesus,” said the bishop.
The national president also spoke and recommended the Bible, the Word of the living God. It was the only solution to Nigeria’s various problems, he said, and there would be a dramatic change if only Christians lived what the Bible preached. In this way Nigeria would become a better place to live not only for its own citizens but also for foreigners. He stressed that since righteousness exalts a nation, he believed that every Christian was called to be a channel for the light of Christ to reveal his righteousness.
He could recommend the Bible as the Word of God because he had used it successfully in the past and was using it. Dr Odutola emphasised the importance of a meeting like this for the BSN. “This gives us a chance to make ourselves and our services known to the churches and to others who might need Scriptures,” he said.
“At the very least, it gives us the opportunity to recruit new members to support the BSN. Some of them become life members and take a real interest in the development of Bible work here. This and the president’s endorsement of the Bible will have a lasting impact upon the work we are launching now, aimed at reaching many of the more remote people in Nigeria.” (WR 351/10 - 6.00)
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ANTANANARIVO, Madagascar — Almost five weeks after the first cyclone struck the island of Madagascar, the authorities are still assessing the damage and counting the cost in lives as well as in damage to buildings, crops and communications links.
Although there was no damage to Bible House or any of the Bible Society’s distribution centres or depots, the devastating winds and rains ripped through parts of the island leaving a trail of havoc and debris. They destroyed a good part of the island’s staple food and main crop: rice.
“Sambava was one of the towns hit by the second cyclone, Gloria, in the north-east of the country, where we were planning to set up a new Bible depot,” said Marc Rakoto, Malagasy Bible Society (MBS) General Secretary.
In mid-February cyclone Eline was the first to hit land as it swept across the island from the east. Thousands of people fled for their lives and found themselves homeless. No exposed construction escaped the battering, according to Mr Rakoto.
“Some 20 people lost their lives when cyclone Eline struck. The saddest case was when 24 school children were caught out on their way home, crossing a bridge. The bridge collapsed and eight of them died,” he said.
Some roads are now unusable because of landslides or due to flooding . While not as savage as Eline, Gloria caused such flooding that it is estimated that more than 100 people were drowned.
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Early copies of the Bible were buried in tins
and some were only found after the persecutions ended in the 1870s
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The official figures suggest more than half a million people are homeless across 16 districts of Madagascar and 150 people are missing or dead.
The Malagasy Bible (1835) was the first Bible to be printed in an African language, but had to be smuggled in secretly following the persecution of Christians that started in the same year. In fact, early copies of the Bible were buried in tins and some were only found after the persecutions ended in the 1870s – hence it came to be known as the ‘buried Bible’. Currently a new translation of the Bible into modern Malagasy is being prepared.
With such a history, it is not surprising that the Bible is an important source of hope and guidance in this largely Christian nation. Madagascar is one of the few places that can boast a public Bible monument.
“We thank God that all our Bible Society buildings have been spared, and no-one of the staff that we know of has been harmed,” said Mrs Tsiry, the MBS Program Manager.
“We are preparing a program to give Scriptures to people affected by the disaster, but as yet it is difficult to coordinate because many of the island’s telephone connections have been ruptured and some roads are impassable. We will inform the UBS as soon as we have the plan worked out and a strategy for putting it into action.”
| “The saddest case was when 24 school children were caught out on their way home, crossing a bridge. The bridge collapsed and eight of them died.” |
In the meantime, the MBS General Secretary asked for the prayerful support of the UBS fellowship. “There is an immediate need for material help for the people of the worst-hit areas in Vatomandry and Mahanoro,” Mr Rakoto said. “We need your prayers, both as a nation and for the Christians and churches who will be involved in clear-up work. Also pray for us as we prepare to send Bibles to those in need.” (WR 351/11 - 6.00)
KAMPALA, Uganda — As police in Uganda continue to exhume mass graves containing the bodies of members of a religious cult, the Bible Society of Uganda is preparing a Bible Selection which will address the issues raised by the horror from a Scriptural perspective.
News broke at the start of last week about what initially looked like a mass suicide in southwest Uganda. Some 470 members of the doomsday cult, the Movement for the Restoration of the Ten Commandments of God, were found burned alive in a church in the village of Kanungu, southern Uganda.
Since then, however, more bodies have been found buried in several mass graves on properties belonging to leaders of the movement. Recently, the death toll had risen to more than 900.
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Many of the corpses showed signs of violence, such as machete wounds and strangulation. In some of the mass graves, dozens of women and children have been found, suggesting that whole families have been ruthlessly murdered.
Police now believe they are investigating one of the largest mass murders on record. One theory is that cult followers handed over their money to the leaders in the belief that the world would end on December 31, but began to ask for it back when the prediction failed to come true. They ended up paying with their lives.
Henry Kalule, the General Secretary of the Bible Society of Uganda, said that the Society has been working on a special Bible Selection which aims to address the issues of cults and obsession with the end of the world.
“We are about to have the final draft,” he said when interviewed this week, and he hoped that with the assistance of the UBS Anglophone Regional Service Center in Nairobi, Kenya, the Selection could soon be available.
In the meantime, the question was being raised across the worldwide Bible Society fellowship as to the existence of other biblical material that specifically addresses such issues.
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The Society has been working on a special Bible
Selection which aims to address the issues of cults and obsession with
the end of the world.
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With many more Societies using specialist human-needs Scriptures, Mr Kalule wondered if any Selections or Portions already existed for people being drawn into sects and cults obsessed with end-times prediction.
Despite the prevalence of cults in the Western world, and events such as the Jonestown massacre in Guyana – in which 914 followers of Jim Jones’ People’s Temple died of self-poisoning – there do not appear to be Scripture materials aimed at such cults and the distortion of the biblical message. (WR 351/12 - 6.00)
| Jan Blakeley, former Administrative Assistant to UBS General Secretaries, and her husband Brian – a civil engineer – recently spent three weeks in Tanzania. They were helping to organise the installation of a proper water supply to St Francis’ Hospital and attached Polio Children’s Rehabilitation Hostel. The hospital is currently dependent on rainwater stored in underground tanks from the two annual rainy seasons. It is planned to overcome the frequent shortage of water by drilling a borehole and piping the water up to the hospital complex. The funds have been raised by the Blakeleys’ parish church in England which has been supporting the hospital for 17 years. |
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KOROGWE, Tanzania — “The medical work was begun in 1923 by Anglican missionaries to care for people in a large area of rural Tanzania. The hospital’s work and outreach have grown considerably since then and are now the responsibility of the local bishop, the Rt Rev John Ramadhani (formerly Anglican Archbishop of Tanzania) who is based in Korogwe, some 30 miles from St Francis.
The rehabilitation unit is the only one in Tanzania and consequently Peter Rajabu, Hostel Manager, has a long waiting list of children disabled by polio who need St Francis’ life transforming treatment. The aims established by the English Sisters who originally set up the unit are to care for the whole child: spiritually, physically and mentally.
Of course the hospital has an ongoing polio vaccination program but Tanzania is a large and poor country (one of the poorest in Africa) and very many children have slipped through the net of the vaccination program.
Peter visits each prospective child at home and does not accept them before the age of about 10 because they get so homesick, even though they go home during the school holidays. Due to lack of remedial surgery, they can only crawl on the ground when they arrive at St Francis and have not been to school, due to poverty and immobility.
Total treatment can take up to two years and begins with an initial operation to begin straightening their legs. As soon as Dr Justin Mganga, chief hospital doctor, pronounces them post-operatively fit, callipers are custom-made for them on site, and they start attending the Hostel’s ‘Mini School’ each morning to learn to read; they also go to Sunday School with the other children.
Only when they can read, do they join a class at the local government school close to the hospital.
The trip was planned to begin in Nairobi to obtain local technical information on water supply. Knowing that the hostel has a very tight budget and that the polio children arrive nearly always illiterate, the Rev Henry Kathii, General Secretary of the Bible Society of Kenya, supplied a quantity of sets of ‘Good News’ English and Swahili New Reader Portions and Bible Comics for the children.
At
the hostel, I was surprised by Peter Rajabu’s amazement on opening this
huge parcel; he said, “I had heard of this wonderful material and had decided
to try and obtain some as the children desperately need Christian books to help
them learn to read.”
The next day there were groups of children sitting by their propped-up crutches, faces buried in the Bible Society Scriptures. Peter kept saying how much these New Reader Portions and Bible Comics will accelerate their learning to read and also help them know more about Jesus. We subsequently noticed they were even taking them to bed with them!
Since returning home we have received letters from Peter saying how much these Bible Society materials are helping the children both spiritually and academically.
The Rev Albert Mongi, General Secretary of the Bible Society of Tanzania, is arranging to supply more Scripture materials to the Hostel for us.
Whilst in Tanzania, Bishop John Ramadhani spent one of the weekends at All Saints’ Church, Amani, in the nearby Usumbara mountains, to confirm 202 people ranging from school age to octogenarians.
He said that this church also has an additional 13 village ‘outstations’ of believers, covering a very big area. Each candidate was required to own a Bible or New Testament, and this was only possible thanks to the Bible Society of Tanzania.
He expressed gratitude to the Society for not only producing the Scriptures, but also selling them at a subsidised price. Without the Society’s Bibles and New Testaments the growing number of new Christians would have no spiritual food to help them deepen their new-found faith in the Lord Jesus.
He explained that the people’s extreme poverty often makes it hard for them to pay even the minimal amount charged by the Bible Society, which saddens him. The huge numbers of people asking for baptism and confirmation are an indication of the way in which the churches in Tanzania are growing.
What a privilege to join the worship at Korogwe’s Anglican Cathedral and to sing our well-loved hymns in Swahili. The huge congregation’s joy in the Lord was infectious and I couldn’t help contrasting this with the many half-empty churches in Britain. Having decided our Swahili was not up to following the sermon, we opted to join the Sunday School children in their talk and were happy to see them using Bible Society Scriptures.
As we bid farewell to Bishop John before he left for another part of his diocese in Zanzibar, he again emphasised the vital role of the Bible Society in helping the Churches – as well as the schools’ literacy programs. He knew that some schools use the UBS New Readers and find them very useful indeed.
When the time came for us to depart, we were sad to leave our new friends at St Francis and at the Diocesan centre and will continue praying for them – and for the Rev Albert Mongi and his staff as they seek to meet the enormous hunger for God’s Word in Tanzania with such tiny resources.” (WR 351/13 - 6.00) [PHOTOS]
READING, England — With tens of thousands of people facing starvation in Ethiopia, aid agencies are launching appeals to prevent the situation from turning into a famine across the Horn of Africa.
Meanwhile, Kebede Mamo, General Secretary of the Bible Society of Ethiopia, has been speaking of the threefold blight of famine, war and displacement. He describes how the Bible Society is ministering to the spiritual needs of the displaced people.
On a recent visit to the UBS World Service Center, Mr Mamo predicted that it will take “a long time for the people to recover” from the terrible conditions which are killing hundreds of vulnerable children and decimating livestock.
“The physical needs seem terrible, pictures of whole villages dying of starvation, but as well as the physical, the people need to be uplifted spiritually,” he said. “It is very important at this time to supply them with the Scriptures.”
With the Christian population estimated at more than 60 per cent, he acknowledges that meeting the full demand for Scriptures will take time and money. Nonetheless, the Society is already doing all the distribution that it can. From past experience, partnerships with the churches, missionaries or para-church organisations already operating in the camps are an efficient way of distributing Scriptures.
“Instead of going there and giving the Scriptures out directly, we talk to the church people,” said Mr Mamo. “Sometimes they take the Scriptures along with other aid materials.
“Negotiations with Eritrea were going on at the time I left the country," he added, "so we are hoping and praying that they will reach an agreement and will gradually resolve the dispute once and for all. Many people are praying for this.”
The Bible Societies around the world are supporting the distribution of 4,500 Amharic Bibles which are given free to ‘refugee’ or displaced families along the border region with Eritrea and in the south-east region of the country. The Orthodox Churches are responsible for the distribution of these Scriptures. (WR 351/14 - 6.00)
CAPE TOWN, South Africa — Some of South Africa’s best-known Afrikaans singers have teamed up with the country’s Bible Society to produce an ‘historic’ fundraising CD. The musical collaboration is part of Bibliathon 2000 – a fundraising initiative aimed at meeting the country’s massive Scripture needs. The 16 artists on the CD Deel die Woord donated their time to record the specially-commissioned gospel songs. It means all profits will go towards Bible distribution.
The Rev Gerrit Kritzinger, General Secretary of the Bible Society of South Africa, describes the CD as ‘historic’ because it marks the first-ever collaboration between the Bible Society, a cultural organisation – the ATKV – and a record company called Maranatha to spread God’s Word. Deel die Woord was officially launched with a concert in Pretoria in April. It is available on CD and cassette from the Bible Society of South Africa. The nationwide telethon is to be broadcast on SABC2 on September 2. (WR 351/15 - 6.00)
This year the Bible Society of South Africa
has doubled the number
of Scriptures for the moral and spiritual uplifting of prisoners
CAPE TOWN, South Africa — The Bible Society of South Africa (BSSA) is providing Scriptures and Bibles to the value of R200,000 (US $30,557.68) for distribution to prisoners. These Scriptures will be made available in all 11 official languages of South Africa.
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No other book has ever held such universal appeal
nor produced such lasting effects.
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Each year since 1964 the BSSA has made an annual grant to the Department of Correctional Services (DCS). During the past five years Bibles to the value of R442,000 ($67,532.47) have been provided to chaplains working with prisoners.
An event was held on March 23 to mark the presentation of this donation. Choirs from Allandale, Worcester (women) and Drakenstein prisons participated, and each member received a Bible in his or her own mother tongue. The presentation took place at Drakenstein Prison, situated between Paarl and Franschhoek.
The Acting Commissioner of Correctional Services, Thami Nxumalo received the Bible grant from the Rev Gerrit Kritzinger, General Secretary of the BSSA.
He pointed out that religious care was very much a part of the rehabilitation process for prisoners, and that sometimes faith was the only anchor for an offender, offering guidelines for a new life away from crime.
“The Bible is unique in terms of its effects on individual men and women and on the history of nations,” said Mr Nxumalo. “It is loved by people from every race and tribe, by rich and poor alike, by people of every background and walk of life. No other book has ever held such universal appeal nor produced such lasting effects,” he said. “I have no doubt that the Bibles that will be bought with this money will change the hearts and minds of many prisoners who will read it.”
Mr Kritzinger said that Bibles were only given away free for the prison ministry, and provided an opportunity for the BSSA to reach out in love to those in prison. The BSSA frequently receives letters from prisoners telling of changed lives inmates have experienced when reading God’s Word. The following extract from one such letter demonstrates the importance of the Bible in prison. “As we spread the Gospel inside prisons many come to know Jesus Christ. Their lives have been turned around but they have no Bibles to grow in grace.” (WR 351/16 - 6.00)
HARARE, Zimbabwe — As political violence intensifies in the run-up to long-awaited parliamentary elections, the Bible Society of Zimbabwe (BSZ) is planning to distribute 300,000 Scripture Selections to give hope and guidance to anxious Zimbabweans.
According to Gaylord Kambarami, BSZ General Secretary, The Bible and Elections presents the Bible’s perspective on leadership and offers the assurance that God is in control of every situation.
“It encourages people to wisely use the gift of choice given to Adam and Eve in Genesis 3:22, and to elect leaders who will rule with integrity and justice, as it says in Isaiah 32:1-8,” said Mr Kambarami. Distribution will begin when a date has been set for the elections.
Polling was first expected in April but President Robert Mugabe postponed the elections without naming a date. It is hoped that voting will take place in June.
In the meantime there is a state of fear as lawlessness and violence spiral out of control. As more people look to the Bible for strength and comfort, sales of Bibles are rising in this country of around 7.8 million Christians.
One Zimbabwean recently wrote:
“God is our only hope. I have been encouraged by two particular Bible verses, which are so relevant to what Zimbabweans are going through. Colossians 2: 9-10 tells us that Christ is the head over every power and authority, and Philippians 4: 6-7 tells us not to be anxious about anything but to pray to God who will give us his peace, which passes all understanding. I have found such comfort in these words over the last few months.”
Churches are calling for an end to the violence and a return to the rule of law. During a sermon to his Bulawayo congregation, the Rev Raymond Motsi, President of the Baptist Union of Zimbabwe, said that the Church needed to uphold the Word of God in the face of injustice.
Mr Motsi emphasised that violence was not the way to solve the country’s problems, and that there was no room for anger and bitterness if Zimbabweans wanted to move forward. The churches organised an all-night prayer vigil which took place on May 5.
Following discussions between church leaders and government representatives on May 3, members of the Zimbabwe Council of Churches (ZCC) are soon to meet with the country’s political parties to seek ways to end the violence, in which 15 people have been killed and many others injured.
Densen Mafinyane, ZCC Secretary General, emphasised that the ZCC will “reaffirm its mandate to advocate for justice, peace and reconciliation.”
Among the news reports which have been flooding out of the country in recent weeks, was a story about a family who fled their farm in a hurry, only taking with them a treasured family photograph album and a Bible.
Another farmer, who only recently became a Christian, says that his new-found faith strengthened him when he was confronted by a menacing crowd of 30 people calling themselves ‘war veterans’.
Although shaken, after he and his wife were made to dance barefoot in front of their workers for several hours, the farmer managed to negotiate calmly with the invaders and spoke to them about his faith. They eventually left him and his wife alone, although a number of them have settled on the farm. (WR 351/17 - 6.00) [PHOTOS]
HARARE, Zimbabwe — The Bible Society of Zimbabwe (BSZ) is participating in relief efforts to bring comfort to tens of thousands of people affected by Cyclone Eline, which devastated parts of east and southeast Zimbabwe in February.
So far, 10,000 Portions, containing the Gospel of Matthew, have been sent to the affected areas where they will be distributed through the Red Cross. The BSZ is planning to send another 5,000 Scriptures, probably New Testaments, providing the funds become available.
According to Gaylord Kambarami, BSZ General Secretary, the Scriptures are in great demand among cyclone victims. “When I visited Mutare, where the cyclone hit hardest, I was told by the Rev Sebastian Bakare of the Anglican church that many people are coming to him in desperate need of the Scriptures,” said Mr Kambarami.
“Canon Bakare said that although they are getting physical food, the chain is not complete because they still lack spiritual food.”
The cyclone, which also left a trail of death and destruction in neighbouring Mozambique, affected about 250,000 Zimbabweans. More than 200,000 homes were destroyed and an estimated 100 people died in raging floodwaters.
As well as causing serious damage to roads and bridges, the heavy rains and flooding which followed the cyclone have left 90,000 people in Manicaland province dependent on food assistance after losing their crops.
Temporary camps have been erected to shelter those who lost everything in the cyclone. A number of aid organisations are working among the victims, providing them with clothing, medicine, food and blankets. (WR 351/18 - 6.00)