PERU — The launch last year of The Proclaimer, a digital device which can play the Scriptures many times over, was a significant landmark in the efforts of audio Scripture ministry Hosanna/ Faith Comes By Hearing (FCBH), a partner of the United Bible Societies, to bring God’s Word in a userfriendly format to people who are unable to access it in written form. While audio cassettes are relatively fragile and cassette players require expensive batteries, The Proclaimer can play for 15 hours at a time and can be recharged – enough to play the entire New Testament 600 times – by a built-in solar panel.
A woman at the launch of The Proclaimer, the digital
Scripture player developed by Faith Comes By Hearing
in Peru [photo: Hosanna WR414/14 PER07DJ-1]
‘I want a Proclaimer:’ a man at the launch of the digital
Scripture player developed by Hosanna/Faith Comes By
Hearing in Peru [photo: Hosanna WR414/14 PER07DJ-5]
Ambitious target
Eager to bring the benefits of digital technology to as many people as possible, Hosanna/ FCBH set an ambitious target of using The Proclaimer in the majority of its programs in 2006. The first country where it was introduced was Peru, where Rogerio Garcia, FCBH field coordinator in Latin America, saw at first hand how warmly it was received by pastors from rural areas around Ayacucho, capital city of the northern province of Huamanga. “The pastors were excited and wanted to see the devices as soon as they arrived, but first they needed to learn what the FCBH program is about and how to use The Proclaimer. I told them that they are the first group in the whole world to have the privilege of using The Proclaimer! Their smiling faces told what they were thinking: ‘Is this blessing really for us? Finally, God is giving us something that no-one else in the world has. I want a Proclaimer’.
Strong hands
“The pastors have strong hands with thick fingers that are only used to cultivating and planting. It was a great moment when they picked up The Proclaimer very gently to learn how to use it. They all shouted ‘Alleluia’ when it began playing in their language – Quechua Ayacucho. You can really feel their love for you and it is a special experience to embrace these old and young pastors from the mountains. I would not change this experience for anything, because when they embrace me, I feel like they are saying, ‘Thanks to God for your love, for your Word, for The Proclaimer’. All the pastors are happy with The Proclaimer and, most important, they are happy with God. Eighty-one Proclaimers were distributed on the first day, eighty-two on the second day.” Many Bible Societies around the world are very active in promoting the FCBH program. Among them is the Peruvian Bible Society, which this year is targeting the country’s two official languages: Quechua Cuzco, spoken by some 1.5 million people, and Spanish. The program is changing the lives of people in varied circumstances. Felix, a taxi driver in Lima, came to faith seven years ago. At a meeting of the Association of Christian Taxi Drivers, an organisation formed by the Bible Society in 1998 (see Special Report 23/04), Felix found out about the Scriptures on cassette available from the Bible Society. Each taxi driver was given a cassette containing the Gospel of Mark.
Talk about Jesus
Felix has since carried this cassette in his taxi ever since. When people get into his taxi, he immediately puts in a cassette. People ask, “What is that?”, and this creates an opening for him to begin talking about the Bible and about Jesus. One day a couple flagged down Felix’s taxi. The male passenger asked Felix about the cassette he was playing and then said, “What are you?” Felix replied, “I am a Christian.” The passenger then asked, “Are you happy? I have a lot of money and I am not happy.” Felix answered, “Yes, I am very happy with my Lord.” The man asked for an explanation, so Felix presented the Gospel to him. As they were talking, the man confessed, “We took this taxi because we wanted to rob you, but now I’ve changed my mind. We will do nothing to harm you.” After telling this story, Felix remarked with gratitude, “God saved me again.”
For earlier reports on The Proclaimer, see World Report 400/04 and 400/05.
This report refers to project 84313.
(WR 414/14 - 08/09.07) [4 photos]