Around the World

Bangladesh

Scripture-based Healing Program Expands

The She’s My Sister™ initiative continues in the Great Lakes region of Africa. Critical progress in delivering physical, emotional and spiritual healing to women and children has been made in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and Uganda in 2010 and 2011. The ABS Bike Tour in May raised enough funds to pilot a trauma healing program in Bukavu, the sixth of nine sites in the DRC that are ready to begin the program using the Scripture-based booklet “Healing the Wounds of Trauma.”

Trauma healing ministry is a growing focus of ABS. This past September, ABS began to modify and expand the program in Southeast Asia in countries that have been affected by natural disasters, violence and sexual abuse. The program is being adapted for the differences in cultures from Eastern Africa to Southeast Asia.

Brazil Testimony

No Longer Fearing Death

“Hello, my name is Venícios Antônio Sandy de Barros. It was through [a] blessed verse from the Book of Psalms (18.6) that the Lord spoke to me on a day of utter despair. For this reason, I am sharing my experience with the uplifting Word of God. In order to understand so many troubles that I went through, it is necessary to know my life story, which is a miracle of the living God and the transforming power of his Word.

“The Holy Bible has helped and comforted me in the midst of many difficulties. When I was 8 months old, I was diagnosed with severe hemophilia. My blood does not have one of the proteins responsible for clotting. This situation led me to many episodes of bleeding and hospitalizations throughout my life. So, I faced death several times. [These] were years of anguish and unbearable pain. I walked with the help of crutches and suffered a great deal in school.

“But God was already present in my life without me even knowing it. To the surprise of my doctors, I’m walking normally again. Of course, I still face some limitations, but just the fact of being able to overcome a previously irreversible condition was a great victory.

“I have a promise from God in my life that can be found in the book of Ezekiel (Chapter 37): I came from a valley of dry bones, and the Lord put breath into me and brought me back to life. I greatly thank God for supporting me and helping me with the daily reading of his Word. Only one who is a hemophiliac knows the difficulties we go through. In my greatest moments of pain and despair, I always know I can find comfort in reading his Word, because in it lies the true power (Hebrews 4.12).”

China

Thumbs Up in Sunday School

“O God, please help me to have Paul’s purity, Deborah’s praise, Abraham’s faith, Esther’s courage, Solomon’s wisdom, Ruth’s loyalty, Paul and Silas’s joy, Mary and Joseph’s love, Noah’s thanksgiving, Moses’s willingness to serve . . .” softly prayed 7-year-old Guo, after attending a three-month Sunday School that used Pictorial Bible Stories for children.

When asked how they felt about the picture Bibles, the children gave the thumbs-up signal that they liked them. Wang, another 7-year-old, said, “The stories are very helpful to me, especially in the area of helping me know God better. These stories bring out God’s great power, and his unfailing promises . . .”

Egypt

Massacre Follows Persecution

Since the “Arab Spring” revolution, the Bible Society of Egypt (BSE) has been encouraged to learn that the dramatized audio Arabic New Testament became the second-most downloaded New Testament in the world.

But, as reported by BSE in a newsletter, on October 9, “one of the worst acts of violence against Egyptian Christians in modern history” took place against Christians on a peaceful protest march. They were ruthlessly beaten, shot and run over by tanks, leaving 26 dead and hundreds wounded. The protests were in response to a September 30 attack in Upper Egypt on the Mar Gerges Church building. The Bible Society responded with newspaper ads with the message: “And seek the peace of the city . . . and pray to the Lord for it; for in its peace you will have peace.” (Jer. 29.7)

Peru

Jesus Speaks in Quechua Huallaga

August was a special month for the Quechua Huallaga-speaking community of Peru. Some 2,000 speakers came from villages to the city of Huánuco for a special ceremony where the Bible in Quechua Huallaga was delivered to church leaders. The 50,000 speakers of the language, mostly farmers, live around the City of Huánuco, between the mountains and the jungle, approximately 250 miles east of Lima.

Community leaders thanked God for the Summer Institute of Linguistics (SIL) and its sacrificial efforts in making the completion possible. They also acknowledged the importance of the partnership of ABS, the Bible Society of Peru and The Seed Company in the production and delivery of 5,000 beautifully printed copies of the text.

Teodoro Cayco was the main translator under the coordination of SIL. When asked about the most difficult part of the translation work, Teodoro said, “from Genesis to Revelation, translation was difficult, but we are grateful we were able to complete the text in a way people clearly understand.”

Watch our live Christmas Day webcast from four orphanages

American Bible Society will visit orphanages in Bolivia, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, India and Romania this December. Staff will bear gifts of Bibles and Christmas notes for the children, provided and written by our donors. A special webcast of the children receiving their gifts will be available for online viewing Christmas afternoon. A $5 gift provides a Bible to one orphan. Along with a gift, donors can sign and return a Christmas card, wishing a child a Merry Christmas in his/her native language. To find out how to get involved, please visit: BiblesforOrphans.AmericanBible.org