The large new truck can hold 60,000 Bibles.

In pursuit of its vision of achieving the widest possible  distribution of  Scriptures, the Bible Society of Nigeria has acquired a bigger distribution truck.

The General Secretary of the Society, Rev Dr Fred Odutola, who led staff in a prayer of thanksgiving for its acquisition, said that the new vehicle, which is capable of carrying about 60,000 Bibles, would reduce  the costs of Bible distribution and the frequency of distribution trips. 

Wikipedia ranks Nigeria as the 32nd-largest country in the world, with an area of 923,768 sq kms (356,669 sq miles). The Bible Society has depots in Lagos, Oshogbo, Aba, Abuja and Jos.

“This is what helped me understand the Old Testament,” said one man, pointing to an illustrated Bible in our booth. Likewise, many others would point out the various Children’s Bibles that students have received throughout the past years. “This book helped to establish me in my reading! I read it all the way through!” said a grateful parent, thanking the staff for the school distribution project.

Visitors to the Cairo Bookfair in 2009

Bookfair crowds this year were estimated at 1 million visitors, 50 per cent less than past years. There was a distinct attitude of freethinking and independence in the air, with discussion and debates taking place all day long in all of the venues. We praise God for this occasion to provide the Scriptures to such a diverse audience, knowing that his Word is relevant to each individual and each circumstance.

Many faithful prayers

We are grateful for so many faithful prayers with us during this strategic time. In light of the crumbling security and increasing lawlessness, one never knows what to expect. We praise the Lord for keeping us safe from any problems during this time, despite the return of the annual harassers.

One young lady purchased a New Testament and the staff suggested that she discreetly put it out of view because of the people outside who would harass her and insist that she return the item. She boldly replied, “Give me some more!” and purchased several Bibles instead of one. As she went out, those waiting began to badger her. She yelled at them loudly, saying they had no right to tell her what to do! Another lady, who was older, was given the same treatment as she left our booth. She responded in quiet, motherly tones, giving them the same message however, refusing to give up her rights. In fact, none of our customers returned any of the things they had purchased.

Around 4,000 New Testaments sold

As usual, a large portion of our customers were people who wait for these bookfair discounts and new items, which many purchase in bulk for their various ministries. The other regular customers are the unchurched who appreciate the opportunity to purchase a New Testament for just 1 Egyptian Pound (15 cents)! About 4,000 New Testaments were sold on the fairgrounds this year.

More than one person, both staff and non-staff, remarked that when in need of encouragement during these difficult days of turmoil, just watching the eagerness of people as they purchased Scriptures at the Bible Society booth provided renewed vision and passion for God’s Work in Egypt!

Please continue to pray with us, that God’s Word will yield the peaceable fruits of righteousness in the hearts and lives of those who were able to access the Scriptures at Bookfair 2012.

Graffiti saying 'I Love Haiti' on a wall in the Pétionville area of Port-au-Prince.

In January 2012, Claire Bedot, United Bible Societies’ Francophone Communications Officer, returned to Haiti at the invitation of the Haitian Bible Society to assist it in completing its web site, working with webmaster Lyonel Maxi.

The country is gradually starting to rebuild, but what impact has the earthquake had on the lives of the survivors? On Church life? On the life of the Bible Society? The revival which the Churches have experienced over the last two years continues to strengthen and Christians are continuing to request Bibles, especially in their mother tongue. People are clearly very grateful to the Bible Society. Hearing again from Maxine and the Rev Lacroix, first encountered in November 2010, it is nevertheless clear that some earthquake survivors are managing better than others.

One of the lorries that remove the rubble created by the earthquake of January 12, 2010.

• Haitian Bible Society distributes ‘over 100,000 Bibles’
  Interview with Haitian Bible Society General Secretary Magda Victor
• Haiti’s unprecedented revival
• Maxine grasps her second chance
• Two years later, earthquake victims feel abandoned
  Interview with Rev Raymond Lacroix
• Speaking the language of Haiti’s young people
  Interview with Haitian Bible Society webmaster Lyonel Junior Maxi 
• Haitian Bible Society doubles fundraising from Bible Festival
• “Now we read the Bible as a family”
  Interview with ‘Ti Frère’, driver at the Haitian Bible Society
  

Haitian Bible Society’s Facebook page, web site and Twitter account

Sunrise in the Delmas area of Port-au-Prince.

'Ti Frère'

On January 12, 2010, Haiti was struck by an earthquake. Ti Frère’s house was destroyed, as were thousands of others. His mother, his wife and his son could have been killed, but they survived uninjured.

“My wife was very moved by everything she witnessed after the earthquake and by the fact that our family was spared,” says Ti Frère. “She became a Christian and now we pray and read the Bible as a family!”

Ti Frère rebuilt his house himself during his holidays. He made it from wood so that it will pose less of a danger if there is another earthquake: building in accordance with anti-earthquake guidelines is expensive.

“My wife and I already had a young son, who is now eight years old. And since then we’ve had a second son, who is now nine months old. God is good,” concludes Ti Frère.

A powderpuff tree (calliandra) in Port-au-Prince.

Lyonel Junior Maxi

Reach young people, speak their language and use their ways of communicating. This is one of the goals of the Haitian Bible Society. Lyonel Junior Maxi, 26, is a new and valuable element in this strategy.

“Working for the Bible Society allows me to combine my love for God and my love for IT,” he says.

Since he was taken on last September, the young IT specialist has launched a website, a Twitter account and a Facebook page for the Society.

“Our website will allow many people, especially the young, to get to know the Bible Society. The more I find out about the Society’s work, the more I want to tell others about it! I’m especially interested in its literacy work and in the distribution of Bibles to universities. The Bible Society certainly isn’t just a bookshop!”

Four students from university Bible groups participating in the Bible Society's project to bring emotional support to students traumatised by the earthquake.

Dr Mireille Peck, member of the Haitian Bible Society's Board, wearing a 'biblical' costume during the Bible Festival in Saint-Marc in December 2011.

For many years, funds raised during the Bible Festival that takes place across the country on the second Sunday in December remained steady at around 330,000 Haitian gourdes (US$7,096). But in 2011, this sum more than doubled to in excess of 708,000 gourdes (US$17,515).

A developing relationship

The growth in fundraising income is an indication of the way in which the relationship between the Bible Society and the Churches has changed since the earthquake two years ago. The Churches now realise that the Bible Society is not just a Bible bookshop: it is there to serve them and to stand by them in times of difficulty. Furthermore, its various holistic programs – literacy or psychological support for students affected by the earthquake, for example – are making a contribution to transforming Haiti.

But the Society is also putting more and more effort into ensuring that the Bible Festival is a success. Beginning in mid-November, it runs a week of radio programmes to pave the way.

Radio programmes and competitions

“During these programmes, I explain the Bible Society’s ministry,” says Marie-Carme Dérivois, head of fundraising and Church relations at the Bible Society.

Scouts marching in the streets of Saint-Marc during the Bible Festival in December 2011.

“For the last few years, I’ve also been inviting some of our partners, such as the Protestant Federation, Défi Michée (a Christian anti-poverty movement) and Scripture Union. Their involvement lends weight to my contribution: they explain why people should read the Bible, why people should support the Bible Society… This allows us to have more credibility and visibility among various audiences.”

The Society also holds radio-based competitions. Across the country, listeners answer questions about the Bible in the hope of winning Bibles and other biblical materials supplied by the Bible Society.

Evangelisation or seminars

Churches each prepare for the Bible Festival in their own way: some, like those in Cap Haïtien for example, organise evangelisation weeks during which they distribute Portions and Selections, while others, like those in Saint-Marc, run Bible seminars.

On Bible Festival day, the participating churches hold two celebrations: one in their own parish in the morning and one with neighbouring parishes in the afternoon. This year, a team from the Bible Society went to Saint-Marc at the invitation of Scripture Union and Church groups which had organised the Bible Festival in the town.

A brass band in Saint-Marc

A brass band marching in the streets of Saint-Marc during the Bible Festival in December 2011.

“It really was a wonderful celebration,” says Mrs Dérivois. “A brass band and a group of scouts marched in the streets to promote the Bible Festival. The celebration itself was held at the Eben-Ezer Baptist church.

“One of the most significant aspects of the event was a series of readings by young people. The General Secretary, Mrs Victor, spoke on this year’s theme: ‘What am I to do with Jesus, who is called the Messiah?’ And then an appeal was made for donations as a demonstration of gratitude for the fact that God has given us the Bible in our language, Haitian créole.”

So what are the challenges for 2012? To do even better than in 2011. To encourage all Haitians to read the Bible, to continue to promote the Bible Society’s ministry across the country and to raise even more funds to allow it to continue to develop!”

View of Saint-Marc.

Maxine and her sons in November 2010.

When the earthquake struck Port-au-Prince on January 12, 2010, Maxine’s brand new restaurant collapsed on her. She was stuck underneath for hours before a friend came to her rescue and helped her to get out.

She lost one of her feet, but she was very grateful to be alive. “God gave me a second chance that day,” she said.

Two years later, Maxine’s smile is just as bright.

Reconciled

“I am making the most of my second chance,” she says. “I decided to forgive my ex-husband and we are reconciled. He came back home and we now live together with our two sons. He takes good care of me. I was given a new job in the bank I used to work in before I opened my restaurant, and even got promoted! God is good. My two sons are doing well at school and they are a blessing.”

Maxine and her sons in January 2012.

Maxine hasn’t forgotten that it is God who gave her this second chance. She says she praises him constantly for it and she reads the Bible every day – the Bible the Bible Society gave her shortly after the earthquake.

A few weeks back, she decided to read the whole Bible, from the first page to the last. She used to stop “when it became complicated,” but not this time.

“I have now reached Isaiah, and chapter 43 was my reading this morning,” she says: “Israel, the Lord who created you, says, ‘Do not be afraid – I will save you. I have called you by name – you are mine.’” (43:1)

Maxine outside her house in Port-au-Prince, January 2012.

Two young women during a time of praise at a church in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, in January 2012.

The extraordinary influx to Haiti’s churches which followed the earthquake of January 12, 2010, is still continuing two years later. Churches of all types remain full. Haitians’ thirst for God and their interest in the Bible continue unabated.

A year ago, the 10 a.m. service at the Baptist church in the Delmas area of Port-au-Prince was attracting so many people that many tens of chairs had to be placed outside. Today, the room is full but there are no chairs outside.

A second service

“There’s a simple reason,” says Magda Victor, General Secretary of the Haitian Bible Society. “The number of people attending church has risen constantly for the last two years ago, so much so that there is now a second service, at 6.30 a.m. This service is now so full that extra chairs are being placed outside, just like when we only had one service, a year ago!”

"This service is now so full that extra chairs are being placed outside".

New churches are opening every day. There are many in Port-au-Prince, some of which are not very organised. It’s hard to obtain accurate figures, but it does not seem to be an exaggeration to talk of a ‘revival’. Demand for Bibles is rising, too, and is now much higher than before the earthquake. In addition to the many tens of thousands of Bibles that have been distributed free of charge, sales are also rising.

Obtaining a Bible

A significant new development is that people are asking for the Bible in créole. At the same time, waiting lists for literacy classes are growing: in this country where almost 50 per cent of the population cannot read or write, the Bible Society’s literacy program is completely full and urgently needs to be expanded.

Many Christians are now learning to read in order to be able to read the Bible in créole. One such person is an elderly lady at the Calvary Chapel Church in Port-au-Prince. After having completely the classes offered under the Society’s program, she signed up at another school so that she could continue to make progress. Her goal is to read the Bible every day by herself, to understand and study it in her mother tongue without needing anybody’s help.

Saint-Louis church, in the town centre of Port-au-Prince. January 2012.

A man at the launch of the 'Proclaimer' in Peru in 2007.

When they got married, Jorgé and Maria dedicated their lives to serving God and promised to raise any children they might have in a Christian home. Subsequent events tested their faith beyond what they could ever have expected, but hearing God’s Word brought them out of the depths of despair and doubt.

Finding it difficult to make a living in the city after their marriage, Jorgé and Maria moved to Peru’s jungle area. There was a group of believers in this community, so they began to meet for church services. However, terrorists in the area were opposed to them meeting: they threatened them and then burnt their church.

But Jorgé, Maria and the other believers continued to meet in each other’s homes. The terrorists retaliated by rounding up the men and taking them to their base. There, they mistreated them for two days and subjected them to forced labour before letting them go.

After this, the believers began to pray only in their own homes. Still, the terrorists killed one of the men and his wife, leaving their two small children traumatised.

‘I became hard of heart’

Then one day, Jorgé and his family were praying at home. The terrorists discovered them, burst in and murdered Jorgé and Maria’s two children right in front of them.

Jorgé says, “I started to renounce God and became hard of heart. I didn’t want to know God any more because I believed he had killed my children. My children were consecrated to God; they didn’t deserve this.

“We left all our property in the jungle and returned to town. It was very difficult to overcome this trauma and I became a prisoner of resentment and hatred towards God. Many people came to talk to me, but I never wanted to open up my heart to him again.”

One day Jorgé’s house burned down. He, Maria, and their new child would have been homeless if a pastor and his church had not helped to replace everything they had lost.

The day the church delivered the donations, its members held a small meeting of thanks in Jorgé’s house. He says, “They made us listen to the Proclaimer audio Scripture player.”

‘God touched  me’

And God’s Word touched Jorgé and changed him.

A woman at the launch of the 'Proclaimer' in Peru in 2007.

“When I was listening to the Beatitudes, God touched my heart. At that moment I felt like I was being rescued from the devil and my feelings of hatred toward God. I asked God for forgiveness, and for the first time I thanked him for the death of my children, because I knew they were in his glory.”

Since then, Jorgé and Maria have returned to church and their son has accepted Jesus into his heart. They hold cell groups for their family and neighbours, where they listen to the Proclaimer. Jorgé says, “We believe that in the way that God touched my heart through the Proclaimer, he will touch the hearts of our neighbours too. The Word of God is comfort for our lives.”

Taken from Faith Comes By Hearing Church Partner Report, February 2012

Some South Sudan church leaders with UBS staff and the head of the new Bible Society, Dr Edward Kajivora (far right)

South Sudan, which split from Sudan to become the world’s newest country last July, now has its own Bible Society. The Bible Society in South Sudan was officially registered on January 24 and is already working hard to serve the Scripture needs of a country facing enormous challenges.

This month, for instance, together with American Bible Society it led a workshop to equip church leaders and others for trauma counselling – a much-needed ministry in a country wracked by two decades of civil war.

Violent conflict is far from being a thing of the past in South Sudan: there is unrest on its borders and violent clashes between ethnic groups are escalating, leaving thousands dead and many more homeless.

Yet to experience peace

“Our new nation has yet to experience peace – both from outside and and inside our borders,” comments Bible Society Executive Secretary Dr Edward Kajivora. “The internal conflict is not new – tribes have always fought over cattle, which are highly prized in our society.

Carts carrying water tanks in Juba, the country's capital city.

“But the 21-year civil war has placed firearms in the hands of many South Sudanese people and the fighting has become more deadly and harder for the government to get under control. The worst clashes are between the Lou-Nuer and the Murle, who are killing and maiming each other,  stealing cattle, abducting women and children and burning whole villages to the ground.

“This cycle of violence will only get worse unless drastic measures are taken. The Christian Council of Churches is doing its best to bring reconciliation, talking to both sides and trying to stop the attacks. Everyone in South Sudan is concerned and special prayer meetings are being held in churches.

Visiting the wounded

“As a Bible Society we are visiting the wounded who are brought to the hospital in Juba. We pray and talk together and try to comfort them. They always smile and thank us. One man told us that although he’d heard about Jesus at church, it was only during this difficult time that he had really come to know him.

“We asked him if he had read the Bible but he said that he could not read. This is not surprising: the illiteracy rate here is more than 80 per cent. The years of war have deprived a whole generation of education. Today, the youth of our country are roaming the streets aimlessly and are easily enticed into crime. They need guidance, support and opportunities.”

Working in trying circumstances

David Hammond, who co-ordinates UBS’s work in Africa, says, “The Bible Society in South Sudan is working in trying circumstances, based in a bomb-damaged warehouse with no electricity or internet connection. It needs proper office facilities, a steady supply of Scriptures, solar panels and a vehicle among many other things.

“Please pray that these things can be put in place so that we can move ahead with our dreams to develop Bible work in this fledgling country.”