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New Testaments
Bring Hope to Siberia’s Isolated Communities
Spiritual Refreshment at Hilltop Monastery
(Israel)
Explaining Bible Work at Amsterdam 2000
(Netherlands)
Radio Drama Scoops Bible Society Award (Norway)
Handwriting the Bible – for his Friends
(Norway)
Taking the Bible to School (Ukraine)
Hearing the Bible read from Braille (Ukraine)
A warm welcome at the Tüyap Bookfair
(Turkey)
The Long and Winding Road (Lebanon)
High Profile for Bible Society in Italy
During Youth Celebrations
Two
years ago the Bible Society in Russia (BSR) began implementation of a project
– To the Ends of the Earth – to take the Word of God to people
living in distant corners of the Russian Federation, primarily in Siberia and
the Far East. Since it began, the project has provided more than 50,000 Scriptures
for children and young people.
NOVOSIBIRSK,
Siberia — At the ‘ends of the earth’, New Testaments from the
Bible Society in Russia (BSR) are giving both adults
and children a chance to learn about Jesus for the first time.
In remote countryside villages where alcoholism, sorcery, and unemployment are rife, hopes are that these Scriptures will inspire people to turn away from a lifestyle that is leading nowhere, according to Alexei Bulatov, Director of the BSR’s Siberia office.
Mr Bulatov has just returned from a trip to Norilsk, about 400 km (250 miles) north of the Arctic Circle, and Khatanga, an important town in the Taimyr autonomous area, to see the progress of the BSR’s Bible distribution project – To the Ends of the Earth.
“It is almost impossible to visit these places in the winter – they are very isolated and the houses often very scattered,” explained Mr Bulatov. “So we send packages of books to northern towns in winter and then visit during the summer.”
In Norilsk, a large hunting and trading community with a population of about 300,000, there were many expressions of thanks from the churches for the books that had been sent by the BSR.
Then it was onto Khatanga, which has been populated since the 17th century. Russians traded here with ethnic groups – the Dolgan and Nganasan – providing essential supplies in exchange for furs and fish. In the next century, Orthodox priests moved into the area.
“The Dolgan, whose population numbered several thousand, adopted the Orthodox faith, but the Nganasan did not. Today it would be difficult to call any of them Christian,” said Mr Bulatov.
“Over the years the Christian faith, established and nourished by the first missionaries, has been forgotten. Apart from the Orthodox, there are Baptists and Seventh-day Adventist missionaries in the area, but interconfessional tensions run high. Sadly it seems that Christians compel non-Christians to choose a denomination instead of the hope of salvation.”
Mr
Bulatov first came across evidence of the Bible Society’s activity when
he arrived at a school boarding house in Khatanga: “There, in the classroom,
was one of our books: a Bible Storybook!” he said. “The teacher told
me that the children enjoy reading the books they receive from local missionaries,
many of which are BSR publications. She thanked us for our work and told us
that when the children return to their homes in the countryside for the summer,
almost every one of them has one of our books in their bag.”
Mr Bulatov also had an opportunity to talk with the young people in the boarding house. “They were attentive and responsive, although also shy and reserved,” he said. “However, towards the end of our visit they opened up and sang songs in Dolgani and shared their plans with us. Many of them were leaving school this year and are hoping to go onto college in Dudinka – a port on the Yenisei River.
“We told them that God made his Word known to us through the Bible. Some of them had heard of Jesus, but their knowledge was superficial and they carefully studied the illustrated New Testaments we gave them.
“We knew that within a few days, these young people would be heading home to country villages with their copies of the Scriptures. These are the areas with many social problems – such as alcoholism, shamanism and unemployment – and where there is a great need for the Word of God.”
Mr Bulatov also visited Khatanga’s hospital. “Representatives of another church had visited the day before, which may explain why people seemed suspicious of us. However, they received the New Testaments with pleasure and seemed interested in the illustrations. We had a warmer reception in the children’s wards – on their recovery the children will return to their villages, and it is good that they will have something to show off to their families!”
Part of Mr Bulatov’s party then moved onto the village of Novoribnoi, 200 km (125 miles) north of Khatanga. “The economic situation in this village is disastrous,” said Mr Bulatov. “People don’t even have cups: they drink from half-litre jam jars. There is much drunkenness and hardly any food in the shops. The group took humanitarian aid and some New Testaments and Children’s Bibles for the local people.”
Mr Bulatov was bound for two further settlements, but was unable to make the trip because of bad weather. “It was a pity, but since books have already been sent to the villages it really does not matter whether or not I get there. It was God’s will,” he said. (WR 354/19 - 10.00) [PHOTOS]
ISRAEL — There are many historic religious
sites in Israel – and many ancient churches. But there are few in which
visitors are greeted with a multi-language display of Bibles and other Christian
materials.
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The church is in the grounds of the Beit Jamail Monastery, and its primary occupant these days is 78-year-old Father Dominique Dezzutto. He sees his custodianship of the historic church as the perfect opportunity to share God’s Word with international visitors, pilgrims, and immigrants.
“Busloads of people come from all over the country,” the Roman Catholic priest says with a smile. “Perhaps 100,000 people come each year to visit. They picnic nearby, then walk up the hill to visit the monastery and to buy wine.”
They often leave with more than they expected. Father Dominique offers the Scriptures in multiple languages, because visitors to the little church come from around the world.
“We offer Scriptures in Hebrew, English, Arabic, Russian, Chinese, Thai, and other languages,” he explains. “In the last few years, we have had more than 800,000 immigrants come from Russia. Probably 200,000 of them have Christian origins.
“So many people come – most of them are secular. But when they find the Holy Bible in their language, they are excited, so thousands more come every year.”
His attraction has proven so popular, however, that some local opponents erected signs warning that a visit might lead to an attempted conversion – a sensitive subject in Israel.
“The opposition put up a sign at the bottom of the hill that said, ‘Don’t go up! They smile at you, but they are bad,’” he explained. “But I put my table inside the church, so people must go inside to see the Bibles. Then they are free to take them or not take them. I never even ask anyone to take one.
“But people keep coming. They visit the church, but many of them come because they have heard they can get Bibles in their own language.”
Father Dominique didn’t originally come to the monastery to run a Bible book table, of course. When he arrived from Italy in 1937, it was to serve at what was then a boarding school for boys. Since the school was closed in 1981, he has become the last monk in residence.
After he arrived at the monastery, which opened in 1873, he discovered that there were many visitors to the little church in the grounds. So he began his Scripture ministry by ordering some Hebrew New Testaments. It grew from there.
So while the religious instruction of young boys is but a memory at Beit Jamail, spiritual growth continues amid the beautiful surroundings – through the little Bible display in the ancient church. Because of Father Dominique, people from distant corners of the globe depart with spiritual refreshment in their hearts – and God’s Word in their hands. (WR354/20 - 10.00) [PHOTOS]
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n Larry Jerden (seated), Head of Communications Services at the UBS World Service Center, explains Bible work to visitors at the UBS booth during Amsterdam 2000. More than 770 evangelists from 83 countries completed enquiry forms, asking that they be contacted by their national Bible Societies. The Amsterdam conference, called by Billy Graham, drew more than 10,000 evangelists from over 180 countries. An estimated 1,500 visited the UBS booth. (WR 354/21 - 10.00) [PHOTOS] |
OSLO, Norway — The Norwegian Bible Society’s coveted Bible Award 2000 has been presented to Carl Henrik Grøndahl for his engaging and sensitive radio dramatisation of the four Gospels. The Norwegian Broadcasting Radio Theatre has also been honoured for the project.
The Gospels, broadcast at Christmas and during the Spring, bring the biblical text to life via a narrator, actors, and dramatic effects. The project has not only made the Gospels accessible to a radio audience but has also made them available for use in churches on audio cassette.
The recording of the programmes brought many young actors and actresses into contact with the Gospels. For some it was the first time, while for others it meant blowing the dust off what they had learned as children. All showed a serious commitment to the project, and many lives were touched.
The Bible Society’s Bible Award recognises those people or organisations that have helped to broaden or renew the use of the Bible, especially in the interface between the church and the culture, and between Christian life and public life.
The Award consists of a luxury Bible known as the Olaf’s Bible, and a framed original print of one page from Christian IV’s Bible from 1633. Carl Henrik Grøndahl’s earlier productions include a dramatised version of the Book of Job. (WR 354/22 - 10.00)
OSLO, Norway — Arne Førland has written out the entire Bible by hand no less than 90 times, giving away each neat page of manuscript to members of his family and friends.
In his small apartment in Hoveter, Oslo, Arne sits down with his favourite Bible Society translation, paper and pen, and re-acquaints himself with every word as he writes.
Arne is unable to work, and lives on a disability allowance from the state. Since he took up his pen in 1970, Bible-writing has become his all-absorbing hobby.
He was not a Christian when he starting writing the text for the first time, however. That happened six years later, when a friend invited him to a meeting. Later he was baptised in a lake in the Groruddalen Valley and he is now a member of a free charismatic congregation at the Network Church in Hoveter.
Arne says he never gets bored of writing out the Bible. “As I write, I read, and I’m conscientious in getting every word and comma right. It’s one way of getting fully acquainted with the text,” he says. (WR354/23 -10.00)
Former teacher Maya Benediktovich
welcomes the prospect of changes
to religious education in Ukraine
KYIV, Ukraine — Only 15 or 20 years ago we in Ukraine could not really envisage the Bible being distributed among our children or teenagers, let alone being included in the secondary school curriculum or on university courses. Few people dared to think of such things.
But then in 1991, when I was a senior teacher, I attended a national teachers’ conference where someone stood up and said that the time had come for teachers to start reading the Bible. Our young people, he said, had got out of hand. Only Scripture could help us bring them up successfully.
The audience was shocked. Some even shouted out, “He is an agent provocateur! Catch him!” But he was not; in fact his proposal had been cleared by the Ministry of Education.
Yet his words caused a stir, because until then the Bible was on the list of banned books – for teachers in particular.
That was nearly 10 years ago. The Bible has still not been included in our school curriculum, but nevertheless Ukraine has become a country where Christians are free to worship much more openly, and the government has begun to give serious consideration to including subjects like Christian ethics in the secondary school curriculum. They are even thinking of opening faculties of theology in universities.
In January a special task force was set up to work out recommendations on this issue for submission to the Ukrainian parliament.
If parliament approves, new curricula will be implemented into our education system very rapidly. So let us pray for wisdom for our parliament as it considers this issue. The effectiveness of the work of the Ukrainian Bible Society – and likewise of our priests, pastors and scholars – depends on its decision.
The vice-president of the UkrBS Board, Professor Dmitro Stepovik, recently drew the attention of board members, representatives of 13 Christian denominations, to the significance of the task facing them. “It is the noble responsibility of all of us,” he said.
He was right. We have to give the Bible to our children. We must bring them up in a Christian morality and show them that the priorities of a life which is a preparation for the glory to come are quite different from the priorities of a life which ends with the grave. We must encourage them to “seek first the Kingdom of God,” and we must do it from their earliest years.
I often talk to the children at my granddaughter’s school. Most of the seven- and eight-year-olds there have a copy of a Children’s Bible, a Christmas present from the UkrBS or the Norwegian Bible Society, and their curiosity about different parts of the Bible is wonderful.
n A girl in a school for blind and visually impaired children in Ukraine reads a Braille New Testament supplied by the Ukrainian Bible Society. UBS Translation Consultant David Clark took the photograph during a visit with Roman Vovk, the Society’s Director. “The girl was asked to read to us,” said Mr Clark. “Somebody picked one of the Braille New Testament volumes from a shelf and opened it more or less at random. She read fluently and without hesitation from the Book of Revelation – not the easiest book for a nine-year-old!” (WR 354/25 - 10.00) [PHOTOS] |
Their eyes shine and they tell me and each other what they like best about it. “The Good Samaritan,” says Vladik. “Mary’s message from the angel Gabriel,” says Angelika. “I have read almost the whole Bible and I like reading the Ten Commandments best,” declares Nastya.
They are so sincere, and they all want to be like the Good Samaritan. I taught them basic English as a volunteer at the school, and now they ask me to bring them Children’s Bibles in English. Some ask for a German Children’s Bible, because they study German and want to share their Bible knowledge when they go on exchange trips.
They are eager to learn passages by heart and recite them to their parents and classmates. They enjoy talking about Bible characters.
Someone has said, “Children will save the world.” I agree, but only if they learn to understand the Word of God, apply it to their lives, and try to become the kind of people God wants them to be.
If they are brought up on the Bible, I can see a new culture developing in our country, a culture based on Christian morals and principles, and one which can save human souls instead of poisoning them with wickedness. That is why the schools in Ukraine must be open to exploring and studying the Bible.
So, for our children’s sake, I ask everyone to “pray that the Lord’s message may continue to spread rapidly and be received with honour” (2 Thessalonians 3:1) by Ukraine’s younger generation – and all its people.
Maya Benediktovich is former Assistant to the Director of the Ukrainian
Bible Society.
(WR 354/24 - 10.00)
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n Smiles all round: a visitor to Ankara’s Tüyap Bookfair gets a warm welcome at the Turkish Bible Society stand. Despite a lower attendance at the bookfair because of a change of venue, staff on the stand were nonetheless inundated with questions about the Bible from people who have little contact with the Christian faith. More than 8,000 Scripture items were sold during the fair, which took place in May. (WR 354/26 - 10.00) [PHOTOS] e-111 |
by Tom Hoglind, Information Officer of the Bible Society in Lebanon
BEIRUT, Lebanon — It is a long drive from Europe to the Middle East, especially in bad weather. We had just collected the brand new microbus from the Volkswagen agency in Europe when snow started falling. This bad weather continued for the rest of our trip back to Lebanon. But as we neared Beirut the sun suddenly broke through and the new Bible Society van arrived on a bright, shining day.
That was in 1979, and the war in Lebanon, which had already been raging for four years, had another 11 years to go. As Bible Society staff and friends gathered around to gaze in admiration at the new vehicle, there were comments that it was madness to import something new and attractive into a war-torn country.
I remember hearing someone wondering out loud how long it would be before the bus was either stolen by one of the militias or destroyed in the fighting. We could only reply that we were trusting in God’s protection in the years ahead. We firmly believed that it was God’s responsibility to look after a vehicle that was consecrated to his service – to bring God’s Word to people in Lebanon and the surrounding countries.
Throughout the war years, the many people who drove ‘God’s Van’ can tell of the divine protection afforded this vehicle. For example, there was the time the bus collided with a tank being driven on the wrong side of the road at night, without lights. Amazingly, the tank driver apologised and offered to pay the damages.
And then there was the time that the Bible bus came under sniper fire while transporting a large quantity of Bibles from East to West Beirut. The Bibles arrived safely but the driver’s knees were shaking so badly that he could hardly stand. Yet another close shave occurred when the bus’s suspension broke on a dangerous mountain curve that dropped hundreds of feet to the valley below.
Over the years, hundreds of young volunteers came from around the world to distribute the Word of God in the blue Bible bus in towns and villages across Lebanon. All of us who drove or rode in it had the ‘Emmanuel Experience’ of God being with us.
On a warm Friday afternoon in July this year, we finally parted with our blue bus. After more than 20 years of service, the bus caught fire on the way to a large Christian gathering in the mountains east of Beirut and was destroyed in a matter of minutes. As we stood helplessly by watching the flames consume the vehicle, we realised that the long and winding road had come to an end, in God’s timing. The Bible bus should have been burned or crushed countless times during the 15-year-long civil war, but God saw fit to protect it and its occupants.
We will miss the Bible bus and the faithful service it rendered us, but we have wonderful memories and even better prospects for the future. (WR 354/27 - 10.00)
High
Profile for Bible Society in Italy ROME, Italy — The Bible Society in Italy (BSI) was heavily involved in high-profile events held in Rome in August as part of the 15th Catholic World Youth Day.
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In spite of its name, the Youth Day actually ran from August 15-20, drawing at least two million young people from 160 countries. On August 17 the Society held a public reading of the Gospel to a large audience on Rome’s Capitoline Hill. To the delight of many of those present, the readers included Damiano Tommasi, the 26-year-old midfielder for AS Roma, who is a committed Christian.
The occasion took place in the Aula Giulio Cesare in Rome’s town hall. Young people from Belgium, England, France, Ireland, Poland and Spain, together with others from Italy, were welcomed by Francesco Rutelli, the Mayor of Rome, and then gave a reading of the Gospel of Mark in their own languages. The audience consisted of leaders of the Roman Catholic, Orthodox and Protestant Churches and some 600 young visitors to the city.
The reading was taken from a special five-language edition of Mark’s Gospel, published by the BSI at the request of the Italian Committee for World Youth Day.
Two days later, at the closing celebration held on the campus of Rome University, Pope John Paul II symbolically offered Mark’s Gospel to six young people from Africa, Asia, Europe, Latin America, North America and Oceania. He urged each young person in the crowd – estimated at more than two million – to take a Gospel in their rucksack, dedicate it to God and give it to a neighbour.
The Gospel which the young people were invited to share was again the multilingual Gospel of Mark published by the BSI. Among those present were BSI General Secretary Dr Valdo Bertalot and the Society’s Information Officer, Mara La Posta.
The Pope told the gathering, “Tonight I will give you the Gospel: it is the gift of the Pope for you in this unforgettable evening! The word you will find in it is the Word of Jesus. If you hear it in silence and in prayer, with the help of your priests and teachers to understand it, then you will meet Christ and follow him, committing your life to him day by day.” (WR354/28 - 10.00) [PHOTOS]
