Bible Society of Mauritius receives Bibles and tests audio Scriptures

By François Sieberhagen, UBS Media Consultant

Mr Louis Walter, 70, and his granddaughter Marie Sandrineylou, 6, follow the reading in his large-print Bible at a prayer meeting in the Assemblies of God church in Curepipe. During the meeting Mr Walter said that the Word of God is “the most important and precious gift one can share”. Mauritius. Photo: SAFRSC/François Sieberhagen (MAU02DJ-1.jpg)

EAU COULÉE, Mauritius — The Bible Society of Mauritius is undertaking research into how to serve specific sectors of the population more effectively by providing biblical material in the most appropriate formats and at affordable prices. Two recent developments, the distribution of English Bibles and the testing of the Faith Comes By Hearing (FCBH) concept, are in line with this strategy.

The Society has received a consignment of English Bibles which have been examined by General Secretary the Rev Marc Etive and Production Assistant Myrna Cootoopermal prior to distribution, to ensure that they meet the required standards. English is the official language of Mauritius, and the Society feels that it is important to supply Scriptures to English-speakers, even though they represent a much smaller proportion of the population than those who speak French or Morisyen, the local Creole.

Churches on Mauritius have faced challenges as they have sought to encourage people to become involved in Scripture reading. A meeting with pastors and elders from the Assemblies of God church in Rose Hill, the second-largest town on Mauritius, gave Mr Etive the opportunity to address this issue and to present the FCBH concept.

Those who attended the meeting responded very enthusiastically to the prospect of being able to use audio Scriptures to reach both literate and non-literate communities. Pastor Jacky Barbera asked if Mr Etive would look at all the possibilities for implementing the FCBH program.