New Testaments give ‘spiritual support’
to police

Marco Vinicio Martínez, Administrative Director of the Bible Society of Guatemala (left), presenting a copy of the New Testament and a bumper sticker to Edwin Sperisen, Director of the National Civil Police, at a ceremony in March 2006. The Bible Society hopes that these materials will provide spiritual support to the National Civil Police. Photo: Bible Society of Guatemala/Edy Samayoa (GUA06DJ-1.JPG)

GUATEMALA — The Bible Society of Guatemala has made a donation of Scripture materials to the country’s National Civil Police (NCP) to provide ‘spiritual support’ to their work.

4,000 copies

The Rev Cornelio Midence, Executive Director, and Dr Marco Vinicio Martínez, Administrative Director of the Bible Society, gave the resources to the Director of the NCP, Erwin Sperisen, at a formal ceremony in March. They consisted of 4,000 copies of the New Testament and the same quantity of bumper stickers.

‘Do not be afraid, Guatemala…’ The purpose of the Bible Society of Guatemala’s campaign ‘Do not be afraid, Guatemala, I am helping you’ is to give a message of hope to people affected by Hurricane Stan, the country’s worst disaster of recent years. The Society says it aims to motivate people to read the Bible – or draw closer to it, if they are not Christians – and to bring about a change of heart through their interaction with the Word of God.      The ‘campaign idea’ is to tell people ‘God is speaking to you’. The Society has chosen biblical soundbites – either actual Bible texts or paraphrases – and has published them on a range of media including roadside posters, calendars, bumper stickers, children’s books and bookmarks, together with references to the relevant Bible verses. Examples include “If you are compassionate, you will be shown compassion” (Matt. 5:7), “When everything was dark, I was taking care of you” (Psalms 23:4), and “Do not be afraid, Guatemala, I am helping you” (based on Isaiah 41:13).

The stickers are part of the campaign ‘Do not be afraid, Guatemala, I am helping you’ which the Bible Society launched at the end of 2005 to offer comfort and hope in the wake of the devastation caused by Hurricane Stan and with the aim of promoting a sense of solidarity across the country. (see panel)

Stickers

Dr Martínez explained that at the beginning of this year, the NCP had invited the Society to take part in the Day of Prayer for Peace in Our City, and how they then showed Mr Sperisen the campaign. The Director later asked if the NCP could have some bumper stickers for their vehicles.

Strengthen

“To strengthen and complement the message that God offers through these bumper stickers,” Dr Martínez added, “we thought it opportune to extend the donation to New Testaments.”

Handing over the New Testaments and bumper stickers, Dr Martínez said, “We do it with the desire that the members of the NCP should know the principles and values that we find in God’s Word, those same values that cause us to practise justice and decency courageously to bring blessing to our neighbour.”

He urged Mr Sperisen to make good use of this material with the conviction that God’s Word has power and changes people’s lives for the better. “The message that you have in your hands is very important,” he said, “because it comes from God. It is God who is telling the men of the National Civil Police, ‘Have no fear… I am helping you’.” (WR 402/14 - 06.06) [1 photo]