Biblia Global Newsletter - September 2019

September, 2019 Newsletter

God is Doing Amazing Things Through Your Giving

In this sphere of the ministry world, we don’t always get to see the fruit of our labor of love in working to get our brothers and sisters their own copy of God’s Word. This is in large part because of the very reasons these believers need Bibles in the first place: highly remote locations, extremely poor populations, and the believers are in restricted, security sensitive countries. So it is refreshing when we can safely share the fruit of your giving and praying. Through our 2018 matching gift challenge with aaa.ngo, Biblia Global donors funded 13,427 Sqaw Karen Bibles, which were delivered in the spring and early summer of 2019. Below are some of the pictures and testimonies from those Sqaw Karen who received their Bibles for the first time. Biblia Global is grateful to you our donors, our western and indigenous contacts, our Bible printer friends, and aaa.ngo for doubling our donors funds. We couldn't do it without each of you

If you read nothing else from us all year, please read these testimonies and take to heart the words written by our brothers and sisters to you, the donor.

Note the impact of 1. God’s Word on people (it can have the same impact on you and I); 2. The impact of your giving towards these projects. If there was any doubt that there is a need for Bibles in restricted places and that all of us can make a difference, let these brother’s and sister’s words encourage you.

For those wishing to continue giving towards projects like this, aaa.ngo will once again match all donations given to Biblia Global’s Bibles for Asia project up to $40,000 in October of 2019!

My name is Mr. Htoo and I am 51 years old. My parents died when I was seven days old. I have never seen their faces, even in pictures as there are no pictures of my parents. When I was 18 years old I accepted Christ as my personal Savior and Lord. When I was 21 years old I was called to fight for the Kachin Independence Army (KIA) to protect our Karen people from the attacks by the Burmese Army. I fought many battles against the Burmese Army, but God protected me and saved me many times from the hands of the enemy.

When I was 45 years old I fell down and could not walk anymore. So from that time I had to retire from the KIA and my relative built a small bamboo house for me. My relatives came to me every day to feed me. I prayed to God every day to heal me so I could walk again, but nothing happened. On June 14, 2019, I received a free Sqaw Karen Bible and I started reading. Whenever I read it, I focused on Jesus and I strongly believed that as God’s Word is powerful and alive that by reading the Word of God, God will heal me. I finished reading the New Testament in three days (June 15-17) and when I woke up in the morning of June 18, I could move my legs. I stood up properly. Then I tried to walk and I could walk. PRAISE THE LORD! After I was healed I called the pastor and he took the picture of me standing with my Bible. I have decided to pray for you every day and whenever I can I will testify of God’s healing power. Thank you to you all who gave and worked to send me a free Bible, through which the Lord has healed me and now this cripple can walk again.

My name is N.P. Sim and I am 92 years old. I was raised by Christian parents, but we never had a Bible. I accepted Christ when I was 15-years-old and since that time I have been praying to have my own Bible. But because of the fighting, I have had to move out of 11 villages during my life. We always lost our land, our animals, and our houses, all that we owned, and we could not go back to our villages. We lost everything each time and just ran for our lives. But God is so good and He has saved my life until today.

Until today, I have never had my own Bible. But God never forgot my prayers to have my own Bible. And now today, in May of 2019, after praying for 77 years, you have given me a free Sqaw Karen Bible with hymnal, and this is the first Bible I have every owned in my life. I thank the Lord that he has answered my 77 years of prayer for a Bible. And I am so blessed that I can read this Bible without eye glasses. Today is by far the happiest day in my life, because I have seen, received free, and now own my own Bible.

I lost my husband and three children because of the fighting. I live alone now. But God has given me the best friend in my life now and that is His Word; the Bible. There is only one copy of the Bible in our village which is 23 years old and it was put in the church pulpit and only the Pastor can use it. This may be difficult to believe for this present time, but this is real and unbelievable.

By the grace of God, now we received Sqaw Karen Bibles freely. When we heard that our Sqaw Karen Bible would be distributed freely in our village, no one believed it, because it has never happened in our area. But it is real and it has happened today. How great God is today for our village.

There are many more villages in our area that do not have Bibles. They are also praying to be able to get Bibles in their villages. Our region is very remote so most people do not visit us. In the rainy season there is no way or road to get to our villages. Therefore, I would like to humbly request that you please remember and have concern for the others who do not yet have a Bible and please bring Bibles to these other villages. There are many, many, many more villages that do not have Bibles.

May the Lord Bless you. And I would like to say again and again, ‘Thank you so much for giving me this precious gift of a Bible.

My name is Mr. Karly. I am 77 years old and I live in TG Village. I was married and I had nine children, but I am alone now, because all of my children died in the jungle in 1992 while we ran for our lives from the Burmese Army. My wife was killed in a bombing in 1993. I don’t have any relatives, and I don’t know where the other people are from my village, as we all ran in different directions. My life is horrible, since I have lost everything. My life is worse than Job’s.

I have always wanted to have and to read the Bible, but I have never had a Bible. Throughout my life I have often asked the Pastors and Evangelists how I can get a Bible. But they all said it is very difficult to get a Bible. They often said that if they can get one, they will give it to me. But I never received one from any of them. So I decided to only trust God and I realized that God can meet my need. I started praying to God for a Bible in 1966 when I was 24 years old. After 53 years of praying God has answered my prayer and I have been freely given a Bible and hymnal. I am so happy to God, even though I am alone and my house is built of only bamboo leaves, because God is the one who saved me and He encourages me every time. Once I started reading my Bible I understood better who my God is and how great He is. In the natural world I own nothing. But now I own the most precious thing in life, and that is God’s Word. Thanks to you all!

My name is Mrs. Thida. I am 39 years old and I live in TP Village. I have five children. My husband died on July 19, 2015 when he was fishing in the ocean. My parents are born again Christians and I was converted when I was 11 years old through my father’s teaching about salvation. Ever since I became a Christian I wanted to buy and have my own Bible that I could read whenever I wanted to. But our village is so far from the city and our family income is sometimes not even enough for our daily meals. In 2011 I started saving money to buy a Bible. After two years I had saved 5,000 Myanmar Kyat (about $5 USD). When my pastor was going to make a trip to Yangon in 2013, I gave him the money and asked him to buy a Bible for me.

   When my pastor went to the bookshop and asked the price for a Sqaw Karen Bible, the price was 18,000 Myanmar Kyat (or about $18 USD). So my pastor could not buy one for me. I was so upset, because my total savings could not buy even one copy of the Bible. I copied Scripture verses on blank paper and our family would read together before we went to sleep at night. Every night our family prayed to be able to buy and own a Bible. It’s not easy for me to save more money for a Bible, because I am caring for five children without a husband. Our house is built of bamboo. Four of my children go to school and the youngest one is with me all day long. I cannot afford to send him to nursery school.

   I thank God that by God’s grace we received a free Sqaw Karen Bible with hymnal for our home. God knows our family’s prayer and our need for a Bible. As soon as my children were home from school I told them about God answering our prayers for a Bible. And my children and I started praising God and crying with big tears for God’s goodness to our family. Now our family owns the most precious thing in the world, the Word of God. Even though our family is poor, we can praise God, pray to God, and sing to God every night.

   Not having a Bible was the biggest need in our family. Thanks to everyone who helped us to receive a Bible. You have provided for my family’s greatest need.

   Having one Bible per family is wonderful compared to not having a single Bible in the Home. But if I may request that you please give every family at least two Bibles. It will be much better for us as we have large families. Secondly, there are many more Sqaw Karen villages that didn’t receive any Bibles this time, because they did not know about this project. So now they know and they would also like to have Bibles distributed in their villages. Please remember them and help them. The Bible is everything for our Christian life.

2019 Matching Gift Challenge!

AAA.ngo will once again match all donations given to Biblia Global’s Bibles for Asia project up to $40,000 October 1-31, 2019! Matching gift donations will be used towards a future Bibles for Asia project in late 2019, early 2020.