Helping change lives around the world

Several years ago, the Bible Society of Egypt was seeking innovative ways to reach out to children with the Gospel message. One answer came in the form of a very friendly cartoon lion called Kingo.

In Jordan, Bible Society stalls, such as at the Amman International Book Fair, are enabling many to connect with the Gospel.

Bible Society stalls, such as this one, are helping many in Jordan to have access to the Bible.

When Kem Raj was unable to find a job in his native country of Nepal, he decided to travel to the Gulf States in search of work. There, he found a job as a night watchman. But increasingly Kem found himself feeling trapped and alone. Unable to either eat or sleep, he grew weaker and weaker. Desperately, he tried all kinds of remedies but to no avail.

Kem Raj who came to faith through the Bible.

Aleksei grew up in Novoaltaysk in the Altai Krai region, in southern Russia. Drugs were easy to come by in those parts, and by the time he was 23 years old Aleksei was a heroin addict.

Aleksei, on right, with recovering drug addicts at a drug rehabilitation centre.

Throughout the Gulf States, the Mega Voice Player, which is a solar-powered audio device able to withstand tough climatic conditions, is meeting the spiritual needs of thousands of migrant workers.

Two housemaids, who live in Dubai, with the audio Bible they received.

It’s been fifty years since Australian missionaries Ralph and Margaret Lawton first arrived on the island of Kiriwina, in the Trobriand Islands.

Right from the start Ralph recognised that new Scriptures were urgently needed for the Kiriwina people, to replace outdated Scriptures which had first been published in the early 1900s.

Chief Togarai and bearers carrying a box of Bibles in a specially-prepared yam house.

In days gone by translation work was carried out by missionaries, but today the work is done by indigenous translators. “Training the translators” is now a key aspect of the support that the United Bible Societies provides to indigenous groups, who want to begin a Bible translation. In the Americas, for example, there are now two translator training programmes – one in Costa Rica and one in Peru.

Members of the Chol Bible translation team, one of Mexico’s indigenous language groups, who received training from the United Bible Societies.

Two day’s drive south of Mexico City, in a small mountain village high in the remote regions of Quetzaltepec, speakers of the Mixe language wait eagerly for members of the Bible Society translation team to arrive.

These young Mixe girls speak the Ayuk dialect. They are one of seven Mixe-speaking groups who are still waiting to receive God’s Word in their heart language.

For Sinat and her family, who live in Cambodia, there seemed to be no way out of the poverty that they had always known. But there was one “option” which was readily available. Skipping school, Sinat began trafficking drugs. Things seemed to be going fine, until one day Sinat was arrested and sentenced to two years in Pusat Prison, one of Cambodia’s most notorious prisons. She was only 18 years old.

Former drug trafficker Sinat’s life was changed forever when she received a Bible in prison and committed her life to following Jesus.

It was 1945, and Len Harris was a lone missionary in Australia’s remote Northern Territory.

Len spent his time travelling between Aboriginal communities, encouraging the small number of Christians and baptising new converts. But Len was frustrated by the large number of Aboriginal languages, and the sheer challenge of communicating the Gospel to the Aboriginal people.

Thanks to the work of pioneering translators, such as Len, Grace and Bidigainj, Aboriginal children such as these are now able to have access to the Bible in their heart language.

In Suriname, a Bible Society team recently travelled deep into the Amazon forest using dugout canoes to spend a day with a group which speak the Saramaccan language. The Saramaccans are the descendants of runaway slaves, the earliest of which are said to date back to 1690.

Billboards, such as this one, are being used to convey a message of respect, dignity and love across Suriname. This one says, ‘Nobody deserves to be abused or mistreated.’

Simon is an intelligent, energetic child. He doesn’t know how old he is, but he looks to be around ten. He goes to school, but his learning is hampered by the fact that he has no school books.

Some of the Turkana people who have been affected by the Horn of Africa drought.

A former gangster, Komlavi repented one day during an audio Bibles session and asked Jesus into his life.

In spite of the ongoing turmoil in Syria, there are still opportunities to provide Bibles to the Syrian people. One of these is at the Al-Assad Library International Book Fair, which is held every year in Damascus.

A large edition of the children’s Bible proved to be a popular choice amongst children at the book fair.

The Siberia branch of the Bible Society of Russia is prepared to go a long way in order to ensure that it reaches as many people as possible throughout its vast region.

Alexei Bulatov, Director of the Siberia branch of the Bible Society of Russia, on a boat which was used to bring Bibles to communities on the River Ob.

In rural villages throughout Hungary, Bible Society is working to bring Bibles to people, many of whom are Romanis, once known as gypsies.

These two young Romani men were amongst those who received Bibles during a recent Bible Society trip to the village of Hernandszentandras, in Hungary.

On any given night thousands of children can be found sleeping rough on the streets of Addis Ababa, the capital city of Ethiopia. Some are orphans. Others have come to the city from the rural areas seeking work.

Mikiyas, who knows God’s love through listening to the audio Bible.

Across Nigeria people are tuning into the Word of God. From prisons to shops to outdoor spaces people are gathering to listen to audio Bibles in languages such as Hausa, Yoruba and Igbo.

Elder Augustine, from Adamawa State, with a Bible he received after attending audio Bible sessions.

Read brief news updates about Bible Society work happening in Norway, Kyrgyzstan, Malaysia, Nigeria and Ethiopia.

These young Norwegian theology students dressed up as biblical characters and queued overnight to obtain copies of the new Bible translations.