"Open the Bible for me"
Your support enables Bible engagement programs to flourish. Like literacy classes and trauma-healing projects. More than that, you’ll empower local Christian leaders to advocate for the Bible in public life here at home and around the world. From South African gaols to hospital beds in Nicaragua, lives are being transformed by the Gospel we get to share. Here are the stories of just a few.
Former Gangster Finds God - Conrad Solomon
South Africa
Conrad Solomon grew up in a small town in Uitenhage (in the Eastern Cape Province), where poverty and gangs are rife. He started missing school at a young age and joined a local gang. Drinking and taking drugs, he quickly got involved in crime, breaking into people’s houses and stealing. In 2003, he was involved in a robbery and hijacking which led to his arrest. In Mangaung prison, he joined a gang and quickly rose through its ranks; organising stabbings of prison officials, taking them hostage and organising strikes. He was transferred to Ebongweni where he contracted Tuberculosis and had to be hospitalised.
“It was in hospital that I started doing your course and reading a Bible for the first time and every day. One day, as I was reading the Bible that I received from you, I recognised things I never saw or knew before. It was in my hospital bed that I gave my life to the Lord, and when I went back to the housing section, I was a changed man. I started serving God.”
Learning Through Listening - Mrs Sri
Laos
Mrs Sri comes from a Khmu village in northern Laos. As a child, she was unable to finish 1st grade since she had to care for her little sister at home while her parents both worked. Now, at 26 years old, she never got the chance to go back to school. As she grew up, she moved from taking care of her siblings to taking care of her family while her husband worked. When she had children, she could not read or write. Her longing to learn continued until the Laos Partnership helped start a literacy programme in her village and she was one of the first students to join.
As Mrs Sri tells her story, she and her facilitator cry tears of joy, “Now, by the grace of God, I can read and write, and I am so happy and proud of myself. Now I can read and understand the Bible. My reading ability really benefits me with biblical knowledge and helps me to understand God’s Word. Other than that, being able to read also helps me to understand the meaning of the notices and letters that I receive and the signs and posters in the markets and on the streets.”
Hope and Smile - Luz Marina and Camila
Nicaragua
Luz Marina and her family are from the municipality of Chichigalpa, in the Pacific region of Nicaragua, where the only source of work is cutting sugar cane. The cultivation of cane is a dangerous job since workers are exposed to many pesticides and chemicals that threaten the health of both workers and their families.
Six months ago, Luz Marina discovered that her young daughter Camila had leukemia. During their stay in hospital, they were blessed with free Bibles, material and additional aid by the Bible Society.
“When we arrived at the hospital we felt lonely, I had never been to the capital and even less in this hospital. We entered as an emergency and being transferred to the area of children with cancer I came to think that I would not go out with my child alive, but after seeing part of the work of the Bible Society and participating in the prayers that the pastors do, it fills me and it injects me with faith in God, a God I used to flee from not going to church, but in this situation I have learned to depend on Him."
"I want to thank each person, donor and Bible Society who help so that patients and families have a Bible. We have the Bible closer, and that allows us to get closer to God."
