Dec 1, 2012 ... My Dear Friend,. I always love to tell you what God is doing through the stories ...
Please pray for Dr. John Amanatides. Bible Stories Alive on ...
My Dear Friend, I always love to tell you what God is doing through the stories He has given us in the Bible! What a great privilege we have to spread God’s precious, inspired Word “round the world, round the clock”. I am sure you will like to read the letters from listeners and readers from twelve countries (pages 3 and 4). We could have added letters from more countries. Some mornings when we read our response mail (mostly emails) we feel that we are in the middle of a miracle. God’s word is mighty to save and to strengthen believers. I must tell you this. Spanish pastors have come to us with an urgent request that we produce a Spanish translation of A Visit with Mrs. G radio program. The pastors say that A Visit with Mrs. G radio program in Spanish is desperately needed for Christian radio stations in the US, Central America and South America. And more urgently, the pastors say, the Spanish churches and Sunday schools need Bible Stories Alive on CDs and in books. In Latin America 95% of Spanish pastors have no formal training. Sunday school teachers and parents have little or no help to teach their children and young people. Please see the pastors’ request on page 2. We always ask God to guide us. If this is God’s plan for us, we MUST do it. The first step is for us to pray. If this vast opportunity is of God,
December 2012
He will provide everything. We are very excited that the Lord has opened the door for us to have all the Bible Stories Alive on internet in English (to start with!). We still marvel at God’s provision of a wonderfully qualified volunteer for this great project. Please pray for Dr. John Amanatides. Bible Stories Alive on internet! I can hardly take it in. What joy it gives us at the Granary, and I know you are delighted too. Let’s again thank the Lord for this amazing NEW way of spreading God’s Word. I know you will pray with us that hundreds and thousands of people, young and old, will come to trust the Lord Jesus as their personal Saviour and be encouraged to serve Him as they listen to the Bible stories on their computers and smartphones and…. Through internet listeners will be able to hear and download the stories at any time of day or night in any place in the world. Thank you again for your continued prayers and support. I pray that this Christmas will be a time of special joy for you.
“The angel said unto them...I bring you good tidings of great joy, which will be to ALL PEOPLE.” (Luke 2:10)
P.O. Box 933, Don Mills Postal Station, Toronto, Ontario, Canada M3C 2T9 P.O. Box 2204, Glen Ellyn, Illinois, U.S.A. 60137 Telephone (416) 755-5918 Fax (416) 423-3895 Email:
[email protected] Website: www.biblestoriesaliveministries.org
An Urgent Request “Please Put Bible Stories Alive on Radio in Spanish” This request has come to us from Spanish Christian leaders. Here’s a summary of their request. I The Problem 95% of Spanish pastors have no formal training Christianity is growing very fast in the Spanish world. Many, many new churches are being planted. These churches start without locations or economic support or teaching resources, and without a trained pastor. 95% of Spanish-speaking pastors have no formal training, because there are very few Bible Institutes and most of those who aspire to be pastors cannot pay the cost of tuition and accommodation. So the pastors start up without any formal training. They open their garage or living room or patio, or they stand on a street corner and plant a new church. We must now encourage these earnest pastors and provide them with solid biblical teaching, with training and materials. 40% of the congregations are children from 0 to 14 Our Spanish-speaking churches are usually made up of—men 15%, women 30%, youth 15%, and children 40%. These proportions are true of the Spanish population worldwide. There are 500 million Spanishspeaking people in 26 countries, and almost 40% of them are children from 0 to 14 years old. Our biggest need is to reach and teach the children If our pastors do not have enough resources or training to
preach, our Sundays school teachers have less, or nothing. So our kids have to spend 2 to 3 hours in Sunday school (normal time for a Spanish service!) doing almost nothing, just coloring in a small notebook, singing a bit, and then playing games for the rest of the time. Every Sunday kids are wasting two precious hours of their life doing nothing, because churches have no resources to teach them with. Parents want to teach the Bible to their kids (usually 3 to 5 per family), but they do not have the knowledge or the skill to explain the stories of the Bible. In the US, the current Spanish population is about 50 million, and the problem in their Sunday schools is almost the same as in Central and South America.
more interesting. These wonderful Bible stories will captivate Spanish-speaking kids and teens. Sunday school will become a great time for the kids. It will inspire and motivate them to come to church on Sunday, not just to play but to learn and to enjoy a wonderful Bible story.
Help is needed IMMEDIATELY
• When Christian radio stations discover the quality and the content of Mrs. G’s Bible stories, many will air them free of charge and others for a small contribution.
The Spanish churches are growing fast, and the vast number of young churches urgently need new tools to learn and teach the word of God. We believe this is God’s hour in Latin America. II The Request As pastors, we believe that Mrs. G’s Bible Stories Alive in audio and book would be a wonderful resource for teaching the Bible to the whole family and for helping pastors and church leaders. Pastors and Sunday school and youth leaders will get inspiring facts and insights to make their teaching of the Bible easier and
III Why put Mrs. G’s Bible stories on Spanish radio? • Radio is an all-day companion for millions in the Spanish world, more so than in other countries. Radio reaches a very large part of Spanish communities. • Christian radio stations are looking for attractive programs, with solid biblical content, which will capture and keep the attention of the whole family.
• The radio programs would be followed up by books and CDs for the use of churches and families. • It would be wonderful to have Mrs. G’s Bible stories broadcast in the Spanish-speaking world to bless, teach and guide the children and young people to a real personal relationship with God the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. —Carlos Lopez
Stories Round the World Round the Clock since 1973 India
Pakistan
Our ministry is Mission to the Lost, based in south India. It is focused on serving and giving life to the lost. The Mission organizes evangelical crusades in the villages. It serves the poorest of the poor in the slums, and neglected children, and the widows of rural India. It runs an orphanage with 26 children and an old people’s home for widows (James 1:27). I will love to receive your Bible story books. They will help our children to grow more in Jesus our Lord and bring their school friends to know Jesus as their Friend. Our children in the orphanage have seen your picture on your website and they are sending their love, hugs and kisses to you. We thank you again for your love and heart for us. I was blessed to speak with you on the phone. I thank God for His divine connection! I ask you to send the Bible story books to my address. I need your prayers. Here I am sending a picture of our orphan children in my care. —Pastor S. Paul
Greetings from Pakistan in Jesus name. I am very happy to inform you that I received the parcel in which you sent me 3 books ( Adam and Eve , Jesus the Baby, Jesus the Boy ). I read them and they really blessed me. I am running an Orphanage Home in Pakistan with 31 kids and trying to share smiles and happiness with them. I shared these stories with them and they said, “We learned many things from them.” I shared the story of Adam and Eve in one adult meeting and people really liked it. And many of them asked if it is available in Urdu. I said to them, No. Here in Pakistan 80% of the people speak Urdu. If you want to work in Pakistan, we can print these books in Urdu and help the community of Pakistan. Sister, thank you so much for these precious gifts. —Pastor John Cambodia My name is Phaktra, and I’m 16 years old. I’m not yet a believer. I heard about the HCG program [in Khmer] from my friends, so I go to listen to this program at the pastor’s house in my village. I love the story about Abraham. I can’t wait for each story to continue each week. I’m amazed at how Abraham loved and obeyed his God. Please pray for me as I’m seeking to know more about God. Pray that I will find God and have faith in Him like Abraham.—P. Myanmar
Liberia Since we started to listen to your program our life has not been the same again. A Visit with Mrs. G is an educating program. It is really helping my family and me. My children are living a lifestyle that is good in the sight of God. One son used to love stealing, but he has changed from that bad characteristic. Praise be to God—M.
I am doing mission work, church planting and orphanage ministry, especially among unbelievers. My country belongs to the Buddhist religion, so we need to share the gospel as much as possible. Myanmar needs the Gospel and we need your encouragement. —H. C. R. Angola The books in Portuguese are a great hit in Angola. We are missionaries in Angola. —A. H.
Stories Round the World Round the Clock since 1973 Nigeria
Zambia
I am a Muslim and a student. Someone gave me your wonderful biblical book to read. I was touched and realized that I was a lost sinner. I was in darkness, and I needed to become a Christian so that I could be saved. Then I prayed, and now I am converted and go to a living church where the Bible is being preached. I can now see the true light, which is Jesus, the Saviour of the world. I have received Him as my only Lord and Saviour, praise the Lord. The Lord is so good to me. He has put a smile on my face, and my name is now John. I did not keep this testimony within me, but I passed it to my other muslim friends, brothers and sisters, telling them about the goodness and the saving grace of God. Now 103 Muslim brothers and sisters have been convinced and are Christians. But we all need your wonderful help for our spiritual growth. We want you to teach us more things.—J. O.
Thank you for your generosity. The audio cassettes of Joseph have come at the right time. While I was on a trip to the southern part of the country my workmates were debating the issue of abstinence when away from home. One of the elders in the group introduced the story of Joseph, but some people seemed not to know the story. Your gift of cassettes will go a long way in helping my colleagues to know the classic story of Joseph. I look forward to meeting you and sharing with you how your personalized stories of Bible characters have touched me and the children here in Zambia. May the Lord God bless you and your family as you continue to spread the gospel to everyone within your reach and abroad. I wonder how you manage to have time to reply to my letters when you have a very busy schedule. May love, peace and joy flourish in your life. —G. W.
Ghana
Nepal
I am a boy of 18 years old and of Nsein Senior High School. I need your support to share and preach God’s message in order to win souls to Christ Jesus. I am a born-again Christian of the Methodist Church of Ghana, and I want to teach the word of God to usher many people into the Christian life. So please empower me with the necessary Bible story books to help me to spread the message of God in schools and in society, and bring people to trust in God the Father Almighty.—E.
Thank you very much for your gift of Bible story books. I was born in 1951 and brought up in a Hindu family. I completed Higher Secondary School in 1971. In 1992 I accepted Jesus Christ as my personal Saviour. I was ordained as a Pastor in 1995 and started doing ministry. After 17 years, I have 100 believers in 3 branch churches. I am running my church ministry without the support of any organization. I am sending a picture to you for prayer.—Pastor Jogendra
Canada I grew up listening to your stories on tape and just loved our visits with Mrs. G. You are very much a part of our lives. My husband and I have just moved back from living in the UK. I want to get some of your CDs to send over to friends there because they are such excellent tools for teaching children the Word! Thank you so much for all your years of ministry to our family. —A. G.
