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PRAYER CIRCLE
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9-23
Ja
nuary 2017
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The Bible Society team in China are praising God for incredible opportunities in 2016.
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"In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven."
Matthew 5:16 (ESV)
It is time for New Year's Resolutions, diets and new gym membership. Many of us will begin well...again. Perhaps this year, we could shift our focus off the usual goals and plans and focus instead on the kingdom of God? George - our colleague in Aleppo, drew our attention to the above verse, which is an incredible challenge when we think of the environment he ministers in. Perhaps as we begin this year, we could keep this in mind... let's live to 'let our light shine before others'. Let's also remember that the motive for this is not self-improvement, but rather to 'give glory to your Father who is in heaven.' I wonder what impact we could make together in 2017 if we all truly decided to let our light shine?
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A photo taken by George just before Christmas in Aleppo, Syria.
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Christmas Celebrations in Syria
Amidst the devastation caused by the ongoing war, the Bible Society in Syria (BSS) took great joy in celebrating Jesus this Christmas. George Andrea, (BSS Director) stated just before Christmas,
"This is a busy time of the year. We are happy to be in His service right now. It's exciting! We've just printed a special Christmas storybook, which we'll be providing as gifts to young children, our Scripture calendars have been sent out to churches across the country, and you wouldn't believe how many Scripture shipments we've sent over this Christmas season! The Word of God is truly at work in Syria!"
They ran Christmas programmes in different churches, mostly in Damascus and the south of Syria. These were especially aimed at bringing hope to very poor families. This is the second year that they have run these programmes, giving out Scriptures and small treats. George
, who is based in Aleppo, along with most BSS staff, says that the churches there also took part in Christmas programmes as they have remained active throughout the very worst of the bombardments. "Not only by holding funeral services, although there have been far too many of those, but also by offering community-centred services, which are so badly needed," he explains.
"The Church doesn't only look after its own members - thousands of families from other communities have been helped for years, and the aid is given with no strings attached. It would be very difficult to find a church in Syria which does not actively help people."
"I believe that the Church is both salt and light in our country, and we need both in order to rebuild. Please pray that the light will not be put out and that the salt will not lose its saltiness."
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One of the Bible Society Literacy classes with a group of girls as young as 14 years old.
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Bibles in China - 2016
The United Bible Society China Partnership (UBSPC) team are deeply grateful, humbled and moved by all that God has done in 2016. The Black Yi, East Lisu and Wa believers received the Bible in their own languages for the first time! And the Gan Yi Christians received the OT trial edition. The Miao, West Lisu and White Yi Bibles were also reprinted. As a result of these achievements, many more ethnic minority Christians in China today have access God's Word in their heart languages.
"We will not forget the tears welling up in they their eyes as they held the Bibles in their hands and sang songs of praise and thanksgiving and how they held our hands and thanked us profusely for bringing the Bibles to them."
The Bible Society team in China also organise training sessions for pastors and they were so humbled by the commitment and dedication of the pastors they met. There is only 1 pastor to every 6,700 believers in China, so it was a luxury for pastors to be out taking a refresher course. Many have not taken days off for years, despite the heavy burden, they are hanging on.
Scripture Literacy classes continue to help people of all ages learn to read the Bible for themselves, using resources and Bibles printed through the Bible Society.
Join us in
praising God for these wonderful opportunities to share His Word.
Praise him for the thousands who turned to him for the first time in 2016. Please continue to
pray for the ministry in China, that opportunities for ministry will continue and that new openings will be seen in the coming year.
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Lidia reading her first portion of the Bible in her heart language.
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Longing to Understand in Guatemala
'When I had to read the Bible in Spanish, I didn't really understand much at all. Now I understand much more and I can share God's Word with my family!' Lidia is only young, yet her encounter with the book of Amos in her native language, Poqomchi', looks set to transform both her own life and those of her family. The Poqomchi' people are mainly found in rural communities in Guatemala where more than 60% survive on a dollar or less a day to support their families.
Lidia began attending her local church when she heard that the Bible was being translated into Poqomchi'.
'I didn't go to church before,' she says.
'But now I know about God's forgiveness and I have started to grow spiritually.' Now Lidia is eager to see the completion of the Bible Society project to translate the whole Bible into Poqomchi'.
'I want to know more about God,' she says.
'I hope we will have the Bible soon. I'm very grateful to the translators for the time they are dedicating to ensuring that we have the Bible in our own language.'
Please pray for the translators working on this Bible in the Poqomchi' language and for the vision of the Bible Society in Guatemala to see every Mayan language group with God's Word.
Pray that the Poqomchi' speakers would open their hearts to God's Word and respond to the Gospel message.
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We trust that you had a blessed Christmas and look forward with anticipation into 2017. We are expecting to see great things achieved for the kingdom of God. We value your prayers as we continue to partner with the fellowship of 147 Bible Societies around the world. A large part of our role is communicating and raising support for the ministries that these partners are engaged in - often reaching people for the first time with the Bible. Your prayers are welcomed as we visit groups, write material and present specific projects to partners here at home.
Speaking Engagements and Events
Tue 17 Jan: Catherine will be sharing at a Bible Study Group in Drumglass Parish in Dungannon.
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Dr Mike Bassous - Bible Society in Lebanon |
A SPECIAL VISIT -
Wed 25 - Sun 27 Jan
:
We are excited about
a special visit from Mike Bassous from the Bible Society in Lebanon.
Click here for information on opportunities to hear Mike speak about life and ministry in the Middle East.
We highly recommend coming along to hear Mike's message of hope in extreme circumstances.
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Calling all Bible-a-month partners...
Thank you for supporting the projects highlighted each month in the Bible-a-month calendar.
We are launching 'Bible-a-month extra' for those of you who would like a little more information about the 12 countries that you are supporting. This will be an email which will be sent once a month with additional prayer information and topics for prayer. You can see this month's Bible-a-month extra here.
If you have any questions, or would like more information, please feel free to give us a ring on 028 9032 6577 or email i
nfo
@bsni.co.uk
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