Extra Insight

Dear Prayer Partner,

Welcome to the May Extra Insight!

Spring is well and truly sprung- everywhere we look plants are bursting into bloom. Why not take some time today and rejoice in the beauty of God's creation.

This month we have an update on our Bible-a-Month project in Guatemala, as well as projects in Bulgaria and Serbia.

Thank you for joining us as we pray for our brothers and sisters around the world.

LOCAL NEWS

Northern Ireland

On the 28th April we had are online event on Bible Engagement in a COVID-19 World. We had Rick Hill (PCI Discipleship Officer), Johnny McClaughlin (Pastor, Hamilton Road Baptist Church), and Dina Katanacho (Arab Israeli Bible Society) speaking on their experiences over the last year and how we can better engage with the Bible for ourselves and in our communities.

It was great to see people from all over Northern Ireland on the call and we hope that it has helped you to think about how we engage with God's Word. We were encouraged to discuss and pray with so many of you. If you missed this event, it is available on our Youtube channel to watch:

Watch Bible Engagement in a COVID-19 World here

As we begin to take the next steps out of lockdown we hope to be more regularly in the office. While still working from home we are able to have someone in the office most days.

If you'd like some some exciting resources for you, your family and your church, visit our website here!

Prayer Requests from Bible Society NI

Praise God for the success of "Bible Engagement in a COVID-19 World". Pray that it will help those who attended, both personally and in their communities, to engage better with God's Word.

Pray that God would continue to sustain the team as we work from home and in the office. Pray that we would soon be able to be back in person as a team in the office.

BIBLE-A-MONTH PROJECT:

Free to Live - Guatemala

This month our Bible-a-Month project is the Free to Live project in Guatemala. This project works with women and children who have suffered abuse or trafficking, helping them to heal through a Trauma Healing programme. The Free to Live programme teaches these women and children that they are loved and valued by God.

Like most things, COVID-19 impacted this project greatly, but the government was keen to keep the project running, knowing that it has a positive impact on those who participate in it.

They have been able to have workshops with the monitors, who have been isolating with the girls they look after. This has been a challenging time for the monitors, who normally work in shifts, as they had to isolate full time with the girls in the homes. These workshops helped the monitors to deal with the pandemic and the full-time care of the at-risk girls.

Since January, many of the home shelters have opened their doors to have face to face workshops with the girls and mentors. Other shelters have taken the decision not to have face to face workshops but are continuing online.

This month we were able to have a conversation with Annelisse, the Missonary Programmes Manager of the Bible Society of Guatemala. Watch the video below to hear the full interview:

Pray for this Project:

Pray that the number of children, young people and women who are impacted by domestic violence would decrease. Pray that this project and the Gospel would impact families and that abuse would go down.

Pray that the government would continue to support the project and allow them into the sheltered houses to help abuse victims.

Pray for children in Guatemala. 55% of all domestic abuse in Guatemala are children, ask God to look after the children in this country.

This project is our Bible-a-Month project for May. By becoming a Bible-a-Month partner you will help to provide Scripture to people all over the world every month. You will receive a free calendar with information about this and 11 other Bible Society projects. Commit to giving just £5 each month and you will ensure that the Word of God is shared across the world. Sign up here.

ONLINE BIBLE ENGAGEMENT

Bulgaria

This year we are supporting two projects in Bulgaria; one providing Scriptures to children in orphanages and one helping the Bible Society there to increase their online presence.

It is vitally important in 2021 to have a good online presence. So many people now turn to the internet when they have a question; for so many it is their main source of information. Seeing the need for a strong online presence, the Bulgarian Bible Society set out to develop materials for reaching a bigger online audience and also material in the area of Bible advocacy and engagement.

They have been developing a blog for the Bulgarian people, improving social media and updating their website. A recent online campaign, called “Love is a Choice”, focused on showing love during a pandemic, with interviews from doctors and clergy members. It was well received, followed by more than 500,000 people on Facebook and Instagram.

This work is allowing the Bulgarian Bible Society to reach a new audience that otherwise they may never have come into contact with. They ask us to continue to support them in prayer as they plan outreach events for the rest of the year.

Pray for this project:

Pray for those who watched the online campaigns so far. Ask that they would have a profound impact on those who watch them, both Christian and non-Christian.

Pray for the rest of 2021, as staff develop future campaigns. Ask God to bless these campaigns and inspire those working on creating them.

Pray for those who are coming across the Bible for the first time online. Pray that they would be curious and begin to explore the Christian faith.

A NEW TRANSLATION FOR A NEW GENERATION

Serbia

In Serbia we are supporting the modern translation of the Bible into Serbian. It is so important that the translation of a Bible is up to date with the modern version of the language, in order that those who speak the language can understand the message. The complete version of the Serbian Bible is over 160 years old, since then language has changed and evolved so much that it is hard for modern Serbians to understand the current Bible.

Since 2010, the Bible Society of Serbia has been working hard on the new translation of the Old Testament. They were able to complete this in 2019, and have been working on the translation of the New Testament since. We wanted to share the testimony of Fiva, a lady who is a translator working on the New Testament. She has been working on the translation since January and is excited for a new generation to connect with God’s Word. Here’s what she had to say about her work on the translation:

My name is Fiva, at the beginning of this year, I became a member of the team in charge of new Serbian translation of the New Testament, which is a project of the Bible Society of Serbia.

I am very happy to have the opportunity to participate in this project. The reasons are numerous. First of all, having a new Serbian translation of the Holy Scriptures is of great importance for the environment in which I live; because numerous linguistic and cultural changes have taken place in it since the time when the existing translations of the Bible were made. I hope that the new translation will make reading and understanding of the Scriptures more accessible to the modern reader of the Serbian-speaking area. Also, I believe that each new translation can point out some elements and aspects of the Biblical text in a new way in relation to the previous translations and thus refresh and enrich the understanding of God’s Word. In my opinion, the new translation will be especially important for students of theology, who need the highest quality translation of the text on which Christian theology is based, to which they will be constantly referred during their studies and later work.

Please join us as we pray for translators in Serbia.

Pray for this Project:

Pray for the translation team members, that God would give them good health. Pray that they would have wisdom when translating the Bible.

Pray for a positive response from the public to this translation. Pray that many lives will be changed thanks to this translation.

Pray for church leaders and theological students who will benefit from an updated version of the Word.