Vietnam’s ethnic minorities long for the Bible

Published: 14/08/2019 ~ 0

Many of Vietnam’s 54 ethnic groups are marginalised and at the bottom of the rung economically and in terms of literacy rates.

Yet, it’s among these marginalised groups that Christianity has often taken a hold. This is why the Vietnam Bible Society is undertaking the critical task of translating the Bible into their various heart languages.

Hmong women in a rural village in Laos.

The Hmong

The Hmong people live in Vietnam’s northern highlands. In the 1980s, the Hmong stumbled across a Hmong-language Christian radio programme being broadcast from Manila. Soon, Christianity spread like wildfire through the Hmong population. Today, 300,000 out of the one million Hmong living in Vietnam is Christian. continue reading →

Project update – Domestic violence prevention in Guatemala

Published: 12/08/2019 ~ 0

Yes! There is a solution to domestic violence in Guatemala.

Thanks to the generosity of Bible Society New Zealand’s Bible a Month Club supporters, we have been able to support a life-changing domestic violence prevention programme in Guatemala, a country with very high rates of domestic violence.

During the first six months of 2019, 602 families and 1,021 children participated in three workshops on the prevention of child abuse. These workshops are built on biblical principles and values. Eleven schools and churches located in vulnerable areas have also opened their doors for the project. The most amazing result from this has been the interest in the Bible shown by children. Many have formed reading clubs and some teachers are including the Bible in their classes as a reading text. continue reading →

The Bible is bringing hope to South East Asian Christians

Published: 23/05/2019 ~ 0

The Philippines, Malaysia and Cambodia all have in one thing in common. They all have a desperate need for the Bible and the hope it brings.

In Cambodia, it’s an urgent need for help with growing literacy rates so people can read the Bible. In Malaysia, where floods of migrants and refugees wait, it’s providing the hope that the Bible brings. And in the Philippines, it’s Scripture access for the 2.2 million visually impaired people.

Cambodia – learning through listening

Literacy is key to the growth of the Christian church in Cambodia. It enables people to have access to the Word of God and move from darkness into light. Cambodia’s education system is underfunded and many of the teachers, particularly those in rural areas, are so lowly paid they have to take multiple jobs just to survive. continue reading →

Bespoke Bibles for New Zealand’s Army, Airforce and Navy

Published: 06/05/2019 ~ 0

Bible Society New Zealand has just given 5,000 specially designed Bibles to the chaplaincy service of the New Zealand Defence Force (NZDF).

Chaplain Di Woods with 2019 Airforce Bible

For the first time ever, the Bibles were individually tailored to members of New Zealand’s Airforce, Navy and Army. Each of the three different editions of the NZDF Bible includes messages from the Governor General and the Principal Defence Force Chaplain Ants Hawes, along with NZDF photographs, the National Anthem and the relevant prayer for each of the Forces.

The majority of the Bibles will be given to new NZDF recruits who can choose to attest on the Bible at their swearing in ceremony. “They are then asked if they would like to keep the Bible,” Ants Hawes says. continue reading →

You can bring the Easter story to Kiwi kids!

Published: 22/02/2019 ~ 0

Just over 18 months ago, we embarked on a campaign designed to encourage and equip parents, grandparents and caregivers to pass on their passion for the Bible to the next generation.

Little did we know how big that campaign would become.

Yes, you read it right – with the help of our supporters, we’ve distributed 200,000 Bible storybooks to Kiwi kids through families, churches and other organisations. Our supporters have helped make this initiative a success, bringing the love of Jesus to many young New Zealanders through the Bible.

Thanks to the generosity of many people, children nationwide are now reading and engaging with the story of Jesus.

Some of them will have learned about Jesus for the very first time. Some of them will have learned what Easter and Christmas are really all about.

But it’s not only kids that are being impacted. Adults, too, are encountering these stories for the first time. One church in Auckland was asked to lead a children’s storytime session at their local library. They told the story of Easter, and gave out The Super Cool Story of Jesus book to families. One parent said she had never heard this story before.

This is what the church told us…

“We really felt we were giving the children something of worth and something that will remind them in the many Easters to come that it is about Jesus and the love he gave us.”

Making the Bible accessible and encouraging interaction with it is our mission, and it’s exactly what’s happening through these little Bible storybooks. Thanks to our supporters, thousands of children are receiving these books at street parades, community events, in Salvation Army Family Stores and food parcels, and through organisations like Angel Tree and Mainly Music.

Now, we have another opportunity to reach even more children with the story of Jesus.

continue reading →

Restoration of the wounded heart in Rwanda

Published: 18/01/2019 ~ 0

Rwanda is a country in the process of rapid transformation. Its recovery from the brutal 1994 genocide that claimed one million lives is a slow, difficult and ongoing process.

It was one of the most violent killings the world has ever seen. Women and girls were raped, while countless children witnessed the slaughter of their parents, often by people they had previously known as friends and neighbours. All of this left many people in Rwanda traumatised.

Now the Bible is helping heal these deep wounds of the past with its message of hope, forgiveness and restoration. Bible Society Rwanda is helping lead the way with a project aimed at healing trauma with biblical audio material. This project is very important for the Rwandan community, especially for Christians, who make up more than 93 percent of the 12 million plus population. Many people go to church to see if they can find peace and healing. Biblical trauma healing is restoring their hope and helping reconciliation among the Rwandan people who are being transformed with the Word of God. continue reading →