A Hunger for the Truth
A hunger for the truth of the gospel.
Paul* of Ecclesia Ministries concludes sharing about his recent trip to share the gospel and encourage leaders. Catch up on the beginning of his story here.
Paul concludes:
“Over 16,000 people registered to receive a Bible. I was shocked. We only had 3,000 to give. 13,000 people are still waiting for a copy of God’s Word. Not everyone asking for a Bible is a follower of Christ, but they wanted a copy of the Bible to read it for themselves. They hunger for the truth.
In addition to the Bibles we brought, we passed out 500 audio Bibles to those who could not read. The radios, story cloths, and Jesus Film projectors were given to the church leaders to use and distribute.
After we finished distributing all the materials, we came back together and I took some time to cast vision for the ministry and talked about different strategies.
Word began to spread that we were distributing materials. Our leaders advised me to leave the area as soon as possible for everyone’s safety. They organized some horses for us to move that very night. The trip ended a bit sooner than planned, but we feel great work was accomplished.
I saw the eagerness of people needing the Word of God. The demand for the Bibles was so big. People thought that there would be no more Bibles coming. The people need the Word of God.”
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Paul shares some testimonies from the trip:
As Solomon* received a copy of his Bible he shared, “I kept hearing good reports from different people reading the Bible. I could not believe it when the pastor was registering people for a Bible. I didn’t believe that I would get this book but I was among the first people in my village to register my name. Today I am not going to sleep until I read the whole of this book and see things for myself about Jesus and the love he has for me. I am so grateful for everyone who contributed to making my dream come true. I will let you know what I read and understand in this book. If it’s true to what I heard, I will make Jesus to be my king!”
In the same way, Busto* said, “This book used to be prohibited for us to have. We used to fear even hearing its name. But when Christians came here and introduced Christianity, we found it so interesting to hear. Things were so different from what we knew about Christianity. This gave me a special interest to find a Bible and buy one with my own money to read for myself. It has been my desire to read the Bible but it was not there to find. Today, I see God has answered my prayers through you that I have my own Bible. I will read the Bible - not only for myself but also to share with my community. Thank you so much for helping us to have what we were denied for years.”
Matan* said, “Being one of the church leaders, it has always been difficult for me to keep my Bible to myself because every day someone wanted to have my Bible. This gives me a hard time because my book is always being used by someone else. Today, I am very happy because so many others have theirs too. I am praying that we will have more Bibles to let everyone who missed the distribution to receive one next time.”
Fryson* got a Bible and he said, “I used to have only a New Testament, but now I have the complete Bible. I am going to read it cover to cover with my wife!”
He ran to his home. I was curious to see what he was doing. He didn’t wait. I found Fryson sitting together with his wife Freya reading their Bible. Fryson said, “Thank you so much. Now we the Word of God in our hands. Next time when you come you will find us having the words of God in our hearts and our minds.”
Amed* received a Bible for the first time. When asked how he would use the Bible, he raised it up and with a smile said, “This is not only a book for me to read, but it’s like a pharmacy to me. It’s healing my heart and soul.”
One of our churches didn’t have access to a complete Bible. The church pastor, Albert* received a Bible, and said “We don’t have words to share our appreciation to you. Bibles like this one have been one of our greatest needs. Today we thank you for meeting this need.”
Rhonda* is an elderly woman who accepted Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior in 2020. Receiving an audio Bible she said, “It’s so good that I have something to teach me the word of God since I don’t know how to read. This small thing will be my teacher. I lost mine when I had to flee my home but I thank God for this. My memory will be filled again by the sweet words of God.”
Audio Bibles have a great impact on the illiterate. Aachen* is about 70 years. He had no opportunity to go to school, but his hearing is still good. When I gave him the audio Bible and showed him how to use it, he began to listen and said, “I am so glad today that I got something to teach me God’s Word since I had no chance to go to school.”
*Names altered to protect the identity of those working in areas of increased persecution.