News up until 21st June 2010

Magda Victor and Pastor Pauris, Haiti, need our prayers.

The Bible Society in Northern Ireland Prayer Circle

Dear Friend,

As always, our colleagues around the world are striving to serve the Lord and those around them by making God's Word available.

We know that God comforts, heals, restores and transforms lives every day and ask you to join us in prayer as we thank God for His goodness and continue to trust in the power of His living word. Thank you for praying with us and for us.

 Blessed are those who mourn,
      for they will be comforted. Matthew 5:4

Ukraine's Special NT

"This is such a high quality book and has clearly been made with love." These words from a disabled woman from Ukraine, sum up why the Bible Society invested in a specially illustrated edition of the New Testament and Psalms for the disabled. Scriptures produced for this audience are often cheaply made and unattractive. The Bible Society's new edition is a sharp contrast giving a clear message to the recipient: you are a special person who deserves a gift of the highest possible quality. Give thanks for the opportunities to distribute the NT and praise God that the response has been extremely encouraging. Please pray that God will comfort those who are suffering and bring hope to those who feel forgotten. Read full Article here.

In This Issue

- Ukraine's Special NT

- Ransacked in Haiti

- Nigeria Jubilee Plans

- News at Home

Contact us

Bible House

27 Howard Street

Belfast, BT1 6NB

t: 9032 6577

www.bsni.co.uk

Send us an email

Join our Mailing List!

Pray With UBS

Link to the United Bible Societies Weekly Prayer Topics. 

Haiti Translation Co-ordinator's home ransacked

We continue to pray for Haiti in the wake of the earthquake earlier this year. The Bible Society are working in very challenging circumstances to serve the Lord and the people of Haiti. Last week, on top of their already distressing conditions, the home of their Translations Coordinator, Pastor Pauris, was ransacked in the early hours of the morning. He and his wife fled, terrified and returned later after the thieves had shot at police and fled with almost all their belongings, right down to Pastor Pauris' glasses. Magda Victor (Gen Sec in Haiti) commented: "Dear colleagues, we who live in Haiti have gone through difficult trials in the past few months and this recent one is difficult to understand. Nonetheless, we know that God is keeping us alive so that we can keep serving the people of Haiti. Thank you for your prayers for Pastor Pauris and his wife."

Magda Victor, General Secretary of the Haitian Bible Society, with Bible Society staff in Port-au-Prince after January's earthquake. Pasteur Pauris is seen fifth from the right.

'Jubliee' Plans in Nigeria

The Bible Society of Nigeria is marking their country's 50^th anniversary of independence with plans to distribute 1.2 million special 'Jubilee' editions of the Bible over four years. While these will be available for anybody to purchase, the Society will be distributing some of the special Bibles free, particularly to prisoners and those living in rehabilitation centres. Dare Ajiboye, (Assistant Gen Sec) says "At a time when our country is celebrating its freedom, we want to remember those who are not free, at least physically. We want to show them, through the Scriptures, that they can have spiritual freedom whatever their physical circumstances. We pray that, by reading God's Word, these people will transform their lives and make a useful contribution to society when they are released."

The Society is also planning to use the special Bible editions to encourage political leaders to read and act upon God's Word. Please pray for these efforts, that God will work in the hearts of men and women, through His Word, to begin change that will have far-reaching effects in Nigeria. Pray that the distribution trucks will run well and will be filled often to meet demand for God's Word in the next four years.

News in Northern Ireland

Thanks for your prayers for John's travels to Budapest. The Fundraising Summit was helpful and travel plans went according to plan! It is good to meet with other Bible Societies for encouragement and an opportunity to share ideas:

- Germany is financing a new Bible translation by individual sponsorship of chapters.

- In Australia they have introduced a new format for their Supporters' magazine. 

- A major distribution of Bibles to Catholic audiences in the Philippines is underway.

- Supporters in other European countries respond well when telephoned at home! 

- Several countries are now working with us on shared Bible Sunday resources.

- The number of churches in Ukraine participating in Bible Sunday has risen from 200 to 3,000.

- Several Societies, including Northern Ireland, have sent funds to support Bible ministry in Haiti.

- Favourable comments were made about Northern Ireland's Direct Debit scheme.

- A web-based scheme to give universal access to all Bible Society Scripture texts was proposed.

Please pray that all this work in progress will be blessed to bear fruit.

Speaking Engagements

Pray for Leah who will be speaking at...  

Cregagh Methodist Church, Belfast Sunday School Service on Sunday 20 June at 11.00am.

Thank you for your continued prayerful support. Please feel free to forward this email to friends who might be interested in using this material in their personal devotions.