The Constitutional crisis in Nepal provides backdrop for a project launch

(Photo courtesy of BFTW)
Bible Distribution Center

Nepal (MNN) ― A new crisis seems to be looming over Nepal's fragile peace process.

This week, the government and the judiciary locked horns in a question of another extension to the Constituent Assembly term.

The Supreme Court had given three options if the Constituent Assembly failed to draft a new Constitution before May 28, 2012: Take a referendum, conduct fresh polls to elect a new body to draft the constitution, or seek some other alternative.

Apparently fed up with the slow progress, the Courts reject petitions for another extension should a draft fail to emerge in May. In 2008, the legislative body was given two years to draft Nepal's new constitution, but despite four extensions, the task is no closer to completion than it was when the CA was given its mandate.

However, some of the penal codes were re-written, and Christians were alarmed at the wording of anti-conversion legislation that could seriously complicate outreach.

Against that backdrop, Bibles For the World is launching the New Year with a new project: Bibles For Nepal.

BFTW's Mawii Pudaite says despite the ongoing changes in the government and concerns about religious freedom, Christianity remains the fastest-growing religion in the country. "We believe that it is an important time to plant Gospel Seeds in Nepal that will bear much fruit in the years to come."

With a roughly 48% literacy rate, BFTW is directly targeting this demographic for Scripture distribution, evangelism and discipleship. She explains that what often happens is development in the community. "These efforts will also have an indirect-multiplying effect among the illiterate population, as local churches and new believers engage their communities with the Gospel."    

While the window remains open, the ministry is moving ahead with plans for 2012. "We have made contacts with the leaders of these various groups and churches in Nepal, and they enthusiastically are responding to working with us in the distribution and follow-up ministries."

The next step, Pudaite notes, is printing and distributing the resources. "Claiming Nepal for Christ and His Kingdom will take prayer and resources to provide the tools: Bibles, New Testaments, and Gospels to do the job of evangelism, discipleship and church planting." 

Dr. John Stotts was noted for saying, "The Bible is the best tool for evangelism." Change for Nepal can come from within. "Today I am asking you to join me in praying for the people and country of Nepal. Let us claim the nation of Nepal for Christ and His Kingdom."

The pace of the project is dependent on the funding they receive. They're also mobilizing prayer teams to pray for Nepal. Check our Featured Links if you want to explore more with Bibles For The World.

A Bible translation team breaks a huge project into manageable bites

International (MNN) ― Today, nearly 30% of the world's language groups have yet to be introduced to Scripture.
OneVerse is a program of The Seed Company that enables people to support local Bible translators as they make God's message available in the language of their people.

Specifically, says spokesman Michael Courier, "There are currently close to 340 million people who have no access to God's Word whatsoever. They don't have a verse of Scripture in their language. That's the remaining need."

Bible translation costs money and time, and a lot of it! It's tough to get people to participate on an individual level, mostly because when individuals look at the costs associated with the project, they think, "I can't touch that with my measly $30."
That's why OneVerse came into existence five years ago. The idea behind it was to break down the translation cost to more manageable bites, like $26 per verse. One verse at a time? There are just over 31,000 verses in the Bible.

Due to the cluster translation projects, the translation timeline doesn't take as long as it used to. Demand for these Scripture portions has started to rise, and funding was the only thing holding the teams back.

Courier explains, "The greatest value for these translation programs is to have a monthly sponsorship: $26 a month. When you get your receipt and statement, you see the verse that you actually sponsored on there."

The project generates its own energy once people start to own their part. In fact, "We've had some homeschool groups collectively identify a language that they really want to sponsor. Then they get to know about the people group, where they live, who is the translation team, the dedicated local speakers who are doing the work, and they pool their resources and sponsor multiple chapters."

Because kids were getting involved, The Seed Company also launched a program to get them busy connecting with the process not only of translation, but also sharing. It's called "KidsDiscover."Courier explains, "It's focused around teaching your kids how to be storytellers, learning the art of storytelling. It's a free 10-week program. We have ten weeks that cover the Old Testament, and then ten weeks that cover the New Testament collections of stories."

Another point of connection for KidsDiscover participants is that many of the people groups targeted by OneVerse are pre-literate. The kids learn the truth of Scripture the way some of the pre-literate groups do: via oral tradition. "This is a tool to explain the value of storytelling in the context of your family, but also in the context of these language groups who are, very often, pre-literate. They don't read and write, but they do tell stories."

Then, when the Scripture is made available in the written form, there's a deeper connection to the group. Reaching a goal to begin Bible translations in all 2,100 remaining languages by 2025 will take extreme effort from prayer warriors to translators.

There are more ways you can help here.

India protestors push for change

India (MNN) ― Recent protests in India brought the question of whether or not the country could risk facing its own "Arab Spring."

An anti-corruption movement is snowballing into a challenge for the ruling Congress Party. Dave Stravers with Grand Rapids, Michigan-based Mission Indiasays, "The population of India is fed up with governmental corruption and injustice. They're demanding a new standard of accountability and a new standard for actions from government officials."
Debate over the issues of corruption spread to include the rights of civil society to organize, air its views, and influence policy-making.

There are some parallels with the Arab Spring, but Stravers thinks that India's diversity will take it a different direction. "There have been non-violent protests, demonstrations at government buildings. I think this is actually good news. I attribute this, partly at least, to the success that the Gospel has had in the last 10 to 15 years in India."

Stravers explains that the Gospel message runs counter to the message of the Hindu caste. As a result, the Church is growing faster than those in power are comfortable with. A Hindu nationalist movement is becoming more vocal as they see the power base shifting away from the docile Dalits. Today, Christians are finding themselves in new places of influence in society. Their worldview shapes their actions, and that brings hope. Stravers says, "When people get hope, that's when the protests start."

For example, the lowest castes have traditionally been marginalized in India. "We'll have people come into our literacy classes and discover that they're human beings. Literally, they did not know they were human beings," exclaims Stravers.  He adds that "when they're treated unjustly, people say, 'Well, I'm not fully human, so we must accept this.' There's a kind of fatalism, a resignation."

As the students go through the literacy curriculum, or participate in other parts of Mission India's outreach, they begin to understand their value. "When people learn that there's a God who loves them, that they're human beings, that they have potential, then there's a whole change, a kind of a transformation in attitude."

Outrage over being taken advantage of can be a catalyst for change. "Unfortunately, this can create an angry outburst, but the good news is that Indians are now demanding a kind of ethical standard that is absolutely essential if their country is going to thrive."

Stravers goes on to say, "We're not advocating involvement in protests, but we do say, 'Pray to God and expect God to bless you.' Treat each other justly, fairly, honestly with grace, mercy and love." Because that is a pro-active response, living as a Christ-follower gets attention and opens doors for the Gospel. "This is a new message. People look around, and they hear stories of what's happening in other countries. They read the Scriptures and say, 'This would be good for our society to operate this way.'"

An Arab Spring may not be what India is looking at in its future, but as Stravers describes the changes, India is very possibly looking at a season of harvest.

A Bible translation team helps a tribe find its voice

South Asia (MNN) ― Despite 100 years of Christian presence among them, only one percent of the Walmi people of South Asia have turned to Christ.

How could this be? Walmi has never been a written language, thus the Bible has yet to be translated in written form for them.

The Seed Company reports that language surveys estimate that more than 1 million people speak Walmi as their only language. Because the language is used regionally, the total number of speakers ranges between 3 million and 13 million people and includes four dialects of the language and several people groups.

Even though many have interacted with Christians, rural Walmi people practice a traditional animistic religion, attributing power to the spirits of ancestors, trees, and other objects they believe control their lives. Urban Walmi practice a more sophisticated form of animism that includes worshipping idols and celebrating many festivals. Either way, fear and superstition seem to rule their lives.

Heartbroken for the Walmi, The Seed Company is determined to provide the Scriptures in their heart language. The written New Testament will be the first written-form of the Walmi language.

This, of course, presents all sorts of challenges. Since Walmi has never been a written language, it's necessary to come to a decision on how some words should be spelled. Good progress is being made, and the New Testament is scheduled to be published soon
.
Kalidas Haska, a dedicated and well-qualified mother-tongue speaker of Walmi, is the translator. As the Walmi team approaches the goal of a published New Testament, they're focusing on two main objectives: ensuring that the translation is meaning-based, and that it's free from error. Pray that the team hits their mark and produces an excellent New Testament for the Walmi.

Pray that this New Testament--soon to be followed by the Old Testament--would be the start of a kingdom movement among the Walmi. Pray that many would turn to Christ as they learn to read His self-authenticating Word for the first time.

You can help put the Scriptures into the hands of those who have yet to read it in their own heart language. Click here to help with the Walmi translation.