Bible multiplication

As you know, we are training church leaders here in Malawi, and we have noticed that several of these men do not have their own Bible. Simply because they cannot afford one. They are simple rural pastors who can barely make ends meet themselves. Of course, we provide them with a Bible during the training sessions. But the same applies to the other believers they lead.

There are about 27 churches connected to each other, ranging from 10 to 100 members. We asked around and heard that about 400 believers do not have a Bible. This is shocking. We often have several in our homes.

The Word of God gives life to everyone who reads it and is God’s way of speaking to people. It is His love letter and manual to us.

We simply took on this challenge to provide our brothers and sisters with the Word of God in their own language. So that they are not only taught by the leader, but also hear God speak for themselves through His Word.

Our home church wanted to join and even indicated that they would double every sponsored Bible. How cool is that!

Now a week later we can say, the Bible campaign was a great success! We received enough money for even 711 Bibles! God is a God of abundance! Apparently, He foresees that more will be needed soon.

But now a new challenge arose: ordering and distributing the Bibles. How do you get all those Bibles to the churches in rural areas?
Since we were going to visit another group at the end of the week, far to the south, and we would be driving through the region of the previous group, it seemed practical to address the issue immediately. This would involve renting a van and transporting all the Bibles for both regions. However, this meant that we had to complete this Bible order in three days. Very progressive in Africa.

After placing the order at the bookstore, it turned out that they did not have a debit card machine. Could we just pay in cash? Even in the Netherlands, this is a serious amount of money. But here even more so (16 million kwacha, 10 years’ salary). Can you imagine? 53 withdrawals from an ATM (since there is a withdrawal limit per transaction). Of course, we asked the Lord for help. This was His doing, so it was also His solution.

We decided to go to the city center and withdraw money several times. You have to do what you have to do. But on the way in the city bus, we passed the Bible Society building. Even though we had placed an order with the bookstore, we decided to inquire. And sure enough, they had a debit card machine, and because it was such a large order, we received a children’s Bible and songbook for each church. Thank you, Lord! He provides the solution!

The blessing of the Lord makes one rich. He adds no toil to it. Proverbs 10:22

So today we set off in a rented minibus and bumped and sped along with 16 boxes full of Bibles to the southernmost part of the country. Along the way, the church leaders from the previous group came to the main road to pick up the Bibles. They were overjoyed and also happy with the children’s Bible and the songbook. Also the minibus driver and his helper were very thankful when they received a Bible at the end of the day.

Tomorrow we will start another 6-day Bible training course here in Nsanje. We are excited to see what special things God will do among these men here.

To everyone who contributed to a Bible, we can say on behalf of the church leaders: ZIKOMO KWAMBIRI! (Thank you very much!)