by Alan Brooks

In the fall of 2007, God opened an unprecedented door of opportunity in an unlikely place in Southeast Asia. BIMI missionaries were invited to place Bibles in the hands of every middle school student on the island of Nias. Amazingly, the island is one of many that form the country of Indonesia-the world’s largest Islamic country.

The Nias Bible Project was birthed in a time of crisis in Southeast Asia. In December of 2004, the largest tsunami in modern history hit the region. Only three months later in March of 2005, the island of Nias was devastated by a powerful earthquake of 8.7 magnitude. The world responded with material and physical aid. God’s people in America also opened hearts of compassion as they sent aid through missionary agencies, including BIMI.

The crisis enabled our missionaries to minister to the suffering residents of the region. They installed huge water filtration systems, dug fresh water wells for hospitals, and distributed food and aid. Of course, spiritual needs were also abundant. In 1842 German missionaries introduced the Gospel to the island. Within 60 years, the majority of the island had embraced the Christian faith. Sadly, recent years have witnessed the decline of Christianity and an alarming increase of another religious tradition. After the tsunami and earthquake, the need for civil service jobs on Nias increased dramatically. This resulted in an influx of residents from the other islands of Indonesia competing for these influential positions. Most of these new residents are Muslim-and they have brought Islam with them. New mosques are popping up in every part of the island.

In the midst of these events the power of God was and is at work on the island of Nias. Through the testimonies of Christian workers ministering in the ravaged region, an elementary school teacher named Ama Luther trusted Jesus Christ. God immediately burdened his heart to ask our missionaries for an unexpected request. He wanted Bibles…lots of Bibles. Ama Luther believed that he could guarantee access to distribute Bibles to every middle school student on Nias. In light of the political and religious turmoil of the region, that seemed like more of a dream than a possibility.

Not intimidated, Ama Luther went straight to the man in charge of education for the whole island. He petitioned him for permission to distribute Bibles to every middle school student on the island-all 49,000 of them. The man asked, “By whose authority are you attempting to do this?” Ama Luther’s answer revealed his simple faith: “By God’s authority.” Unbelievably, he was given approval to proceed as long as he first obtained each headmaster’s individual permission for each school to receive the Bibles. If the official thought that this stipulation would derail the project, he was miraculously mistaken!

Now, who else but God could orchestrate the situation so that Ama Luther’s own brother was well known and respected by every headmaster on the island? In fact, his brother trained nearly all of the headmasters. Permission would not be a problem! God knew exactly what He was doing when He saved Ama Luther.

In the fall of 2007, we began to raise the money to print Bibles for Nias. God’s people responded with an initial shipment of 20,000 Bibles printed by the Indonesian Bible Society. They were stored in Ama Luther’s home. In July of 2008, I led a team of pastors from America to help distribute the Bibles on Nias. Mark Falls from Tuscaloosa, Alabama; Denny Patterson from Nashville, Tennessee; Vincent Estill from Rossville, Georgia; and Don Smith from Centralia, Illinois, flew with me to Medan, Indonesia. There we were joined by veteran missionaries Jim Daley (BIMI) and Tom Crawford (BBF) before we continued our flight to Nias.

True to form, Ama Luther had arranged everything. Upon arriving at the schools, we would meet the headmaster and receive official permission to distribute the Bibles. (Only one refused.) Then the students would be called into an assembly. Most of the time, the young people would line up in the hot sun and stand patiently while we made our presentation. At each school we had the privilege of preaching a clear Gospel message before personally placing a Bible in each student’s hands. Every Bible contained a plan of salvation inside the front cover. We traveled to two or more schools a day, six days a week. Many of the schools were in very remote regions, making travel difficult. Over three weeks, we visited 40 schools and spoke to approximately 20,000 students. The stack of Bibles in Ama’s home was gone.

What an amazing project! What an unforgettable experience!

But, the project is not over. To date, 35,000 Bibles have been purchased and printed. In January of 2009, we will return to share God’s Word with the remaining 29,000 students of Nias. We are 14,000 Bibles short. It would literally break my heart to leave even one hand empty. Will you help us raise the remaining $42,000? Your gift of $3 will place a Bible in some child’s hand…in someone’s home…on the island of Nias.

And while you’re at it…would you pray? Missionaries Jim Daley and Tom Crawford have been ministering in Indonesia for over 35 years. They both have their own works in the city of Jakarta. Both have a continuing zeal for the work of God but have commented that they know that they will not be able to go on forever. Brother Daley is 68 years old and has asked our Lord to allow him to stay for at least seven more years. Brother Crawford is 63 years old. Who will help these good men? Who will fill their shoes when they are gone? At this time there is no missionary on the island of Nias. Will you pray about going to help? Will you pray the Lord of the Harvest-that He will send forth labourers?

Testimonies from the headmasters of several schools during the Nias Bible Project distribution:

“Giving these Bibles could help stem the tide of Islamatization of Nias.”

“Children this age need to nail down their spiritual roots. For those children who did not drown, these Bibles are a life raft for their future.”

“You bringing these Bibles are an answer to my prayer. For a long time now, I have wanted our students to have their own Bibles. When many of our students go off the island to Jakarta and other places, they often convert to Islam. Now with their Bible, I think they can say, ‘THIS is what I believe.’ I pray it will strengthen their faith and help them to stand strong in the Lord.”

“We could not imagine someone coming to our school and giving us the Word of God. This is a wonderful gift.”

“Many have come to help us physically and materially, but you are the first to help us spiritually. And that is the most important.”

Friday, February 3, 2012

John 3:16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

Brian & Charity Collins -  SINGAPORE
Richard & Patty Comer -  CENTRAL AMERICA
Brian & Jamie Cone -  THAILAND