Bible Society’s work making a difference in The Philippines
The Bible Society NI has highlighted the need for prayer for The Philippines.
This year it is partnering The Philippines Bible Society with two vital projects – the translation of the New Testament and a much–needed programme helping people living with the pain of trauma.
The translation of the New testament into Inlaud – one of the 11 dialects of the Tinggian language – is a major undertaking.
Tinggian speakers are concentrated in the foothills of the mountainous province of Abra and a report from the team in The Philippines last month brought encouraging news:
It confirmed that funding received from the friends of The Philippines Bible Society last year – particularly from the BSNI– has seen a start made to the task of translating the New Testament into the heart language of the Tinggian Inlauds. It hopes this will be completed by December 2019.
A supporter from Londonderry left a generous legacy to Bible Society NI in their will. Their generosity is playing a sizeable part in enabling an entire language group to have the Bible in their own tongue for the first time.
In addition, Bible Societies in many countries are now using ‘Trauma Healing’ material to help people discover the power of Jesus as they walk the path leading to recovery. The Word is key in this work.
Trauma is a widespread problem in The Philippines and the many causes for this include natural disaster and physical violence. One shocking and very sad statistic from the Philippines is that incidences of violence against women have increased 500% in the last 18 years. ‘Trauma Healing’ is a programme that has helped many women around the world take steps towards recovery and new life. Its aim is to train a total of 6,360 facilitators who, in turn, will have the potential to lead trauma healing sessions for 77,760 women by the end of 2019. Each woman who participates will receive a Bible, so God’s Word will be their companion as they go through the healing process. This year has seen the BSNI partner the Women’s World Day of Prayer in support of this vital work. In addition to a number of first–time translations and several Bible revisions, the BS’s on–going ministry includes working to make the Scriptures available in sign language plus braille and versions. There is also a Faith Comes by Hearing’ programme, designed for groups to gather for a series of meetings at which the New Testament is listened to and discussed. This is a wonderful opportunity for churches to teach those who are illiterate or visually impaired. Many come to faith through ‘Faith Comes by Hearing’. Others find their faith deepening and some are spurred on to share the love of Jesus with their families and within their communities. And there have been inspirational reports of the work of ‘Word Riders’, a group of Christian motorcyclists who volunteer for the Bible Society in order to distribute God’s Word to schools, prisons and the military throughout the Philippines. They have clocked up some serious high mileege in spreading the Word and,not surprisingly, they have always received a lively welcome at schools where they arrived on their bikes! The team share testimonies and teach from the Bible, encouraging young people to follow Jesus and live by his Word. Pray for all this continuing Bible Society work in The Philippines. Pray that the translation team members and cosultants will be kept healthy, strong, motivated and committed to the task given to them. Pray for them as they travel long distances to share material, information and carry out checks. May God protect and bless them. Pray, too, for the early days of the Trauma Healing programme. Ask God to bring the right people forward to be trained as counsellors and facilitators. Pray that many will find freedom through the Trauma Healing programme, particularly women who have suffered from domestic violence. And praise God for all the whole range of ministries in The Philippines and for the many people there who are being touched by His Word.
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