This article was originally posted in our Word @ Work Magazine in March 2016.
Close your eyes and imagine yourself amidst a group of pastors leaving their homes before dawn, and travelling long hours just to collect 50 to 100 Bibles for your entire congregation, located in the Mekong Delta region in Vietnam.
Imagine braving the rain, with fellow believers in Christ, traversing a bus along adverse road conditions, to a remote church. Along the way, some risk their lives by climbing to the top of the bus to remove overhanging cables and wires, which obstruct the bus. Many wait patiently at the other end to receive their Bibles.
“At each delivery point, we saw how the brothers and sisters treasured the Bibles. We often take the availability of Bibles in Singapore for granted; and how little we treasure His Word in our hearts,” Says Lilian Tham, a BMT participant to Vietnam.
“There is also a real need for Bibles in their respective native languages,” adds Pastor John Toh, who was the Trip Leader for the BMT to Vietnam.
The need for Bibles is great and the number of Christians are growing rapidly amongst the tribes. The Bible Mission Teams sent out by International Bible Experiences (IBEx) – the Bible Society’s holistic mission arm – to the Mekong Delta region of Vietnam and the Irrawaddy Delta region of Myanmar, were deeply moved when they witnessed the hunger for the printed Word of God amongst the natives of Vietnam and Myanmar.
Our IBEx mission team returned from Myanmar with great rejoicing. The Founder & President of Myanmar Agape Ministries & Myanmar Christian Assembly, Joseph Biak Tin Sang, said, “We have been praying for 25 years for the Holy Bible for all of our children. Then God sent us some Bibles! Some of the children accepted the Holy Bible with their tears because they are very happy.”
“The Bible teaches that ‘it is more blessed to give than to receive’, and indeed we found that whatever we invested in the 5-day trip was returned to us manyfold,” said Ho Tor Kwun, who went to Myanmar.
Nancy Soon, who also went to Myanmar, shared that “Of all the mission trips that I had participated in, this is the most fulfilling and uplifting trip! God was with us throughout the trip. The distribution of Bibles together with the school & family kits to the Myanmar Agape Orphanage and some 300 families who were adversely affected by the flood was met successfully without a hitch. Like in the hymn ‘God Will Make A Way’ – God makes all things work together for good!”