“We Have No Fear in Our Hearts”
“So we may boldly say: ‘The Lord is my helper; I will not fear.’ ”—Hebrews 13:6a
The West African nation of Liberia holds many challenges for spreading the gospel of salvation through Jesus Christ. This land rich in natural resources has suffered greatly from two civil wars, government corruption, poverty, and disease. Into this needy place come the ambassadors of Christ with a message of reconciliation.
During the Ebola epidemic, teams from Sharing God’s Abundance, Inc. stayed in the villages, helping in physical ways as well as giving words of comfort and peace from God’s Word. Their fearlessness in the face of death and their love for the people touched the hearts of many village leaders and government officials, opening the doors for evangelism and teaching.
In a recent report to WMP, Liberian pastors from 15 counties thanked WMP for the Scripture booklets: “The Sharing God’s Abundance team of Liberia is blissful with joy for the unanimous support rendered…for the rural people of Liberia. Every single booklet that you gave was distributed to the loving people of Liberia and they are using them carefully.” During their outreach to 616 villages, “1,381 pastors from different villages participated, 3,230 people rededicated their lives to the Lord, and 5,084 people received Jesus as their Lord and Savior.” In spite of many challenges, their perseverance has led to openings for evangelism in three surrounding countries.
Wordsower Liberia has been using WMP literature for several years as they reach into areas with predominately unreached Muslim tribes.
“Wordsower Liberia exists because our Lord has called and united a team of obedient disciples who have all sacrificed towards a truly plentiful everlasting harvest. The workers are us: the united, the sacrificial, the faithful, the obedient. I believe that as we unite, we will be utterly amazed, far beyond our dreams, at the harvest that will come from our obedient sacrifice.”
Some individuals of the towns have come to the team in private, put their faith in the gospel, repented, and confessed Christ as their Savior. Kim S. of Wordsower Liberia explained that “most of the youth of Muslim parents are not interested in Islam, but their problem is rejection from the family and community, persecution, and possibly death.” There is the potential for a great harvest. “In this region, the cloud of deception seems to be dissipating. Our team is powerful. They gave me the testimony, ‘We do not fear; it is not in our hearts!’ They are full of passion, boldness, and sacrifice. We define passion as suffering and dying for a cause greater than ourselves. We are now participating in a harvest and expect a great harvest.”
Such devoted obedience has received God’s blessing, opening doors for Wordsower to establish ministry in Guinea, Côte d’Ivoire, and Northern Nigeria. They will need increasing supplies from World Missionary Press to support their teams. After receiving a recent shipment of French New Testaments, Kim S. sent out this encouraging report about WMP:
“World Missionary Press sends Scripture booklets and New Testaments by the millions all over the world. For many years, they have supplied us with thousands upon thousands of New Testaments and booklets at no charge! Just recently they shipped us 1,560 French New Testaments. They shipped them from their factory in Indiana to our team in Ohio. From there the New Testaments were packed into barrels and shipped to the East coast in a truck, then put on a cargo ship bound for a port in Monrovia, Liberia. From Monrovia, I made a couple of trips by car to carry the barrels from the port warehouse to our Missionary Aviation Fellowship friends, who flew them to our base in Zwedru. Next, the barrels were strapped to the backs of motorbikes to be taken where no car or truck can go—to our Ivory Coast base. They will be used for evangelism and discipleship to the unreached tribes.”
Every Home for Christ is another faithful WMP partner in Liberia. In the past 14 years WMP has provided over 5.7 million Scripture booklets, Bible study booklets, and salvation coloring books for EHC Liberia. Some of these precious Scripture portions have been carried into areas where the name of Jesus has never been heard. An 83-year-old man was given his very first pair of shoes from Soles For Jesus along with a Help From Above Scripture booklet from World Missionary Press. As his new shoes were fitted on his feet, an EHC worker sat next to him and went through the booklet page by page, telling him about Jesus and how he could choose Jesus to be the ruler of his heart. With great joy the man accepted this new treasure of eternal life and peace.
When contacted about the need for a new supply of WMP literature, the EHC’s director for Liberia replied, “Your email is an answer to many prayers as we are in dire need of these materials and grateful to WMP for all the help you have rendered to many Christian ministries in Africa. World Missionary Press has always been a supportive arm to accomplish the Great Commission task through printing literature and making it available to us for evangelism and discipleship.”
The new shipment for EHC Liberia will carry almost one million Scripture booklets and Bible study booklets in English and Bassa. Their need is urgent, their hearts fearless. Will you help expedite the printing and shipping of these words of hope for the people of Liberia? The fields are ready to harvest.
[You can help provide Scriptures for Liberia and other African nations. Every donated dollar provides for production of 26 powerful Scripture booklets. Investing $100 will touch the lives of 2,600 people; $1,000 will impact 26,000 people who need to know God.]
Grateful Quotes
“Now my family and I are Christians.”
“There comes to my mind a testimony from many years ago when a WMP team visited our country. We parked the car in a city parking lot where a young man came to serve us. We gave him a WMP Scripture booklet and great was our surprise when he told us, ‘I received a booklet like this and I accepted the Lord after reading this beautiful booklet. Now all my family and I are Christians and gather in a church in Buenos Aires.’ We regularly receive testimonies like this from the churches that distribute this precious literature daily throughout the country.”
“From the high mountains of the Andes to the Atlantic Ocean, from the North to the Tierra del Fuego archipelago in the South, considered the ‘uttermost ends of the earth,’ WMP literature arrives. At the moment, we are waiting for a new shipment, since we are out of stock.”
—Rino B., Argentina
Meet the Team
Larry and Dorothy H.
Volunteers
We’ve been aware of World Missionary Press since it was in Winona Lake. In fact, Larry volunteered there before it moved to New Paris in 1970. Our church volunteered the last Tuesday of each month by helping on the bindery from the early 1970s until 1996, when we could no longer supply a full team.
After Larry retired three years ago, we sold our farmhouse and moved into town. We thought volunteering would make a good retirement activity for Larry, but when we asked about how to volunteer, they had a job for both of us working together! For about 2½ years we’ve been helping cut the cardboard dividers for the skids (used in freight shipments and other ways). We enjoy the freedom of coming without a specific schedule and working for half a day a week when it is most convenient for our schedule.
It is a good feeling to be a part of the team by helping get out God’s Word in our own small way. We feel welcomed and appreciated. We have always appreciated the efficiency of the small 48-page Scripture booklets that allow people around the world to get a taste of God’s Word.
We also keep busy serving the Lord by volunteering in our church, Nappanee United Methodist. We’re active in the Gideons, both of us serving as camp chaplains at the present time. We also deliver for Meals on Wheels in Milford twice a month. I still work two days a week at the Milford Public Library, which I often say is my hobby.
Larry taught high-school science for 14 years and then farmed, with his main business being raising ducks for Maple Leaf Farms for 30 years. I taught elementary school for nearly 20 years. We have two daughters and sons-in law and three grandchildren. The oldest grandson was married in August, the second is heading off to Trine University as a freshman, and our granddaughter will be a senior at Lakeland Christian Academy.
—Dorothy H.
WMP Partners Around the World
Bella A.
WMP Coordinator, Chad
The Republic of Chad is a landlocked nation of 15 million people in north-central Africa. The population is a complex mixture of 150 or more peoples. World Missionary Press is blessed to serve alongside Every Home for Christ and their national director, Bella A., in reaching this Muslim-dominated country with a message of life and hope from the one true God.
WMP: Please describe your background and current ministry.
Bella: I am from a 99-percent Muslim community, since my father’s family was the first to come to the Lord. No uncle or family on my father’s or mother’s side came to the Lord and they remain Muslims. By the grace of God, I am currently the Director of Every Home for Christ in Chad. We distribute more than 500,000 pieces of WMP literature each year in homes, schools, hospitals, prisons, and military camps.
WMP: How long have you been involved in distributing WMP literature?
Bella: Since 1994, through a friend, I received WMP booklets in Arabic and French, and I distributed them in the neighborhoods of N’Djamena. But since being with Every Home for Christ since 2012, the containers are not enough. Currently, where I write, we do not have a single booklet in our stores in French or Arabic, not even the New Testament.
WMP: How does the availability of free literature affect evangelism in Chad?
Bella: We are a poor country. The free literature motivates many churches to go into evangelism. The Gospel of John (in Arabic) and A Bible Study on John (in French) are excellent training tools for new converts. The impact of literature in homes is very positive and encouraging.
WMP: How long does a shipment of WMP literature last?
Bella: We most recently received a 40-foot container, but since the first quarter of 2018 we have answered only 30% of the literature requests, and now we have nothing left. Every three years we must receive a 40-foot container to avoid long break-ups.
WMP: What challenges do you face in the free distribution of WMP literature?
Bella: The challenge in the free distribution is at the level of the vastness of the country and that we must have several deposits of literature in different regions. The cost of expediting the literature committed to EHC is a challenge, including the rental of stores in the province.
WMP: How would you describe the effectiveness of WMP material?
Bella: The advantage of WMP booklets and why they are appreciated is that they are in French, Arabic, and in the languages of the major peoples of the country. WMP’s literature is useful not only for evangelizing, but also for training new converts (Gospel of John) and helping build them up through systematic follow-up. People enjoy literature in their local language.