As soon as I arrived back in China I was blessed to supervise the delivery of 300 Audio Bibles we had ordered. This model, although outwardly the same as a previous one, is in fact quite different, as it contains:

– Brand new improved circuitry, designed by our technician, Mr. Hao;

–  New and larger 8GB memory, which allows us to place better, therefore bigger, audio files. This first edition contains the Portuguese and English Bible all in one machine, but we are able to change the languages as necessary.

– New container box and label;

– European charger adaptor, also used in most Portuguese speaking countries.

The plastic cases had to be manufactured  and because of minimum order requirements we had to pay for larger amount. The design of the circuitry was also paid for and a one time expense, which means our next order will be less costly.

These audio Bible devices are a true blessing in many parts of the world and in Africa they seem to have the greatest impact: from our friend in Mozambique we received the news that “these Bibles were used in the Island of Zanzibar, where it is not allowed to preach the Gospel, but through these Bibles several people have been converted to the Lord… for us these Bibles have been a tremendous blessing, especially outside the city, in the villages.”

PG.!

by Donna

Prayer is such a powerful weapon and it is absolutely crucial to our survival and productivity in the world we live in. I thank God for it every day! While Jorge was away in Portugal, we had the awesome privilege of upholding him in prayer. God did wonderful things on his behalf, all glory to His Name!!  While back in China, Jason and I have been developing a closer relationship with the Chinese teachers at his language school and have been able to witness more to them. We participated in many cultural activities organized by the school. Accompanying us were a group of exchange students who had just arrived for the first time to China, eager to learn of the fascinating culture and people of China.  One of the activities was about Chinese musical instruments. We were able to not only listen to the er hu, zither and other interesting classic instruments, but we were allowed to try our hand at them as well! Of all, I definitely think the zither would be the easiest to master, time permitting. Most people thought that Jason definitely has a knack for the er hu, but I think he will probably stick to the guitar!

Other activities included Chinese calligraphy, Chinese knots, tea ceremonies, games and tai chi chuan. Even after living in China for so long, we still learned something new and were happy to have had participated in these events.

Zither testing

with music teacher in Xiang Zhou

June was birthday month again and weekend birthday celebrations were in the mode! First off was Mandy, on the 4th of June, and she celebrated with nothing less than an enormous pizza! Then Gui also joined the ranks of the 28ers’ and was celebrated with a delicious feast hosted by none other than Su chef Gabriel! It was delicious! On the 25th Gloria arrived at the 18 landmark!  She is such a blessing to many! Her life is getting even more exciting, as she has many new challenges to look forward to in the coming years!

Mandy’s Birthday

Gui’s Birthday

Gloria’s Birthday

Our good friend Anna Chan got married this June! We met Anna 23 years ago when she was still a young student, and through the years we have developed a close friendship.  Although life hasn’t always been easy for Anna, she has put her trust in the Lord Jesus Christ and is now a very active Christian. We are glad to have had the opportunity to share this happy moment in her life! May the Lord bless this young couple with joy and faith and  a fruitful life together!

With Ana and her husband: Joana, Donna and Benjamim

Other family pictures:

Emanuel and Mandy

Joana and Gui

Jason and Chinese tutor

Philip with Zac

The last week I spent in Portugal the weather was at the hottest I have experienced for a long time. You must have heard the news of the catastrophic forest fire that caused the death of over 60 people in just one area. A sort of dramatic ending to my trip which left many memories: I visited my home town of Penacova, a beautiful village which you may find if you care to Google it, and spent time with my old friend in the Douro region, yes, where the famous Port wine is produced. Beautiful place, just too bad I was there for only two days. Most of my friends remember me for singing and playing in a band back in the late 60s, in Mozambique. From now on,  they will have a different memory of me, as I left every single one of them, a sample of our Portuguese audio Bible, where, of course, I am the narrator. Of the 20 Portuguese Audio Bibles I brought with me I shared 16 with a personal touch. I also was able to share some very touching and deep conversations with my sister, who all of a sudden had a week or so of improved health. Her situation overall remains critical, but we shared about the Lord, sin, forgiveness and overall she seems to be at peace with God. I was very busy back and forth between visiting with friends and relatives and taking care of important family business. I did feel blessed and supported by your prayers. Besides, I carried with me everywhere I drove, an audio Bible that constantly played the Word – beautiful!

Corn bread hoven in Penacova main square on Sunday morning.

Famous Penacova water comes from somewhere around here

Old school friends at dinner reunion.

More good friends

With the help of Amharic speaker Yonas Hailemeskel, we were able to complete the updated version of Amharic Selected Bible Verses, which are now available here:

https://www.wordproject.org/bibles/verses/amharic/index.htm

We want to thank Yonas for his dedicated work in recording the audio in this section of the website. Sure he is a blessing to many in Ethiopia and other places where that language is spoken.

In spite of slightly lower outreach to Western countries, this month was particularly notorious that our outreach has increased to traditionally Arabic/Muslim countries:             Emirates, South Arabia, Lebanon, Kuwait and others are increasingly well ranked in our stats.