We have been experiencing some problems due to the recent change in interface and some people still being accessing the old pages, which are being faded out. We did solve most problems and the rest we hope to solve in the near future. From our mail box this past month:

“Greetings in the name of our Saviour JESUS CHRIST, Great job on the site! I love the multi-column function that allows you to view different languages simultaneously! God Bless” – RAJENDRA

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“Greetings of Peace and love from North West India

1. Thanks a lot for the mail. Your efforts would be rewarded in Eternity. Well the people of Submission (you know about whom I am talking) are more aggressive than us. We here prayed for you and appreciate for the work you are involved in. 
2. You have no idea how the Lord using you. In our recent meeting about Sikh Evangelization and Muslims Evangelization, we have learnt that you website is used extensively among Muslims and Sikhs for it is easy accessible and also having Unicode Typesetting. Be encouraged! You are the Champion in Evangelism….Bless you in the name of Jesus my dears. 
3. I am attaching the file that you have sent with Translated work Keep moving in the Lord with His Grace, our prayers are with and for you…Pls do uplold the Right Version of Punjabi Bible...” – Jitender

*****

“Dear Brothers and Sisters! It is really a wonderful work for the Lord. I pray for it. Please note: * Under this link is nothing: http://www.wordproject.org/bibles/fa/index.htm * You wrote the following for the Arabic Bible: Ø±Ø¶ المقدسة [Arabic Holy Bible] It must be: الكتاب المقدس Blessings”, Aziz Saad.

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“Hello, I am believer in Jesus as Lord , and i believe that bible is the word that the holy GOD send to us, and i am living in Guangzhou .China
my problem is i came from french spoken countries and i have some difficulties to find the bible (book) in french, i have to wait some one of my countrie mate to send to me. Do you have any bible ( book ) in french ”Louis Second 1910”, if yes how to get it, do you have any representative in Guangzhou, we are a community of Jesus, and i come to you for my brother and sister. waiting for your reply. May LORD Jesus Bless you.” Lionel

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“Good morning! I wanted to thank you for the amazing work you’ve done in facilitating access to the Bible. WordProject has been helping me learn the beautiful language of French, and I’ve been using it daily for almost 2 months now. This is just a memo to notify you: Chapters 10-22 of Revelation (Apocalypse) of the French audio do not seem to be functioning. Please see if you can repair these broken links. Once again, your service is greatly appreciated.” – Monte

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“Bonjour mesdames/messieurs
Dieu soit loué pour cette bible que vous avez mise gratuitement en ligne. Merci a vous, Christ vous le rendra.Peut-on vous signaler quelque anomalie que l’on rencontre parfois soit en lisant ou soit en ecoutant ? Si oui, alors faites-moi signe pour que je vous informe de ce que je constate parfois. 
Que la grace de notre Seigneur soit avec vous.” – Franck

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“Hi, I wonder if there is a way to embed individual chapter readings onto other web pages? For instance, I could embed a chapter into a commentary section on an internet facebook page. I am very glad and appreciative of this website” – Eliot

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“I really appreciate the work you have done with wordproject.org. It is a beautiful site and I love all the languages available.” – Brian

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“Nimefurahi sana kwa huduma yenu ya biblia kwa njia ya mtandao nimetumia ni nzuri sana.hongereni sana maana itanisaidia kwanye huduma ya injili ninayofanya.huduma yenu ni nzuri sana – Translation: I am very pleased with your service bible through the network I use it and is very good. Helps me in the gospel ministry” – Yona

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“… je aime beaucoup word project” – Olivier

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“Dear Friend in Christ, I am from Islamic Republic of Pakistan where it is difficult to have Radio and TV channel for preaching purposes. They would not allow us to do that here the Satan has real strong hold over everything… Urdu is spoken in Pakistan, India, Nepal, Afghanistan and also in Indonesia, Malaysia, Iran and others. I would ask you to pray and share it among the brethren. I would offer my services for being translator, recorder and distribution/sales. I pray that your consideration will have His mark over your decision. May God bless you abundantly! May His perfect will be done! Grace and Peace be with you, all brethrens. Yours brother in Christ.” – Michael – Pakistan

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“I was just wondering if you could get the Hindi audio bible (http://www.wordproject.org/bibles/audio/03_hindi/index.htm) made available on spotify.com I believe this would increase usage and could make some revenue for you as well. Thank you! for your great work. God Bless “- Arthur

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“Hello! I thank you so much for the great work you have been doing with this webside. I downloaded the French Bible. The book Deuteronomy doesn’t working. When you try to download it, there only appears an error-message. Maybe you can check it out. Thank you so much! Be blessed!” Simone from Germany!

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我每天都在这里听圣经,但是现在很难再连续听了,因为很多章节不能连续放或根本不能放.几乎每一本都有问题.还不如以前的website. 请你们打开听一下,就马上会发现问题.真希望你们可以重新编排一遍.谢谢 – Grace

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“Thank you so much for the most exciting Bible site. I’m so blessed to have this site and enjoying so very much. However, the recent changes that you have made seem to have  Some problems.” – Kiko

[most problems reported have been fixed]

by Joana

It was a cold and windy morning.. Not the kind of weather that I usually enjoy, but it would end up to be a unique and special day.  The busiest I had ever yet seen at Mbagathi District Hospital; the day I would deliver my first little baby.

On this particular morning,  6 woman were in labor all at once. It was a sight and sound to make you begin to pray, and indeed, praying was something of an addiction to me when I worked here. Everyone was running around. It was too early for the usual nurse in charge to have decided to show up, so we scrambled to make some order out of the chaos. The nurse interns had a pile of files and were working on gathering  patient history and some basic observations.  The interning doctor on shift was Calvin. Since the morning that we  tried for hours to cannulate an extremely overweight  patient,  him and I had become good friends. He was  also very good at deliveries, I had always  learnt a lot from him. Now he was preparing each and every mother for the birthing and I was his assistant. And that s just the team that we were: 3 nurses, another CO intern , Calvin and then me.

Each of the mothers in labor had  a unique way of  expressing their pain and apprehension; some howled  and some muttered meaningless nonsense, others just hit their beds with unexplainable strength and energy.

I was setting up an Iv solution for a young mother in her early 20s. She was freakishly thin with dust and grime covering her little body and  her swollen stomach. Her contractions were coming fast and strong..i could just see the bulging around her opening each time at the peak of a contraction. A quick examination confirmed that, yes, the time was near.  I started calling for Calvin, ‘it is coming, it is coming!!’ he was very calm but also very preoccupied, “I can t be there right now,” he told me, as he slowly drew medicine from a vial into a syringe. ‘you know what to do right?’  I knew I had the basic idea, I had practiced with big plastic dummies in class and I had observed countless births since my very first shift in maternity. A wave of confidence suddenly swept over me and I agreed that, yes, I could do it.”  “ok, that s good. Remember to support that head and those shoulders,’ and that was that, left alone with no time to lose, that baby wanted to come out, and come out NOW.

I tore open the delivery pack and began preparing the birth site, while supporting the perineum with a heavy wad of cotton. The young mother was holding onto my coat and at times tugging at me ferociously, unnerving me that I might lose my balance.  It was not her first child and she was a great pusher, she panted and moaned and shrieked .I encouraged her that with each mighty contraction the baby was slowly being revealed. Suddenly the head popped out. It took me a second to react and start wiping the airways of the little head…there was more pushing and shoving and then the shoulders came out, one at a time. I caught it just in time as the whole infant spurted out with a considerable force. It was so small, warm and slippery, I had a terrible thought that it might slip form my trembling hands.. But that  didn’t happen…I placed the baby on mommy s stomach and she gave it an intense look, as if she couldn’t’ t decide what to feel. It was a  baby boy..pinkish brown all over with little scrunched up face and large lumpy head covered in dark thick curls. A quick rub on his back and his screams filled the room along with the all the others,  like a symphony of wails. It s was the sound of new life. Little souls protesting their reluctance to enter this  world. And yet all I wanted to say was, ‘welcome! welcome to existence!’ The cord clamps were attached and I cut the filmy cord that had  stopped pulsating. A quick glance up at the clock on the wall to my right to note the time: 9:15. I was feeling elated and out of control. The nurse ran over to whisk the baby off to the resuscitation machine: to be suctioned, dried, oxygenated and so on and so forth.

Joana EMT ready..

Blood was oozing out slowly and steady out from the mother. I had a gag reflex as the scent of everything suddenly seemed very strong. I inspected the site and was incredibly relieved to note there was no tear, (as I dread little else more than having to suture). After a few minutes the placenta was ready to be delivered. I massaged  her uterus until I felt  it contracting into a grapefruit sized lobe beneath her navel. Giving firm and even pulls on the protruding end of the cord with one hand and applying downward pressure on the uterus with the other, I know that this will help the placenta to move down and then out. As it was slowly proceeding, the cord would be wrapped more and more around the forceps that I had used to clamp the cord at the mother s end. Eventually the whole thing slipped out in a smooth’ swoosh’. As it came out it was caught in my two hands and turned gently until all the membranes were twisted.  It was very important step to then thoroughly inspect the placenta to  assure  that it was all intact and no pieces were left behind which would be a potential source of infection. Then there was the final work of cleaning out the clots and cleaning up the mother.  I felt she worked so hard and I could imagine her relief. I went and made her a huge cup of hot chocolate. There was a big smile on my face and all the tension was melting away and converting into a deep feeling of joy and satisfaction. The mother and I shared a small moment of silence and exchange of smiles. I respected her deeply as she got up from the cot, wrapped her blood soaked kanga around her hips and limped off to collect her child. This was definitely an experience I could not forget.

Here is a reaction to the Portuguese Audio Bibles left in Mozambique last month – (received via email from A. and J.):

On behalf of those who received an Audio Bible we want to thank you with all our hearts.
The other day we got a feedback from Pastor Sebastião. He just loves is  Audio Bible, listens to it every afternoon until late at night, he said. In the morning he goes to the Machamba with his wife:  “But as soon as we are home, my wife is cooking and looking after our children, I sit in the backyard of my little house and listen to the Word of God.” His daughter Sabina, is a student at the Catholic School in Macomia and a good friend of J.. Sabina just spent 2 weeks at home and told us that in fact the whole family listens to the Audio Bible, every night and they all love it!

Luis Rafael, a Church Deacon told A. that he is so happy to have an Audio Bible. Since he got it, he listens to it every day for 2 hours! These are just a couple of the many reactions, many of them expressed to me by phone, text message, or in person, while we were there. People were really thankful. We have to remember that in all the cities of the North of Mozambique there is not one place where you can acquire even a printed Bible.

Set of audioBibles for Beira

by Jorge

As we stopped at a village in the bush in the North of Mozambique… as we went out of the car to relax, we pulled out our soccer ball and kicked it around a bit until several villager children gathered around us to play too… As I watched their joy I thought about the approach of church denomination missions in Africa and how it needs to change…

Playingball

.
imagine coming to Africa to promote Barcelona or Manchester United… and encourage people to attend or watch their games, or opening branches and appeal for membership to these clubs …. rather than bringing the “ball” and teach and encourage the practice of the “sport” – where everyone can benefit from the activity  and exercise… well, I  felt quite strong about this – the church denominational approach to evangelization in Africa [and maybe in other parts of the world] has been more like instituting the club and making members… creating spectators [and division or club-ism] rather than bringing the ball [the Bible?] and letting people enjoy it, use It for their fun and recreation, health, strength and unity – also guidance, light, and most of all Salvation in Jesus Christ. (the analogy is lost here but nevertheless the truth worth mentioning)

village in Mozambique

The point is that I think the Christian life is worth living and worth living all the way… not half way, with some visits to the church on Sunday and sometimes only for weddings and ceremonies … and I do believe the  central point, the focus of the Christian life is the Word of God…without It there is no life. I feel
that Christians, by and large, promote the denomination and that needs to change. The Christian should promote Christ, His Word, not a particular denomination, whatever that may be, anywhere, anytime and all the time… Every Christian has been given that challenge. “And I if I be lifted up from the earth will draw all men unto me….”

After one month of travelling through Tanzania and Mozambique, we arrived yesterday and we are ready to share with you the news and pictures of this trip.

This visit to Mozambique had a double purpose: to survey and find out more what can be done to help with the process of evangelization and to have some needed break from the cold weather of Nairobi and enjoy some sunny skies and warmer weather. On the first objective we were able to meet with several missionaries on the field and find out what has been done in concern to Bible translation in the local languages –  in summary there is a lot to be done specially in the areas of digitalization of the Word, as a to be able to place it online for all to use, and audio recordings, for use by people who are illiterate, especially in the villages. Most of those we talked to were very enthusiastic about this and loved the idea of having  Audio Bibles in different local languages, however those languages are not yet recorded and some of them not yet translated.

electronic Portuguese Bibles to Pastors in Mozambique

In Mozambique, where the official national language is Portuguese, the pastors we were able to meet were blessed to receive the gift of Portuguese Audio Bibles we brought for them. In all 100 Audio Bibles were given out and in Tanzania we also left at least 15 Swahili  Audio Bibles. We would need 1000’s but we would need to import them straight into those countries. On that line we also found some valuable information which we will share in due time.

Bible for the North of Mozambique

Some of the work in Mozambique is based on training local leaders and pastors, who in turn will teach others… there are several training courses scheduled for the near future. These audio Bibles are a blessing to help the local pastors and leaders to  increase their knowledge of the Word and also to share when they go back to their communities. In summary, there is lot to be learned and strategies to be defined in result of this visit to Mozambique and Tanzania. In due time we are going to debate and pray for the next steps to be made. We thank all of you who made this possible with your prayers and support.

As for the second objective of this voyage, please check reports from Donna and Gloria, and enjoy their observations and experiences.

Bless you all.

Jorge

Joana back in reunion with family, celebrating her 19th birthday

Dad, mom, Ben, Jason and Gloria left for Mozambique on the 6th. Since then I’ve been surviving in Kenya with the companionship of Terry, a Chinese friend of many years. As she is working with one of the local Chinese churches in Nairobi, I have also found myself quite involved there. On the 16th there was a big revival meeting aimed at uniting the different Chinese congregations in Nairobi. It took 2 whole days to prepare that great event. The meeting was a grand affair with pastors who just arrived from Hong Kong along with TV filming crew. It was a wonderful opportunity to get to know more Chinese Christians here and to feel the power of God working among them. This Sunday we had our church
meeting outdoors!! We all drove out to lake Naivasha and worshiped while gazing at God s marvelous creations. A Brother who is a professional Chinese chief then prepared an amazing BBQ afterwards. This Month I was also very busy with interning. I was recently
transferred to Bagathi district hospital. It s the hospital that boarders and services the great Kibera slum. The hospital itself is just a collection of low, stone buildings that house very meager facilities and an unbelievable amount of patients.

Joana at Mbagati Hospital, Nairobi

They call it the hospital where
people come to die as around ¾ of the patients are HIV positive in their 3-4th stage. Almost all the medical staff is interns and we all do the best we can. I pray every day for God s protection as I work there. This month has been a month of challenge and adventure and experience. As I look back on it, I see God s protection and guidance
throughout. God bless you all!!

During the month we have been in intense communications with some brothers in Mozambique who have invited us to come. We also had to get visas and to get visas we needed an invitation letter. Besides, we had to take vaccinations against yellow fever as that is also required.   Joana, because of her involvement in the EMT course, cannot come with us. We have invited Terry, our dear sister from Zhuhai, who is now on mission here in Kenya, to come and stay  with Joana at our home during the time we are absent…

Thus, the time has come to take our summer break [actually winter here] and this week we are making final preparations for our mission and retreat, all in one. Please pray with us as there is a lot of driving to do and spiritual battles to be fought. Please intercede on behalf of Mozambique. It is a country still coming out of a long term  communist regime and is desperately in need of the salt and light of the Gospel. We are bringing over 100 Portuguese Audio Bibles, and “Crescer em Cristo” booklets,  as a gift to the work, and we are also interested in making further contact with missionaries there and see how we can help more in the future. We will certainly try to enjoy the beautiful pristine beaches while there and get to know the people and the language of the land.  Psalm 67:2-3. – “That thy way may be known upon earth, thy saving health among all nations.  Let the people praise thee, O God; let all the people praise thee.”

New arrived iBibles –

Portuguese language Bibles for Mozambique

testing the load — most of the rack is full of audio Bibles

[by Joana]

This month I started my internship at Avenue Hospital. After two whole weeks of pure relaxation, it was difficult for me to adjust back to my early wake up schedule! Haha. I had recently purchased my full EMT trainee uniform; white pilot shirt tucked into navy blue pants and black socks with leather loafers. My first posting was a week and a half in theater! I was extremely nervous as to how I would feel about watching my first operations, but I soon found out that there was no place for me to have qualms.  … [read the full report HERE]

Joana EMT ready..

Cristiana Portuguese Studies

Cristiana, our daughter currently in Portugal, received her diploma on Portuguese Studies from the University of Coimbra and she spent time visiting several of our relatives there. She had the opportunity to get to know many aspects of the Portuguese culture and visit several places including the birthplace of her father… . She also had the opportunity to travel and meet some of the friends she had since Macau and share their mutual experiences.

Cristiana with friends Blondine and Clemence 2013

by Jorge

We start by sharing a verse from Jeremiah, Chapter 29, verse 13, that says: “And ye shall seek me, and find me , when ye shall search for me with all your heart.”
Today Search Engines are very important. I am sure we all heard the new verb: “to google…”

But, Search engines are also helping people to find God, Salvation and answer for their spiritual problems. Looking into our logs I am staggered by what I see… thousands of searches for spiritual food…in languages from Arabia, China, India and the rest of the world… leading to answers that come straight from the Word of God. It is a blessing to see how the Lord is using new technologies to spread His Truth to the World Wide World… Here are few samples from Wordproject web logs:

If someone in Kenya or Tanzania writes ‘Biblia Takatifu’ , which means Holy Bible in Swahili, on a Google search engine, they will get 118,000 results, where Wordproject ranks 1st and 2nd. See how it works by clicking HERE:

Also if someone ‘googles’ for ‘Audio Bible in Swahili’, Wordproject will  rank very high among 1.1 million results. Check it HERE. Actually we recorded and now we offer the first narration of the whole Bible ever made in Swahili… We thank God for that.

But this is only a few examples among the thousands of search words and phrases that are leading people to read [or hearing] the Bible in their own language every single day. Many would be surprised by how many people are looking for Biblical answers… see HERE  for example, what a search entry for “gravidez na Biblia” [Portuguese for pregnancy in the Bible] leads to…

Well, if you like this game and want something more outreaching… then try to paste the following characters into your Google search engine:

马太福音   [that means Matthew – Ma tai fu yin – in Chinese]. Again your results should show Wordproject ranking high in over 3 million results… Confirm it HERE.

Not least, one of the main issues in today’s world is the Creation vs. Evolution issue. We offer a very interesting article about that subject and many people have been reading it as they Search for the topic.  See how they get there HERE.

We hope these will encourage you and those who have invested time and finances into this ministry to know that, although unseen and not praised for, they are indeed contributing to a very positive change in the world… yielding fruit… the kind of fruit that lasts FOREVER. I Peter 1:25

by Jorge

It is common to hear that a picture is worth 1000 words… I suppose it would fair to say that in such a case a video is worth 100000 words… We are starting a new experience here as we make use of some services offered [freely ?]  for video upload. Most videos we place online are innocuous in content, that is, not too committing or revealing, mainly due to the open nature of the internet and the dangerous associated therewith. Some videos, if more profound or private in nature, will have a password [you can request for it if you are interested]. Mostly,these videos are about tidbits of life, for your enjoyment, and have no profound meaning, at least not too obvious.
Enjoy some of the clips of our live here in Nairobi selected for your enjoyment. Your comments are always appreciated.

We also have wonderful pictures this month from Cristiana, who is studying Portuguese Studies in Coimbra, and Philip and Julie, who also traveled to Portugal and visit relatives there.

MANDY’S REPORT FROM CHINA

Mandy spent some time in China, recently, and had contact with several Home Fellowships. Please read Mandy’s very inspiring and encouraging report:
[盛开的福音花]
[ENGLISH VERSION]

Raj, Emanuel, Richenda and Mandy yam cha…ing.

More pictures HERE.

by Jorge

It has become an exciting task to open wordproject mail box… the emails we receive vary in form and content, and in language too, and you never know what to expect. There are corrections, suggestions, petitions, proposals, protests, invitations, prayer requests and just simple ‘thank yous’. We feel we should share these with you, who also are involved in maintaining this service to the world – the broadcast of God’s Word.
Here are a few examples:

“Je me permets de vous signaler que l’chapitre de Jacques (en francais) chapitre 5 est incomplet : l’enregistrement audio s’arrive au verset 10, au lieu de finir au verset 20. Voulez-vous bien remediez  ce probleme? Merci pour votre attention !” Silvye

“I like this bible to much it good for me and my family” – Ashley 

“Paz! PARABENS pelo site de voces ficou um espetaculo! Gosto muito de acompanhar a minha leitura pela Santa Biblia … Obrigada. Deus os abencoe.” – L.Dantas

“Thanks for your website and for teaching the world about the scripture. Could you please send me a free Kiswahili Bible (Biblia ya Takatifu) both in audio and text formats.” – Hosea

“Thank you so much for building this site and making it so nice. It is a very useful tool. I was wondering if you had more information regarding the versions of the Bible that the different languages are in. Are the majority KJV? It seems that some languages just have the language as the version. I was hoping to get more details.” – Wes

“Can I make a request to you. Please send me the software/cd of Hindi-English bible.So that I can have it in my computer.” – Carol 

See many more communications  received in the month of May.

Also: We have ordered 200 Audio Bible Machines from China. [see sample in this old Ad we made years ago…] 100 in Portuguese, destined for Mozambique and 100 in Swahili for Kenya and Tanzania. These are gifts from Wordproject and its supporters to the Bible starved regions… especially Mozambique, where book shops and Bibles are rare. Thank you to those who have help with extra financial gifts [Steven] towards this. [over 2400 US$, with shipping).

Furthermore, we uploaded the new Polish and Romanian Audio Bibles. We also implemented a new Study multilanguage parallel Bible with Greek, Latin and English, which you can use HERE. the Stats for the month of May are HERE.