I was walking home this evening when I saw this stenciled onto the bike path. A literal translation from Dutch to English is:

Set your light on.

What an appropriate reminder, I thought. Not just for cyclists during these dark winter months, but especially for us Christians. The days seem dark for many. Some chafe at Corona-related restrictions. Others mourn loved ones lost to Corona. Some wonder why one candidate was declared the new US president. Others wonder why the current US president refused to admit it. We Christians have been given the perspective of eternity. We have been given the Light of the world. 

The people who lived in darkness
have seen a bright light.
A light has risen
for those who live in a land overshadowed by death. 

Matthew 4:16 (God's Word translation) 

It's fun to see these kids playing MOSAIC

Would you like to play Mosaic, too? 

How-to video available at:  Davar on YouTube

Written instructions in Romanian, English, and Dutch available at: Davar: Bridging to Literacy. 

Many thanks to Vasilita, for leading this children's club;

to Coco for translating this game into Romanian;

and to Alina for being the voice for the Romanian version.

Een kwartje voor een karweitje

Three little kids stood by the door, calling out, "Een kwartje voor een karwietje!"  (literally, "a quarter for a chore"). It's a Dutch custom that doesn't occur all that often. But I usually have a small chore ready. In this case, they got a trash bag, disposable gloves, the promise of a quarter each if they filled the bag with litter. The littlest one, a boy in a "Pete" costume, held the bag. 

Pete helps the Dutch Sinterklaas distribute gifts. Tomorrow evening is pakjes avond (package evening) when people exchange suprises (gifts) with gedichtjes (silly poems). These children were small enough to still believe that the good Saint Nicholas was the one who brought them. 

The trash bag they brought back was not very full. But in the spirit of the season--and because of a lack of change--they each got a whole Euro instead of a quarter. 

Wishing you all much joy, whether or not children surprise you at the door!

A Chain of Thankfulness

When our children were still too young to write, we started making a thankful chain in preparation for the American celebration of Thanksgiving. We cut strips of paper large enough for the children to draw on. Then, each evening after supper, We each put down at least one thing we were thankful for. 

It's a family tradition we've continued. The chain starts out with just a few links. In the days leading up to Thanksgiving, it continues to grow. Guests at the thanksgiving feast are invited to participate. 

Our thankfulness does not end with Thanksgiving. Sometimes the chain becomes part of our Christmas decorations. 

And sometimes a portion of it wraps around our family bulletin board all year . . . until it's time to start the next thankful chain.

This year has made us stretch our thankful thoughts. There will be no guests. There's been a lot we were not grateful for. But as you can see, even this year we have linked one thankful thought after another. 

With grateful hearts,

Keith & Mary

God at Work . . . even through a forgotten passport

 This story happened back in 2008. But things like this are still happening today!

“It was a blessing from God,” Alina said. We got to know Alina when she was working as an au pair here in the Netherlands. Her employer had a business in her hometown in Romania. One Sunday he had taken the train to Schiphol to return to his business. Once at the airport, he discovered he didn’t have his passport. “He never forgets his passport,” Alina emphasized. He had just gotten back to home to pick it up when Alina received word that her grandmother had passed away. 

Because a family member drove Alina's employer back to Schiphol Airport, Alina was able to ride with him. Once their flight landed in Bucharest, she was also able to ride with him the 400 km to her hometown. This saved her a lot of trouble in a time of great grief. God works through many things . . . even a forgotten passport.

HAPPY KIDS

          Why are 

          these kids 

          so happy?

They were having a great time,  

playing games  (Tag Trio) 

 

and learning about God at a Bible club

 

led by our friend and ministry partner, Zoltan.

F10 Tag trio

 

Needed: space to run around.

 

Activity:

One person stands in front: Number 1.

Someone else  holds his/her hand:  Number 2

Ask the group, how can we make 3 from this? Yes, another person will hold his/her other hand: Number 3

These three are “it.” Everyone else runs from one side of the play area to the other. The three holding hands try to tag them. The three must keep holding hands for the “tag” to count. Once everyone has been tagged, another three are chosen to be “it.”

 

Note: It is possible to do the same game with another number–a “culturally significant number” or  whichever one you want to focus on.

Halloween or All Saints?

This is a true story. You can decide which day it suits better: All Hallow's Eve or All Saints' Day.

Lidia* was the oldest "sister" in a Baptist church in Moldova. Like many Romany in her village, she lived in a sort of compound with several houses built around a small yard. Her grown children lived around her and looked after her. However, her grown children did not share Lidia's new-found faith. On the surface, they were Eastern Orthodox. In reality, they followed Romany traditions which focus around gathering baxt (good fortune) and avoiding things that would drive away baxt. Part of this included honoring the dead. Graves are dug twice as deep as normal and first filled with all kinds of luxurious drinks, from cartons of juice to vodka and wine. Then all kinds of fruit is added. Not just common variety garden fruit, but imported fruits like pineapples and kiwis. All that extra space is filled with grave goods, rather like a pharoah's tomb. The funeral is also elaborate with a procession through the village. Family members will have stockpiled gifts like blankets. Periodically the procession pauses to that these can be distributed among the village, ideally to the poorer households. This does not end with the burial. There are well-maintained picnic tables with benches in the graveyard for future times of remembrance. As older church members generally do, Lidia eventually passed away. Her family was distraught with grief, as families generally are. The Baptist pastor was waiting to see what they would do. He knew and the family knew that Lidia had wanted a Christian funeral. The night after Lidia's death, her eldest daughter had a vivid dream. Lidia came to her. Lidia said that she was in a beautiful place. She described how wonderful it was. She said "your father," her husband, was there, too. She hoped that each of her children and grandchildren would join them there some day. And she wanted a Christian funeral. All of her children heard about this message from their deceased mother. Lidia had a Christian funeral. May her children follow her in the choices they make. *Name changed for privacy reasons.

She Had a Dream about Her

Speaking of dreams, Jesus doesn't always have to appear in a dream to speak through a dream. A case in point would be my friend Linda* and Jenny*, a young intern. Linda works with a different mission organization and was mentoring a young couple on the field. This young couple had been serving long enough to request a two-year intern. Jenny answered the call. But once she showed up, she didn't seem to know how to live out that call. She didn't do what the young couple requested. She didn't take initiative to do anything else. Linda offered to have Jenny help with Linda's work. Jenny showed up, but she never showed up prepared. Linda was ready to send her home, but Jenny was not her intern. And the young couple kept saying, "Let's give her a little more time. Jenny can develop. She can grow into the work." Jenny didn't. Finally the young couple also came to the conclusion that Jenny should go home. They asked Linda to be in prayer with them on the day they were going to have to tell her this. Jenny came to the meeting and announced, before the young couple had a chance to say anything, "I believe the Lord intends for me to go home. Linda appeared to me in a dream last night and told me so." Truly, the Lord moves in mysterious ways . . . . *Names changed to protect privacy. **The two-year intern in this photo definitely DID know what to do. Everyone wanted her to stay longer!

She Had A Dream About Him

How does God speak to you?  He spoke to Joseph and to Valentina in dreams. He sent a message to Mary through an angel. He sent Sergio a message through his cousin Vaselita's dream. Here's what happened.

Vaselita with her family

One night Vaselita dreamt that Jesus told her to phone her cousin Sergio who was working in Russia. Jesus told her Sergio was deathly ill and needed to repent. When Vaselita woke up, she thought, "That was one weird dream," and went on about her daily work. 

The next night, Jesus appeared to Vaselita again in a dream. "Why didn't you phone Sergio, like I told you last night? He's deathly ill and needs to repent!" When Vaselita woke up, she phoned her cousin!

Sergio was indeed deathly ill. Some believers from Vaselita and Sergio's village were also working in Russia, near him. They came to visit, had long discussions with Sergio, prayed with him, and Sergio gave his life into Jesus' hands.

His soul was healed. His body also healed. He went back to his village in Moldova and spent the evenings, when people gather around fires in corners of the unpaved streets, telling everyone how God had spoken to him and changed his life. Many hearts were touched through Vasalita's dream.

Sergio with some of the Christian brothers

He Had A Dream

A day after we posted the "She had a dream" blog, we received this reflection from Dr. Dale Meredith. It seemed too "coincidental" to not share in this follow-up blog. 

Joseph was engaged to marry Mary.  He heard that she was pregnant.  He thought about privately breaking the engagement.  “While he was thinking about this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, ‘Joseph, descendant of David, do not be afraid to take Mary to be your wife.  For it is by the Holy Spirit that she has conceived (Matthew 1:20).’”  Joseph married Mary.  Jesus was born and after the wise men had left, “an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph and said, ‘… get up, take the child and his mother and escape to Egypt, and stay there until I tell you to leave (Matthew 2:13).’”  Joseph, Mary, and the child left during the night for Egypt.  “After Herod died, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt and said, ‘Get up, take the child and his mother, and go back to the land of Israel (Matthew 1:19-20).’”  So Joseph took Mary and Jesus back to Israel.  When Joseph was afraid to go to Judah, he received more instructions in a dream, so he made his home in a town named Nazareth (Matthew 2:22-23).

An angel is a messenger from God.  Mary learned about and accepted her selection to be the mother of Jesus in a conversation with an angel (Luke 1:26-38).  Joseph heard God speak to him by an angel at critical times in dreams.  Mary had one conversation with an angel.  Joseph received instructions from an angel in multiple dreams.  God speaks to different people in different ways.  Each person hears, learns, and reacts differently.  God communicates to you in ways you can understand.  When God speaks to you it will be consistent with His plans and purposes as shown in the Bible.  That is why it is important to study and memorize scriptures.  It is from the study that you learn what God’s plans and purposes are.  Then when he speaks you will better understand what he wants you to do.  God does not speak to everyone in the same way.  You must be alert, recognize, and listen to God for instructions.

Let us know God’s love for us and love him.  Let us be his witnesses.  Let us listen to the Scriptures and let them guide us in what we do.  Let us listen when God speaks through prophets, family members, friends, nature, angels, or dreams to call us to follow God.  Let us hear God whisper to us and then do what God whispers.  Let us ask for help to understand what some teachings in the Bible mean.  Let us memorize Bible verses so we will follow Jesus and not sin against God.  Let us see what needs to be done and do it with God’s help.  Let us obey God even when it is difficult.  God helps, comforts, and guides us even if it appears dark and we cannot see the future.  I pray that we all: Be smart, be careful, be helpful, be safe, and not be afraid.  God is with us now and forever.​

Dale D. Meredith

Pastor, University Baptist Church, Amherst, New York and

Professor Emeritus, State University of New York at Buffalo

She Had A Dream

God comes to us in ways we will understand. That's the whole message of the Gospel. And that's why Jesus appeared to Valentina in a dream. 

We'd met Valentina's family in Moldova. We got to know them a bit better while they spent some time in the Netherlands. Now they are back home where, last month, Valentina's husband decided to be baptized. Valentina thought long and hard when her husband made that commitment. She hesitated. She decided she was not ready to bury your old life in those baptismal waters and rise up to live a new life in Christ. It's an important step. 

This was all fresh in her mind when Jesus appeared to her in a dream. He called her to him and told her she needed to repent, turn away from her old life, and be baptized. He told her he was calling all people to come to her. We can all become children of God. 

When another baptismal service was organized, Valentina did not hesitate. She and four others were baptized last Sunday. 

Valentina, 2nd from right

God came to her in a way He knew she would understand, in a dream. She shared that dream with all the neighbors and family members who came to the service who came in a way she knew they would understand, in their own Ursari Romani language. 

How does God come to you?

"A Tale of Two Gardens" or "The Choice I Elected"

This is the time of year when migrating flocks of birds swoop into the tree in our backyard, feast on the purple berries there, and swoop on. They glide and turn as one, so many flecks of pepper against the grey clouds. We watch and listen through the big kitchen window, the swoosh of their many wings audible even through the glass that separates us.    

We watch, amazed at the sight and at the Creator who orchestrates it all, from flight plan to berry-bearing shrub. The new neighbors behind us, the ones who transformed their yard from a nature sanctuary (fashioned more by the previous owner’s neglect than intent) into a flat plane of grey tile with an island of artificial turf, were not so entranced. The berries knocked loose by the birds stained that new tile. Could we trim the tree so it didn’t hang over their yard anymore?

We do not share the new neighbors’ vision of an ideal yard. In fact, when they first started hacking off every green thing in sight, I had a lot of difficulty with it. But then God showed me something. These neighbors have roots in Morocco or Turkey or some such dry, dusty place where paved inner courtyards are the desired norm. They even put a high, solid wall all around their yard to create more of a courtyard-as-extension-of-the-dwelling. I, on the other hand, try to cover the fences and walls around our yard with vines so that not being inside feels even more like going outdoors.

But would we trim our tree? Of course, and not just grudgingly because they had the right to ask it. I do not agree with their choice of a yard, but I respect their right to make that choice. I have a choice, too. I can label those new neighbors as all kinds of things because they do not share my view of an ideal yard. Or I can see these new neighbors as neighbors. We can choose to focus on what we share: the desire to live together in a cordial neighborhood.

As summer fades and more and more birds fly south, you and I will have many opportunities to make similar choices. Will you and I focus on our differences? Will we let those differences harden into name-calling and defensive dislike? Or will we choose to focus on our common goals and listen for ways we can work together to achieve them? I elect to do the later. What do you choose?

Introducing Our New Host . . . Again?

Many things are new. 

• We have a new host for our Davar: Bridging to Literacy videos. 
  
• We have a new, updated version of Blog-spot. 
• And we have people who looked at this Blog-spot last week and came away with new questions. Like, why wasn't there anything in this blog post???

Because of the new, updated version of Blog-spot. If I have managed to learn something new, this post will now contain a photo of our new puppet host. And if it doesn't, I still have new things to learn!

“Remember not the former things,
    nor consider the things of old.
19 Behold, I am doing a new thing;
    now it springs forth, do you not perceive it?"

(Isaiah 43: 18-19, very badly taken out of context!)

Seeing and Hearing through the smoke . . .

Keith & Mary with some of the Papiamentu "voices"

Did you know God could work through cigarettes? I sure didn’t. Last Saturday it was my turn to do yardwork around the church building in Arnhem, the Netherlands. A fellowship of mainly immigrants meets in the building on Saturday and Sunday afternoons. One of Christian sisters who was waiting for that service to begin came out for a cigarette break while I was finishing up. Otherwise, we wouldn’t have gotten into a conversation. She had a warm, open personality. I soon learned that she was originally from Curacao. Last summer my husband Keith Holmes and I spent two months in Curacao recording the New Testament in this sister’s first language, Papiamentu. She knew nothing about the recording. When Keith showed up, he showed her how to find it on Internet. The audio recording has been put into a video of the Gospel of Mark. She was amazed and delighted to see it. “I’m going to look at that at home!” she said. “I’m going to show it to my children!” I’m not saying God wants people to smoke cigarettes. But He can use even a nicotine additional for good. Hallelujah!

With Fur On

The puppet continues to develop. 

It now has a name (Albert or Alberta, depending on the voice of the narrator) AND fur.

We are hoping to have some DAVAR instructional  videos completed in the next week or so.

They will be available in several languages, beginning with English, Dutch, and Romanian.

Beginnings (without puppet) available here: DAVAR GAMES on YouTube.

(Videos, and video plans, also continue to develop.)

AN UNEXPECTED DEVELOPMENT--PUPPETS!

What have you found yourself doing this summer that you never expected to do last summer? Or even last winter? 

Our list includes: 
~working with two student interns through CBF's Student.Go program;
~making instructional videos of DAVAR: Bridging to Literacy games (with said student interns);
~working with a puppet made by one of these interns for use in the instructional videos.

The Student.Go interns couldn't go anywhere this summer. However, we had a couple of media projects that they could do long distance. 

When everyone was on lock down, we started making videos so families could do DAVAR games at home. This evolved into making instructional videos with the added goal of having people from an oral culture background easily learn to lead the games for groups.

Someone suggested using a puppet in the videos. One of the interns responded enthusiastically. 

He wrote: I would like to say i am loving this program and process and i think potentially growing these videos would be a fantastic experience and definitely beautiful for a resume. Thank you for letting me do this.

Here's some photos of the puppet in progress. 

Stay tuned to see what God will do with this next!

Pentecost--All Year Through

The Sinti Romany churches in the Netherlands traditionally get together for a big tent meeting on the weekend of Pentecost. There will be preaching, singing, barbecuing, socializing, and baptizing. Services will be in at least two different languages so as many people as possible will be able to hear that Jesus can transform their lives and the Holy Spirit can dwell within them and among us to work out that transformation.
Of course, such a huge gathering, even in the open air, didn't happen this year. A lot of other things happened instead. For instance, the CBF field personnel in Europe made this video to share with you all. Thank you for making it possible for so many others to hear the Word of God in their own languages, not just on Pentecost, but all year through!

The 1.5 meter Community

We've been living 1.5 meters apart from everyone since mid-March.
There are lines taped on the floor of stores to remind you to stay 1.5 meters away from other shoppers. You are not allowed into a grocery store without a cart (makes you keep your distance). And only one person per family may go into a grocery store at a time. Or each person must have a cart. Grocery stores only put out a limited number of carts. If the store has too many people in it, you wait outside until a cart becomes available.

We started to have coffee with a couple of ladies from church every other month or so. They hated to miss it, so we arranged to meet in the open air (cafe closed, anyway) where we could keep 1.5 meters apart. There were signs posted in the park, just in case we forgot. We didn't drink any coffee, but we enjoyed our time together.

Oddly enough, staying apart has been bringing people together. We help each other, and not just by social distancing to limit the spread of the virus. One woman in our community sewed over 100 face masks for health-care workers. Another has no-questions-asked food bank in her little paved front yard. People bring food. People take food. People trade food they got from the official food bank (often exotic items the grocery store couldn't sell) for food from this neighborhood food bank.
How have you been living together . . . while safely staying apart?

(Teddy) Bear Hunt--Only Together

AllenSamen, ONLY TOGETHER or  solely by working together is a rough translation of the campaign to combat the corona virus. 
For example, shortly after Dutch schools closed, people started putting teddy bears in their windows. Children could still go outside, alone with family members. The whole country, though, worked together to lighten the mood for the children. While they are walking or biking from here to there, they can go on a bear hunt.
How many teddy bears in this block? Any new ones today?
It's fun to look for bears, no matter how old/young you are.
And it's encouraging to see how many households participate, no matter how young/old they are. Some houses have at least 3 bears in as many different windows! It's a small but significant way to be together, even when we need to stay apart.

Is anything blooming around you right now? And do those blooms have any special meaning for you? We have lilies-of-the-valley in our yard. I love them, not only because they look and smell so sweet. They evoke memories.

Memory #1: the friend who gave me these plants. She has a beautiful garden and a beautiful mind.
Memory #2: comes first chronologically, since it dates back to childhood. My sisters and I used to sing this round, probably most often when we couldn't fall asleep at night: 

White coral bells, upon a slender stalk, 

lilies of the valley line my garden walk. 

Oh, don't you wish that you could hear them ring? 

That will happen only when the fairies sing.   

Memory #3: in the Republic of Moldova I bought a bunch of these flowers from a little old grandmother selling them on the street. The bunch was tied together with a string. I put them in the room where I was staying. And then I noticed for the first time that I had developed a sensitivity to some floral scents. I had to move that little bunch of flowers a good six feet away from me.  

Now I ask you, why do lilies of the valley even have a scent? The friend who gave me my first few plants warned me that they spread. And they do--they propagate mainly from rhizomes (a fancy way of saying they sending out roots as runners). They do bear seeds, but the rhizomes are a lot more productive. So, in a way, the whole flower-and-scent business is unnecessary. 

When it comes to that, why do flowers come in so many different shapes and sizes, colors and scents? I happen to believe that the Creator scatters delight throughout creation on an even grander scale than my friend scatters delight throughout her own garden (which is far more enchanting than mine). What do you believe?

LIBERATION

Photo taken from Facebook Page "De Leimers Herdenkt"

This past Easter weekend we were liberated. Seventy-five years ago the Allies came through this region of the Netherlands and freed the people from Nazi rule. I don’t know about you, but I could use another liberation. We’ve been sheltering at home since returning to our Dutch home on March 24, and we are getting weary. My annual bout of hay-fever nearly brought on a panic attack. I had to keep reminding myself, sometimes rather sternly, that these particular symptoms were the result of pollen and that they happen every year.

Celebration . . . happens every year . . . liberation . . . Oh, yes, Easter!
I have been liberated. From death to life.
Let us keep reminding ourselves that Christ has risen. 

He has risen indeed!

Making Masks . . . Also in Moldova

Our partners in Moldova

are making masks:

Our teammates in Slovakia 

are making masks:

Are you wearing masks?

Wherever you are?

Here's someone who has actually promised not to: 

"I will not hide My face from them any longer, for I will have poured out My Spirit on the house of Israel," declares the Lord GOD. Ezekiel 39:29

Flour and Flowers

Keith and I are back in the Netherlands, where the tulips are blooming.

We thought we'd miss them. We were planning to be in America from mid-March through the end of June.

People here are also staying home. There are public service announcements about keeping the appropriate social distance. 
There are even drones flying over the beaches, reminding people to stay far enough away from each other.

People here are also stocking up on supplies. We have enough toilet paper, but flour has been hard to find. 

Flour usually comes in 1 kg bags.  All we found on the shelves last week was volkoren (whole wheat). All we found today was 100 gram bags. So we bought zelf rijzend  (self rising) as well as plain flour. Don't know whether it was the store's idea to only put out 100 gram bags or whether that was all that was left in the warehouse right now. Either way, it does cut down on hording!

Jesus' advice on storing up food:  Life is more important than food, and the body is more important than what you put on it. 26 Look at the birds. They don’t plant, harvest, or save food in barns, but your heavenly Father feeds them. Don’t you know you are worth much more than they are? (Matthew 6:25b-26)

ADVICE SEEN IN KIROLI PARK, MONROE, LOUISIANA

EUROPE MUST ENSURE MARGINALISED COMMUNITIES HAVE ACCESS TO WATER DURING PANDEMIC Brussels, 16 March 2020: The European Roma Rights Centre (ERRC) is calling on governments across Europe to ensure that marginalised communities, including Roma, have full access to clean water as part of national responses to the Covid-19 pandemic. According to ERRC research, a majority of Romani people in Europe do not enjoy access to mains-supplied water, and more than half rely on a water source which is more than 150m away, making them especially vulnerable to the spread of this virus.  The ERRC urges European leaders to follow the example set by Slovak authorities, who announced on 16th March that they are recommending allowing unlimited access to drinking water for people living in marginalised communities. It is imperative that marginalised people in society are not left out of policies which are being implemented now to contain the spread of the virus. The ERRC will be reaching out to the World Health Organisation (WHO) and requesting them to press European leaders to ensure equal welfare for all citizens, regardless of ethnicity, in the midst of this pandemic.

The Effect of a Fortune Teller

Have you ever had your fortune told? Robert Robinson did once. It had a profound effect on his life. Here's the story of a young man who fell in with bad company . . . and the result . . .

One day Robert's gang of rowdies harassed a drunken gypsy (sic). Pouring liquor into her, they demanded she tell their fortunes for free. Pointing her finger at Robert she told him he would live to see his children and grandchildren. This struck a tender spot in his heart. "If I'm going to live to see my children and grandchildren," he thought, "I'll have to change my way of living. I can't keep on like I'm going now."

Robert Robinson decided to go hear the Methodist preacher George Whitefield. To cover his "weak" urge, he suggested that the boys go with him and heckle the gathering. Whitefield preached on the text: "O generation of vipers, who hath warned you to flee from the wrath to come?" (Matthew 3:7). Robert left in dread, under a deep sense of sin that lasted for three years.

Finally, at the age of twenty, Robert made peace with God and immediately set out to become a Methodist preacher himself. Two years later, in 1757, he wrote a hymn which expressed his joy in his new faith:

Come, Thou Fount of every blessing,

Tune my heart to sing Thy grace

Streams of mercy, never ceasing,

Call for songs of loudest praise.

Teach me some melodious sonnet,

Sung by flaming tongues above.

Praise the mount! I'm fixed upon it,

Mount of Thy redeeming love.

Story taken from Christianity.com

We don't recommend having your fortune told. The Romany we know who used to earn a living that way do not recommend it, either. Like Professor Marvel in The Wizard of Oz, fortune tellers are usually reading people rather than palms. But God can use even rowdies and fortune tellers to change hearts. 

International Mother Language Day

Today, on International Mother Language Day, I warmly recommend to you a message from the SIL Executive Director, Michel Kenmogne, reflecting on the power and role of local languages.

The words and pictures in the short video below show glimpses of a few places in our world where people have decided to give their children a strong foundation in life by allowing them to receive their first years of schooling in their own language, before continuing to learn in a regional or national language.

It is my hope that many Roma children in Europe and elsewhere, will be able reap the benefits of this kind of opportunity for them also. I am thankful for the hard work of others elsewhere that allow there to be good examples and encouragements in my continued networking and advocating for good quality and relevant education in Roma communities.

Sincerely,

Marianne Fast

Literacy Consultant SIL International

https://www.sil.org/literacy-education

  

Click to watch the video.

"Bob," "Joe," and Keith

This past month Keith worked on a recording project with "Bob" and "Joe." We can't tell you their real names. We can't tell you the language they were recording. And we can't show you any more of "Bob" (or is that "Joe"?) than you see here.

Yes, people are still being persecuted for their faith. And yes, it can compromise people's safety if it were known that they worked on a Christian recording.

Our neighbor was surprised to learn about that. We're not. We've known of Open Doors since Brother Andrew smuggled Bibles behind the Iron Curtain. We've had CBF team members who couldn't have their photos publicized, either. We've worked with Bible translators and consultants who took the photo at group meetings because they could not be in the photo.

We respect "Bob" and "Joe" for the work they do and the calculated risks they take. Join us in praying for all of our brothers and sisters in Christ who suffer for the sake of the Gospel.