Prayer Circle from Bible Society NI

PRAYER CIRCLE

Up to 18 April 2016

Bible Societies continue to work with partners to bring God's Word to those waiting.

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Belfast, BT1 6NB

t: 9032 6577

www.bsni.co.uk

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'"I will strengthen them in the Lord
and in his name they will live securely,"'
declares the Lord.'

Zechariah 10:12 (NIVUK)

People are incredibly resilient. We see this time and again when communities destroyed by natural disaster find a way to rebuild, move forward and keep on living. No-one is left the same when disaster strikes, but many show this inner strength that is inspirational. Often this strength comes from God. Today we ask you to pray for those who have been devastated in Pakistan and for those who continue to try and rebuild their lives a year after earthquakes in Nepal. Praise God that Bible Society staff and partners are working to bring hope in these situations. Please pray that, just as God spoke through Zechariah of strength and security for His chosen people, so too may His people today be able to experience this assurance from God.

Pakistan's Easter Massacre

Easter Sunday brought horrendous scenes to a park in Pakistan where people were enjoying a holiday with their families. It is thought that 72 people lost their lives when a suicide bomber struck the Gulshan-e-Iqbal Park, close to where children were playing. At least 29 children were among the dead and a further 350 people suffered injuries. It was Pakistan's deadliest attack since the December 2014 massacre of 134 school children at a military-run academy in the city of Peshawar that prompted a government crackdown on Islamist militancy.

Anthony Lamuel (pictured), the General Secretary of the Pakistan Bible Society (PBS) wrote: "The terrorist attack in Lahore was very sad. The park which was targeted is around 5 Km from our house and we heard the explosion. On week days and holidays families go there and as Sunday was Easter, some Christian Families too would have gone."

PBS's marketing officer, Justus Nassir, said casualties of the attack included family members, neighbours and church friends of several staff of the Bible Society. "It's a very bad situation," he said via Skype from Lahore. "Most of the people were Christian because they had gone to the park to celebrate Easter evening. Continue to uphold us in prayers and thank you for your concern."

We ask you to pray for this situation, the sadness of which is simply beyond words. Pray for protection on God's people who are constantly coming under all kinds of pressure. May they be filled with grace, strength and faith as they stand strong in the face of great adversity.

See a more detailed report from the Australian Bible Society here.

Nepal - A Year After the Quake

Nearly a year after three earthquakes devastated Nepal's capital, Kathmandu, and surrounding areas, Tej Jirel, General Secretary of the Nepal Bible Society (NBS), reflected on how Christians have coped. Mr Jirel (seen here in the blue shirt) was conducting a communion service when the first earthquake hit on 25 April. After evacuating, they continued communion on the street in a powerful and memorable moment which typifies the reaction of many Christians to the tragedy. Scores of churches were damaged or destroyed and around 500 Christians were among the 9,000 people who died. Mr Jirel and team report that survivors remain strong in their faith.

NBS have helped provide roofing, tarpaulins and other materials to hundreds of families who lost their homes, most of them non-Christians. Much of this material was delivered to people living in remote areas, with NBS staff and volunteers walking up mountainsides with the materials on their backs, or transporting it across rivers on small rafts.

"So many people were thankful for the help we brought, because they hadn't received any other relief materials," says Mr Jirel. "I remember one widow in particular, who thanked us with tears in her eyes. We told them we were Christians. We pray that one day all these people will come to know and accept Christ."

NBS has also been helping Christians replace lost Scripture. Many hundreds of Bibles, Children's Bibles and Scripture booklets have been distributed to churches and individual Christians.

"Without God there is no hope, and we continue to pray for the many people in Nepal who still don't know Him. Please join us in praying that many good things will come out of this disaster, and that many more people will come to know the true God and Creator."

50 New Translations Last Year!

In 2015 Bible Societies (BSs) assisted in the completion of translations in 50 languages spoken by nearly 160 million people. 28 of these were first translations for nearly 33 million people - 11 full Bibles, 6 New Testaments (NT) and 11 portions of Scripture.

BSs are also committed to revising existing translations and providing modern translations. 2015 saw 20 modern translations and revisions plus 2 study editions with the potential to reach over 127 million people.

285 million people are estimated to be visually impaired worldwide, of whom 40 million are blind. A Braille Bible has over 40 bulky volumes making production a significant undertaking. Last year the Sinhala Braille Bible was completed in Sri Lanka. This is only the 44th full Bible in Braille.

Sign Language (SL) is the 'heart' language for 70 million deaf people worldwide and there are over 400 unique SLs. The NT is only available in American SL. UBS, in close partnership with other international ministries, is

seeking to meet this Scripture need for this major unreached people group. BSs currently partner in 14 ongoing projects and another 9 are in planning or just beginning.

563 languages now have a full Bible and a further 1,334 languages have a NT. This leaves 281 million people with only some portions of the Bible and a further 497 million people with no Scripture in their language at all. BSs are working on over 400 translation projects worldwide.

Pray for all those working on translations, that their work will be completed as soon as possible. Also pray for two confidential projects which are complete but need permission from authorities before publishing.