THE VAST DIVERSITY
of people and cultures in South Africa is reflected in the variety of
ministries using WMP booklets. From the home-to-home work of Every Home
for Christ (EHC) to a ministry that "adopts" a section of
highway for prayer and outreach, hundreds of workers look to WMP as
their source for tools to carry out the vision the Lord has given
them.
A prisoner wrote, "I once came across one of your
booklets, The Way to God. That booklet changed my life to a
better life of a believer. As I was reading it, I felt like being filled
with the Holy Spirit. [As one of the pages suggested,] I chose the
road to life which is Jesus Christ. He is the way to eternal life
with God. So then I thought of writing to you to tell you how your
booklet is important to me because of the truth it carries."
In a prison that houses incorrigible prisoners, many of
whom are demon possessed, Christian workers using WMP booklets preached
the gospel. Many were delivered, and a church was formed in the prison.
Because of the total transformation of the prison, the warden was also
converted.
Each
ministry testifies to the effectiveness of the booklets and how they
depend greatly on WMP for literature to go door to door, train
counselors, do follow-up, and visit in hospitals.
Warren Fuggle of Christian Literature and Bible Centre in
Durban serves as WMP's national coordinator for South Africa. His supply
of booklets goes quickly once a shipment is received, and he is often
without booklets for several months. "It is vital that I get my new
supply as soon as possible. . . . There seems to be a great hunger to
distribute as many as fast as possible. People who are handing out
the booklets feel that time is so short and that they need to try to get
to as many people as possible."
One of the first Scripture booklets printed (while WMP co-founders
Watson and Rose Goodman were still missionaries in South Africa) was Help
From Above in the Zulu language. Today there is growing interest and
need for more booklets in Zulu. WMP now has three booklets -Help
From Above, Satan versus CHRIST, and The Way to God- as well
as the salvation coloring book He Is Risen! available in Zulu. A
shipment being prepared for Warren Fuggle includes over 1,000 boxes
of Zulu booklets.
The work of EHC in South Africa also relies on WMP
booklets. Currently EHC has some 155 projects that use WMP booklets,
with an additional 24 projects pending, waiting for Zulu and/or English
booklets. Requests are on hand for booklets to be distributed in taxi
ranks, on trains, at crusades, school events, and revival services.
Filling these existing requests will deplete EHC's supply.
EHC
has coordinators in all nine South African provinces and often have to
hold back on the number of boxes allocated to each one due to the
limited supply. A distributor wrote them, "I have seen the
evangelism booklet, The Way to God, in Afrikaans. What a thorough
piece of literature! It made a tremendous impact on me, and I
would like to get hold of more of these booklets. I can't think of
anything more exciting than to place such a good little Scripture
booklet into the hands of people who are desperately looking for
meaning in life. . . . They are of indescribable value as a tool to
evangelize."
New
opportunities have opened to send shipments to Every Home for Christ
directors in Swaziland and Lesotho. Each director has agreed to serve as
WMP's national coordinator for his country, providing a dependable way
for WMP to reach many other distributors. A medical missions team
working in Swaziland has begun using Help From Above in Siswati
with their patients and families. A shipment of over 900 boxes in
English, Siswati, and Zulu will be sent to them along with the new
consignment to Joseph Gule of EHC in Manzini.
Production for South Africa also includes more than 500
boxes of Scripture booklets in 22 languages for Peter Hammond of
Frontline Fellowship. Frontline Fellowship, a long-time partner, relies
on WMP booklets to reach into some of the most dangerous and needy
areas of Africa. They, too, depend on this ammunition for the
battle.
Warren Fuggle describes his lack of booklets as a
"crisis." Ministries are asking for millions of
booklets, realizing the time is short and the hunger real.
[The need for Scripture booklets in great quantities is
urgent. Each investment of $100 provides 2,500 booklets for eager
workers. $200 reaches 5,000 people with the hope found in God�s
Word. $1,000 can touch 25,000 people with Scriptures in their heart
language.]
Hungry
Hearts in Chiapas, Mexico
Seeking
Fresh Fish-"Caught" a Searching Soul
PASTOR GUTIERREZ
from Chiapas, Mexico, was on his way to buy fresh fish to sell as a way
of supporting his family. He was looking for a financial gain that day,
but on the way home his truck broke down. Afraid he would lose
his supply of fish as he didn't have much ice, he sold the fish to a
passerby for just what he paid for it. His financial gain was gone.
Later, a brother came and towed his truck to a mechanic.
As Pastor Gutierrez watched the mechanic work on his truck,
he noticed a Bible on the table. He asked the mechanic if he read the
Bible a lot. He replied that the Jehovah's Witnesses were holding
Bible studies with him. They had left just moments before Pastor
Gutierrez arrived.
The pastor then gave him the booklet Help From Above and
began to explain step by step what each page teaches about God. The man
listened very attentively. Pastor Gutierrez explained about salvation in
the Lord Jesus Christ. The man began to cry and said he had never
understood much of the Word of God. The pastor asked him if he would
like to accept Christ as his Savior. He responded joyfully.
They prayed, and the man gave his heart to the Lord Jesus
Christ. Pastor Gutierrez invited the man to church, and the following
day was very happy to see him get off the bus by the church. Now he is a
brother in Christ. Pastor Gutierrez had thought to obtain a good
financial gain that day by selling fish. The Lord changed that for the
eternal gain of fishing for a man's soul. Glory to God!
Ministry
Begun in Rough Neighborhoods
THROUGH THE
MINISTRY of Solo Cristo Salva, hundreds of WMP booklets are reaching
needy hearts in Chiapas, Mexico. This indigenous ministry, begun years
ago in the rough neighborhoods and streets of Mexico City, now includes
over 260 churches and an orphanage as well as other services and
outreaches. Pastor Andres Noguera and others had used WMP booklets and
were looking for a way to obtain a larger supply for the
expanding ministry.
Through a contact in Colorado, WMP was able to provide an initial
shipment of 250,000 booklets, Bible studies, and New Testaments. These
were eagerly distributed to pastors such as Pastor Castelazo (above).
Another shipment of 750,000 pieces has recently been sent. These boxes
will be unloaded by hand by the children at the orphanage and carefully
given to waiting pastors and evangelists. Pastor Andres provided
training sessions for 80 heads of church groups on how to effectively
use the booklets. They in turn will train their pastors.
The people of Chiapas are surrounded by spiritism often
mixed with Catholic and Indian tradition. Many cults are aggressively
moving in. There is an urgent need for the truth of God's Word. The
believers and churches of Solo Cristo Salva are eager to do the work and
are looking to WMP for the tools to carry the truth to the people of
Chiapas and beyond.
[You can help reach the people of Chiapas. A gift of $45
provides 1,125 Spanish Scripture booklets, or a gift of $90 reaches
2,250 people there. Each gift, large or small, helps share God's truth
with hungry hearts.]
South
Africa, Swaziland, Lesotho: Carrying
the Truth
