Women of the Word Building Families and Communities. Autumn 2010 South AuStrAliA northern territory

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1 Women of the Word Building Families and Communities Autumn 2010 South AuStrAliA northern territory

au Phone: (08) 8292 4888 Fax: (08) 8292 4899 ABn: 28 246 051 647 the Bible Society is a non-profit inter-denominational organisation.

2 Dear friends... Jacqueline Zoutene, Bible Society of Cameroon. Journalist, mother, and coordinator of the Esther Project (p3-5). South Australia & northern territory Sower, the Bible Society in Australia (SA) inc. Address: 770 South road Glandore SA Phone: (08) Fax: (08) ABn: the Bible Society is a non-profit inter-denominational organisation. it is a member of the United Bible Societies (UBS) a world fellowship which includes 142 national Bible Societies or offices, working in 200 countries or territories. our mission is to achieve the widest possible, effective and meaningful distribution of the holy Scriptures and to help people interact with the Word of God. The Chinese have a saying: Women hold up half the sky. In this issue of Sower, we are glad to be able to acknowledge and celebrate the contribution of many amazing women of God from around the world, as they face huge challenges in their own lives and in their societies. Some of these challenges such as the exploitation of girls and HIV/AIDS in Africa are confronting. In others like coping with the aftermath of the quake in Haiti we grieve with those who grieve. Yet even in these dark situations, God is there and women of faith are bringing His message of hope and renewal. At the same time, we need to ensure that women and their families are given the opportunity to access the Word of God through Bible translation and distribution, and through literacy classes in those areas where they would not otherwise have the opportunity to learn to read and write. Join with me in rejoicing in the way God is blessing and using women around the world to further His Kingdom, in partnership with the Bible Society. Yours in Christ, SA & nt Sower: Autumn, march A publication of the Bible Society in Australia, SA. Sower is a registered trademark of the Bible Society in Australia inc. Gillean Smiley Chief Executive Officer issn Designed & Printed by openbook howden 2. P13 photos used under licence David Snyder, Dreamstime

Reclaiming The Lost By the age of 19, Lena was an unskilled and unemployed single mother with two pre-school children, fleeing domestic violence, and worried her younger sister was on the same path.

3 Reclaiming The Lost By the age of 19, Lena was an unskilled and unemployed single mother with two pre-school children, fleeing domestic violence, and worried her younger sister was on the same path. To meet our needs and in order to pursue my studies at all cost, I was forced into prostitution, until the day I became a disciple of Jesus. Lena s story is typical of many girls in the West African nation of Cameroon. Her parents split when Lena was very young and she never saw her father again. When she was 12, her mother died, leaving them orphans. Lena was taken in by relatives, but family conflict and poverty forced her to leave school at 16. A year later she had her first child and was thrown out of home. Immediately after the birth of her second child, Lena left her teenage boyfriend because of abuse and once more was dependent on the charity of relatives. Lena had little security, hope or future when she came to the attention of the Esther Project. The Esther Project is a network of more than 100 local African women, who are committed to prayer and to supporting girls who are teenage prostitutes or single mothers. Through meetings, camps and support programs the Esther Project provides job skills training, maternal and health information, advocacy, healing, mentoring, and the love of God. It was established with the support of the Bible Society of Cameroon. I know what these girls are going through because I have gone through it myself says Julienne Ekombaleke, chaplain and supporter of the Esther Project. I became a teenage mother in my first year of senior school. My parents supported me until I went to university when, having separated, they lost interest in my child and me. Lena and her daughter 3.

Cameroon The lives of these 2 girls will most likely be impacted by one of the following: 40% of girls aged 9 to 18 are victims of sexual exploitation.

4 Cameroon The lives of these 2 girls will most likely be impacted by one of the following: 40% of girls aged 9 to 18 are victims of sexual exploitation. 80% of teenage prostitutes turn to alcohol or drugs due to violence, rape, incest and abuse. 9% of girls are sexually active at 12 years & 60% by 16 years old. 37% leave school because they are pregnant. 46% of teenage mothers care for their babies alone. 41% never see the baby s father again. In some provinces, half of all teenage girls have had an abortion. 4. Source: Cercle International pour la Promotion de la Creation 2005; German Organisation for Technical Cooperation 2000, 2003; UNFPA; Cameroonian Association of Women Lawyers.

Executive Director of the Bible Society of Cameroon, Luc Gnowa states: As a mission organisation we have to intervene. These girls are important to God and deserve help.

5 Executive Director of the Bible Society of Cameroon, Luc Gnowa states: As a mission organisation we have to intervene. These girls are important to God and deserve help. Some of them have a real thirst for God s Word. If we continue to feel nothing we become accomplices! And one day the Lord will ask us what we did in this situation. Bible Society journalist and Esther Coordinator, Jacqueline Zoutene (featured on the front cover) is keen to see the Esther Project expand country-wide and would like to see the whole church rise up to face this issue in their nation. We do call on women to join together to pray for and support the women participants says Jacqueline. However there is also a role for men in this project, especially in the areas of advice, financial contributions and prayer! The Bible Society in Australia has answered the call to support the work of the Esther Project. Please join us in prayer for this vital work. Your gift will give new hope to young women and families desperately in need of God s love and care. Special thanks must go to the World Day of Prayer Committees in SA, NT, VIC & Qld for their support of this program through the offerings on the World Day of Prayer. Today my life is completely different says Esther participant, Damarias. At the Esther camp, in addition to the Bible studies, practical lessons, and psychological help, the best thing was that we were given a lot of love and were made to feel wanted! Knowing that we were welcome, just as we were, was a priceless gift. I was equipped to face the future and to earn my living. I was encouraged and strengthened in my faith. And I knew that I could find a listening, professional ear to tell my troubles to if I needed to. I will never be able to thank the Bible Society enough! Damarias 5.

6 Restoring Shattered Lives The Face of HIV civil war. As a result, instability, poverty and the uprooting of hundreds of thousands of people led to the breakdown of communal values, of families and of society. Dire poverty and domestic violence or war forced many women to try to survive by prostitution. Soldiers, armed gangs, and transient males like Divine s truck driver husband, who used prostitutes or participated in the growing incidence of rape spread sexual diseases across the country. As a consequence, thousands of women face the added trauma of HIV/AIDS bringing with it fear, pain, shame, and rejection by their families. Divine experienced this desperation and pain. People forget that many who test positive immediately lose hope she says. It is like a death sentence for them. My test came back and I was HIV-positive. I was devastated. When I started to talk openly about my HIV status, I was kicked out of my house by my in-laws and my own family rejected me. They said I brought shame to our family. It is really tough to be chased away and rejected by your own blood. Divine Ndoricimpa is an HIV-positive widow who was infected by her husband. Her experience is typical of women in Burundi. Like neighbouring Rwanda, Burundi has suffered greatly from ethnic conflict between the Hutu and Tutsi tribes leading to decades of ethnic violence and 14 years of all-out In response to these shattered lives, the Bible Society of Burundi is sponsoring healing and reconciliation workshops in partnership with the YWCA, Pan Africa Christian Women s Alliance, AGGLOW, and others. The Bible Society is also distributing thousands of the Scripture booklets I am She to help abused women understand that in God they have dignity and value. 6.

7 Although HIV is a huge problem across Burundi, the nation is not alone. Around 60% of the world s AIDS sufferers are in Africa, and the combination of HIV and tuberculosis has made it a deadly epidemic. So the Bible Society has an Africawide program of community education, AIDS training and Scripture materials such as the booklets Where is the Good Samaritan Today? and Living in Hope. Burundi When Divine received the Bible Society s Good Samaritan & Living in Hope booklets in Kirundu, she says You cannot believe how this changed my life. I realised that God loves me. He does not forsake you. He is always present, even if you are infected. The Bible Society s Good Samaritan material is helping thousands of HIVpositive young people, families and women like Divine. Juliette, a counsellor with the Society for Women & AIDS in Africa (SWAA), reports: We use material from the Burundi Bible Society, especially the Good Samaritan outreach package. It is practical, well-structured and very simple to understand. By coming together we share our burden with one another and are then encouraged by the message from the Bible. Although very poor herself, Divine works as a volunteer and visits families affected by HIV/AIDS to provide counselling, prayer, and the Bible Society booklets. She has also introduced local pastors to the Bible Society s resources. My faith has carried me this far. HIV is not a curse. God still loves us. It is because of this positive attitude that I have the strength to live every day. Your gift to the Bible Society s Good Samaritan HIV/AIDS program will help people like Divine grow in their own personal faith, and minister to others in their community. Burundi: a small land-locked nation in East Africa. Neighbours: Rwanda, Tanzania, Democratic Republic of Congo. Main languages: Kirundu, French, Swahili. Population: 8.7 million (est) Tribes: Hutu (majority), Tutsi (large minority), Twa. More than 500,000 killed in ethnic violence & civil war. 450,000 fled as refugees. Economy: Shattered by war. 1 of world s 10 poorest nations. 90% of agriculture is poor subsistence farmers. Poverty & Health: 80% of people live in poverty Majority can afford to eat meat only a few times a month. Life expectancy 50 years. More than half of pre-school children are malnourished. Estimated 350,000 people or more are HIV positive. Religion: Roman Catholic 62%, Muslim 10%, Protestants 5%, traditional tribal religion 23%. Young people at a Bible Society Good Samaritan HIV/AIDS training workshop, Burundi 7.

8 Literacy Ignites Women The first time that I went up to the blackboard to write some words, I was really proud. I felt as Peter must have done when he was walking on the water towards Jesus: I was so happy! Little by little, I began to read everything I saw written.. on walls.. on cars.. advertising. It was amazing to be able to read these phrases for the first time. And now I thank God who gave me this wonderful opportunity to learn to read his Word in my language! Adele, Bible Society literacy class, Benin. Reading and writing is so second nature to most of us that we have long ago lost Adele s sense of wonder and excitement. Yet thousands of women across the globe are only just discovering this new world of words -- through literacy classes supported by their local Bible Society. The moment I began literacy class was a turning point in my life says Isabel, a Quechua Indian women in the mountains of Peru. I couldn t read, let alone write. Once I had learned, I could take part in activities at church such as reading the Bible and participating in the worship ministry. Literacy classes impact women s lives in so many ways. Women have more employment options; are less likely to be cheated by moneylenders at the markets; can read medicine prescriptions and pamphlets about nutrition, HIV/AIDs or farming advice; and can participate in health, education and development programs. When a woman learns to read, she will also teach her children to read. For Samira, a young housewife and mother in Egypt, literacy has opened a new perspective on life, faith and family. I want to teach other people and be useful. Now I can read the Bible to my son. I want to plant God s Word in him from the beginning. One of the oldest literacy students in her African village, Julie Kobangue says Many of the village women are ashamed because they cannot read or write. I ask them to take a good look at me: I am no longer in my youth, but these days I will not longer be treated as an illiterate woman! The Bible Society supports literacy programs around the world by: Training church volunteers to be literacy teachers in their communities. Translating, printing and distributing thousands of literacy booklets based on Scripture, in hundreds of local languages. 8.

Literacy class in Cambodia Supplying teaching aids and accompanying audio tapes/cds. Presenting new readers with a graduation gift of the Bible or New Testament in their local language.

9 Literacy class in Cambodia Supplying teaching aids and accompanying audio tapes/cds. Presenting new readers with a graduation gift of the Bible or New Testament in their local language. For many women the literacy course is just the beginning. Their excitement carries on into passion for ministry to others -- like Isabel in Peru: I want to keep studying to know God s Word better. I want to help the women who still believe that there is no benefit in learning to read and understand. Your tax-deductible gift to Women s Literacy will help women like Adele, Isabel and Julie to learn to read and write; and will assist the Bible Society to train women as literacy teachers in their local communities. Thank you to our Literacy for Life Partners for your regular gift supporting Bible Society s literacy work around the world. Women & Literacy 1 in 5 adults in our world or more than 800 million people - cannot read and write. Two-thirds of these illiterate adults are women. In Africa, half of women over 15 years old are illiterate. A 1% rise in literacy among women is 3 times more likely to impact child health and reduce child deaths than a 1% increase in the number of doctors. 4-6 years of primary education among women leads to up to a 20% drop in infant deaths. Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics, 2008; UN study of literacy in 46 countries; SIL 9.

Bible Partners News: Women In Translation It s spring in north-western Russia and Komi Bible Translators Iraida and Nina down tools and leave the city to return to their childhood villages to plant

10 Bible Partners News: Women In Translation It s spring in north-western Russia and Komi Bible Translators Iraida and Nina down tools and leave the city to return to their childhood villages to plant crops. Each September they also go to help bring in the harvest and join the women of their extended families in making conserves, jams, and pickles. Due to the high cost of food, this is the reality of life for nearly everyone in the Komi Republic. Nina and Iraida use this time to immerse themselves in the sounds and rhythms of the Komi-Zyrian language of their childhood. It helps keep their Bible translation work fresh and alive. Like most people during the Soviet era, Nina grew up in an atheist family in a Russian-dominated community. Throughout my life it was forbidden for us to speak our own language in public. If you were found speaking Komi you were laughed at or reprimanded. So Komi people only spoke their mother tongue at home in private. Then in the early 1990s, Nina met a young woman who was not ashamed to speak her own language and quickly realised she was a Christian and part of the Komi Church. From the moment I entered the Komi Church, I felt I had come home. I was overwhelmed and cried and cried. Alexandra Antonova, 76, translator of the Kildin Sami Children s Bible. She was born in a tepee on the cold plains of the Russian tundra and has devoted much of her life to helping her people, the Sami, to retain their cultural heritage. For Iraida, it wasn t until she was an adult that she realised her grandmother had been a Christian. She probably did not talk to me about it because it was forbidden at that time and she was afraid of what might happen. I had no idea that there was a living God who loved me. Nobody else in the village knew either. There were no churches they were all in ruins by the time I was born and there were no books about God. 10.

11 Iraida eventually moved to the capital to study. Things were changing rapidly after the fall of the Soviet Union. One day, on the street, I was given a copy of the Book of Life, which contained Matthew s Gospel. I tried to read it but it was in very old Russian and very hard to understand. Eventually she met Nina and was introduced to the Komi Church. I had not felt the beauty of my language for a long time. So I had two meetings in that church one with God and the other with my language. Nina and Iraida worked for a decade translating the contemporary Komi New Testament, (published in 2008) before going on to the Old Testament. They are assisted by two Translation Checkers in Finland, Anna and Raili. Due to the long distance separating them, most translation checking is done by , but there are also several face-to-face meetings each year. For Raili, her passion for Bible translation work is fuelled by a deep sense of God s healing. When she was 10 years old, her father committed suicide and left her with guilt and a burning anger against God - until a school friend encouraged her to read the New Testament. Through my own personal experience I know that reading the Bible can totally change your life and that is why it is such a privilege to do the work I do. The Bible has real power. Thank you to our Bible-A-Month Bible Partners. Your gifts make it possible for the United Bible Societies to support 600 Bible Translation programs -- located on every continent across our world. Komi Bible Translator Nina Vattuleva points to the Komi Republic in north-western Russia. 11.

Haiti Rebuilding From The Ground Up The earthquake which hit Haiti on January 12 killed 230,000 people and captured

Head of the Haitian Bible Society, Magda Victor, shares the experience of living through this horrific time.

ones out from under the rubble. These have been our stories.

Earthquake street scene Port-au-Prince Despite suffering loss of their homes, grieving over the death of family

to minister to those suffering around them.

12 Haiti Rebuilding From The Ground Up The earthquake which hit Haiti on January 12 killed 230,000 people and captured the whole world s attention. Head of the Haitian Bible Society, Magda Victor, shares the experience of living through this horrific time. Those heart-wrenching stories of men and women, young and old, struggling for two or three days to pull their loved ones out from under the rubble. These have been our stories. But one overriding fact is that God was with us and with our staff on that day, for not one of them died. Earthquake street scene Port-au-Prince Despite suffering loss of their homes, grieving over the death of family members, and themselves needing food, water and medicines; the staff of the Haitian Bible Society began to look at how to minister to those suffering around them. The United Bible Societies quickly mobilised to assist -- with the first shipment of aid trucked overland from the neighbouring Bible Society of the Dominican Republic. Carrying rice, canned food, bottled water and medicines for the Haitian staff; the truck was unloaded with gratitude. 12. Magda Victor unloading supplies First aid truck from Dominican Republic Bible Society

As aid agencies and the military arrived in Haiti to provide assistance with the

Food aid distribution at a church Bibles in French Scripture booklet 'Source of

French Bibles, sent in on a government aid flight. Magda immediately ordered more.

for 200,000 Scripture portions and 100,000 booklets Source of Hope in Times of

The translation work for these was completed in record time by the Canadian Bible

13 As aid agencies and the military arrived in Haiti to provide assistance with the physical crisis, Magda appealed for the spiritual aid that comes from God s Word. Food aid distribution at a church Bibles in French Scripture booklet 'Source of Hope in Times of Testing' In response, the Brazilian Bible Society donated 4,000 French Bibles, sent in on a government aid flight. Magda immediately ordered more. Another 23,000 Bibles in Creole rolled off the presses of the South Korean Bible Society. Meanwhile in neighbouring Dominican Republic, printing was underway within a month for 200,000 Scripture portions and 100,000 booklets Source of Hope in Times of Testing -- 60% in French and 40% in Creole. The translation work for these was completed in record time by the Canadian Bible Society. Yet even with this effort, Magda Victor says it will not be enough. Many are thirsty for words of comfort. Wherever we go, people ask us for a Bible. Young survivors given shelter in church facilities 13.

Rubble ruins of old Bible House, downtown Port-au-Prince As Haiti began to tally the full implications of the destruction, Magda and her staff took

More important than anything else, we ve lost many great friends she says, people who supported us over the years with their encouragement, their

The new Bible House (opened just last year) suffered cracks to the roof and walls, requiring structural assessment and repair.

Unfortunately, the old Bible Society building in downtown Port-au-Prince completely collapsed into rubble killing the local street sellers, to Magda s

These are usually subsidised by income from local Bible sales, but now will be dependent on international support.

14 Rubble ruins of old Bible House, downtown Port-au-Prince As Haiti began to tally the full implications of the destruction, Magda and her staff took stock of how the Bible Society itself was affected. More important than anything else, we ve lost many great friends she says, people who supported us over the years with their encouragement, their hard-earned income and their prayers. The new Bible House (opened just last year) suffered cracks to the roof and walls, requiring structural assessment and repair. Yet its very survival was miraculous as it is located in the area the quake hit hardest. Unfortunately, the old Bible Society building in downtown Port-au-Prince completely collapsed into rubble killing the local street sellers, to Magda s distress. There is also the problem of supplying the day-to-day needs of the Bible Society itself and its staff. These are usually subsidised by income from local Bible sales, but now will be dependent on international support. Soon after the disaster, Haiti s Episcopal [Anglican] Bishop Zache Duracin was reported in the New York Times as hoping that Haiti like Job would soon find a way to continue living. We have to mourn. We have to suffer. But we have to get up because life has to continue. Like Bishop Duracin, Magda Victor dares to hope in the midst of tragedy. As a Christian, I am praying in particular for the spiritual rebuilding of my country. I am asking God to give me the strength to participate in this rebuilding. 14. Roman Catholic Cathedral Port-au-Prince

15 Bible Reading Guide: April-June April 1-9 Esther 1:1-22 2:1-23 3:1-15 4:1-17 5:1-8 5:9-6:14 7:1-10 8:1-17 9:1-10:3 April John 18: : : :1-16a 19:16b-30 19: :1-9 20: : : : :15-25 April Deuteronomy 26: : : : : :30-32:14 32:15-22, :48-52, 34:1-12 April 30-May 12 Galatians 1:1-10 1: :1-10 2: :1-14 3: :21-4:7 4:8-20 4: :1-15 5: :1-10 6:11-18 May Kings 2:1-18 4:1-7 4:8-37 5:1-14 5: : : : : : : :20-37 May 25 Acts 1:1-11 May Daniel 1:1-21 2:1-23 2: :1-30 5:1-31 6:1-28 June 1-3 Daniel 7:1-14 7: :1-19 June 4 Romans 8:22-27 June 5-10 Acts 21: : :37-22:5 22: : :30-23:11 June Kings 20: : : : :20b-25:17 25:18-30 June Peter 1:1-11 1: :1-10a 2:10b-22 3:1-7 3:8-18 June Psalms 105: : : : : : My Response: Yes, I want to help women build families and communities under God... Here is my gift of $... to be used for: Scriptures for Women and families Women's Literacy (tax deductible) HIV/AIDS Program Haiti Earthquake response Where needed most Please make cheques payable to The Bible Society in Australia Please send me more information about "Our Favourite Hymns". Yes, I would like to receive a FREE subscription to Sower magazine*. I would like information on becoming a Bible Partner. Name... OR Please debit my: Visa Mastercard Expiry... / Address Name on card Signature... P/code... Name S01001 Address... P/code... Phone Fill in and return to the Bible Society GPO Box 9874, in your capital city. *Sower is published quarterly

ANOTHER DAY IN THE WAR ZONE

ANOTHER DAY IN THE WAR ZONE Amira* felt like her whole world was falling apart. She d been a pharmacist in a rural hospital in north-western Yemen for two years working without payment, but determined