For those of you who may have missed this email concerning Bibles Unbound, and for those of you who may like to join Bibles Unbound. Here is the latest news from Voice of the Martyrs Director Tom White.
Dear Bibles Unbound Partner:
First, let me take a moment to say THANK YOU for your participation in Bibles Unbound, packing and mailing New Testaments into restricted and hostile nations. With your help we’ve been able to send more than 1.2 million New Testaments into restricted nations. We know these “seeds,” though planted in hostile soil, will produce fruit.
I am writing to give you some important updates about Bibles Unbound; in doing so I have good news and bad news.
Part of the good news is that Bibles Unbound continues to be very effective at getting God’s Word into restricted nations. We know the project is effective, but one measure of its effectiveness leads me to the bad news: foreign governments are taking extraordinary measures to prevent delivery of the New Testaments. Egypt was first, where customs officials rejected a 2,000-pound container of mail because it included a handful of BU New Testaments. In recent months we’ve seen it again, this time in China.
Since the inception of Bibles Unbound in 2007, VOM has regularly sent test mailings of New Testaments into various Bibles Unbound nations to ensure that BU mailings were arriving without undue delay or government interference. After a recent test mailing to China, we learned that none of the mailed packages was delivered. We know the packages arrived safely in New York, and we believe they were delivered to the Chinese postal system, but they did not arrive at their final destinations. We tried a second test with similar-sized packages that contained other books (not New Testaments), and they arrived safely.
We continue to explore this situation with our shipping vendors, but it appears for now that direct mailing New Testaments to China has been cut off.
Back to the good news: We will not give up on getting God’s Word to those in restricted nations who hunger for it. Christians inside these nations are still working to collect the names and addresses of those who want to read God’s Word. VOM will continue to work with our contacts to deliver Bibles to those who need them in restricted nations, despite the wishes of their governments.
Because of increased foreign-government interference, VOM’s leadership has decided for the time being to move all Bibles Unbound participants to VIRTUAL status. This means you will no longer receive New Testaments each month to pack, pray over and mail.
However, you will continue to receive the names of people who will receive God’s Word each month because of your contributions. Please continue to pray faithfully for these people.
More good news: Because this change will reduce postage costs, we will be able in most countries to deliver a FULL BIBLE instead of only the New Testament. Those hungry for God’s Word will have all of it—from Genesis to Revelation—to feed their souls and draw them to Him.
Our work and our challenges are constantly changing. If in the future it again becomes possible to mail Good News packages directly from your home to restricted nations, we will inform all BU partners. Until then, we will transfer your monthly BU participation to a virtual program.
You may log in to www.BiblesUnbound.com to update your account or to choose a specific virtual project in which to participate. In the next 60 days, we will announce a new country where we are delivering Bibles; you may want to join that exciting effort.
If you have questions regarding these changes, feel free to call our office at 918-338-8400 or email [email protected].
Thank you again for standing with us in this effort to share God’s Word with those who don’t have free access to it. Entire governments may work against us, but I’m thankful that God is bigger than any obstacle we may face.
For those in Bonds,
Tom White
Executive Director
The Voice of the Martyrs—USA
