Come with us on a visit to China and join in a conversation with one of VOM’s Bible smuggling partners. He is working alongside others to deliver Bibles into every province of China, but that work comes with great risk. All the workers know they could face arrest, interrogation and three years of imprisonment for their Bible-delivery work. Yet they are not intimidated!

What would it be like to live in a village that was nearly impossible to drive to? When visitors manage to travel to this type of village, people come pouring out of their homes to see what all the commotion is about.

On a recent trip to Nepal, I joined a small team of staff members to do Bible distribution and take part in a pastor’s conference located in the central region of the country.. After several hours of driving, we came to a residential area of colorful but otherwise run-down houses. Most homes didn’t appear to have indoor plumbing as I saw people collecting water and washing their clothes at well-fed water taps residing on each block. From my western point-of-view, these were poor low-income families. Our Nepali VOM staff informed us that these people were part of the upper caste in the area and were all Hindus. Christians are treated as the lowest caste. One of the VOM staff told us in a matter-of-fact voice, “you won’t find Christians here.”

We recently recieved this report from Ted, a Christian worker serving in Nepal who connected with one of our VOM workers and participated in a day of VOM ministry outreach:

191,267 Believers Have Asked for a Bible.

Since 1967, VOM has used innovative ways of getting Bibles to believers in nations hostile to Christ. From sewing Scriptures into the lining of clothes to carrying boxes of Bibles across rugged mountains on pack animals, we are committed to doing whatever it takes to get God’s Word to every believer. As our worker in China said, to “strengthen and challenge the local churches in the most difficult areas is my first priority. That begins with providing them with sufficient Bibles for their own use.”

A couple of weeks ago, I was asked to teach a missions class at a Christian university. The topic was “Smuggling” and it was an excellent opportunity for me to share our perspective on a controversial topic. One of the reasons that the topic of smuggling is so hotly debated in Christian circles is that many misunderstand a biblical hierarchy of authority.

Recently, The Voice of the Martyrs sponsored a Bible distribution in western Uganda. I hope you'll be encouraged by the excitement of this young woman, one of those who received a Bible:

What’s your plan for your life after you hit 65 or 70? Do you anticipate finally being able to relax, live off your 401k and play golf all day long? In my 20s, I’d never given much thought to that period of my life until I discussed it with a friend one day. She told me she didn’t think Christians had a right to “retire,” at least in the sense that we tend to think of it, where we live lives of leisure on the money we’ve saved up.