Troy Manning

I was able to go soulwinning with the teens at Calvary B/C in Geneva on Wed, but we weren’t able to give the gospel.  I asked the Lord to give me an opportunity today to give the gospel.  But I wondered how it would happen since I was going to be at a public library all day.  Well, the Lord allowed it to happen by leading me to do some reading on a picnic bench in a park area behind the library.  It’s such a beautiful day that I thought I’d take advantage of it.  Well, it turns out that another man was also doing the same thing. 

As I studied Spanish at my table, I began to wonder if he was reading Scripture.  I could hear pages turning and they had a distinct Scripture-page sound.  When I approached him, I saw that, sure enough, he was reading out of a little New Testament.  As we talked, it became clear to me that he was putting his dependence in his own efforts as well as in Jesus Christ.  I went through the whole gospel presentation with him, but he still focused on wanting to get things straightened out in his life first.  I will be visiting New Life Baptist Church here in Aurora in January 2010, so I told him about that church.  Please pray that Van would transfer all of his dependence to Jesus Christ.  Pray also that he would go to New Life.  He’s really searching for the Lord and for a good church.  And praise the Lord with me for answreing my prayer to have a solid gospel opportunity.  What a blessing! 

The gospel is also at work in India.  Though various persons brought the gospel to India throughout the centuries, I want to focus on William Carey, because he also did translation work.  He translated the NT for the Manipuri and published a NT for them in 1827.  We are also working with the Manipuri, but soon after the publication of the OT along with Carey’s NT in 1984, it was determined to begin a completely new translation.  BI officially adopted the project in 1990, and we are nearing the completion of the entire Bible. 

According to Suresh Singh, a BI consultant in India, there are 1.3 million speakers of Manipuri, of which 20,000 are believers (in various denominations).  These believers will soon have an accurate, complete translation of Scriptures.  It’s a blessing to continue the work that William Carey started. 

But though Carey worked with around 40 languages in India, he was not able to touch many of India’s other languages.  It is estimated that there are almost 500 distinct languages in India.  Of these only 60 have complete Bibles, and another 40 have only the New Testament.  What about those 40 that are waiting for the OT?  What about the 400 that have nothing at all? 

Another BI consultant in India, Jonathan Victor, let me know about a language group, Rathawi, that has over 300,000 speakers (as of 2006; the number is likely much higher today) and around 2,000 believers.  That’s one example of a language group that has nothing!  When are they going to receive their translation?  Currently, they have to be satisfied with hearing Scripture translated by their pastors at church.  Most, if not all, have no other access to Scriptures. 

Lest anyone think that the work of Bibles International is not necessary or coming to completion, let me assure you that there is still much work to be done.  Millions still wait!