You can help Kim Bunthan bring God’s word to the Kavet ethnic minority.

My name is Kim Bunthan. I’m from a Kavet village in northeast Cambodia. As a boy I longed to be able to read and write but there were no schools or opportunities for Kavet people. 

The spirits ruled our lives and kept us ignorant, poor and hopeless.

Deal or no deal?

One year we were hungry for months on end. My brother and I made a 7.5 metre dugout canoe to sell for food. We dragged, pushed and paddled it for days until we reached a town. Nobody would offer us a fair price for it.

Finally, a policeman bought our canoe for just a bag of rice. He could see we were desperate and did not want to paddle it home upstream. 

In the policeman’s hut I saw a book for the first time. It was a Grade 1 reader. Seeing my excitement, the policeman agreed to sell it to me. I reminded him that I had no money. 

He suggested an alternative: “Do you have a chicken?” 

At home my mother was reluctant to part with a chicken. What would happen if someone got sick? We needed chicken sacrifices to appease the spirits. I eventually wore her down and she let me trade a chicken for my first book. 

Our language can be written!

The people who put my language into writing were Christians. In 1998 they began teaching volunteer health workers from each village to read and write. At night the volunteers taught the rest of us. 

Now, I can read and write in both Khmer and Kavet. I am the one training volunteer literacy teachers!

Jesus makes us wise

Literacy and numeracy have ripped open the curtain which stopped us from seeing the outside world and exercising our minds. We can negotiate fair prices for our produce. Our health and nutrition have improved.

Best of all we have received the good news about Jesus. Trusting in Jesus frees us from the power of evil spirits. Now we can trade our chickens for rice and medicine!

Our Almighty Creator God is gracious. He makes us wise in the way we live our lives.

Please pray that God will equip us to teach Kavet people about Jesus in our own language.

Kim Bunthan trains literacy workers with Youth With A Mission (YWAM) in Cambodia.

$15,000 will finance the publication of literacy textbooks, manuals, Bible stories and song books in the Kavet language.

Argentine publisher and bookseller Beatriz Buono honours retired Sparklit General Secretary Len Woodley.

Certeza Argentina has been called to communicate the lordship of Jesus Christ by publishing biblical and contextual books by Latin American men and women. My best tribute to Len and his work with us is to say that, against all odds, thanks to God and also in great measure to the contribution of SparkLit, we continue to pursue our vision.

A friend in disguise 

I first met Len when he began courting my friend Lesley McGrath in 1987. My roots are more Italian than Argentine, so I needed to overcome my natural prejudice to discover behind that dignified gentlemanly demeanour a sensitive and joyful man with a passion to advance God’s kingdom through the ministry of Christian literature.

It was a wise and brave man who told me over breakfast during his first visit to Argentina that, to avoid collapse, Certeza needed to close all its branches and spare only the central Buenos Aires bookstore.

A friend in adversity 

It is not easy to run a business in Argentina. As well as competing with large foreign publishers and global online retailers, Certeza has to deal with sudden recessions and devaluations.

Len’s sober and timely counsel has helped us weather one storm after another. He didn’t always apply the same formula or remedy. Sometimes he advised us to close down and scale back. At other times he encouraged us to grow and expand. His business sense rarely failed him. 

A friend 

However, if there is one thing an Argentine values more than wisdom, it is companionship. Len is a dear friend who, together with his wife Lesley, has had such a positive influence on me and the ministry of Certeza.

Len, thank you for respecting me and affirming my leadership. Thank you for challenging me to grow by recommending pertinent reading and training opportunities. Thank you for treating me as an equal; colleague to colleague.

I pray that God will strengthen you and surprise you with new paths in which you may continue to serve him. 

Beatriz Buono is the director of Christian publisher Certeza Argentina.

SparkLit nurtures Christian literature ministries in difficult places.

In the midst of the pandemic, you can help David Van Lian train leaders for growing churches.

I was raised in a Christian family. If I ever missed church, it was because I was sick. Whatever my parents believed, I believed. But there was nothing personal about my life with Jesus, so nothing prevented me from rebelling against my parents and their traditions as a teenager. I was lost in sin and darkness.

God answered my prayer

Then when I was sixteen, I suffered severe stomach pain. I went to the hospital and took medicine but nothing helped me. One night the pain was unbearable and I expected to die. 

I prayed: “Please Lord Jesus, if you heal me tonight, I will serve you for the rest of my life.” To my great surprise, the moment I finished my prayer, I felt a lot better. The next morning, I didn’t feel any pain at all. I had experienced the power and call of God.

Books are my teachers

To study God’s word more deeply, I decided to go to Myanmar Evangelical Graduate School of Theology (MEGST). From my first day of class, books made me think seriously about what it means to be a follower of Christ. Books encourage me to live a life consistent with Christ’s call.

I knew God had called me but I didn’t know exactly how to serve him. But God made everything clear. After sending me to do further study in India, MEGST gave me a lecturing position.

Before I teach, preach or write, I read

Books are essential tools for theological education, but in Myanmar our resources are limited. Thankfully, every year SparkLit presents a Bible commentary to MEGST graduates. 

This year, SparkLit also bought us a digital library. This is a true blessing to us especially while the pandemic stops us from visiting the college library. A digital library will also enable me to complete my doctoral studies without having to leave Myanmar again. Thank you!

Please pray that the Holy Spirit will enable me to make a lasting contribution to the lives and ministries of my students.

David Van Lian teaches New Testament at the Myanmar Evangelical Graduate School of Theology, Yangon.

$40 will provide a Burmese-language study Bible to a graduate taking up pastoral duties in Myanmar.

Today you can help Revd Josias Buneye give secondary students in Tanzania a lasting gift.

“I met Jesus through reading God’s words.” Edina Aleluya Charles is in form four at Mchungaji Mwema Secondary School. “I enjoy the Bible Knowledge classes, especially the stories of Jesus and his ancestors Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Bible Knowledge widens my understanding of God’s work and builds my faith. God’s word encourages me when I am disappointed.”

Room for growth

There is great demand for Christian education in schools. Although the Bible Knowledge syllabus has been approved by the Ministry of Education, very few government teachers are equipped to teach it. So, the Anglican Church of Tanzania is providing schools with Bibles, Bible Knowledge textbooks and teaching guides. With sufficient teachers and course material, this program could be taught in hundreds of schools throughout Tanzania. 

Most children cannot afford to buy a Bible, and the government’s free education policy means that parents cannot be charged for course materials. With your financial support we can equip teachers with Bibles and textbooks for students like Edina. “Jesus has made lots of differences in my life. He encourages me in all my activities. Jesus even enabled me to pass my exams. As a follower of Jesus I have met with opposition from my family and community. I expect these challenges from non-Christians will continue. I hope to be a good Christian who will be a role model in doing God’s work.”

The sky is the limit

Last year, in the schools we support, 365 students passed their national Bible Knowledge exams and became the first cohort to complete the four-year Bible Knowledge course. Over 2,000 students have elected to take the subject and are enthusiastic about studying the Bible. Will you be a part of this unique evangelistic opportunity? Will you enable students to learn about Jesus by providing Bibles and textbooks?

Please pray that Edina will persevere and see the hand of our Heavenly Father in all she does.

Revd Josias Buneye coordinates Bible Knowledge in Secondary Schools in the Anglican Diocese of Kagera, Tanzania.

$10,000 will enable dozens of secondary schools to run Bible Knowledge for one year by providing Bibles and textbooks.