"From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work" (Ephesians 4:16).
Over the years we have learned that the importance for Christians to identify what gifts the Holy Spirit has given them, so they know what activities they should be engaged in. At the same time, we've also learned to recognize those areas we are not gifted in, and to be humble enough to let others do those things that God has called them to do. The help Asia Harvest has been able to give to advance the gospel has come about because of the excellent, God-appointed partnerships we have formed. Other ministries possess strengths and abilities we don't have, while we have been privileged to contribute in other ways that help get the job done.
Earlier this year we had a key meeting with the leaders of two other organizations, where we prayed together and strategized about how to get God's Word to tribes and people groups that have never had access to it before. One ministry focuses on translating the Scriptures, and have trained many workers to perform this crucial task throughout Asia. The other ministry we met with are experts at printing the Scriptures (which is not a straight-forward task, requiring ultra-thin Bible paper etc.); while Asia Harvest is playing a role by committing funds to produce thousands of Bibles in each new language, and to help with the transportation of the Scriptures to remote areas.
The pictures adorning the following pages come from a joyous Bible dedication service that recently took place among the Sakachep people. The Sakachep language is spoken by about 60,000 people among various tribes in northeast India.
We recently sent an email newsletter that included a short video of the Sakachep Bible dedication, showing the overwhelming gratitude to God that these precious believers felt when they finally received God's Word in their language. We encourage you to view the video at our website (www.asiaharvest.org) and to share in the joy of our Sakachep brothers and sisters, as 15,000 copies of their Scriptures were distributed.
Late last year, thousands of Christians from the Sakachep tribe gathered together in a remote part of northeast India to celebrate the dedication of the New Testament in their language, which had taken several years to complete.
It was a glorious occasion, and the first time in history that God's Word had been available in their language. Young Sakachep men and women dressed up in their traditional tribal clothing and celebrated before the Lord.
After the dedication service, crowds of eager Sakachep people pressed forward to obtain their own copy of God's Word. Partnering with two other organizations, Asia Harvest was privileged to fund the printing and transportation of thousands of Sakachep Bibles through our Asian Bible Fund.
After the meeting, the Sakachep made their way home with thankful hearts to the Lord Jesus, and with the Scriptures safely in their hands. In the coming months, several more Bible distributions are scheduled in new languages near the Tibetan border, and more than 20 new translation projects are planned for the next few years. Please pray for these projects. If you would like to support these strategic initiatives, we invite you to do so by giving to our Asian Bible Fund.
