Ann Lives!

Prayer & Praise Report # 2 February and March 2023

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What to do with Flight Delays?

Travel disruptions can be annoying. Imagine being denied a visa upon landing in a foreign country and being stuck in the airport for several days. It happened to one of our team members traveling to record God's Story languages in East Africa. He was denied entry because he is Nigerian. He spent several days in the airport while our leader worked in vain to get him entry. Our leader wrote, "And for the days he stayed on the airport, he was witnessing and 7 souls gave their lives to the Lord." Praise the Lord for such fruit!

How Does Simply The Story Impact Israel Tours?

Many years ago, 10 of our STS leaders were blessed with a tour of Israel. During that tour, we did a couple of stories where we believe they happened and discovered the impact on the listeners. We have experimented a bit more over the years while various instructors have been in Israel. This last time, STS coordinated and led a tour, but with greater involvement by the people on the tour, and 100% of the people said they loved STS as part of the tour and would definitely be interested in attending another tour with STS discussion opportunities as the main focus.

Pray for us as we begin to prepare for a unique advanced training in Israel.

Amazingly, God also provided funds that were specifically marked for the Israel tour so that 8 of our national leaders were able to go. Having multiple countries represented on the tour enhanced the discussions of the Bible greatly!

Ann Kavuo’s Testimony Lives On

“Ann Kavuo was not permitted to get an education, but soon discovered how she can learn, keep and share the Bible in story form building a repository in her "heart pocket".  In her video she shares a well-known Bible story (which she can tell but not read!),” wrote Bryan Thompson on his Youtube station.

He continued, “When this plucky five-foot, 65 year-old widow could not get a ride to her Oral Bible School, she walked 10 kilometers daily to get there. Oddly, in her filmed testimony, she says that now, when she goes preaching, she does not have to carry her Bible because, "I have the stories in my heart pocket!"

“If Ann cannot read, why did she bother to carry her Bible before? (You who have been to STS workshops heard our instructors explain this oddity. We show and tell how non-literate people often carry Bibles and put pens in their pockets so they look "educated" and can gain credibility). Ann's comment may reveal even more. Could it be that her perceived "need" to carry a Bible to give her credibility has now been replaced by her new found ability to easily speak multiple stories from her heart pocket?

“Ann's boldness to speak in front of any one, should inspire many. In fact, consider the boldness it took for this non-literate villager to give her spontaneous testimony in front of 130 people, Westerners included, and mostly strangers to her—while being filmed!”

Bryan Thompson uploaded the video of Ann Kavuo’s testimony from a 2011 training in Kajiato, Kenya. The video link shows Ann's amazing testimony.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qFLhbQPTljk or you can see the story on our vimeo station, https://vimeo.com/bibleforall.

We often don't know how our actions affect people years later, but recently we received this email from Ann’s daughter. “Praise God. My name is Everlyn Kanini from Eldoret, Kenya. On 22 April 2011 you took a video of an elderly woman, Ann Kavuo from Kinango, Mombasa and you put the video on you tube. She was giving a testimony on how the Oral Bible school had helped her, and she even gave a short story of Zacheuas the tax collector from the Bible. That lady Ann Kavuo is my Mother. I just want to say how grateful I am for putting my mothers testimony on you tube, I watch her video on you tube quite often. I just wanted to say thank you. My mother is late now. She passed on June 2015. But because of you, her testimony lives. Thanks and God bless you.”

Simply The Story Globally

We had several STS trainings over the past couple of months and look forward to sharing more in our next Prayer & Praise report.  Enjoy this picture of a recent training in Brazil, which has opened some bigger doors. Pray for our leadership team as they discuss future possibilities with several groups in South America.

Also, please pray for the upcoming STS trainings in the DRC, California, Western Michigan, Thailand, Ethiopia, Uganda, Kenya, Illinois, Zambia, India, Philippines, and Mali.

God’s Story, YouTube, and Festivals!

Praise the Lord. The God's Story language of Lun Bawang (Lundayeh) that we recorded last October and uploaded in early March, has had more than 330 hits on our YouTube station already. The language is spoken on the island of Borneo in the countries of Brunei, Malaysia and Indonesia. Considered a language of the Murut people group, according to the Joshua Project, “Brunei statistics reveal that the Murut community is 58% Muslim, 30% "tribal religionists" (animists) and the rest Christian (mostly nominal).”

The language orchestrator wrote recently, “The Malaysian committee members have asked to show the movie at a special Lun Bawang festival in June. The president of the state‘s Lun Bawang Association agreed to show 40 minutes at festival.” Praise God, the committee asked for 30 minutes and they were offered 40.”   

Pray for all the Lun Bawang speakers attending this major event to be impacted in their hearts by God’s Story. 

Karakalpak Language

Nearly a million people speak the Karakalpak language through out Central Asia. We praise God that this language has been completed now in God’s Story. 

Youtube.com/DoesGodSpeak

We have been uploading more than 200 languages of God’s Story: From Creation to Eternity on both our Youtube and Vimeo station. Some videos have needed upgrading, which requires more steps. If you have specific languages you would like to see released, please let us know and we will move those to the top of the list. Please pray for those who are updating descriptions and managing the release of the languages. Let us know how you would like to help.

Thank you for praying for our leaders, the trainings, languages, and the ministry,

Andrea & The whole staff of The God's Story Project (TGSP)
Executive Director

Good Seeds Spring Forth Good Fruit

Prayer & Praise Report # 1, December 2022 and January 2023

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Planting Seeds, Bearing Fruit
Five years ago, a young American woman traveled to Zambia and Mozambique to do STS style Bible stories at an orphanage. As this young woman left, the leaders of the orphanage said she did more to impact the orphans in one month than anyone had in the previous 25 years. Some of the older boys had even left the gangs they were in!

Fast forward five years. The kids are still doing Bible stories, along with skits, every Friday night. They also continue their memory verses. One leader said it is a sign of true discipleship that the children continue even after that young American woman has left. The children bear fruit, and God’s Word disciples their hearts.

Children Rise Up to Lead?

While leading a training in Spain years ago, I had the blessing of teaching Simply The Story to a 14-year-old boy. For practice, he presented the Bible passage and asked probing questions to a group of ministry leaders. When it was done I asked everyone, “If your pastor said a 14-year-old boy was coming to give the sermon, what would you think?“ Then I asked a second question, “How many of you learned something new from this Bible story?“ Everyone raised their hand. This solidified that God's Word and His Spirit is the ultimate teacher, not experience nor age.

Jesus Taught in the Synagogue at 12 Years Old, Can Others?

An African man, who has planted many Bible stories into the lives of his children, recently shared what God has been doing in his children’s lives. In December, this man’s eldest son was invited by five different churches to give the Christmas message. I asked him, “How old is your son?” He said that his son is 12 years old.

I wondered, “How could 5 churches ask a 12 year old boy to preach the Christmas sermon?” It is not for lack of pastors or churches! The father continued to tell me that his son told his own pastor about the invitations he received, but his pastor replied, “You’re not going anywhere! You’re going to preach in this church.”

Younger than 12?

This boy’s younger brother (the man’s second oldest son) attends a different church. They call him the associate pastor in the children’s Sunday school class. I asked this dad why they call him the associate pastor. The dad explained to me, “The pastor of the Sunday school said because he knows so many of the Bible stories (from STS) and he is excellent at engaging the other children.” This boy is only nine years old.

That same 9-year old boy attends a Catholic school. The Muzlm students are excused midday on Friday to attend prayer. This young boy asked the principal if he could tell a Bible story to the other children who stayed. He prepared for 2 weeks and told the story of Jesus turning the water into wine (John 2:1-11). The boy went on to also lead a discussion about the story as well! The principal sent a WhatsApp message to the father and said that the boy asked a certain question and wondered if the father had told him to ask that question or not. The father asked, “What question?”

The principal responded, “If Mary said to everyone in the facility, especially the disciples and those who brought water, whatever Jesus said you should do it, why are you doing what Mary wants and not what Jesus wants?” Does Jesus say they should bow down to Mary or does Mary say they should do whatever Jesus says? All the teachers of the school were there! The teachers and principal discovered this 9-year old’s father is a Bible storyteller and pastor. When back in the hometown he contacted that principal, who wanted to learn more, and asked for 30 minutes to discuss the story more. The principal said, “No. I will give you an hour. I want to learn more.” Stayed tuned for the next part of this story to come. 

Even Younger than 9 Years Old?

Our storyteller’s second youngest daughter was picked by the teacher of her primary class to talk to the governor of their town because the teacher was impressed with her. This young girl used her mom’s phone and called her dad and asked, “Daddy, tell me a story … about the obedience of children. I know that Jesus obeyed his parents.” Her daddy told her Ephesians 6:1 “Children, obey your parents in the Lord: for this is right.” Her mom helped this young 5-year old deliver the story for 10 minutes with the governor. The governor was so impressed that he gave this young girl an envelope with nearly equivalent of $100. In Africa this is a lot of money.

Life Results from Death

One of our leaders recently lost some family members. Funerals in Africa are not like those in America. This leader’s family and friends normally celebrate the deceased person’s life with an evening of drinking. However, this leader chose to celebrate with family by sharing life. That evening, he showed his people a recently completed version of God’s Story: From Creation to Eternity. He told us that now people are convinced that Jesus is the God who created the world.

Children with Autism Engage

During the Chinese New Year celebrations, one storyteller shared that they had 30 Chinese people, and lots of children, including some on the autistic spectrum, at their home. This storyteller used to be a nursery school teacher for children with autism, Asperger’s Syndrome, and Attention Deficit Disorder. She shared with the parents how faith in God can help people. She also offered other practical advice. 

The storyteller was asked to do a very interactive storytelling of Genesis as most of the Chinese Christians have no idea about Genesis. There were over 70 people attending the Chinese New Year celebration at the church. This story had to be autism friendly as well. The storyteller used puppets and props to help. She shared, “As with STS I am always accurate and took it slowly, involving as many children and adults as I could. God blessed it abundantly.” For most of these Christians, it was the first time they had heard "In the beginning…". She also shared that many of the children with autism also participated in the Bible story discussion.

Heart Pocket Podcasts

If these amazing stories touch your heart, be sure to listen to the Heart Pocket Podcast (www.HeartPocket.org) Every Tuesday a new episode airs. On February 14 and 21, hear what a church in Southern California did for a neighborhood Christmas outreach to the neighborhood and the impact. Hint: it does snow in Southern California in the right places.

Items for Prayer

1. STS Children’s curriculum is in the testing phase in the USA and enters testing in Egypt and Ecuador. Pray for those testing the curriculum.

2. New Website has been tested and we are working on a problem with the AI translation tool. Please pray that we can easily and quickly resolve the translation tool and the other minor issues discovered during testing.

3. STS leaves for Israel for training and a tour. Our tour has STS woven throughout along with some unique outreach opportunities. Thirty people from USA, Africa, Europe and Asia are registered. Thank you for praying for the training and the tour.

We are thankful to the Lord for the way he uses these podcasts to encourage people. Our team spends time recording and editing each podcast and the feedback encourages us to keep going. 

Thank you for reading and for praying for this ministry

Country Confesses Need

Praise & Prayer Report #4, August-September 2009

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Dear Friends of God's Story,

It's been a long time since we reported to you, July 22 to be exact. As usual, we have tons to report. (Find in this newsletter how it happens that this pretty Dominican-Irish girl has a Peruvian anaconda in her grip.)

Through the dedication of beloved national leaders, we have recorded 70 Bible stories in Swahili, Kannada, Nepali and BURMESE!! These stories are on solar powered audio players along with God's Story. Still we need many more languages recorded so we can train more non-literates.

By God's grace 20 new versions of God's Story are being recorded. What happens with the completed versions?...

Automatic Weapons Guard California Team: A Church just sent a medical team deep into Mexico to a armed region where outsiders may not survive. A line 2 miles long waiting for treatment greeted them. Under the watchful eyes of local militia carrying automatic weapons, the Mexicans were treated by day with physical care, and love; by night they were treated to the Lord's spiritual care through seeing God's Story. Scores were saved!

Just One Man's Fruit: In regions of Burma,

congregating is not allowed. So, evangelists travel home to home, a village at a time, playing God's Story on a DVD player.

In 2 months one evangelist reports, “Total 13 people were become strong Christian and baptize. Many people accepting, but not yet baptize."

China: One humble US believer wrote. “We provide our contact with the MegaVoice players [God's Story audio] continually, helped pay for his group to go to STS workshop the first time, and partnered with them in earthquake relief. So he had new believers resulting from the earthquake relief at this month's STS training. And he told them he expected them to go back to their respective areas and train the other new believers.”

Holy Hip Hop Expands: Modavador G did the narration in the Holy Hip Hop version of God's Story. Now he adds to his Spoken Word ministry the tool of telling Bible stories, Simply The Story style! Where? Where not? In line waiting, at the barber shop, at the airport, to his family at church...where there's people.

Modavador’s use of stories to minister in a particular prison is young. But after only three times there, something significant occurred. After various chaplains preached to 90 inmates, three soon-to-be- released inmates came forward to give their goodbye testimonies. These prisoners have been ministered to for years by chaplains and visiting speakers.

The first inmate told how God had showed him stuff in the Martha /Mary story that was going with him to the outside. (Then he shared specifically the parts that impacted him.) The next prisoner said, "That glass of oil story helped me and I will never forget it." (Then he told the part about God's care for the widow that touched him.) The last man talked about how the "King David story was about me."

Amazingly, after years of the preaching and teaching Christians had given these prisoners, three for three, they mentioned the Bible "stories." Wonderfully, the inmates even remembered the story content and had made personal applications.

Please pray for Modavador as he is seeking direction in job/ministry.

Huge Country Confesses Need: We just introduced God's Story to leaders in the south part of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). We trained six language teams how to translate, which is a lot of work and the pay?... is collected in Heaven. The trained theologian in DRC wrote us afterwards...

"War and conflict that have torn the Congo for years that left a lot of regions of the country with Christians without Bibles. Rebel groups used the burning of holy Bibles as a weapon of war, wherever they went they burnt Bibles. So we believe that God’s Story will give an opportunity to such people to hear God’s word in their own languages after losing their treasured Bibles through war. In certain parts of the country Bibles are not easy to find.

1. “The Congolese church is not strong in the area of discipleship making. It has a big church membership that is not well grounded in God’s word. The God’s Story Project presents a lot of new ways for discipleship making and this will be emphasized as the program takes roots.
2. “Some of the Congolese provinces are slowly becoming Islamic spreading areas; with the coming of God’s story project, we hope to work out programs that will venture into those regions and tell God’s story that leads to salvation.
3. “Congo has many villages and rural areas where the influence of God’s word is very little. With people who can’t read or write, God’s Story will make a big difference in leading people to Christ.”

[Attendees who learned how to translate and were also introduced to Simply The Story gave these comments.]

-           “This program has been an eye opener, it has added a lot to my Christian knowledge which was limited for years. I pray that it will continue in our country, God bless the initiator of God’s story.

-           “God’s story project is to me as a pastor a new pastoral tool for teaching God’s word to my flock.

-           This program is not easy but very interesting and enriching. It will enable me to make disciples and reach out to a bigger audience with God’s word.

-           “God’s story training is fantastic. I have been

personally blessed and enriched spiritually. It is a method that is practical in personal evangelism. It can bring thousands and individuals to Christ.

Please let this program continue in our country.

-           “God’s story project is complex, it takes both intellectual and spiritual abilities at the same time. We have to do this work with love so that many people could be blessed through it.

-           “God’s story is welcome to the Congo. I believe that it will bring a big change in our way of thinking and doing missions.

-           “This program has been a reminder of my calling to go to the unreached groups in our nation.

-           “I really appreciate the sponsor of this program who thought of reaching out the lost especially those who can’t read or write. I will continue to work for this program.

-           “This program is very helpful for all Christians and those involved in ministry, but we did not have enough time for training. Please we need more training.

-           “I thank God for this program from its beginning to the end. Since souls are precious to God, we must do a good job in translation so that others will hear God’s story in their own mother tongues and be saved.”

This Congolese theologian and man of vision, ended the letter, “These few comments from church leaders who attended the training program can tell the joy and the interest shown by Congolese brothers and sisters who have participated in God’s story project for the first time. If church leaders expressed themselves in this way, what more of church members?”

Jesse Still at It! How can one man reach a country by himself? He can't! But with God leading and guiding and the support of a Godly wife, Jesse can and is flooding Ghana with new language versions of God's Story. This retired Southern gentleman is in Ghana now recording 5 more languages to add to the 20 he has already done!

As well, Jesse is training Ron who, with his wife Terri, works in South Africa. Ron hopes soon to record Zulu, Afrikaans and Sotho.

Simply The Story

Flash!

The first official Timothy Church Planter Training schools have begun!

In Nepal, twelve students, nine non-literate and three literate, gathered from different villages for six months of immersion in God's Word. The goal is for each student in these oral schools to learn 200 stories by heart.

A dear pastor and his wife are hosting the students in their church. As well, this couple will mentor and assist in the learning and exploration of each story and in the personal application of the Scriptures.

Practical outreaches for the student to minister using the Bible stories are part of the curriculum.

The 200 Bible stories they learn are to be recorded for insertion on the solar audio players along with God's Story. After graduation, the players will serve as a Bible for the non-literate students to keep the stories accurate. As funds allow, these players can also be made available to added non-literates who want to learn Simply The Story and need accurate Bible information.

Zambia, India and Kenya also started their pilot oral schools. At each location, the biggest problem is having to turn away so many eager people who want to be students!

Never Too Old! Our director in India excitedly told us, "My father, who is 75 years old, is not literate.

He is one of the 12 students! He already knows 40 stories but he wants to learn more!"

Japan: Everyone gasped when a conservative elder pastor said, "I told Martha /Mary story at a conference and 4 got saved!" That is mass evangelism in Japan!

From Wisconsin workshop we hear, "Never have I been able to understand the Bible like this."

"I have learned more in this one workshop from the Word of God than in all of my years as a believer." "This I can use to reach the people in my church." "We don't need to add, and we don't want to take

away from God's Word."

These statements are most meaningful when we see that the 69 in attendance represented 10 states and workers and leaders from 40 different ministries in 12 countries! A lot of Kleenex became useful! The emotion seen in this particular workshop resulted from God speaking to people through His stories.

Amazingly, this happened most during the workshop when people gathered in small groups. God touched them as they explored Bible stories and the fledgling storytellers moved to new groups to put into practice telling a story and leading a discussion. God's Word understood showed its power."

Only For Highly Educated? Ah! One might say, "This way of 'inductive Bible study oral style' is really for the highly educated and ministry leaders. After all, didn't you say that a PhD is teaching Simply The Story at US Center For World Missions?"

Yes...True. It is for the highly educated and yes, it is for the leaders. But     can less educated people learn

Simply The Story? You judge  After landing in

Peru, a husband & wife and three teenage daughters from Ireland flew to a remote city. Then    they

traveled for 30 hours by boat up the Amazon to the very remote village of Ollanta. How remote? The children have sloths and anacondas for pets (as the one daughter in the photo on first page illustrated.)

This family led a workshop for nine Urarina Indians and 28 Mestizos, some who walked five days to come to the training! These Indians live in raised stilt houses and sleep in hammocks.

YWAM workers reached these people with the Gospel and now disciple them. It is slow tedious work to teach these rural Peruvians to read and to study topical Bible lessons.

The family from Ireland taught them Bible stories. How to teach using the stories and how to lead others to discovery through discussion proved to be a brand new concept to everyone. The Christian leaders marveled as they watched these traditionally stoic Urarina Indians come alive! Everyone in attendance told the Bible stories, enacted lively dramas and clearly understood the deep doctrines in the stories.

Amazingly, the same training schedule used to train in the USA was used in Peru! Simply The Story centers on the Bible and believes that God's Word is sufficient for all. From stilt houses to high rise condos, we see that those who listen...will hear.

From Bangladesh, after a workshop a Bangladesh pastor told one of the instructors from India, "Thank a lot for your all kind assistance what you did for us. I really grateful to my God that He send you in my life as Guardian."

USA: A pastor in a very conservative evangelical denomination incorporated Simply The Story into his pulpit, their Children's program and in the Bible school teaching he does. He wrote of a friend who called him..."He was all excited because he said that studying his Bible STS style had really improved his Bible study skills. This friend is a retired CMA Pastor who pastored for nearly 50 years! I said to my friend, "I TOLD YOU SO!!!

USA Starbucks. Sally, is an ace workshop instructor, but shy about sharing outside of training. But          last Friday, Sally went to not one, but TWO

Starbucks, and told 5-minute Bible stories, Simply The Story style. The first try was a young man who had to take out his ear buds and stop listening to his music to hear a story told by a 70-year old, retired, school teacher. (Humm? Never underestimate the power of an innocent looking little grey head!)

They discussed the story of Zacchaeus, mostly how Zacchaeus wanted to see Jesus, but how when the crowd got in his way that Zacchaeus didn't give up, or let public opinion get in his way. The man noted that Zacchaeus risked ridicule by climbing a tree just to get to see Jesus. At the end of this 5-minute Bible discussion, the young man thanked Sally. "I was getting discouraged and wanting to give up. This helped."

At the next Starbucks, Sally told a story to two ladies. She discovered during the discussion that the

two ladies were Mu.lims from Iran! Again the conversation was good and Sally gave a sweet parting shot about Jesus.

Simply The Story Workshops

For 2010 we have workshops set for Hemet, CA on Jan 25, and for The Woodlands (Near Houston), TX on April 16.

A busy Southern tour for March in, AR, MO and GA is nearly solidified. Trips from USA to Japan, Africa, South America, Israel and other countries are pending.  Web site posts dates.

At Last... We expect the long overdue arrival of the

God's Story flip charts to be at the end of 2009.

Thank you for making all of this possible. The learning curve is sharp and challenging. Your interest, encouragement, support and prayers, submitted to and led by our Lord, are reaching individuals and the world!

In His mercy, Dorothy A. Miller

Executive Director The God's Story Project

 

 

“Prime Minister or King of Kings?”

Prayer & Praise Report # 6, October-November 2018

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Prime Minister or King of Kings?

An instructor recently wrote an email to me from an island nation in the Oceania region titled "You're gonna love this!"

The leader of one large denomination in the region had a meeting with the prime minister scheduled, but he did not want to miss the STS training. Our instructor wrote that, "Very politely he informed the pm [prime minister] that he would need to reschedule so he could come to the training."

Along with this amazing news, we learned that the many denominations in this region did not generally work together. However, the denominations who attended the STS training were now learning to work together, bonding because of the Word of God!

Drugs, Alcohol and Jesus?

A wonderful team of instructors was invited to do an STS training in a drug and alcohol rehab center in Mexico. The testimonies were super!  One ex-addict said local pastors and missionaries come to share with them, and the man really does not understand what they are talking about.  He thought maybe some of his brain cells had been damaged by drugs and alcohol. 

The instructor wrote in her newsletter, "He was so surprised the Scriptures came alive to him during our dialogue looking for spiritual observations and that he remembered the whole story of the Transfiguration [Matt 17:1-9] when he learned it one night to share it with another small group.  He could not believe that he could actually learn the Bible story and teach the story to others by asking questions."

The director of the rehab center said that this was the first time he saw the Alcoholics Anonymous (A.A.) men excited and involved in learning Scriptures.  When he used to teach them before STS, he felt like he was talking to a wall.

One instructor will continue using STS with the A.A. group every week and looks to have the men take turns in presenting the story.

What can one do with God's Story?

A team traveled in Ghana for most of November presenting 13 languages of God's Story to various leaders and villages in what we call a "God's Story launching."

The leader of the team wrote recently, "We put a copy on a frontline evangelist smart phone and gave him a Bluetooth speaker. He got up at 4:30 am just to wave to us as we left the town. His excitement was joyful!

"With the JBL speaker he can play it 4 - 5 times, can recharge with phone charger, and move easily. If he had a Bluetooth projector can you imagine?"

This leader of the team, who is focused on finishing all the God's Story languages of Ghana (with only a handful of languages remaining), shared his excitement,  "We have found 3 more of the languages we have been looking for.  One is totally closed, non-written, unreached, completely M-zlim." He continued sharing that they also found the language of a large group that they did not even see listed in Ghana!

Dan Blowo launching in Cote D' Ivoire

Our leader recently returned to Cote D'Ivoire to launch the Dan Blowo language of God's Story. She wrote, "The meeting with the pastors went well. Most of those who received the DVDs are showing it to their churches and using them in the villages to reach more people. They are happy with the results they see, their church members, even themselves as church leaders, are impacted by the GS message, it has changed their way of preaching. They have the whole view of God's plan for people. That makes the Word easier to understand.

"They are asking for more, as they are passing it to the other churches who ask for it. All the churches represented asked for an STS workshop in February for all their churches and STS OBSs (Oral Bible Schools) in their region.

"They were 9 Church denominations represented at the meeting. At the end each leader received a Megavoice (solar audio player) for his community."

So much has been shared from this one leader, it could easily be a full Prayer & Praise report.

How to transform written curriculums for all non-literate learners?

For the past several months two STS instructors have tag-teamed to help an organization transform their written curriculum into a version that transcends all styles of learning. This means those who can't read or write can still learn from this life changing healing curriculum "Go In Peace", and even learn to teach it to others.  Both ministries, STS and Go In Peace, benefitted from the years of experience our leaders gained while teaching STS on a global level. 

The testing of this "oralized" curriculum occurred in Uganda recently with stellar results!  Praise the Lord with us as you read these short testimonies.

One man said his dad was a pastor, but he could not be one because he did not qualify to get into school. The man said, "Now that I've learned this, I'm going to be a pastor and come to my father in heaven and tell him I am a pastor like he wanted."

Another young man, who had polio when young and could barely move around, said he never could understand the Bible. Now after a couple days in the STS workshop, he can understand the Bible and share with others. He wants to give his life to counseling others.

Another pastor, who has been a pastor for 20 years, plans to do stories and discussion every week because he sees the power of how this connects with people and helps the people fall in love with Jesus.

Amazingly, this training had STS instructors from Rwanda, Sudan, America, and the lead instructor from Kenya.

For more information or help making your specific curriculum into a version that transcends learning styles and allows for even non-literates to learn, please contact our office.

What are the Chances?

Eight God’s Story languages in production have made it to the recording step in October and November, which means they are nearing completion by God's grace!  The countries that will be impacted are Burkina Faso, Cote D'Ivoire, a Middle East country, Uzbekistan and the Luyli people group in 4 Central Asian countries that has 0.00% professing Christians and profess Isl-m (we worked with two believers from this people group).

Right now this "special" language has been recorded and currently out to be checked. Please pray for good quality checking in this highly unreached people group. This has been one of the toughest languages to record in my experience!

The Uzbek language has also started to impact people "hot-off-the-press."  Dan, who orchestrated the translation, and helped record this language, shared the video with an Uzbek man sitting next to him on the plane from Moscow to JFK (coincidence?).  The man gave 2 thumbs up to Dan and showed his appreciation by giving Dan some naan (Uzbek bread). What an encouragement from the Lord!

Finally, we have need for part-time and full-time volunteers.  Opportunities include the following: Web design and support, publishing, editing, accounting and record keeping, general office help, artwork and design, research and development, audio and video assistance. Wonderfully, some of the above help can be done remotely from the comfort of your home! If you would like to help, please contact our office for the next step.

We pray you and your family are encouraged by what the Lord is doing around the world. From our God’s Story / Simply The Story family to yours, Merry Christmas and an amazingly God led New Year.

Andrea
Executive Director
& the whole staff of The God's Story Project (TGSP)

Dorothy

Special Report #5, December 2014

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Dear Friends of God's Story and STS, and to the many who know and love Dorothy.

On December 9, 2014, our beloved leader and friend, Dorothy Miller, went to be with our Lord. She's home with the heavenly body she looked forward to having, and with the Lord Jesus she served faithfully, with passion and fervor.

Dorothy saw life through the eyes of Scripture. She walked by faith not by sight. We know this time is hard for so many because of her love for us and we love her as well. Know this, she loves us still. Dorothy would want us all to rejoice that she's with Jesus and home.

The family have asked that people who wish to send condolences by phone to please call the office (951) 658-1619 during the work hours of 9 am to 5 pm California time. If you wish to send a card please feel free to send cards to Paul Miller's address below, or to The God's Story Project address. (Any email wishes for Tom, Rachel & Caleb, and Paul & Becky and family please send to Paul and Rebecca Miller at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. For all other questions you wish to ask by email, contact me, Andrea at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or contact Jean in the office at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..)

Paul Miller & Family
140 E. Stetson #319
Hemet, CA 92543

The God's Story Project
PO Box 187
Hemet, CA 92546

There will be a celebration time for Dorothy's life on earth January 18th, 2015 at the Miller’s residence for all who wish to come. The flyer with more details is attached.

We have posted a link on the home page of www.SimplyTheStory.org that goes to a special site designed to be a tribute to Dorothy Miller as well a place where people can post messages to friends and family. The direct link is www.storytheBible.com/wc . One of the tributes is on the next page. Let’s celebrate all the Lord did through our friend.

"Blessed be God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies, and the God of all comfort; Who comforteth us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort them which are in any trouble, by the comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted of God." 2 Cor 1:3-4

We are grateful for each and everyone of you.

Much love and prayers,

The Miller family and The God's Story Staff

Dorothy’s Legacy

There are men and women in every generation that the Lord raises up to lead us into the things that will awaken our souls and help us grasp onto the richer meaning and purpose for which we were made. The world is hungry for this kind of leader. Yesterday we lost one of them. Dorothy Miller passed into the presence of our Lord and Savior. As envious as her position is now…the blessed image of her dancing before the throne unfettered by the bondages of this world keeps dancing in my head…her influence was so profound in so many lives that she leaves behind an abyss of loss. Many tears are being shed, many hearts are crying out for comfort, all over the world in these hours as the news spreads. Lord Jesus, comfort them.

The best way I know how to honor her is to honor her calling. Dorothy’s passion for the Word of God was unparalleled among anyone I have ever known. Literally. I don’t know anyone who enjoys and saturates in the Word like she did…or was able to get everyone else into it with lively discussion and fascinating insight. The concept that Scripture could be boring was unthinkable in her presence. She believed in it’s Truth, in it’s power to transform, it it’s clarity to speak to any person who attended to it’s content. She created ways to explore the Word that astounded us with it’s beauty and broke the boundaries of the wooden ways we often approach the love letter of God to His beloved. She taught us to love the stories and the characters in them by helping us know them as our friends and brethren…and know ourselves through them. The servants of God in the Bible that we often, in truth, relate to as if they are dusty myths, came alive as our true heroes…men and women that we could relate to in their rich psychological complexities…complete persons with epic victories for God, devastating failures, and everything in between. All except Jesus, of course. He was all victory. Dorothy’s fierce love for these characters and (often breathtaking) understanding of their stories showed us how to own them for ourselves, in our own spiritual heritage, and in how we want to live our lives. And she gave us the remarkable gift of a teaching method that equips us to pass that passion on to others.

There are so many who were loved by Dorothy and who love her with the depth of those who feel they have been rescued…from shallowness, from darkened understanding…from the unfulfilled desire to be engaged in something meaningful for the Gospel of Jesus Christ. I have never met a group of people so fully awake to the things of God as those who were drawn into Dorothy’s world of Bible storytelling.

“Answering Questions Before Being Asked?”

Prayer & Praise Report # 5, August-September 2018

Download PDF

How to answer Sixty-nine Questions, before they are asked!

We receive so many testimonies to The God's Story Project. This particular story came from a group trained in Simply The Story (STS) and now working in Greece with the Refugees.

L-ke, from Iran, was raised in a strict Musl-m home to be an Islamic teacher. However, he had so many questions for the Mullahs that they did not answer. So L-ke's dad sent him to Saudi Arabia to study Islam and become a Mullah.

Later, L-ke rejected Islam in his early 20's because no one could answer his questions. As a result, he fled Iran. One day, an evangelist gave him a Bible and told him to read it. He took the Bible and smashed it into his face, and said “Don’t you ever give me Bible again.”  The evangelist’s wife began to pray for him daily. 

Several years later, L-ke came to Greece and met one of our Bible teachers outside camp. Upon invitation, he went to this teacher's house and was given a Bible. This time L-ke kept the Word, put it in a plastic bag and planned to throw it away. By God's grace, the Bible found its way to a table in L-ke's apartment.

After hearing an STS style Bible story, L-ke read the Bible over the course of one week and became intrigued. He wrote 69 questions in the back of the Bible. At another Bible study, L-ke raised his hand and asked some of his questions. The Bible story teller told him that they would first have a story, and then answer his questions. After the Bible story, L-ke was asked to share his questions.

L-ke responded, “All my questions were answered in the story. I have no more questions.” About a week later L-ke gave his life to Christ and is walking with the Lord today. This is only one small part of this man's amazing story.

God's Story on National TV? In a Difficult Country? Even Better!

In August God's Story: From Creation to Eternity aired on MRTV (a Southeast Asian television channel)! Our leader wrote us, "We praise God that many people can see and hear the God's Story (God's Word) in the T.V. in Burmese Language. Because in [this country], to show the GS or any other Christian Film is not easy at all. But God is great. His message for all people tells about to know Him. Continue to remember in Prayer."

Two more God’s Story languages, Makuri Naga and the Garwhali, have been completed. The masters are now in the hands of our leaders to spread the Truth to all people.

The TGSP leadership in India met with STS leaders in the North and reported their gratefulness.  One South India senior Pastor (bishop) shared, "The STS method of learning God's Word and going deep spiritually is a great gift from God in 21st century." Pray for our India Director and his many leaders as India becomes increasingly hostile to the Truth of Jesus Christ.

God’s Story is now in 376 languages! The picture shows one recording team of God's Story.

More Refugee Reports from Greece

An STS trained storyteller recently wrote to our office with the following.

"We have been so blessed to be able to utilize the STS training in this amazing work among the refugees in Greece ... I have used this extensively in sharing the gospel and in bible studies. The results have been tremendous. We know that to start a church in Iran or Afghanistan would be very difficult if not almost impossible, yet we get to lead dozens of them to Christ, and they are being discipled to walk with Jesus. We have been regularly baptizing new believers sometimes monthly, sometimes weekly."

The hunger for God’s Word was so great that this man was doing 3 Bible studies a day (using stories) at one point.

This Bible storyteller continued, "One of the converts, who had moved to Germany, came back to help at the camp and the Community Center. He is Arabic and we were lacking Arabic translators. He got 8 Arabs mostly Muslims to come to a Bible study. I told the One Leper story, and we discussed it for about an hour. They loved it and even made the application to their now lives. About 2 days later we met again. Before doing the next story, I asked them what they learned from the last story. They said; 'We learned that every one that Jesus touches is made clean.'"

After discussing the Zaccheus story, the storyteller asked what they learned. They said, “We learned that every house that Jesus goes to, the person’s life is changed.” One refugee also said, “Now I believe that God and Jesus are the same soul!”

About 20 African women from the “vulnerable women's section” of the camp heard a Bible story and discussed it. One woman wanted to repent and get her life cleaned up. This woman and another women were at odds with to each other for one week in the camp. At the next bible study, the Bible storyteller shared from Matt 18 about forgiveness. After discussing it for an hour, he asked the women, "What would God have them to do with what they learned?" He wrote, "The one woman jumps up and crosses the room and asks forgiveness from the other one. Other women jumped up and did the same. God’s word is so powerful." 

Instructors from Several Countries?

We recently conducted STS training in Guinea, Africa, led by 5 trained instructors from 3 African countries. Increasingly, instructors from multiple countries are teaming together to lead workshops. This leadership dynamic encourages attendees. The team trained 30-40 participants in Guinea.

Sudanese Refugees in Uganda, Growing Stronger in the Lord!

As of August 2018, the refugee crisis in Uganda grew to more than 1.5 million refugees!  Seventy-one percent come from South Sudan and another 21% from the DRC. In this crisis, the Word of God has brought hope and healing to these displaced people.  One of our leaders just returned to Uganda checking on the STS Oral Bible Schools in several camps, over seeing the instructors for STS training and showing God's Story to several thousand nearly every night in the camps!

God's Story to thousands!

A woman who intended to only attend an STS Oral Bible School training in Thailand for half a day, stayed for 10 days! Another woman who attended this same training shared that her husband has distributed around 30,000 to 40,000 God’s Story in various Thai languages.

Two Thai groups and one English group continue to meet and study the Word in-depth, the way STS teaches.

Another Thai team traveled to China recently to reach the more than 700,000 Lahu speakers! Another Thai leader shared STS with a Lao school in Thailand. The school loved it so much, they now they want to have it as part of the school.

Who Joins a Secular Group to do Bible Stories?

A pastor and STS instructor shared recently this praise. "We have a young lady who has intentionally joined a sorority so she might make a spiritual impact there. As a sophomore she has been chosen as Chaplain and is going to be doing a Bible study every week with the girls using Bible stories. Although she has not yet been to trained, she has seen the STS model enough that she knows the process. She did a story for us at Church a month or so ago and did a really good job."  Pray for this young lady to have strength to weather the storms she may encounter.

Food and Bible stories - What a meal!!

Recently, our instructor team in Orlando had dinner together at the EL Patron restaurant. One Spanish speaking instructor engaged our server in a Bible story about Martha and Mary. We were thrilled to see the waiter showing interest and sharing his heart as the Word spoke to him.

The God's Story Project recently launched the Heart Pocket Podcast as another avenue to help align our hearts with the heart of God.  We have multiple podcasts lined up over the next several months that go live every Tuesday at 3:30 pm Eastern Time. Topics include prayer, orality, impact reports and so much more.

Grateful to the Lord,

Andrea
Executive Director
& the whole staff of The God's Story Project (TGSP)