Giving Thanks to the Lord

What country do you think of when you hear, “Power loss and limited water?” When someone says, “Sunny Southern California”, it conjures up images of beaches, sunshine, and great weather.  However, as I write this Prayer & Praise report, our office and home have no power, which has been a common occurrence lately. This means limited or no water, considerations for food, and candlelight evenings. It reminds me of my time in some countries, and gives me a greater appreciation for how many people live in developing nations.

In all things, we want to give thanks!  Our Lord Jesus continues to bring many people to Himself and deserves all the glory and honor. 

Fighting over God’s Story?

According to the Joshua project, the speakers of the Viemo language, the Vige people, are unreached and have no Bible in their language.

Over the past couple of months one of our leaders in West Africa has had the blessing of premiering several new versions of God’s Story: From Creation to Eternity. One of those languages, Viemo, ran into a small problem that delayed the premier. A couple of weeks into this delay our leader received a call from a pastor wanting to show the language to a village. Another pastor, along with the storyteller and director for this language were upset.  Apparently, both groups wanted to show God’s Story first! Can you imagine groups fighting over who gets to show a video about God’s love for all people?

As the Viemo narrator's mom listened to God’s Story, the God’s Story team observed her smiling, and sometimes even laughing at the voice changes that her son used in the narration. She was so connected and listening! To hear more of this story go to Heart Pocket Podcast episode #114 and #115 for December 15th and 22^nd (heartpocket.org).

More Languages without Scripture?

The Kulango people are also unreached, less than 1% evangelical, and worship the devil. These people live in the very north of Cote d’Ivoire. The people believe that if they put a roof on their home they will die. In one particular village, the narrator for the Kulango God’s Story version built a roof on his house. The villagers watched and waited for this man to die. But he lived! As a result, other people in that specific village have built roofs on their houses. The few believers among this people group are making a difference in the belief system!

The Kulango narrator’s mom listened to God’s Story, discovered Christ, and now wants to work for Jesus! She and her daughters currently live like slaves, but due to God’s Story they found freedom in Christ.

So many came to the STS training among the Kulango people that they had to move the training outside under the trees!

Warming Hearts and Souls.

One of our Asia leaders recently wrote this about the needs of his country, "This year also the Lord had put a burden in my heart to pray and act for the people living in streets homeless and hungry. Most of our churches have Christmas outreach programs to share the Gospel and to help the needy. But at this time I strongly felt waiting till Christmas to help those suffering in streets in bitter cold in winter doesn't make sense. With nothing in pocket and being full of faith we at TGSP started to pray for 100 blankets. God graciously provided us 100 blankets to be distributed to the poor in streets. With the help of God we finished giving those 100 blankets to the people who were in desperate need. This ministry brought tears in our eyes as we saw the tragic condition of our people outside. I would request each one of you to kindly reach out to the people who are still unreached. Our small action can make a big difference many lives. We are blessed to bless others. Continue to pray for Our TGSP ministry. May God bless you all.”

This same amazing man of God reported that out of the 26,350 people who recently viewed just the first 13 minutes of God’s Story through a social media app, 18,610 people responded!  He shared “I love this part of GS, I introduced [our] Savior to 1000’s of people using this part.”

Training Center, In More than One Way.

The training center in northern Uganda is nearly done!  This project has served as an opportunity for the people building the center to interact with God's Word on a daily basis and has helped provide food for families in a difficult year. Even though the center has not yet been competed, training has started! This has helped to bring Ugandan nationals together with refugees.

What Does Our Online Training Cover?

We thank the Lord for the growth of our online STS training this year. We started with the regular STS training that covers the basic details everybody needs to learn, study and present Bible stories with in-depth discussion. In September we expanded to Assistant Instructor training, which was soon followed by an Advanced Training hybrid model. This hybrid model included a small group of people that participated in person, and a small group that logged in via zoom. Thanks to the ingenuity of one instructor, it felt like everybody was together, and the training went very well.

We are currently conducting an Instructor Refresher Course for some of our committed leaders.

Going Global with International students!

Since early this fall, a man who leads an international student ministry invited several STS instructors to lead and teach God’s Word weekly through social media groups.  This ministry continues to grow by leaps and bounds as the students discover the love of Jesus and deeply engage in the Word. Although a majority of the students are believers, there is still a large number of seekers in these groups. Many participants have invited our leaders to other groups and are also asking for training. Due to the sensitive location of some students and the diverse time zones, we are thinking creatively for the next step.

Heart Pocket Podcast Grows

Two years ago, we ventured into producing our own podcasts.  From the beginning we were given help and were unsure how about this would turn out. Praise God, in just 2020 alone, our listenership has grown more than 5 times.  We give all credit to the Lord and pray these audio shows encourage, teach, and help people hide the Bible in their heart pocket.

Languages, Languages!

We are excited to report that after conducting Simply The Story training in Cameroon and Ethiopia, people loved the Word so much, now they want God’s Story: From Creation to Eternity in 28 languages just for those 2 countries! Please join us in prayer to complete these languages accurately and in a timely manner, especially during this pandemic.

Recently we said goodbye to a 91-year old hero of the faith. Just a couple of weeks ago, while in his beloved country of Egypt, Bill Grossman succumbed to complications from Covid-19. His home is now heaven. He served our Lord in both Tunisia and Egypt. Many of those who loved Bill have written to our Arab world leader saying that they have lost a pastor and a father. May our Lord comfort his family and all who loved this man.

Thank you all for your prayers and support. We wish you a Merry Christmas and a blessed New Year.

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

Executive Director

What is Fun, Goes Far and Wide? 

The title question sounds like a logic joke, but it's not. Our precious Lord Jesus continues to open amazing doors through the STS Radio opportunities.  Not only do our various languages teams have fun preparing and broadcasting on the radio, the seeds of God's Word continue to grow.

We currently broadcast STS on radio, Zoom, and YouTube in the following languages: English, Spanish, Cebuano, Arabic, Turkana, French, American Sign Language (ASL), and Swahili. Some new broadcasts are planned later this month in Korean.

If you would like to hear some of the English Bible story recordings, please visit www.youtube.com/SimplyTheStory

Reaching the Far Away Peoples.

Outside the cities and beyond the "suburbs" are remote villages all over the world. These hard to reach places often have little to no access to education, and know little about Jesus. If some of these villages have pastors, they are often untrained. Simply The Story and our Oral Bible Schools provide much needed understanding and training in the Word of God.

These places can sometimes be so remote, and communication very slow, that we don't always hear about the impact of our tools.

One missionary family, Bible translators working in very remote areas of the Southeast Asia/Oceania region, recently returned to Hemet and shared the impact of STS with me during a 3.5-hour meeting.

The people came to the missionary house every day just to talk about the Bible story! The discussions of Bible stories would last for one and a half hours and often the people would stay longer!

In a area where missionary homes are often broken into by thieves, this couple found that STS style Bible stories have a significant impacts on the hearts. After spending time in the Bible with the local people, the missionaries said about the people, "They realize and wrestle with, 'I know this is what God wants me to do.'" Sadly, not everyone chooses to obey God even though they know what the Lord wants.

This Bible translation family said that Biblical depth and long lasting impact on the people are worth the effort to teach the people using this discussion style!

This family uses Simply The Story almost exclusively, even in American churches during furlough. In fact, one church extended the worship service an extra 25 minutes because the church enjoyed the missionary’s teaching so much!

Heart Pocket Podcasts Seeds Taking Root and Growing

We recently interviewed our Global Ambassador Team Leaders, Bryan and Ami. In another podcast,  Chris and JoAn share how fast STS spread through their church and why. Listen to their podcasts at www.HeartPocket.org.

Monks, Orphans, and the Bible?

One of our leaders in Asia recently shared about what God was doing for their orphans.  The pandemic has led to shortages of food in some countries.  Local monks heard about the orphans in the care of our leader and his wife and started to share food from monastery's garden.

This amazing STS leader also provides Bible studies and discipling to some of the monks! What an amazing trade, spiritual food for physical food. 

Elderly, Youth and Simply The Story

Over the past several months, many people across the world have been thrown into "Zoomland." While Zoom might be easily learned and implemented with a younger or more computer comfortable crowd, there remains a group of people who need help to gain some socially distant "social life" with their church family.

A couple of our leaders noticed that while many people over the age of 80 could watch church on T.V., they did not know how to zoom. Our leaders visited these people and taught them how to use zoom.

One 85 year-old used a Toshiba laptop which showed the name "Toshiba” on Zoom. This woman could hear and see the Bible discussion, but could not respond.

Now this older woman, known as "Sister Toshiba," welcomed a visit from the Zoom leaders, who fixed the laptop. Afterward, she was able to respond, and the other Zoom attendees have been blessed with her online company. Several teens and adults in the church are feeling more connected through Zoom.

During a recent STS training, one 16 year old girl said “This Bible study is hard core” and was upset when she had to leave one day early. This same girl was afraid to present stories to adults, but shared a Bible story with her cousin, who does not attend church. Several youth were discovering great treasures in the Bible stories. 

A Photo's Journey of STS Training Through Uganda, Sudan and Kenya

Many of the photos through out this report come from the various STS trainings and Oral Bible schools in Sudan, Kenya, and Uganda in August and September.

God’s Story: From Creation to Eternity

The subtitles for the Brazilian Portuguese sign language have been completed. 

One man recently wrote us about one of our languages in a highly Muzlm nation in North Africa saying, “We know of many who have come to faith and been strengthened in their faith through this video in southern …. It is one of our key tools.”

Prayers for Our Global Family

One of our brothers in India, who recorded the Hmar language of God's Story, was repairing the church roof and fell and passed away. He is now with the Lord, but leaves behind a young family.

A couple of our leaders continue to battle cancer. They trust the Lord and have strong spirits.

One leader has had very low energy levels and going through steps to discover why.

We are taking the initial steps to increase and improve our prayer covering. If you would like to be part of our special Prayer Team, please take a couple of minutes to complete our "Prayer Questionnaire" through the following link.

https://forms.gle/Ux3qVss12TWfjfrA9

Thank you for your time and prayers,

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

Executive Director

Training, in-person and on-line!

Uganda records the first training in our unfinished training center. What we could have never anticipated months ago, when the team started building the building, is how important the place would be during this time. Since the building is NOT a church, the missionary center remains open under Uganda guidelines.  The central location allows our leaders from all the refugee camps to get to the training location easily.

The building remains an unfinished center as we pray and wait to see how the Lord provides the resources for the next step. To see part of the training and the missionary center, go to www.Facebook.com/SimplyTheStory.

Our North Sudan leadership just completed two STS workshops that resulted in the start of several Oral Bible Schools. The training team had life threatening sleeping conditions during the training and the leader invited them to rest at the living space he rents. He worked as a guard and house cleaner in exchange for housing. Unfortunately, the home owner kicked out our leader and the trainers, and now he has no place to sleep and no job. Typical house rent can cost between $100-$150 per month. We are praying for the right location that can be used also for hosting meetings and STS training.

The Oral Bible School team in Cameroon continues to learn Bible stories. Then they gather people regularly, who listen and discuss these Bible stories, a key part of their church planting progress. Our leader reported that the OBS, used for church planting, occurs in 7 languages!

We are excited to announce the first in-person training since the lockdown in Kentucky this September. It will be a hybrid of Zoom for a handful of registrants and in-person for the rest of the attendees.  Back in 2012, we tested the hybrid model in Northern Arizona by "Skyping" in an instructor to lead one group. It worked well and we have used that model periodically. Our lead instructor thought that the Covid shutdown would mean ministry would cease. However, in reality it has increased, giving us a buffet of various opportunities.

Preparations for more training are occurring in multiple West African countries. We continue to pray for the team leaders to incorporate wisdom during this interesting time and reaching the lost.

God's Story: From Creation To Eternity

Recently, one of our prayer partners wrote this to me, "…two separate ministries laboring in Albania met with me simultaneously and both sang praises for how much more effective God's Story is than anything else at avoiding the syncretism which was so deep in Albania!"

We're thrilled to share with you that recording more languages is planned for South Sudan and Ghana.  We are progressing well on a couple of Central Asian languages, and languages from South East Asia.

We have 19 language premiers, also called "launchings", throughout West Africa. The team has been preparing SD cards, solar players, and more for the many villages asking for their language of God's Story: From Creation to Eternity. Pray for the borders to open so we can bring the completed languages to the people.

Tune In — STS Radio Over the Air Waves

For the past several weeks our Northern Kenya trainers and the leaders have been preparing the STS radio broadcasts using WhatsApp. The radio story team usually spends 1-2 hours discussing the Bible passage, and enjoying the growth in God's Word.  The English radio Bible stories are increasing in listeners so much that our team has been asked to start STS Bible studies on radio now in Arabic and Turkana. The Cain and Abel story required two programs to finish!

The radio reaches the Kakuma refugee camps that house refugees from Somalia, Sudan and other areas.  Please pray for our leaders and the radio team. People are listening, hungry to learn more of God's Word, and responding to the Truth.

We also have Bible stories hitting the air waves in Ghana that reaches two regions and several villages.  In Chad and Cote d'Ivoire more teams are preparing for STS on the radio. All the teams are blessed and gleaning from the years of experience our Filipino leader has leading live Bible discussions over the radio. Together, we have developed an STS Radio Standard that can be shared. Praise the Lord for His goodness and love for all people to know Him.

As the radio listenership grows, people can begin to lift up the storyteller rather than God. We pray for "God" attitudes that continue to bring glory to the Lord.

Can Covid Stop Oral Bible Schools and Church Planting?

Oral Bible Schools continue in several countries, some using WhatsApp, some in person, and others with Zoom.  Bible studies are growing in the homes and churches are being planted in the houses of village Chiefs!

A report from our leader in India states, "The Lord has helped us to reach the lost even in this critical situation. More than 2 lakhs (200 thousands) people watched GS movie in different languages. We were able to meet 96 our leaders … and encouraged them to continue in the Lord's ministry even though situation is very critical now.

"Corona positive cases are keep on increasing, hundreds of people are dying. We are having heavy rain and flooding, many families are losing their belongs and their family members. We need your prayer support in these days." Please stand with us in prayer!

Online Training Grows!

Since May, we have conducted several online STS trainings with attendance from multiple countries. Through the process we continue to refine and streamline the experience for attendees. As well, our "Tech Plus" team, those who handle the technical aspects behind the scenes, continues to grow in number and skills, which helps ensure a better learning experience.

We invite past attendees of STS training to subscribe. This is best for those who wish to brush up on the apologetics, refresh their memories, and even remember specific aspects of the training. We have both a monthly and an annual subscription option.

Contact our office or click here:

https://www.gods-story.org/subscribe.html

Sharing Jesus with Others

We know that it can be hard to share the truth of Jesus Christ to people who have no hope. If you struggle to share your faith and know God is prompting you to do this, we have developed our Moment For Eternity series to help even shy people take a step of faith. The 2 web pages below walk people through each step with a series of very short videos. We even include the bloopers for fun! 

http://www.SimplyTheStory.org/evangelism

TGSP Prayer Team Leader Graduates

John and Priscilla have graced our headquarters starting in late 2007. They both assisted Dorothy, our founder, with critical functions that allowed Dorothy to focus on the vision. Priscilla became our prayer team leader, and faithfully lifted the needs of our ministry, the leaders, and various projects before the Lord. I attribute much of our success to the powerful and effective prayers of this "righteous" one. Although she rejoices in being with the Lord, we miss her dearly. The legacy she and John have left in their children and grandchildren amazes me. Please take the time to watch some of the celebration service. It will both encourage and inspire you in your walk with our Lord Jesus.

http://Priscilla.WisdomCorner.com, click on "Celebration Service" tab and under the picture is a link to the service.

Website and Branding Progress

Our leadership, with the help of creative experts, has nearly completed the new logo for Simply The Story. We pray to have the new website home page mock up, or wire frame, completed by the end of August.

 Dr. Chaps Interviews 2 of our Directors

Just before Covid shut our country down, Gordon Klingenschmitt, known as Dr. Chaps, interviewed Butch Vernon, our International Director, and myself at the National Religious Broadcasters convention in Nashville. Dr. Chaps fights for the rights of Christians to pray in Jesus' name and defends religious freedom. We work to provide the tools for people to know Jesus.

You can see these interviews on our YouTube station: https://www.youtube.com/SimplyTheStory or click on the links below.

Dr. Chaps interviews Andrea

https://youtu.be/mt9kSjtQppM

Dr. Chaps interviews Butch

https://youtu.be/iJ_qYiRcZ14

The "Apple" Fire

The Apple fire has made the news in the USA along with a few other fires. What's special about this one for The God's Story Project? Some of our volunteers live in this area. While one family traveled to see their grandson graduate, the fire ravaged around their home. We praise the Lord that the firemen were able to stop the fire at the edge of where this precious family lives. See the map where O circles where the family lives.

Thank you for your prayers,

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

New Workshop, Same Special!

How often do we attend a workshop that touches our hearts to the core with more of Jesus, develops strong seedlings of relationships with others, challenges us in our faith and our struggles, grows us in the Word, and gives us adaptable ministry tools ready to implement? We wanted people to experience in our online training these same kinds of results that are experienced in our global in-person workshops. God truly answered prayers in this area! 

We praise the Lord for the success of our very first Simply The Story training online. We have read the feedback forms, and there are definitely things to work on, but overall, it was extremely positive.

A team of dedicated leaders contributed to making sure the online training was ready to go with videos, building the website, testing zoom, designing the feedback forms, and more.

We recorded, edited and uploaded 78 videos in 3 weeks, had 21 attendees with a waiting list of 8 more people, 23 people from 7 different countries contributed videos, and trainees signed on from 6 countries. 

Some responses of what attendees liked.

"Completely different from any other training I've done before, so evidently powerful."

"International representation amongst participants."

"Engaging with facilitators and seeing each person. Having easy access to it [training] via the internet…saved money and time."

"The mixture of teaching, demonstration and practice."

"Interactive, online, flexible, lively, practical."

We would love to offer people a brief Zoom tour of the website. Over the next few weeks we will offer more training opportunities for our STS alumni and new learners to STS. Please contact our office for more information. Stay tuned as the online training schedule takes shape.

The leaders in Egypt are also using Zoom to train people in STS and are ready for an Oral Bible School.

Refugees Reaching the Spiritually Lost and Building a Future

When our Arab world leader shared his vision with me over a year ago to build a center in Northern Uganda, it did not resonate with me quite the same as with him. Our ministry provides tools and training to help people know God's Word and live His Word. Since then I have traveled some of the roads from refugee camp to refugee camp, seen first-hand the impact of God's Word and our OBS's in many lives and throughout villages, and gathered numerous reports from our leaders in the region.

In one area, leaders needed 6.5 hours to drive about 15 miles. That's less than 2.5 miles an hour.  Listening more closely to his vision, I realized that the savings in time would result in more lives saved and discipled. More than that, this building would be a center for equipping leadership with skills in the Word of God, a place to invest in locals with the Bible, and a source for growing food for, and by, the refugees. 

As COVID-19 struck the world, food became scarcer among refugees. The UN barely helped the refugees with food in "good" times, now people are dying from starvation as the lockdowns lead to sky-rocketing food prices, which refugees cannot afford. Our leaders have been able to raise most of the funds for the building. Refugees and locals are employed to build, which provides some hope in these difficult times. Local Ugandans are receiving the Word of God as they work, discussing Bible stories with the refugees. Please pray for the rest of the provisions needed to finish this hub in Northern Uganda and to begin the same type of center in Kenya. The center provides much value and vision to many.

The reports from our leaders in Uganda and Kenya has kept me busy reading! One pastor wrote, "Personally the oral Bible School has changed the way I teach as spiritual leader. I also am able to tell Bible stories to the learned and not learned persons. It has changed my life too."

Another leader wrote, "Am happy today. I was sharing Bible stories with my boys and other people attended too. Three souls get saved! Glory be to Almighty God."

The God's Story: From Creation to Eternity movie continues to be shown in the villages. One man shared, "I went to show God's story film to the village last night. Thank God for this noble task. We slept there with my two youths … Thursday we are planning to show the film again in a different village. Need your prayer. Pray for our motorbike, too, to be in good condition. thanks for your prayers guys!"

Our partner, By Design Visuals, makes amazing flannel graphs that work extremely well with STS Bible stories. One amazing storyteller sent photos and shared, "There are more than 50 children differently and even many adults there too." He estimates that about 50 children received Jesus Christ as their personal savior in response to those stories.

Another leader shared, "The COVID-19 holiday is a fruitful holiday. I thank God for making my home a place for sharing God Himself and understanding his words."

An evangelist reported needing more memory cards for listening to God's Story because of how effective it is.

An instructor reported, "I am now strong enough through STS and OBS. I can see my sharing the gospel is now lovely and has a great impact."

The Coronavirus has led people to have church in their homes. One leader reported that they also have an "Oral house Bible school" that's impacting people, along with his home based church fellowship.

The team working among the refugees in Northern Kenya shared that they have an opportunity to do STS Bible stories on the radio in English, Turkana, Arabic and Swahili (just to start). The leader reported, "The radio … goes all the way to Loki bordering South Sudan also all the way to Lodwar, about 200,000 refugees listen to it. It reaches many Turkana Villages also. About 80,000 Turkana people listen even more."

We know from past experience, STS on the radio has proven to be highly effective. Please pray for this opportunity to start soon. On May 25th, the Turkana people reported their first COVID case. We have much work going among the Turkana and much more to do.  

Millions Watch God's Story: From Creation to Eternity

Recently, our India director shared with me that he and his leaders throughout the country estimate that more than 2 million people have watched God‘s Story: From Creation to Eternity in the various languages of India over the past two months, a blessing during this COVID lockdown. We are a couple weeks away from finishing a special web page giving access to the videos for the India languages.

Current God's Story Language Progress

Thank you for praying for the translators, narrators and orchestrators of God's Story languages who weather spiritual storms. Six languages are ready to record in India. One language in Central Asia is partly finished with the back translation and nearly ready for recording. The Brazilian Sign Language evaluation is in the field to be checked. It will be mastered once approved.

All of this is a result of our loving God who desires that none should perish but that all should come to repentance.

Thank you for your prayers,

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

Ministry Opportunities Abound!

We are living in unprecedented times. Borders are closed, flights canceled, "stay at home" orders increased, and we face many unknowns. One thing remains constant: our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. He is the same yesterday, today and forever and sits on the throne. Let everything that has breath praise the Lord!

Our team has been working tirelessly to move much of our training online. As well, several people have shared their online STS Bible stories with me.

Since we have thousands of trained STS practitioners and many instructors worldwide, I want to take this Prayer & Praise report to pass along some of the online opportunities.

Our prayer is that you would be encouraged by the Bible stories, and that this would help you if you want to share the truth of Jesus in your sphere of influence online. Would you like to be part of our transformation online, doing research, organizing articles, technical help or in some other way? Please email the office and let us know how much time you have available.

Would you like to be part of Bible stories online? Want to learn how to do Bible stories online? Wish to be trained in STS? Click the link below for STS Online Opportunities and let us know your preferences. Someone will contact you shortly after.

http://www.SimplyTheStory.org/sts or click here: Simply The Story Online Opportunities

What’s a Phone Book?

Paul Miller wrote this report on their outreach the end of March. A very creative idea for outreach!

"Our Bible study group goes out once per month as a group to evangelize. Normally we go to malls, parks, convalescent homes or other locations where people gather. The current restrictions placed upon mankind during the great virus scare have greatly inhibited our ability to reach out and ‘touch’ someone with the good news of the gospel. We began to pray and the idea came to mind taking a traditional phonebook and call the numbers listed to look for anyone that may like prayer or a Bible story to be told them. … About half of our group consists of young people under 18 years of age. It was quite comical to watch them ask questions in all sincerity like, “What’s a phone book?” Or “Who gave the book permission to reprint all of the names and numbers?” or “Is the last name first or the first name?”

Results of the calls!

"Once we got settled the warriors began to call and God opened the door. I heard little 10 year old Anna talking to many different people saying things like, “Hello, this is Anna from Bethel Fellowship in Hemet, can I pray for you about anything or would you like to hear a Bible story?” Rebecca said, “Hi, I’m Rebecca from Bethel Fellowship in Hemet, these are very troubling time we are in, can I pray for you?”

"Paul got into a conversation with a lady named Carmen and her 22 year old son David. He asked them “What does God require of a person in order to get into Heaven?” Carmen replied saying, “Just being loving towards one another”, David replied by saying, “Be virtuous”. Paul was able to explain to them that although these are kind and noble things there is still a dark cloud of sin that hangs over us which a righteous, holy judge could not overlook. He also explained that God said in Matthew 5:48, ‘Be ye therefore perfect, even as your father in Heaven is perfect’. The groundwork was laid as the conversation turned to telling the story of Adam and Eve in the garden.

"David and Carmen clearly heard the gospel that evening and Paul asked if he could pray for them. They eagerly agreed and the friendship was made. Their whole family seemed so grateful and may even attend our fellowship.

"Paul was also able to share Christ with a Rabbi from the local Jewish synagogue in Hemet and talk about the blessing of God to the Jews. Paul prayed for the Rabbi and then the Rabbi prayed for Paul and his whole group in Hebrew.

"Our study group also took the time to call distant friends or family, saved and unsaved alike to offer prayer or do a Bible story. One young lady broke down in tears and admitted that she had been stubborn and didn’t want God in her life. But now with the virus scare and her own pregnancy, she and her husband are reaching up to God for answers. The two hours that we dedicated to the phone calls wasn’t always rosy as some people said, “I’m good” and promptly hung up. Some of the elderly people we called were especially grateful and even prayed for us!

"So, whatever the latest fad, whatever the latest quarantine, God is there to get His word out and He often uses weak little us to spread the truth. (II Timothy 2:9 “Wherein I suffer trouble, as an evil doer, even unto bonds; but the word of God is not bound.”)"

Prepared with Simply The Story!

At a time when churches work feverishly to move their content to the web, including Sunday sermons, weekly Bible studies and daily devotions, those trained in Simply The Story have expressed their joy to know their church is equipped for family Bible studies.

In a recent conversation with one of our West Africa leaders, he said he is nearly finished with an STS radio station on the web in French, with other languages closely behind. We also talked about what God's plan for the church might be right now. Being isolated currently gives the leader of the family a choice to take back responsibility as the spiritual leader and to take back the education of the children from the state.

In East Africa, Pastor Patrick shared that for several years he did Bible stories from the pulpit. The church body grew in spiritual strength and soon after, Patrick was able to hand over Wednesday night services and small groups to those in his church equipped with the Truth of God's Word, and trained to teach using Simply The Story.

Excitedly I asked how those years of training has impacted his church now since they are not able to meet. Wonderfully, Patrick said that the families are thriving in the Lord, following Jesus while being quarantined. He shared how grateful their church is for having the STS training during this time.

Shortly afterward, another leader in Asia texted the following to me. (Acronym changed to FBS or family Bible studies for security reasons. These FBS’s are based on STS, .

"Thanks for your prayers. Remember all our FBS groups, Many families and FBS is reporting that ...

we are having a great time on each day as we spend time in God’s Word in STS way during this lock down (critical) time.

Thank you TGSP and its team who took time to teach and showed your life with God’s WORD. It is more beneficial to spend more time in God’s Word rather than spending time with worldly things."

To hear a story by one instructor, go here: http://www.youtube.com/c/simplythestory

How might we use this time with family and those around us? 

For immediate prayer. Two leaders are still stranded in Asia and Peru. Both are separated from family and from familiar surroundings. Thankfully, they have been "adopted" by local families. However, Peru is moving towards more stringent lockdown and the flight out of the country was canceled. If our instructor cannot find another flight home, she may be in Peru for several months. We thank the Lord that two other STS instructors were able to leave the country in time.

Our leaders for the new Global Ambassador's program, Bryan and Ami, started in Mexico with an amazing church body. While there, Bryan was diagnosed with melanoma. Through amazing timing and God leading them every step of the way, Bryan and Ami went to a special clinic at the same time their leadership group (called "super heroes") had to shut down and quarantine. God fast tracked Bryan through the system in miraculous ways, too many to mention. Please continue to pray for Bryan and Ami as God shows them the next step in their health situation.

STS Oral Bible Schools in Refugee Camps

Most Oral Bible Schools have closed due to the virus. However, one school was able to graduate prior to the onset of the lockdown.  Our leader wrote, "This mark of the end of 296 stories is been longtime so many testimonies that are been shared both youths and women. From Rose A. 'Now I was not knowing how to preached by now I can preached the Gospel.’”

Another testimony from Susan, "I was having Short temper but since I join STS school that short anger is no longer there."

We are thrilled to share that our illustrated Book is now on Amazon. Search for “God’s Story: From Creation to Eternity.”  The Kindle version will be available soon.

Finally, we uploaded a brief video on our youtube station to encourage you from our STS family to yours.

Trusting the Lord in all things,

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

Fun in Ministry?

Ministry can be planting lots of seeds before we see fruit. When this fruit comes, we love to watch it grow.  Last week, a newer leader in Simply The Story from Latin America called to share his enthusiasm.  He said that he has had the most enjoyment doing ministry with STS in his 31 years of being a missionary.

I asked him why. He shared that he loves how people are responding to the Lord through the Bible discussions and how the people are being discipled. He finds the STS method highly impacting when sharing Bible stories with people everywhere.

Global Ambassador Team Leaders have Landed!

Latin America has been a focus for us over the past few years, and by the grace of God, several instructors have been raised in this region. Our Global Ambassador Team Leaders just arrived in Mexico with the goal of establishing strong leaders who will take life giving Bible tools to those throughout the region. This is the first step to our medium term missions program (greater than a couple of weeks and less than 1 year).

Latin American Missionary, Reaching a Muzlm Region?

One missionary from Latin America to a predominantly Muzlm country recently gave feedback regarding the power of God's Story: From Creation to Eternity on the solar audio players by Megavoice.

“These Megavoices have been a great blessing to many young people who I work with, in the university and the provinces that I visit.  It explains Scriptures in a clear way that they can understand.  Many young people have a lot of questions and they are seeking answers.  These Megavoices have helped answer their questions and caused them to ask more questions.  I also see that these Megavoices have helped new believers understand Scriptures in a clear way. I know many young people with so many questions and God used these Megavoices to help answer their questions.  I have given away all the Megavoices you [the donor] gave me a few years ago.  I have only one left which I carry all the time wherever I go.  Thank you for giving me a few of these Megavoices.  If it does not work out for me to have more, then it is OK.  I will leave this in the hands of God."

Pray for this missionary and the funds to provide more solar players.

Challenges in Mexico

Working in Mexico does have some challenges. As the team was returning from a village, one member texted for prayer because they were in the middle of a confrontation between cartels. "Cars are being burned and there was a gun shooting in the main plaza." Thankfully they made it home safe. As these teams venture out to disciple and train people in Scripture, they travel into and through dangerous areas. Please remember to pray for the team in Mexico.

Just Because they are in Bible College…

We are often invited to teach STS to students of Bible schools and seminaries around the globe. This story came to us from one of our instructors about two students who attended a Bible College when they learned STS. There seemed to be no impact in their lives while at the training. These same students helped as assistant instructors at another training months later in the same region. One student said, “I was not a Christian during the first workshop. However, when I did the story of Jonah, I realized I was guilty, like Jonah of running from God. I repented from that, and turned to the Lord and got saved during the workshop. It was life transforming. I got baptized a short time later.”

Another student shared, “I was not a Christian during the first year of Bible College. Neither during the second year. However, shortly after the STS workshop, I realized my need for Christ. I cannot say which story in particular prompted me to have faith in Christ, but shortly after, I turned to the Lord. Now I am going to … work with a church there!! I also ended a relationship with a young lady that was dysfunctional, since both she was not helping me with my walk with the Lord.”

Oceania

One university student told an instructor how she had read all the way through the Bible a couple of times and thought that she had learned everything. She also thought the Bible was boring.  However, in the workshop she learned how to walk slowly down the path of Scripture and learned that God’s Word was alive.  From that same training, our instructor received a picture of a high school student telling a story to a bunch of other students on the beach. 

Please pray for God’s Story to be translated into the language of the people on this island as the people are ritualistic with ancestor worship 

Serving the Lord together,

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

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Youtube Videos

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCCpHq8qs0HIRE9P5JnpE1Kw/videos