Refugees Find Hope

Praise & Prayer Report #2, 2009 

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Dear Friends of God's Story,
Sorry! Since Jan 22 I have not shared any of the TGSP excitement with you. For example, this photo shows delivery of God's Story to a pastor in a refugee camp. The deliverer, with face blocked due to sensitive nature of the location, wrote, "I had given God's Story to this pastor on the MegaVoice solar audio player in December. In his first playing, 3 adults came to Christ while other current believers repented for many things. He continues to use the MV each week as people are still being encouraged and growing through TGSP. Now, as you see, we gave him the video and a projector to play God's Story for many hundreds."

Feedback from a Middle East Simply The Story workshop...A participant from the Coptic Orthodox Church, used the STS technique in his youth group, and said, “Since I started using this method, the response has been amazing.” The pastor of an Amharic language congregation said, “STS changed my style of teaching Scripture to my congregation.”

Another person said, “It has affected my daily meditation.” Still another said, “I always found it difficult to memorize Scripture. Now I learned how to remember the exact words in a Bible story easily.” One innovative participant even shared a story in an online chat room and 25 people joined in. Some of these amazing pastors serve as exiles away from their homeland.

Read down to see why a pastor said..."Instead of leading my mother to Christ, I wept and put her to sleep."

Out of our little "headquarters" so far this year we have seen 12 new versions of God's Story completed and 6 more were produced and are waiting for final approval. On top of that, our USA teams just led Simply The Story workshops in Pakistan, Dubai, Cambodia, Hong Kong, two locations in the Philippines, Guatemala, Peru and two in USA. We leave for Louisiana tomorrow and a team leaves in a few days for St.Lucia and another for UK, Ireland, Scotland and Kosovo. (There may be openings in this Europe trip. In case you (or someone you know) might want to attend, concact Bryan This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.)

As I write this we are praying for help in Europe since one of the main instructors just emailed about a family emergency and told us to go without him. Oh NO! On the 2nd of May the team of 6 splits and goes in 3 directions by twos to separate countries. One alone cannot do the training. Hum??? Shall we say to our God, "You brought us out into the wilderness to die." No! He is able. Please pray for this situation.

Overseas teams leave for Calcutta and Bangladesh, while yet others are training now in Zambia and then go on to DR of Congo. These instructors need a lot of prayer as political and religious upheavals are currently taking place in most of these regions. Workshops continue to be run in locations where STS is firmly planted. See www.SimplyTheStory.com for some of the workshops coming up AND check the home page link for amazing video, "Dallas Theological Seminary Graduate, PhD BIOLA, & career missionary gives view on STS."

But what is being accomplished? Besides all of us being stretched spiritually and physically, here are sample of responses to God's Word in God's Story and Simply the Story training.

Senegal: A USA missionary led a man Senegalese man to the Lord. After some discipleship, and more recently exposing the African convert to the STS way of witnessing using Bible stories, this happened. "...more details about the new converts in Senegal. Three of them were Catholic and two of them were Muslims. In the original e-mail, J P mentioned 10 people, so I'm assuming the other 5 were either animists or family members. Still, new conversions are very rare among the Senegalese, especially among the Muslims.
"J P told me that they used the stories of Jesus walking on the water and Jesus turning the water into wine--two of my favorites! I think I mentioned these stories to him in advance. He said that when the people heard these stories they realized that our God is the true God."

New Zealand: "At the moment I am teaching a busy mum to use storytelling to her young family of 4 to teach them the Word of God. It has been amazing when I have used STS how my group members have said they can't stop thinking about the Bible story all week! How much more will impressionable children learn God's word this way.

"We continue to distribute the G.S DVD/VCD when ever possible. Even though the DVDs/VCD are not going out in large numbers it is so encouraging to have them going out in a steady trickle all over New Zealand."

Hong Kong: [110 attendees came from 7 countries, many who are cell and house church leaders.] "Yoshi a youth pastor from Japan shared the first day how the Martha/Mary touched him. He said, "In Japan people make group decisions, but it touched me that Martha and Mary both made individual decisions."

 "Cynthia shared the first day (from another story) that she was amazed at the fact that even though the leper was unclean, Jesus STILL had compassion. This sparked good discussion."

Laos: "i was asked to share God's word in an international church and of course i used sts about Martha and Mary, you know because we did enjoy discussions and the spiritual treasures that we discovered we didn't noticed that we talked almost two hours and they don't want to stop!"

Mostly Muslim Country: A 17-year old girl from a remote tribal group came to our STS workshop. She is the first believer among her people. Shy at first, she soon became bold. "This is for us! "I can understand the Bible now and I can go back and share these stories and talk about them. My people will listen."

USA: We showed God's Story at MGC this Wednesday, with only 2 days of notice, and using only flyers as advertising. We had 15 students and 5 adults attend, which I thought was very good for the amount of advertising we had! They listened very attentively and thanked us for showing it. No obvious results yet, but the day after we showed it they were still thanking us."

USA: "All I can say is, I've been spoiled for the ordinary following learning STS--I can't help it! When I sit in a service now, I'm taking
the passage that's been read aloud and begun an internal dialogue, asking questions and gleaning sweet morsels to take home with me! I like it a lot!"

USA: "I have always been taught that God only heals today if it is for the furtherance of the Gospel. I listened to the Story4All podcast [programs 45-46] and knew I had to come learn about how to really listen to the Bible and how to learn and tell a story. I heard the One Leper story yesterday. Jesus had compassion on the leper and touched him and then Jesus healed the leper and told him NOT to tell anyone what had happened but to go tell the priests. I saw that Jesus had compassion and healed, and it was not for witnessing, so I asked God to heal my back. I have had pain for 20 years and could not bend without pain. Look! I can bend. I have no pain!" Keith Jackson

Zambia: "The overseer of the denomination called Glory Tabernacle stood in front of the group with tears in His eye. He said that he had been trying for three years to talk to his mother, who is 89 years about Christ. It had been practically impossible for him to even relate a verse as concentration was very difficult for the aging mother.

"This time he went home after the third day of training, and that was just after learning about the story of Jonah. He went and just sat at the bed side of the mother. He told the story slowly. After going half way the story, and as he was trying to emphasize on Jonah going to Tarshish, he looked at his mother and was surprised at the face. She was following the story. When he got to the end of the story, the mother said, “so going to TARSHISH IS RUNNING AWAY FROM GOD, I have run away too. Can I come back?

"He said that instead of leading the mother to Christ, he wept and put her to sleep. He asked us to pray for courage as it was difficult for him to see such a time he longed for the whole of his ministry to see his mother come to Christ. He looked at me and said, WHERE WERE YOU? MAY BE MY FATHER WOULD HAVE ALSO RECEIVED CHRIST BEFORE DEATH. He whispered and said ‘simply a story’ He came back the following day with the news that his mother received Christ."

Zambia: "The people were very moved by the presentation that was made on this story, because the man with a withered hand in the story was played by a real man with a real withered hand. At the end of the story, the man (with real withered hand who played the withered hand in the story), stood up and said ‘this will remain true of my hand, I will do all I could not do with this hand from now on’. He then moved on and picked a chair using the same hand and shouted ‘it is working, it is working’. There were tears in the hall. This is real in my head even as I write. We’ve just closed the meeting as am writing and the man is reading what I’m sending to you before I leave tonight. I wanted him to know that other people have been praying for the meeting. "

"I was resting in my room after the training on Thursday, just after the story of the withered hand. A pastor came into my room and said ‘sir do you have gifts of healing? I said why? He said ‘that man was healed during the story’. I said ‘oh’. Then he said ‘should we be picking people with real issues in the church to do stories?’ I said NO. That man volunteered. I said, storytelling is about the Bible stories, the bible is alive, and God is still working, but please don’t use story telling for anything else other than just bringing the truth out of the word of God. Leave everything else to God.

Guatemala: After a workshop, students at a Bible school gave their view of STS. "To study thoroughly”--- “God's word is not boring”---“a lot more than I knew before”---“how to tell a story in Spanish and in my dialect” [The Bible school's professor said this last student comment has been his prayer]....“I learned how to use the story first in application to my life.”

The students wrote how they plan to use what they learned---“to help others know what God did in those times”---"to help people who have not had the opportunity I have had (to learn the Bible stories)”---“to tell those unreached to Christ”

"God gave me the opportunity this morning to tell a story to a drunk where all the buses depart and even if he could not appreciate it the lady serving the breakfast I bought him and her other patrons heard it."

The students quickly went to the streets and the local hospital to tell a story from the Bible. Some told family back home over the phone. The school director said, "I plan for the students to story God's word with inductive questions in the daily chapel times."

Cambodia: Sue S., who has been in ministry in Kampong Thom witnessed, use of some players [MegaVoice solar-powered audio-players formatted with God's Story in Khmer] "These were given in local areas immediately around town. She said "it's the most effective thing I've seen."

"My friends expressed that they found it possible to share the gospel to superiors with them, as they are too shy to speak to anyone older than them (including especially their parents) in this hierarchical culture, to any result. They said the MVs were different, as people listened to those."

One person chronicling the MV use reported, "They had tried taking it apart to use the solar panel for something else, but after failing at that, decided it was useful for what it was designed for. Actually, this was a theme for all the ones Dave distributed so he started making a joke about it, accusing people before they said anything. In every case they admitted to it!"

"The most excited recipient of all. We initially gave him two and he wore them out trying to pass them around to about twelve different house churches. He begged us for more, and we didn't have them yet so my friend told him to pray for them. We eventually gave them five more.

"Man with MV wasn't home when I went back to see him, but he arrived from working in the fields shortly after I came. I asked him about the megavoice player, and he pulled it out of his pocket! He'd been listening to it while working. This was almost a year after I gave it to him."
Philippines: [From a national who ministers among Muslims.] "The 18 students that i am teaching on STS were so amaze of the dynamics of the methods. infact i got more people everyday to learn the skills. the 18 students are preparing themselves to do cross cultural mission with in 10/40 windows."

India: "In the last month there was a girl came with the problem of leg pain ,her name is S kupta, not able to walk and her parents took her to all the hospital at last they brought to church. Praise God, God worked while I shared about the story of the woman who had the problem of 12 years she touched to Jesus cloth she healed. The story repeated several time by asking question so she understood the part of touch. She trusted to touch Jesus, Because of that God Healed her. Praise the Lord “share the story, save the soul”

Please pray for those who see and hear God's Story that they will come to know Jesus, and for the teams world wide producing new language versions and that are training others in STS.

Thanks for your prayers, encouragement and support. We are grateful to you. Ultimately we praise and thank our God as He continues to honor the use of His Word in God's Story and Simply The Story.

In His service,
Dorothy A. Miller
Executive Director TGSP

Does God Love the Bajao?

Praise & Prayer Report #1, January 2009

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Dear Friends of God’s Story,

This wrap up of 2008 shows how The God’s Story Project experienced its most extraordinary year yet. By God’s Grace, in 2008, we produced 44 new languages of God's Story, the most ever in one year. Also, over 12,000 solar-powered audio players went into 80 different nations with God's Story AND we distributed masters for 55 language versions for use in unlimited duplication and distribution.      

A plank sidewalk suspended over floating garbage takes you to a bamboo home.

See last page, “Does God Love the Bajao?”

Myanmar: “I have given the GS VCD, Evangelist Backpack, Mega Voice to Pastor who in village place. When I play for him, he was about to cry by hearing the God's Story. Now he is using this tools. Many people mind were trouble that Why it was happened? [Cyclone] Remember to those people that when they see and hear the God's Story, let them realize that Jesus Christ is the only Creator and Savior and Lord.”

Please pray for those who receive GS and who are being in STS to tell the Bible stories. We currently have STS workshops running or scheduled for India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Myanmar, Bhutan, Cambodia, Brazil, Guatemala, Haiti, Hong Kong, Japan, Korea, Peru, 25 countries in Africa, unnamed regions in Asia and other places wise not to mention.

See the amazing explosion account of God’s Story and Simply The Story in Africa 2005-2008. Go to the link “Explosion in Africa” on the STS home page. We add new reports, workshop dates and samples of STS to www.SimplyTheStory.com as quickly as we are able.

We ask for prayer that the Lord would send two added staff people for Hemet headquarters. Computer skills are needed and a desire to work in the epicenter of a spiritual whirlwind that is touching down in enemy territory.

Reports on God’s Story:

Unnamed Country: “They showed the DVD in the work camp that houses women who are HIV positive - mostly former prostitutes and drug users/dealers. Because the government cares so little about them, they have freedom to do things there that they wouldn't have in the prisons that house political prisoners, etc. On their first showing of it several of the women accepted Christ and they begged them to come back as often as possible to show it to them again.”

Myanmar: “I got a report that on 15 Nov showed the GS in TV to 32 people. And the next day followed up Bible teaching. After that 2 person accepted and on 20 Nov. GS show again with previous people and other also including there were 63 people watch the GS and followed up the Bible teaching 30 people accepted and 6 people were baptized on 22 Nov. God is Stirring in the heart of the people here slowly. Need more prayer support.

Reports on Simply The Story:: Upcoming workshops in USA. Hemet March 23rd- 27th 2009 and St. Paul-Minneapolis Sept 14th-18th. For information email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

The Hemet workshop is shaping up to be a blockbuster! Lots of very interesting folks are signing up for training. It seems that God gives us strategy on a need-to-know basis. As of yesterday, He impressed upon us to tap into the millions of other-than-English mother-tongue speakers in the USA. "Purposely train these multi-language speakers so they can train people in their ethnic circles and home lands.”

Workshops done in people’s mother tongue are the most effective. We see on our radar screen right now, ten ethnic groups that may attend. Instructions from the Lord only came yesterday!

Tibet: “I talked to Bro. L briefly the other day and he said that they really enjoyed the training. From what I hear they are all pretty excited about it with the other guy, Bro. Z saying something to the effect that, it is really great because we can share the gospel without doing anything that

they can get us in trouble for! No handing them a bread, or other literature and if authorities come around we are just telling stories! PTL!"

North East India: “Hi Special people, We have a great training and i would like to give you a brief news and rejoice with us as this training is God's answer to our struggle in the fields.

As we have planted 278 house churches in North East India, we were all struggling with the question: How are we going to effectively communicate the gospel and disciple the non literates.

“83 people attended this training, altogether 13 people groups attended, namely the Adivasi, Chakma,Mising,Assamese,Nepali,Boro,Tutsa,Tangsa,Ao,Poumai,Burmese,Hajong and Mog. We had our first believer from the Hajong tribe who was lead to the Lord by a 6 month believer from the Chakma tribe. He is excited to Simply Tell the Story to reach out his people group.

“It was God’s answer to many of our non-literate church planters and their disciples who were struggling with discipleship and how to approach their believers who were mostly illiterates.

This Discipleship method is a reproducible/transferable. It is a proven method and I thank God that this training was available to us here in North East India.”.

Bhutan: This country is officially Buddhist. If you become a Christian you lose all rights such as you cannot go to school or hold a job or drink from the village well. Often you are put in prison. Instructors from India, Bhutan and Nepal just trained 30 of these leaders and pastors who meet secretly in Bhutan. One wrote back a few weeks later....

“I really thank you and the team of STS which gave a golden chance to attend the STS training. In fact, we were in need of that sort of tool (STS) to reach our people. I got confidence that I can reach unreached people with good news of Lord by the STS tool. I was praying for this sort of training. I find that it is very effective not only to the unreached people but to the congregations too.” [Note: He lives with threat of persecution but he focuses on the needs of others!]

USA: [After attending workshop] “By the way, as you know, in preparation for each story God blesses me with SO many insights that I never noticed before when just reading through a story once in the Bible. I can truly say that I know what it means to ‘Meditate on God's Word.’”

USA: [After a workshop this testimony came from a Wycliffe translator.] “My new Chinese friend, Jill and I just had a 4 hour lunch. I am finding it very effective to do the storying over food, people don’t run away or fall asleep and there is a natural break when they go for seconds. I asked Jill if she was willing to be my guinea pig because I wanted to tell her a story that I had learned last week in the workshop.

“So I did the prodigal son story, letting her repeat the story, then we went through the observation stage and then personal application. With Questions like: Who am I in this story, and where am I going - away from the Father, still feeding the pigs, or on the search to find the way home to the Father. She said she is definitely searching for the Father...

“I am not sure if she understood everything but let me tell you it was so incredible, I cried when I saw her hungry heart and the deep questions she asked. She even said: let’s get back to the story. She said something like, ‘I wonder what will happen to me when I go back to China as a Christian.’”

USA: [After STS “sermon” in church service] “Thank you for another great Bible study. I have heard the story of Jonah since I was a child, have read the book many times, and have even studied the book of Jonah. Amazingly I was never before struck by the significance of God working through Jonah even while Jonah was rebelling and willfully disobeying Him. In that miserable condition, God still used Jonah to bring a whole boat-load of heathens to repentance.”

Philippines - Mindanao: [Results after STS workshop] “We have 4 outreach groups from the 12 leaders, and they have at least 6 places that they go to. We also trained 12 of our youth and they are joining in the different groups to help out. In one of the groups which is in a very remote area (they travel by motorbike and then by horse) the youth are teaching the children while the adults are telling the story to adults. There are no churches in that area at all, and the people love it there!!

“In one of our other groups, they went to a house of a retired teacher who was bedridden. He couldn't talk but listened to the leaders. The leaders asked the teacher if he would like to receive Jesus as his savior, and the man nodded. So they lead the man to Christ. After that, they started singing to the man, and the man started singing with them!! The neighbors could hear the man outside of his house and the hairs on their arms were standing up!! They all witnessed a miracle!! Praise God!! That man was not able to talk for a very long time!!”

Philippines - Manila: “STS is being used all around the country. Your team's work has certainly paid off. It has been like a revival for some of us. Just using the STS methods for meditation on scripture has been a tremendous blessing and like a revival for many of us. I don't say this lightly. I have heard from Filipinos as well as international missionaries saying how God has used STS to reveal things to them and to those they teach. I have kept in contact with a number of the people from each of the cities where you trained. I ran into a couple of our co-workers whom you trained in Davao and they were so excited to tell how they had been able to use STS with 'neighbors' successfully, not to mention in their own personal Bible study.

“Tribal people from Palawan (the three men who came to the Manila training) completely caught

the methods and took it back to their remote area. City people are also using it in some of our more progressive churches.”

Personal Highlight: The impact reports coming to us from the STS workshops worldwide increase daily. Our USA instructors led 21 workshops, 18 overseas. Our national instructors led hundreds of approved workshops and hundreds more unofficial trainings took place. Scores of amazing experiences fill my heart from this last year of workshops.

This one stands out........

God Loves The Bajao

While in the Philippines our team traveled to visit the Bajao people. People treat these “Sea Gypsies as untouchables. The Bajao cannot attend school, nor are they even allowed to go into stores. For seven years our host couple has been giving medical help to the people and schooling for the children. Through the Bajao pastor, regular humanitarian aid has also been given. Our host shared how odd it was that the pastor, although friendly and appreciative of the help, kept waylaying the training and assistance. Prayer and counseling hadn’t fixed the situation.

We traveled to the Bajao settlement. The people live in tiny bamboo houses built over a bay that is filled with raw sewage! I mean filled; you can’t even see the water for the trash floating in it. To go into this settlement, and to get to the homes to visit the people, we walked on narrow wood planks suspended over the water, planks that serve as "sidewalks." In the homes our foreign team (very much larger sized people than the Bajao) had to be careful to not stand too close together as you could feel the floors starting to give way.

Wonderful loving people are the Bajao, who melt when touched. We entered a large room that serves as their church. Since scores of shirtless children and plainly dressed adults had followed us into the church, I asked if I could tell a story. The Blind Bartimaeus story captured the attention of the about 75 people of all ages, half maybe being small children. The Bajao children excitedly responded to the story as children worldwide do. The adults looked on as their dusty children waved their hands to answer the questions.

As we moved toward the door we hugged and prayed for smiling people. Our host stayed behind to talk with the pastor who had been watching the whole time. Through tears he shared that he was illiterate, so had trouble teaching Bible to his people. “But the story like this I can do.” The host then realized that this simple pastor felt threatened by seeing the children leaning to read. He was afraid to lose his leadership.

Now 3 months after that visit, we hear that the Bajao are thriving on “story,” and their pastor is finally secure in his leadership role.

How many pastors and Christians across the world cannot read, but who by STS could now be empowered, just as was this Bajao pastor?

Please pray for all in TGSP leadership and training positions us to listen well to God’s leading and to protect us as we try to deliver His Word in God’s Story and STS.

In His grace, Dorothy A. Miller

 

Police Arrest Storytellers

Prayer & Praise Report #7,  2008

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Dear Friends of God’s Story,

Sorry to be so late to get a report to you. After 5 weeks on the road in Asia and Middle East, I returned and promptly came down with pneumonia! After 4 weeks of battling that I am now finally coming back to life. Many prayed and God is restoring.

Huge doors for God’s Story and Simply the Story opened throughout the world during our recent trainings. Please pray that we will make the choices God wants us to make.

God’s Story

Wonderfully when I am out of country or sick, we now have a dedicated staff that keeps the ministry going. We have just completed production on 10 new God’s Story languages, with several others in studio or in the mail to us. We now have 224 approved language versions! Just added for India: Gondi; for Ghana Buli-bwu, Kasem-xsm & Kusaal-kus; for Philippines Tausug-tsg & Maguindanao-mdh; for Myanmar Matu; in Bangladesh Chittagonian-cit; in Zimbabwe Ndebeli-nde and for Nepal Jirel-jul.

In… Mongolia: One attendee at the STS training shared, “Last February my dad received a blue player and listened over and over to God’s Story. He wanted to learn more from the Bible but can’t read. Now I know how to give him more stories from the Bible.

In… Asia: A lady reported, “I was in a remote area of the T region and just happened to meet an old man who invited me to his home for tea. Looking around I saw a megavoice with God’s Story on his shelf, so through the translator I asked him what it was. The man said it was a radio with stories of God on it. “

In…Philippines: A dynamic man, “T,” targets a very hard to reach people group, mostly mslm. He had heard God’s Story eight years ago. He tried using God’s Story in the closest language available, but his people just couldn’t understand the words. He wanted to have God’s Story in the language of his target people, but was told it was impossible. When T met us and discovered that he COULD partner with us to produce God’s Story in his needed language, he could hardly contain himself! He kept shaking his head saying, “I can’t believe it. I prayed for it, but I can’t

believe it!”

In …Unnamed Region: “I don't know if you heard the latest or not, but the police went around in all of the towns with loud speakers threatening jail for any XXX people who listen to or watch the GS or the JF. They put up wanted posters for the people who helped do the voices on the recordings. Also, anyone who tells or listens to Oral Bible stories will be put in jail. Some of the XXX who have been traveling around telling the stories are very discouraged now, because the villagers are so afraid that they will not even listen to the stories…..I think this is a huge sign of success.”

Simply The Story

Manda responded to the training: “The method was very simple to understand for any people. Teachers knew what to do, and most important thing was they were teaching God’s word without any addition or deduction.”

Another attendee wrote: “For me STS is the best way to share Bible with unbelievers or with new believers. There are 3 reasons that are why. First, it is very simple, I do not have to be very good teller or either have to be smart. All I have to do was to tell people just what I have learnt. And they do the rest of it by them selves. Second, when we find out the treasures, more we were encouraged to read bible and share it. It gives courage to anyone (old and young, man and woman etc,) to share the stories. Thirdly, it was really fun to study bible like this. Before I saw many times that people are getting tired or bored because they don’t understand the preaching in the church. I think any one can understand the STS.

“I used STS training at my church and at cell groups. Right after I went to STS, I shared the story “how Jesus made calm the storm on the lake Galilee” at my church, and shared what I have learnt in past few days. And I saw that everybody were involving in that story by answering questions and also asking questions. It created the relationships between us.”

In China: Simply Amazing. People from all over various regions attended the training and left saying, “We know you came to serve us. Thank you for giving this to us.”

In Hong Kong: We explained the need for oral strategies and gave an example of an STS story to CCMN, the largest world network of cell and house churches. Leaders from that presentation, and other encounters on our trip, now swell the list of countries waiting for this training to 53! In 2009 we want to top-off the training of the many who are using STS, so that they can be certified go and train others.

In Philippines: During an STS training, one study group contained 7 people from 7 different countries! They were practicing the Joshua and Caleb story. One man “V” was dismissed by the others in the group as not very serious as he just wasn’t getting the process. The dynamics of the group changed dramatically when the man innocently asked, “If you were asked to go to the XXX region and bring back a report what would you say?” Faces turned serious as XXX is the heart of a feared terrorist group. The group agreed that they hoped that they would bring back a true report. The STS instructor interjected, “This man serves in that region. He now shows God’s Story there and is seeing 30-40 people believe in Jesus at each showing.”  V, this man above men, was being judged based on his ability to learn a process in a 2nd language, but he just showed that he understood the story and was applying its truths! All present were humbled.

From Marianne, Wycliffe Translator: “I want to thank you all so much for the tremendous impact the STS workshop has made in our team of 7 from B…. They are so excited that they are planning to go to C… this weekend (one of the very remote jungle areas) to teach the stories they have learned.

“Not only that but they are studying new stories every morning in their quiet time from 5-6am. “They have been so impacted that they are already inviting about 15 tribal leaders from 2 language

groups for a New Years 5-day story celebration. We will be arriving just in time to celebrate with them. I can't thank the Lord and you all enough.”

From: Marianne: (in another letter) … “I feel so strongly about it, that I dare to say each Christian and especially each translator or literacy worker should get this training and use it for personal and ministry application. I feel this training approach is so practical that after a 5-day workshop and with some additional practice our people can use it right away for witnessing and develop their own storying project. Especially with our background of world view etc.

“If I may ask your permission...this is what I would like to focus on for the rest of my life.

“This approach of Scripture promotion can incorporate everything I love to do. (Including media, video, audio, music drama etc.) But what I like is the simple focus on the Word first without too many gadgets, therefore all of our people we work with can do it. No batteries needed, no computer, no ball pen or paper needed. Just a head and a heart.”

In … Zambia from Michael, an Evangelical Leader: “…It is encouraging to see how God is using this wonderful tool throughout the world. It is amazing now when I meet people and they call me “story bank” and they ask to tell a story of their choice and surprisingly they hear me tell it and get treasures together.

“Comparison: STS cannot be compared to any program. It is on its own standard. This is because nothing makes sense to a learner of the Bible until the Bible is understood. For example, to evangelize, one will have to understand Scripture, so is discipleship. Learners will have to fall in love with God’s word in order for them to understand what salvation is or what theological truths are in the Bible. “It is something to have perfume wrapped in a well decorated bottle; it is another thing to actually get the smell of it. Most of the systems we use are well labeled and packaged.  Explanations are done by the labels that are attached to the packet, but STS creates the opportunity for the learner to smell the real message that is in the packet. Eg. Salvation: Packaged ways involve things like the Roman Road to salvation, bridge illustration etc.

“The Roman Road to salvation takes a packet of Scriptures from the Bible to show sin and how we can be saved, the problem is that these Scriptures prove a point but do not give us the context in which they happened. There are no practical examples from the Scripture to show that these Scriptures are talking about people. But a story of the Prodigal son shows the original state of this son when he was with the father, the moment he got lost by asking for his portion, and the way he came back to his father. Salvation in this story is not a method, but life. This is a difference.

“I teach people to use stories for evangelism rather than methods which are completely removed from human experience. The Bible then becomes alive. The results are amazing. Practically, everyone can tell a story, so everyone can evangelize. This is what we are seeing everywhere. Evangelism being done by the children of God and not experts with well laid down points. Conserving the fruit: We have seen that if we begin immediately telling stories to new believers, they begin to know the word by heart. It is the word of God that strengthens people in the things of God. All of those who are saved through storytelling and are immediately exposed to Bible stories have remained. This is because they see themselves through the characters of the Bible. I have put together stories that deal with different issues that we teach them and find treasures together. This leads us into discipleship.

“…Discipleship is not just a class, but a life style. To create commitment in a new believer’s life, we need to let him or her know that living a Christian life is not only for them, but that others also have lived this life before. So by teaching practical biblical stories, we give an opportunity to our people to see spiritual growth through real life instead of gathered points.

“So again instead of comparing STS, I recommend that all programs include STS in everything they teach from the Bible. STS is a class of its own….

“The results are amazing. People ask, where has this method been? Why have we been given the Bible without explaining the key to understanding it? Why have you come to make the Bible so clear and yet so late in my life? I never thought I will be able to see this connection through the Bible; I was trained to teach it as points and not as a story. I now know that knowing the Bible has nothing to do with education, I have the ears and they are enough. They call me illiterate, but I know more stories from the Bible than the literate. The Bible has now become for all, the young, the old, the schooled, the unschooled, it is simply for the children of God…..”

In… the USA: “… “GOD IS AWESOME! Milt & I continue to teach Bible stories using STS to our international students. Attendance has averaged 43 the past five weeks; 80% of attendees are not yet followers of Christ. The Spirit of God is touching these precious young people from 8 different countries. We are soooo blessed and compelled to pass on the blessings of His Word. Thanks for teaching us.

“When will you do another seminar in So. CA? I want to continue to learn to do this method well so I can pass it on to many others.”

Thank you for your prayer, support and encouragement. Please pray for those who are risking their lives to use God’s Story and now even to tell Bible stories.

Blessings,

Dorothy A. Miller, TGSP

Astrology Man Gets Saved

Prayer & Praise Report #6,  2008

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Dear Friends of God's Story,

My very kind husband just comment today (as I prepare to leave USA again), "You have been gone 1/3 of this year!" "Yes, it has been a lot," I responded. After calculating, we realized that the “gone from home time” was 1/2 of this year! So, to start we ask especially for prayer for all of the families who keep the home going while instructors go train all over the world.

Andrea is already on the road till Nov 15th. She is in Asia, headed soon for Mongolia. The response in this very big county to STS was,"We can take this back with us to our villages? This will work. Most of our people cannot read.” Response from theologians who attended, "This brings life to the Word."

We are in the midst of 50 STS workshops in 25 countries in a 10 week time span. Most workshops are led by nationals who have learned the process. (STS was 2 years old this Sept!) We estimate now that about 25,000 in India are using STS style

teaching in their ministries. I leave in a few days to be gone until Nov 9th. My part is co-leading 5-day workshops in 3 locations in the Philippines and then vision casting to leaders in the Middle East and in Hong Kong. HK is a gathering of 400 leaders in the cell and house church network. By God's grace, He will enable us to introduce more people to God's Story and cast the vision to learn Simply The Story.

If you have not seen the 3 minute Why & Why DVD of Simply the Story that we just produced, you can see it and down load it on www.SimplyTheStory.com It contains just a few of the amazing stats from the “One Year Report.” Imagine 50 illiterate church planters, who were trained in STS, went from leading 815 to Jesus in 2 1/2 years, to leading 9,122 to Jesus in one year! Report soon to be posted on STS web site. See there also how a Wycliffe translator describes the STS experience.

Developing Christlike Characters: One Westerner working full time in India first discovered STS last Nov. Now he sends us reports from their over 50 Indian field evangelists. In short he summarizes... “We’re finding that the groups that we’re doing STS with are really growing spiritually. They’ve got a new excitement about God’s Word and they’re developing Christlike character." He also wrote..."By the way, while I was on home assignment, I took the opportunity to demonstrate the STS method in the evening service of an Indian church that meets in Austin and in a Sunday School class of Hyde Park Baptist Church. In both places I shared the story of King Asa (2 Chron 16). In both places people said to me, 'We should teach like this all the time.’”

God's Story in Myanmar: Cyclone Curse Reversed "A pastor told that before the Nargis Cyclone in Myanmar he is working there at that time he has only 10 members. But after the Disaster he continues to share Gospel using with GS Mega Voice. (They called small Radio). Pastor went out and plays GS with Mega Voice to one famous Astrology man house. In that area he foretell for so many people what will be for their future. When Astrology man saw the Mega Voice and listen the God's Story he was so surprise and they were listening the God's Story. And now he changed his life and tore his books and which he belief everything burn in the fires and he took baptism moreover including wife and daughter. Many people were surprised to him. After that he (who is astrology before) carry the Mega Voice and play GS to other and through that there are two (2) ladies also accepted Christ and took baptism. Praise the Lord.

"Not only that Pastor is using the Mega Voice and sharing the God's Story as well ministering to the people. So in this time he took baptism for 28 people. Still there are many more waiting for baptism. Now around 50 people worshiping together every Sunday service."

Update... "Before Astrology man is doing evangelism work now. He is bring people in the house of the Lord. Pastor told me this morning that this week he baptized 14 people again at night 9:30 PM. I gave him DVD player, God's Story VCD and Mega Voice to use there. I believe that God will do miracle in that place. So, I would you continue to pray for that. Especially the newly converted people to have strong faith in God."

God's Story

In South America: "A short time ago we gave some of the mega voices to animistic Mapuches in the Andes that we thought might use them for evangelism. At first I told them the story of Nathan the Prophet that you had in your storying materials, and suggested that they use these stories to "confront" the non-believers. One man was a new believer that had never been discipled, because he lives so far away and there is no church where he lives. My pastor friend, Daniel, had shown him the

Jesus film and he and his wife prayed to receive Jesus. But, after listening to God’s Story in Mapudungun for a month he said, "Now I understand that God is the God of nature, and that nature isn’t god." And he began to play the GS for others in his community, including the Chief who has been quite anti-Christianity.

"Another woman took the player on horseback across a large valley where her blind father lives. There is no electricity nor a road to get there, but God found a way. He was so interested in the story that he invited his neighbors to the house to listen to "the little machine" when his daughter came back. I don’t know much more that that yet. I would like to visit but, the place is buried under snow for the winter."

In Mali West Africa. God's Word Attracts Everyone! "I gave some hand-held solar players with "God's Story" and recorded Bible stories were given to non-literates there. Some have just recently been saved and others are still Mu.slim.... "These new believers take the recorders everywhere they go and play them. They play them until the charge is gone, and then they set them in the sun and start over. They share them and pass them around. They know the stories. It is amazing."

In Closed Country Closes Eyes Open Hearts "I felt led to take one of the solar powered units to a seminar I was giving a

seminar in a country operating under a dictatorship. To my surprise, right next to the front rows was sitting a young blind man. I got really got excited, and handed him the device [MegaVoice solar-powered audio player with a New Testament, Jesus Film and God's Story on it.]. I explained to him what it was, and showed him its use. He got so blessed, the whole family came to the seminar next day, and several received the Lord. On Sunday afternoon, we met the Sunday School teacher that teaches the adult class where this young man goes to church. He told us that during the questions period, this young man knew all the answers. Everyone in the class, including his teacher, was extremely surprised! They were surprised because the young blind man is not able to read a Bible. But he had been listening and could now answer the questions others could not. Praise the Lord."

Simply the Story

In West Africa, 6 Year Prayer: In 2002 some leaders in a French speaking country of West Africa investigated the idea of

using storytelling. They got some exposure, but wanted more detailed help. Then a few years later they saved their money to fly in a man from Europe to train them in Bible storytelling. They eager learners hosted him for a week. So, for a week he presented the apologetics of why they needed to use oral strategies and why use of story is vital   but he did not teach them how! Our Africa director just completed an STS workshop in that country. These leaders told him that this STS training finally answered the prayer of their hearts. "We can do this! We understand this way of learning a story and of digging for treasure and of using wise questions to allows others to discover as we have just done." The ownership and replicatabily is what they wanted. The power of God's Word, in a package they can open and can give to others, is now their hands.

in USA Needs Simply The Story Too! [We trained 70 people just outside Dallas Two weeks ago. Attendees ran from Fuller

Professors, overseas seminarians, pastors and missionaries to teenagers. The endorsements and blessings were most exciting. Multiple seminarians saying, we have missed these treasures. We now have a fresh way to listen to God’s Word. [Following are testimonies mailed to us just a few days afterwards.]

Teacher of 85 Ladies: "I just returned from the 5-day conference in Dallas and continue to feel the impact of the power of God's word and all that I learned. It was a privilege to sit under your leadership. I am hoping to tell the story in the next week when I teach a lesson on repentance to the ladies in my Bible study."

With Bible Study Fellowship Leader: "I have also had the opportunity to share my STS experience with several at our church and with several of my BSF leaders. I told the Shunammite woman story to them during our Fri a.m. breakfast where we meet after our 5:30 a.m. leaders meeting each week. My Teaching Leader was there, and she was very taken with the whole method. We told stories to our college class for the last 2 Sundays, and gave them a basic walk through of the method as well. Several of our college students are interested in attending a workshop to learn to do this in preparation for summer mission trips. One young man said today that he has always wanted to be able to help on mission trips, but he is not very good at doing VBS types of things. But, he said, I can tell a story, and ask questions."

In Workplace With Friends : "I felt the need to pray for my girlfriend during a meeting. I stared at my shoe to pray, because I thought if I close my eyes, people would think I was sleeping. About half an hour after I got back to my desk, my friend sent an email, asking me to call because she was at home having a meltdown. She has spent the past year battling for custody for her children I went over, listened to her, and as I was getting ready to go back to work, I felt the urge to tell her a story. I told her the story in Luke about the persistent widow. Before I could even ask the first question, she said “My children are important enough to go to God every day.” From there, we continued our discussion, and she prayed to receive Christ for the first time – EVER!! I have been waiting for this day for 13 years, and she has finally agreed that her way is ineffective, and she would like to try things God’s way. How cool is that????"

Blessings, Dorothy A. Miller

Largest Bible School in India

Prayer & Praise Report #5,  2008

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Dear Friends of God's Story,

How we praise God for His care and love and the power of His Word. Last year we saw the most new versions of God's Story produced 35. This year, already 29 have been completed and 11 more are waiting

for final approval. God gives the increase!

East Africa: A ministry that works in 100 counties is "testing" the use of God's Story wrote, "Our workers in East Africa love it. They want every language you have for the Horn of Africa!"

Ethiopia: “Thank for the good work you are doing. I am a Gbagyi man residing in Abuja, Nigeria and a Pastor/Computer Engineer. I have just bought a copy of God's story in Gbagyi for village evangelistic outreaches. I quite appreciate the work you've done.”

Please Pray For Us: In the next few months, we have over 50 Simply The Story workshops scheduled in 20 countries! It was just under two years ago that the Lord allowed us to introduce STS to the world. By the end of this year we estimate that STS will be actively being used in 42 countries (that we know about!) Amazingly, most of the instructing staff are 2nd and 3rd generation         people we have taught, who have then

taught others. As well, the majority of instructors are nationals teaching their own people.

(Don't forget to let people know about the Dallas STS workshop, Sept 19-20 & 22-24. Email back for flyer on it or for info on STS Sept-Oct workshops in 10 African nations, India, Sri Lanka, Philippines and Mongolia.)

Wonderfully, this STS addition to God's Story is helping people to learn whole Bible stories, and empowering people to study and deliver the Scripture in inductive Bible study, oral style. We continue to record more told Bible stories. We want the non-literate to have a recorded oral Bible as an anchor.

Trainings are nice, but what actual impact does the STS way of delivering Scripture have on discipleship and evangelism?

Village Evangelism Impact: Grace Bible College, the largest Bible school in India, now uses STS as part of their curricula. Reports from their staff state, “Our graduate evangelists are seeing greater responses to the Gospel and growth of the village believers than ever before.

One man in this village, who for three years The evangelists themselves, who have been trained in and use God’s Story and STS, show a deeper walk with the Lord and better understanding of the Bible than their previous graduates.”

USA Impact: A missionary to SEA who spoke in a USA church on the way from STS workshop back to field just wrote "By the way, I did try STS at church in Illinois, again using Acts 3 story to spark people in

home community missions. It was a moving of God's spirit

as several people stood up and publicly confessed and repented for passing the poor/homeless by. The pastor

then called the whole church to prayer asking God to open their eyes to community. Praise the Lord STS

WORKS!!!!, it allows people to interact and really see and hear God's messages."

More After Nairobi Impact: Our Africa Director Bram... went to Costal Kenya and trained Kenyan pastors in STS. One comment they made struck me. “Before we thought that to use stories we had to do a world view study first and that we could not present salvation until the end of the set of stories. To us 3 to 4 months to wait to present salvation was too long, so we didn’t use stories. Now we see that the Holy Spirit can bring people to faith even off of just one Bible story!”

School Impact: Before heading home, the headmaster of a local public middle school asked Bram... come to his school to “do something evangelistic.”

Bram... told the whole story of the Prodigal Son, then followed the STS style of asking lots of questions about the story. Amazingly the student body of 900 became engaged and enthusiastically answered questions. At first, the children considered the elder brother in the story to be the hero. But in time the children discovered that brother’s pride and disrespect of the father and the younger brother’s humility. During the discussion they observed, and then offered, “The younger brother confessed his sin to his dad and to God. We want to be like him!

After discussing the story’s contents, the children offered many personal applications that they saw. Bram... then asked, “Do any of you want to come to God and admit your pride and ask Jesus to be your Saviour?’ Three hundred children raised their hands and prayed to be saved!

“The pastors who we just trained in STS have offered to go back to that school every week and tell more stories to these children.”

Even More School Impact: On the journey home, one of the other instructors, who had also been invited to preach at a local school, reported, “I told a story and about 300 children prayed for salvation!”

It Gets Better School & Nation Impact: Upon arriving home to Nairobi, a top leader in the Kenyan Baptist Convention (who had learned STS in the June workshop we led in Nairobi) visited Bram...’s office. “I just came back from the Congo where I attended a major Baptist meeting. I sat on the front row so at every opportunity I could tell another Bible story STS style. Now they all want this in the Congo. Then I went to a school there, told a Bible story the STS way, and almost 300 children came to Jesus!” [Can it get any better?] Third Generation Impact: (From an instructor in Uganda, taught by a Kenyan who we taught) "All these attendees confessed that STS is the best Bible school they have ever attended without demand for exam; yet very rich in digging Bible truth. They were very appreciative for such a privilege to have attended and participated practically in STS. Since they are in the key role of their local churches, they said they will share the idea with their congregation to be using the same method for deep Bible study and discipleship program. One pastor, Dennis said, ‘Thank you for this handy tool, our quest is now fulfilled through this simple method.'

Spiritual Impact: "They adopted the Naman story. When Gehazi accepted the gift of Naman; its consequences that was to affect his entire lineage. They applied it in their lives that small sin can affect one’s family and ministry seriously! This was a long story told by me, as I was illustrating to them how simple it is to learn many verses within a short time if the principle is followed."

Pastors Impacted: "One pastor, Remmy Acila, said, “This is a very timely tool for discipleship, such a simple method but profound way of Bible study we have been praying to God for.” Pastor Patrick, a pastor of a local church in Lira town said, “now all our cell groups will grow faster because everyone will get involved in the system and be able to reach their neighbors”.

Bottom Line Impact in Uganda: "I have seen the desire for the body of Christ to go back to the roots of the early church, the Bereans who spent time studying the word to prove whether the things that Paul and his associates said was true. The need for training is overwhelming       this is still a very new way of approach to

many churches, yet they have eagerly embraced it. There is a big need not only on STS but even for TGSP to be translated into the local language (Lango). This region has great potential to spread STS like wild fire when we embark on training more instructors."

Beyond Belief Impact: This next incident just occurred at a celebration to honor a pastor who does social work in India. Over 2000 gathered, Hindus, government workers and Christians. "They gave me much time to share what I have done for this society. I stood and said to everybody saying that I did “0” to this world BUT my Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ came to this world to save each one of us.

“Everyone clapped and then I took time to share some testimonies and jumped into STS, I was looking someone to tell the story of blind man Barthimaias, a young boy told the entire story in dramatic way I asked everyone (2000+) to retell the story each other (to their neighbors) everyone was remembering the story and telling the story step by step to their neighbors (it was joy to see their faces while they were telling the Bible story first time in their life especially Hindus).

“After retelling the story I step through and then I have asked some important questions so that they can found out spiritual insights.

“Even though it was big group but still the Holy Spirit of God led each one us to find out many spiritual insights in the story and during application many were with tears and saying that even though we have eyes to see but still we are blind in spiritual matters and we are not believing Creator God. Finally Pas. Paul told everyone to stand up and he led them in prayer, I pray and believe that many people might have received Christ as their personal Saviour.

“Hindu guru said this is the first time I am telling the Bible story, how much truth is there in this small story and how much faith that blind man has up on Jesus, if we have trust in God and then God will do miracle. I gave him VCD of G.S film and more people shown their interest to know more about the Creator God.”

India Big City and Slum Ministry Impact. “STS is doing really well with us, Lord is giving us great insights into His pure word and our whole leadership is thrilled in switching over to STS. Now we have 10,702 members in our churches, all glory to our Lord Jesus. STS is a great blessing.”

Impact on Theologian: “As you know, I am a trained theologian. I am used to presenting the Bible in a very

complicated way which only really fits intellectuals. Now I can present the Bible in a simple way to anybody. On the bus ride way back home to Gulu, Uganda, I sat next to a Buddhist man from Japan. I decided to tell him a simple story using the method I had just learned. So I told him the creation story and asked him questions to engage him. In the end, the man gave his life to Christ as Lord and Savior. So I invited him to come and live with me and my family for a month…..

“I am also using this Bible story method in our weekly Bible studies and in our weekly staff devotions with Favor of God in Gulu. Later this summer, we are planning on training all our staff and field workers in N Uganda….”- M O-New Life Bible College w/ Favor of God, Uganda .

Ministry to Illiterates in Sudan Impact: “We are so exited about the opportunity we had to attend this training in Nairobi. Please thank all the donors who helped make it possible for us to attend this training. It was so useful to help us understand the Bible better. We are now able to also train those who don’t read. We want you to know that although we just got home, we have already started this training in our ministry in Sudan.” -R & J, Truth & Life Ministries, Sudan.

Vital Discovery Impact: After the STS workshop in Kenya, a church planter who attended shared a wise observation. This man, strong in theological training, let go of his city business to minister, but in four years he has seen little fruit in his rural village work. To come to this workshop he traveled two days by camel, one day by "airbus" (hitching a ride on the top of a passing truck) and one day by bus! He loved what he learned in the workshop, feeling empowered! He stated, "I have been teaching what others taught me, but until this training I did not know how to learn from the Bible. I now see that I cannot take people to a place where I have not yet been.”

Not Any More!: So, Friends of God’s Story, thanks for your prayers and support. For us, this is a signal time in missions and open door. The ongoing retelling of the Bible stories, the impact of God’s Story on DVD and audio, and the solar players is carrying the Gospel to the far regions of the earth.

This week we received the recorded God’s Story narration for a people living in Timbuktu, which was once considered the hardest to reach place on earth. Not any more!

In His mercy, Dorothy A. Miller

A Defining Moment for Our Continent

Prayer & Praise Report #4,  2008

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Dear Friends of God’s Story,

Before recounting our amazing African adventure, let me mention that it is not just in Africa or Asia that God is drawing people to His Word through God’s Story and Simply The Story. If you want to see how pastors in the USA are using STS, try the link on our home page www.SimplyTheStory.com “USA Pastor Discovers Impact of Oral Strategy.” As well, go to the link on left “Downloads-Radio, STS & More” to hear great interviews of Asian & African nationals using these tools. Interviews aired on podcast done by www.Story4All.com and radio by www.friendshops.org

Selecting words to share our 17-day trip to Africa presents a challenge. How does one describe a handshake with a man who looks earnestly into your eyes as he says, “You don’t know how much this training means to me.” The grip lingers on, as if holding on to my hand longer will prove his depth of gratitude.

Days later emails from Africa began arriving. “You have shared us blessings (Storytelling) you received from our Holy Father. I wish you the age of Methuselah! I have started telling story. Everyone found it fascinating.” [Ethiopia]

“...Am very excited about what the Lord is doing through the storytelling strategies. It is a defining moment in our continent in many ways.” [Kenya]

“          i just returned home from a church

that i was preaching.it was in a village and normaly when they hear of a guest speaker even the vilagers that dont normaly attend shows up.i gave the story of the man with shriveled hand and involved the congregatn.14 got saved and i prayed for the leadership they said that they saw themselves like

pharisees.thanks for exposing me to orality.” [Uganda]

By God’s grace we trained over 200 attendees from 12 countries. Ghana, Nigeria, Cote d’Ivoire, Kenya, Tanzania, South Africa, Sudan, Uganda, Ethiopia, Zambia, Australia, & USA. Attendees ranged from evangelists serving in remote villages to national Christian leaders. Ages ranged from 5 years old to a few in their 70's. Most were literate. Believers new in the Lord studied Bible stories alongside seminary professors.

Those who use God’s Story in many different countries excitedly shared reports of salvations. Typical was a man sets up viewings among Mu.slims. He told of seeing 72 Mus.lims coming to faith from watching GS. These converts are now walking with the Lord. Too, the interest and excitement over Simply The Story frankly is overwhelming.

Besides the workshops, we had opportunity to use STS in rural settings and in city churches. Once village in which we did this STS presentation of Scripture through telling Bible stories and leading probing discussions was Ekalakala. On nine other days, Bram... had brought a team to a centrally located church in this region and trained the people in STS. “When we first came there, ‘church’ was

singing as they knew little about the Bible. Now these pastors are seeing salvations and growth,” reported Bram....

Picture This: You enter a village church filled with about 60 people from the Comba tribe. There wait 15 pastors representing 11different churches. You notice that the men wear their finest to church, coats and ties. Most coats look several sizes too large and hang loosely on the thin-framed people. As you look closely, you notice frayed sleeves and trousers worn thin. Who knows how many have used these same “Sunday clothes.”

Hippo Time: The teaching must end by 4:00 pm so that the attendees can cross the river to return home before the hippos come out. Also, most in the church face a four hour walk to return to their round mud- hut homes.

While there, Bram... tells as a story Genesis 35:1-5. Listeners note that Jacob gathered all of the idols held by his family, but then hid those pagan items under the oak tree in Shechem. As those gathered in the church discuss Jacob’s actions, one lady stands up and excitedly points while saying something in Comba. An interpreter whispers to you, “The lady is saying, “We are Christians now. We still have our fetishes hidden away. We must not hide them anymore. We must destroy them!’” [You have just witnessed the power of God’s stories to speak messages to the center of people’s worldview!]

A New Kind of Circus: The day after our village trip to Ekalakala, I was invited to speak in a Sunday morning service. This church, in a circus tent, sits on the edge of the 2nd largest slum in Africa. The pastor is a bishop from Nairobi who left his big city church to plant churches in the slums. The attendance in Bishop Charles' church was maybe 70 or so, but only one other car besides ours and the bishop's was parked in the lot. They walked to church from their shanties.

After a lot of rousing Kenyan style praise & worship music in Swahili and English, I told the story of the bent over woman found in Luke 13:10-17. The participation in the discussion that followed this Bible story was animated. The attendees loved seeing how this woman who had been kept bent over for 18 years by the power of Satan was healed by Jesus. Jesus only said, "You are loosed from your ailment." Then He laid hands on her and the woman instantly straightened up, then glorified God.

Those in church were amazed to see how in the story the leader of the synagogue was incensed because Jesus healed on the Sabbath day! We discussed how amazing it was that this leader cared nothing about the woman who was healed, and instead classified the touch and words of Jesus as "work."

Jesus says, "You hypocrites. You all untie your animals on the Sabbath and lead them to water. Shouldn't this woman, this daughter of Abraham who had been bound by Satan for 18 years be untied on the Sabbath? The story of the bent woman ends with, "The enemies of Jesus were ashamed, but the people rejoiced over the glorious things that were done by Jesus."

After those in the congregation spoke out their observations and personal applications of this story, I decided to wind it up by asking this active crowd one summary question. When people have been very responsive during the STS discussion, a summary question always receives a good response. So I asked. "What in this story spoke to you personally?"

Silence....

Deciding to help encourage some kind of response I said, "Sooo, does it speak to you that the crippled women came to Jesus as she was?" or          "Does the way Jesus showed His power over Satan's power speak

to you?" Nothing....

Try as I might, no one responded. In desperation I made eye contact with our East Africa director Bram..., sort of begging for him to break the silence and say something to get the answers to start flowing again. He just stared back at me! I was at a loss as this lack of any response from a crowd, who had been freely answering questions, did not make sense. I was asking the Lord what to do with this strange and unexpected situation when suddenly some men jumped up and hurried to something or someone in the 3rd row of the church.

Man Down...Quickly many men were praying over a person who was down having some kind of convulsive attack. They were calling in the name of Jesus for demons to come out. The rest of us prayed...fervently. After about 5 minutes (that felt like hours) the fallen man was up. Then the bishop gave an invitation and the young man walked forward for prayer.

Later I told Bram..., "I have never had people not respond like that. Then, when I looked at you for help, you just looked back at me!" Bram... answered, "That was so strange. I had an answer, but I could not speak and didn't know why."

This unexplained silence, Bram...'s inability to speak and the sudden attack          it became clear that the

story of the bent woman, the way Satan had bound the woman (but his power had been overridden by Jesus), had just been rerun in front of us.

Welcome to Africa! The Word of God "is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart."

The whole time in Africa was like this. Even during the training while the 200 attendees learned how to do inductive Bible study oral style, we watched people discover personal applications in God’s Word.

The best way to share these Africa experiences with you is to show you letters we are receiving from those we trained. (Excerpts below)

[From Influential Ministry Leader in Kenya] “Oh what do I say. I went to three Bible schools. I teach theology in Bible school and facilitate discipleship program in Africa. But what I saw and heard in only two days was awesome.

“The story, and storying in style !! it is real, the Bible comes or oozes from the bottom. The treasure are there BUT you have to dig them out.

“Personally , I felt challenged, Blessed, humbled on how I have made Bible story become stone rather than God's story to His people. God help us!

“I have already mobilized all my program directors to catch this new wave and tool for discipleship among the unreached and even those who need a new, fresh touch from God.

“Thanks for opening our eyes to see the nuggets in the Holy Word.

“Thanks to all who sponsored us to attend the Big Story day. Thanks Thanks.”

[Kenyan Youth Worker] “Glory be to God for bringing you to Kenya such a time when we were thirsty and hungry for the word of God to come out in a different revelation and you guys did it. may God bless your work. Whatever you are doing to nations its not in vain. the world is going to be changed by His word.”

[Ministry Leader in Uganda] “Greetings. Am so grateful for the opportunity of attending the Orality conference in Nairobi Kenya. By God's grace I was able to Go. I had no idea what Orality was and for sure it didn’t know what to expect.” “When the first session was over, I was left puzzled and really

wondered where this treasure had been hidden for that long. I discovered a better simple and easy to learn to learn inductive bible study. I also discovered a very down to earth tool for evangelism.

“After the 3 days in the conference, it was time to get back to the field and implement what I had learned. I arrived on Thursday night in Uganda and on Friday morning I was in class and I was burning to share the treasure that I had just discovered. Normally our lessons in our leadership training goes for one and a half hours but that day, when the time keeper rang the bell, the whole class booed at him not to disturb him because they wanted us to continue with the story of Martha and Mary.

“As we applied the nuggets of what we learnt, the pastor stated weeping and saying we have been like Martha busy bodies and not taking time at the feet of Jesus to acquire what will not be taken from us.

“On Sunday I preached in a church and shared the same story and 5 people came to the Lord.”

[Kenyan Young Person] “Oooh, i dont know where to start, guess what? I have started implementing the training in the school where i study. i have told the story to some of my school mates and they are finding it so interesting. I was so happy the other day when i was talking to my friend whose mother was not saved and the mother came and found us talking. she sat down where my friend and i were. i just remembered the story Dorothy was telling us about martha and mary, i started telling her the story. my friends mother was so annoyed at martha for not listening and for being rude to Jesus.

“After that i told her that she was like Martha because she had not accepted Christ. she started crying for being like martha, being rude to Christ, and for not listening to him.

“Guess what happened next? she asked me to lead her to Christ! I am so happy that God is touching so many through the Gods story method. so far i have shared a story with two different people and they have both given their lives to Christ. The young man in Nairobi who gave his life to Christ is Ken and my friends mother name is Priscilla. i pray that many more will come to Christ.

“I plan on sharing this method with my school where I am studying and in our local church.”

[Like Bush Fire] I just got back from Sheshemane, Ethiopia. The conference was good. I was invited as one of the speakers. So I told stories in my two sessions ( The leper, David and Goliath). The response was so powerful. One was the things that touched people in the story of David and Goliath is that God uses seemingly weak instrumentalities, then whatever experience God allows us to go through, it is never wasted rater God uses it to build our faith to deal with bigger problems. Many people were healed and delivered from demonic oppression.

I met a church planter who is an oral communicator (He cannot read or write). He has been struggling as he told me through an interpreter how to get access to God's word. I gave him a player with God's Story on it and trained him how to use it, he could only but shed tears of joy. He has a group of 25 illiterate disciples. I'll be going to train them next month on STS. Several other local churches who were present told me this is what they need. so they are coming up with dates when We could train them. It is spreading like bush fire.

Thank you for your prayers and support. It is the Body of Christ at work!

Dorothy A. Miller

TGSP Executive Director