One of my clearest memories, from working at ABH on school breaks, remains the day we received our first batch of mini books. Juliet (ABH staff member), and Yusuph (church planter with e3 Partners), prepared to go on a team ministry trip to Tanzania. Weeks before their departure, we anxiously anticipated the arrival of the 4,000 mini books set to travel along with them.
The wonder of online tracking provided us a clue as to which day the books would arrive. When the bell rang in the middle of the appointed day, we all jumped up and ran to the door. There they were! Seven unassuming boxes containing thousands of books we believed God would use to change people’s lives.
Some of the books sleekly packed a basic message about God while others explained God’s healing plan for sexual abuse survivors. Written in English and translated into Swahili, the truth in these books carried potential to save people’s souls.
As we unpacked the boxes, we thought and prayed about those who would receive each pocket-sized book. We held the tiny missives in our palms and imagined them going half way around the world. Excitement filled the office the rest of the afternoon.
We sent them off, trusting God to use them to his glory. When Juliet returned with countless stories of the books’ impact, we saw God had not only used these bite-size books to change people’s lives, but to transform them. Many had come to know Christ, and even as the team members left to come home, the books stayed to continue their work of spreading truth.
We found through this first experience, that bite-sized books carry several advantages. First, their compactness allows ABH to easily transport them to places that need resources. Second, the compressed content allows people from all different educational backgrounds to absorb the truth in the books. Third, the low price of these bite-sized books allows donor dollars to go even further, for greater impact.
ABH staff and ministry partners continue to work on material for new bite-sized books. Consider the old saying, “dynamite comes in small packages”. I believe these truth-saturated books are the small packages God will use to bring dynamite transformation to Tanzania in 2017.
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