Winter 2016

I stole this BibleFeed the minds of pastors in Cambodia

Equip Christian writers in Turkey

A lasting gift in Kenya

Send Lilián to Mexico

Ignite WHERETHE GOSPELIS PREACHED BOOKSARE NEEDED++

Channa Touch is a pastor and advocate for Christian books in rural Cambodia.

• f SparkLit

My wife never stops readingGod has blessed me with a wonderful wife. Together with the Holy Spirit we pastor a church in Tameang village. Books give us access to other people’s experience and enable us to help people with problems that we have never faced.

I am often asked to preach spontaneously, without warning. People ask me, ‘How can you do that?’ I reply, ‘I am always prepared, because I am always reading.’ If I don’t expose myself to new ideas I will run out of things to say. Every time I read I discover something new.

To apply biblical truth to daily life I always tell stories. People ask me ‘Where do all these stories come from?’ I say, ‘Here! Read this book!’ If they read they can know more than me. I encourage my people to read. If necessary I pay for the books myself. I want them to grow and to work for God’s kingdom.

We are here but for a short time. To advance God’s kingdom we must multiply ourselves.

Channa Touch and his wife Simy Srean pastor the Heartland Church and distribute Fount of Wisdom books in Kampong Cham Province.

C A M B O D I A

I stole this BibleYou can help Channa Touch feed the minds of pastors in Cambodia.

My mother resisted invitations to go to church. But one day, to appease her sister my mother sent me instead. Everything about it was weird and unacceptable. After the service, there was a meal. I was given rice, tracts and a Gideons New Testament.

I ate the rice and threw away the tracts but I kept the New Testament. This book was my passport to a weekly meal. After three months I started to read it. I noticed that the New Testament constantly refers to older stories.

I wanted the whole BibleThe pastor said that the Old Testament was not for begin-ners. First I had to read the New Testament.

I was finishing secondary school and preparing to be a Buddhist monk. By reading the whole Bible I was confident that I would expose faults and prove that this foreign reli-gion was a fraud. So I stole a Bible from the church.

While reading Romans the Holy Spirit lovingly taught me that I was sinful and unable to save myself from my rebellious spirit. I knelt down and asked Jesus to forgive me. I fell in love with God’s Word. By day I devoured the Bible. By night I slunk outside and preached to the trees.

Free at lastHinduism and Buddhism came to Cambodia thousands of years ago. They’re in our blood. They permeate and deter-mine everything.

No one wants to become a stranger to their own family and be mocked and rejected. But I now knew that I had been released from a trap. I had been living in fear and trusting in lies. ‘Perform this ritual and you will be protected.’ ‘Make this offering and you will prosper.’ ‘After enough reincarnations you will become perfect.’ I saw that all this achieved nothing. Jesus gives us freedom from fear and a full and meaningful life. Even if they killed me, no one could take this away from me. I couldn’t get away from this truth.

$55will subsidise the purchase by a pastor in rural Cambodia of a $70, eight volume theological and pastoral library.

Simy Srean: ‘Writing that touches the heart is never forgotten. We have books in our church, in our living room and by our bed. Reading exercises the mind and helps us to grow and become wise.’

unsaved. Miras (Inheritance) magazine is easy to read, easy to hide and reaches people who have no access to literature, the internet or a Christian friend. Our authors represent various Turkish churches and ministries. We explain how a Turk can become a Christian. This is a strong message.

It takes courage to write Most Turkish Christian books are translated from western languages and perspectives. We need more books and articles written in our own context and language. This is a difficult climate in which to recruit and nurture new writers. Naturally, potential authors are reluctant to attract atten-tion to themselves.

To help young Turkish writers develop discipline, tech-nique and confidence we are preparing to publish a manual for Christian writers. Will you help us guide and encourage a new generation of Christian authors?

Please pray that by training Christian writers we will extend the good news of Jesus Christ to those who are unsaved in Turkey.

Gökhan Talas is co-founder of Miras Publishing Ministries in Istanbul.

T U R K E Y

Writing can go where people cannotWith your support Gökhan Talas will train a new generation of Christian writers.

I always thought I was a wise man. I was proud to be a socialist and an atheist. Nevertheless, I was curious about God. I grew up in the Alevi sect of Islam but felt dissatisfied and empty. I wanted to understand my existence.

Why are we here? Where are we going?I encountered Jesus for the first time while doing my

military service. I found a Bible in an Islamic centre and read from Genesis to Revelation. It was logical. I saw that Jesus is real. He is alive and eager for us to have a relationship with him. God’s love changed my heart.

More dangerous than terrorismIn Turkey we face a close and real evil. Evangelism is consid-ered a greater threat than terrorism. When I started to believe in Jesus, my commanders burned my Bible. Many of my friends abandoned me. Christians are persecuted daily. Many have to leave their families when they convert. When I try to evangelise on the street the authorities beat me.

After completing my military service I started going to church. I met and married my wife and began training to preach the gospel and support churches. I worked in a radio station preparing programs with the intention to evangelise.

My wife and I moved to Malatya to continue our work. After only eight months five Muslim fanatics entered our office building, held us captive and killed three colleagues, including our pastor. We suffered great grief and trauma. We have lost many brothers and sisters to persecution.

A Turk can become a Christian I moved my family to Istanbul and began to train in graphic design. I decided to use my skills to start a magazine to unite and strengthen isolated believers and reach the

At LittWorld 2015 in Singapore Gökhan Talas (centre), broadcaster and publisher of Turkey’s first and only Christian magazine, meets Kelly Norman and Michael Collie of SparkLit. Photo by Karen Crespo.

$4.5kwill finance the preparation and publication of a manual to guide and encourage new Christian writers in Turkey.

has provided opportunities for me to grow and learn. SparkLit sponsored a LetraViva training event in Buenos Aires in 2011. I continue to use the skills and contacts I acquired there. But I need to deepen my knowledge and develop my skills so that I can do my job more efficiently and effectively.

Opportunities to shareLetraViva is a network of Latin American Christian publishers that provides logistical support, professional development and mutual encouragement. At this year’s LetraViva training event in Mexico, I look forward to learning from the experience of other publishers who share our vision and face the same challenges.

Thank you for supporting Latin American Christian publishers.

Please pray that our ministry will become self-sustaining so that we can dedicate ourselves to our mission.

Pray that in small fellowship groups many people will come to know Jesus and be transformed by the Holy Spirit.

Lilián Robayna Tymoszczuk is manager at Ediciones Crecimiento Cristiano, Villa María, Córdoba, Argentina.

A R G E N T I N A

When ten or twelve gather in Jesus’ nameYou can equip Lilián Robayna to immerse people in God’s Word wherever Spanish is spoken.

Despite being located in provincial Argentina the Bible study guides we publish for home fellowship groups are being used across denominations and continents. This is possible because we have embraced digital technologies. From anywhere in the world, wherever

Spanish is spoken, readers can download an ebook or order books printed locally on demand.

We are just scratching the surface. There is so much unrealised potential. But to be able to concentrate on our mission, our ministry must first become self -sustaining.

Equipped to serveMy name is Lilián Robayna. I am married to Miguel and we have two adult children. We long to see our fellow Argentines saved and steeped in God’s Word.

At our church I help coordinate Christian education for a hundred children, youth and adults. As many come from impoverished homes we reinforce our Bible teaching by also developing personal disciplines and vocational skills. Where possible we use available literature but, to meet the needs of our people, we are often obliged to write our own material. We even write and perform plays and sketches.

I graduated as a preschool teacher but worked for twenty-five years at our local Bible college. I began performing administrative tasks and eventually became responsible for the production of a journal for church leaders called Compromiso Cristiano (Christian Commitment).

Learning on the jobTen years ago I was invited to work with Christian Growth Publishing. For the last three years I have been in charge. I have no formal training in publishing and don’t feel equipped for this role. However, God has been good and

‘I have been transformed by studying the Bible in home fellowship groups. I know that our seventy Bible study guides are effective tools for enabling the church to fulfil the Great Commission in all its aspects.’

$1kwill send a Latin American publishing professional to this year’s Letra-Viva conference in Mexico.

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K E N Y A

The gift of learningYou can help prepare graduates like Harrison Wachanga Gitahi for long-term ministry.

I used to think that studying theology was not only unnecessary but dangerous. I saw priests and pastors who appeared to be indif-ferent to sin. They seemed preoccupied with church management. They had forgotten about outreach, evangelism and repentance. I was convinced that studying theology had

made them apathetic. I thought that study would damage rather than improve my spiritual life and effectiveness as a Christian.

I had to learn to depend on God My name is Harrison Wachanga Gitahi. I am 39, married and a born again Christian. I am now also a third-year theological student at St Andrew’s College of Theology and Development in Kabare.

After serving as a youth leader for many years I came to realise that Christian ministry is not just about winning souls but also about effective leadership, discipleship and service. I needed to prepare for a sustainable and consistent ministry.

Studying theology has opened my eyes to the true nature of God. There was so much beyond my understanding. I was humbled to learn that it is God who sustains me and gives me strength to carry on. I long to use my time, energy and gifts to expose young people to the transforming work of the Holy Spirit.

Beyond the pulpit Books are useful in the classroom but when I leave college they will be indispensable tools. Books will equip me for preaching and also for my ministry away from the pulpit. I will depend on books for my ongoing learning.

Your gift of books will be a great blessing and an encouragement for a long time.

Please pray for the students who graduate from St Andrew’s this year. Pray that we will grow in faith and godliness and lovingly guide those in our care.

Harrison Wachanga Gitahi is a student at St Andrew’s College of Theology and Development, Kabare, Kenya.

$50will provide Bible college graduates in Kenya with a theological reference and a pastoral text.

I G N I T E W I N T E R 2 0 1 6

In the same basket

‘I thank you for making me courageous.’ Saw Edward with SparkLit national director Michael Collie in Yangon.

‘For many years our light has been hidden under a basket. Fortunately, under a new democratic regime censorship has been relaxed. The basket has been taken away. Yet we find that our light is still hidden. There is a second basket. We have assumed this basket ourselves and only we can remove it. We must remove it so that our light might shine before others so that they may see our good works and give glory to our Father who is in heaven.’ With these words Archbishop

Stephen Than Myint Oo expressed his frustration with the timidity of local writers. Fifty years of military repression in Myanmar has discouraged people from expressing what they think or from even thinking at all. Self-censorship has outlived official censorship.

Archbishop Stephen invited me to Yangon to encourage local Christian writers and designers to explore new freedoms with creativity and courage.

In the West, centuries of dominance and achievement have put us to sleep. It seems that the extremes of persecution and indul-gence are equally effective at killing imagination. It is only when we understand ourselves as counter-cultural and exercise a prophetic voice that our light will shine.

So, what does it take for Christians to speak out? Will we only become articulate when we are once again rebels, a harried minority proclaiming the scandal of Jesus to a hostile and uncomprehending audience?

God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and self-discipline (2 Timothy 1:7).

Pray that our creative endeavour will be fuelled by wonder, hope and grace.

Michael Collie National Director michael.collie@sparklit.org• f SparkLit

You can fan the flames of faith today. SparkLit partners rely on the prayers and gifts of passionate Christians like you.• 1 You can provide theological texts and essential reference works to students and pastors where commitment is strong but support and resources are scarce.

$50 will provide Bible college graduates in Kenya with a theological reference and a pastoral text.

$55 will subsidise the purchase by a pastor in rural Cambodia of a $70, eight volume book package.• 2 You can nurture emerging publishers

by providing funds, expertise and encouragement where life-changing Christian writing is needed most.

$4500 will finance the publication of a manual to guide and encourage new Christian writers in Turkey.

$6000 will make possible the publication in Laos of the first Christian books written in Lao by local Christians.• 3 You can equip publishing

professionals by investing in the training and development of promising Christian writers, editors and managers.

$1000 will enable a publish-ing professional to attend this year’s LetraViva training event in Mexico.

Donating = loving. To financially support the work of SparkLit and its partners in difficult places, grab your credit card and visit www.sparklit.org or use the form overleaf.