In the midst of the killing, horror, and violence in Syria, our children need biblical teaching to learn to do what is right and to grow up in the ways of the Lord.
A parent from the Armenian Orthodox Church, Damascus
Damascus, Syria, February 2015: “When I used to go to Sunday School, we didn’t have our own children’s Bibles. The teacher used to put up some pictures on a ‘sticky’ cloth and sometimes chose one of the kids to help her. As a Sunday School teacher myself, I am so grateful for the Bible Society in the Gulf for providing each Armenian child, even in war-torn Syria, with their personal copy of a Bible that they can read and illustrate themselves.”
This is how one of the Sunday School teachers in the Armenian Orthodox Church in Damascus described her joy and thankfulness to the BSG for the production and free distribution of Make-Your-Own Children’s Bible in Armenian.
Also, this is how one of the parents expressed their appreciation after the distribution of the Bibles to all the children in the Church: “For me, one of the unique characteristics of this amazing book is that it engages our children’s imagination to create their own illustrated Bible, a Bible that they will keep as their own and get back to as they grow up physically and spiritually. Thank you.”
Make-Your-Own Children’s Bible is a faithful account of more than 150 stories from the Bible. Written in simple language by Michael Landgraf and adapted to Armenian by Dr. Arda Jebejian, it is ideal for early readers. Line drawings give hints about faces, landscapes, and symbols that appear in the stories. Children are then free to use their creative skills to complete the pictures. The 160 pages include maps of the Old and New Testament times.
“This book brings Bible stories to life for young children. This is the kind of book we need for our children. In these times of uncertainty, war, shells, and bullets, this book gives us and our children hope and comfort,” said another parent with tears in her eyes.
“What I liked most about this book is that it covers stories from both Testaments. After all, in 2 Timothy 3:16 we read, ‘all scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting, and training in righteousness’. In the midst of all the killings, horror, and violence in Syria, our children need biblical teaching to learn to do what is right and to grow up in the ways of the Lord,” said a parent who expressed his deep appreciation to the BSG for getting copies of Make-Your-Own Children’s Bible into Syria despite the raging war.
After the successful distribution of Make-Your-Own Children’s Bible in Aleppo, more copies were distributed to the students of three Armenian schools in Damascus: the Armenian National College of the Translators, Gulbenkian Harachabah School, and Armenian United National School.
His Eminence Bishop Armash Nalbandian, Primate of the diocese of the Armenian Church in Damascus, wrote a thank-you letter to the General Secretary Dr. Hrayr Jebejian expressing his and his diocese’s thankfulness: “Please, be assured that we highly appreciate your generous gift of the Make-Your-Own Children’s Bible in Armenian to all our school children. Not only the children were greatly elated but also the teachers. Our children and their parents are hurting right now. This Bible will make a great difference in their life. It will inspire them with hope, love, and care. May God bless you and bless the Bible Society.”
The BSG distributed 5000 copies of Make-Your-Own Children’s Bible free of charge to all 5-10 year-old children in day schools, Saturday schools, and Sunday schools in Cyprus, Greece, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Syria,Egypt, UAE, Qatar,Kuwait and Turkey. This was possible through the generous contribution of the German Bible Society towards this project. Our purpose is to reach out to young people in an ever-changing culture and challenging times with the message of the Bible in an attractive, compelling format. The book includes a users’ manual to help parents and teachers to engage 5-10-year-olds with the Bible.
The Bible Society in the Gulf is committed to making the Bible available to Christian communities in the Arabian Gulf countries it serves. The Christian communities in the Gulf come from a wide variety of countries, of different ethnic and culture groups, speaking many different languages. As well as publishing, distributing the Bible in 60 languages, and organizing Bible Engagement seminars, the BSG partners with the Churches and helps people to read and understand the Bible.
