God used Bro. Larry Landress and Holiness in Mexico last year to provide a well built, sturdy yet reasonably priced Bible with a concordance in a reliable translation for the Spanish speaking people. This Bible has been and will continue to be a blessing to several missionary efforts and is a great blessing to the individuals that receive them.
As Bro. Landress was raising money for Bibles last year I knew this needed to be an ongoing project. This is what I wrote then on the blog.
I believe they are making a wise choice to print these Bibles. I believe it enough to put my money where my mouth is. Boggs Family Ministries will be sending an offering for these Bibles. I believe God's people will make up the difference that they need.
I also believe this should be an ongoing thing. Bro. Larry will need at least a few thousand of these each year. Plus there are other missionaries and ministries that could distribute this version combined with the concordance once they know it is available.
It is not that there are no economy Bibles available or very nice leather Bibles available. But as you will read below there is a great need for an inexpensive yet durable study Bible in a reliable version. Bro. Larry is burdened to meet that need.
Bro. Larry has expanded the helps in these Bibles and is ready to order 10,000 more of them. We received a newsletter from Holiness In Mexico this week and I have asked Bro. Landress for permission to publish it here. If you would like to help buy Bibles that would be awesome. You know that I believe in Bro. and Sis. Landress 100%.
Davy
Holiness In Mexico
Larry Landress
P.O. Box 717, Pauls Valley, OK 73075 405-268-0051
Dear Friends,
On one of my very first trips to visit Mexico, Rose and the girls and I prepared ourselves with candy for the children and used clothing for everybody. Here in the USA it is easy to find candies of all kinds on sale cheap and everybody is willing to donate clothing and shoes to the needy. We are such a blessed people here despite all our problems. That hot July day brought a large group of excited children waiting impatiently for the girls to hand out candy and I spread a tarp on the ground and dumped out several large trash bags full of clothing for the women to pick through. I had also found a few Bibles in Spanish at garage sales and thrift stores and they were in a box on a table near by. While children shrieked and laughed over the candy and the mothers picked through the piles of clothing, one elderly lady asked about a Bible. My interpreter directed her to the cardboard box on the table and we continued to watch the fun of the children. I felt so glad to be able to give them a special treat. After a while I noticed that the old lady was still in front of the box of Bibles. I went to her with my interpreter and asked her didn’t she want some clothes or candy. She replied with a question of her own. Whose are these Bibles? I said They are for anyone who wants one. She asked, “How much do they cost?” I said they are free, you can have any one of them you want. After picking up all of them one at a time, she finally hugged a red one to her chest and walked off mumbling to herself. I asked my interpreter what she was saying and he said she was repeating over and over “A Bible for me, my own Bible to keep and read anytime I want to.” That image was burnt into my head that day and I have never forgotten it.
Last year, for the first time, we had a well built Bible with concordance printed in China to take the place of all the glued paper Bibles without any helps that most missionaries have used for years. It was the Reina Valera Gomez Spanish Bible which is the most accurate Bible available, in fact, it reads exactly like the King James Bible does in English and had a 122 page concordance. God supplied the funds through His people and those Bibles have been distributed in several Spanish speaking countries. This year we have put together a study Bible with concordance, glossary, maps, center references on each page and words of Christ in red. This Bible is Smyth sewn on Bible paper with a flexible imitation leather cover. If we order 10,000 of them they will cost $5.40 each. For less than the cost of one cheeseburger combo meal at McDonalds you can put a good quality study Bible in the hands of someone like that old Sister in Mexico. Will you help? By the time you receive this newsletter I will have already placed the order. By the generosity of God’s people we already have $24,000 in the Bible account. After the order is made we have about 60 days to come up with the other $30,000. This is a cooperative effort between several missionaries. We are working together to get the Word of God into the hands of as many Spanish speaking people as possible. Write your check to Holiness In Mexico Inc. to get a tax deductible receipt and put Bibles in the memo line. Every dollar you send like this will be put in our special Bible account and used to purchase these Bibles.
Larry Landress
