January-March
2011
 At
the beginning of this new year we would like to share with
you an encouraging report recently received from Tatarstan.
It is always a joy to hear how our books are being distributed
and used in the areas.
Some Tatar churches are aiming to spread
the news about the Bible throughout Tatarstan. Church members
talk with people they meet, and if somebody is especially
interested they receive a Bible portion in Tatar, or even
a Children's Bible, or a New Testament. So far the churches
have covered one third of the country. That is quite a lot,
considering that four million people live in Tatarstan.
In October there was a six-day Christian
festival called “Time to live” in Kazan, the capital of
Tatarstan. The city authorities gave their permission for
this event, which took place in a park. The main activities
were in the evening when many young people were around,
and during the day literature and Scriptures were distributed
to passers-by.
Below is the testimony of one of the Christian
women who participated:
“I had heard of the Bible but had never
been interested in it. I just knew that it had something
to do with Christianity. I grew up in Soviet times when
information about religion was very scarce. But one day
in the 90s I watched a cartoon about Jesus on TV and this
made a great impression on me. Just about the same time
my sister became involved in Bible translation into Tatar.
Through her I helped with the testing of some of the books.
After that there were quite a few events and difficulties
in my life, all of which resulted in my baptism in 2007.
“You ask if the Bible is needed in Tatar.
Well, I studied up to the 8th grade in Tatar, and for me
this is my mother tongue. Of course I can read in Russian,
but the Bible is sometimes difficult to understand, and
for me the Tatar text is a lot easier – and I was not even
brought up in the countryside, where people speak only Tatar.
For approximately half a million of our people who live
in villages Tatar is the basic language, and they certainly
need the Bible in their language. Nowadays great attention
is paid to the Tatar language in school – more hours are
given to Tatar than to Russian. The authorities are trying
to make up for what was lost in language learning for the
previous generation. It is clear that young men and women
living in the cities know Tatar much better than their parents
do.
“It is also important what the Bible looks
like. For historical reasons there is a lot of prejudice
among Tatars against the cross. So it is good that the New
Testament has a green cover with oriental decoration, and
not a cross.
“I always read my Bible! I sometimes wonder
how I could manage without this book. I try to encourage
my children to read it and hope that they will also take
it as a guide for their lives.”
Work on the complete Bible in Tatar is
in progress. We are grateful for your support for this project
in 2011.
Thank
you for supporting Bible translation in Russia and the CIS
also
in 2011!
for
donations from USA
Tax
deductible gifts for IBT Russia/CIS can be made payable
to:
God's Word for the Nations
On behalf of IBT-Russia/CIS
PO
Box 1259
Rolla,
MO 65402
U.S.A.
You
may state a project preference using the form below or make
a donation for the project with the greatest need.
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