Full disclosure: this is going to be an unusual ministry update. The story is very sensitive. We can’t even share the names of the countries or partners involved. The risk is simply too high. Brave Muslim background believers could lose their lives. The ministries supporting them could be shut down.
Still, what a story this is.
Since joining Biblica in April 2021, I have seen so many creative ways that God uses to get Bibles into seemingly impossible places: youth outreach and trauma healing in the refugee camps of Lebanon and Kurdistan; Gospel outreach to travelers from closed Gulf nations; biblical TV broadcasting into Iran and Afghanistan.
One location in MENA has remained on Biblica’s ministry priority list. Yet continual war, radical Islam, and prohibitive import restrictions have made it impossible to send in God’s Word.
Until last year.
God made a way for thousands of Biblica Bibles to enter one of the most closed countries in the world!
In the beginning of 2023, a once-in-a-lifetime transport opportunity suddenly unfolded with a tight deadline for printing and loading the Bibles. Biblica’s team pushed the limits to get 6,500 Bibles ready in early February.
The Bibles’ cover pages had no titles to help disguise the treasure carried within their pages. These Bibles began their journey and moved undercover.
Why prioritize this precious but dangerous shipment? One underground Bible worker in the destination country explains: “In a realm where digital Bibles are prevalent, the printed Scriptures hold unparalleled value. Here, a deep reverence for tradition and the written word prevails, and the possession of God’s Word is regarded with a profound sense of sanctity and respect.”
For the next nine months, we watched and waited, occasionally contacting the few people involved. But no-one had any news. The Bibles had travelled 2,820 nautical miles to a port in a country neighboring their destination. They had been unloaded; no-one knew anything more.
In November, through a series of God inspired connections, we heard from one of the team leaders working in the area that Biblica’s Bibles had arrived! And not only had they arrived, but five Bibles had been strategically placed where thousands of seekers can now find them and the eternal truths contained within their pages.
Biblica’s staff and investors prayed passionately for the opening of this tightly locked door — and God answered. Let’s pray together for hungry hearts to find these hidden treasures and meet Jesus!
