“Guide me in your truth and teach

me, for you are God my Saviour, and

my hope is in you all day long.”
Psalm 25:5
Volume 22, #3 • Spring 2010

True Stories About the Holy Spirit Working Through You

Cambodia: Encountering God in a Pit Philippines: The Value of Teaching God’s Love
India: The Unexpected Gift
 Our mission
We are called by God
to provide Scriptures
and training worldwide
so that people prepared
by the Holy Spirit
will be brought into
fellowship with
Christ and His Church.
If you have a question,
please write to
The Bible League of Canada
or email us.
3067 Mainway • Box 5037
Burlington, ON • L7R 3Y8
905.319.9500 – local
1.800.363.WORD (9673) – toll free
ministry@bibleleague.ca
www.bibleleague.ca
a personal note...
From the President
“This service that you perform is not only supplying
the needs of God’s people but is also overflowing in
many expressions of thanks to God.”
2 C o r i n thia n s 9 : 1 2
While we have not had the joy of meeting yet, I want to thank you for your faithful
partnership with the Bible League. I have been deeply impacted by what God is doing
through your partnership, and I am humbled by how God has placed me in the role of
servant to the Bible League of Canada.
Your gifts are producing incredible fruit. In this short report, you will read about Savita, an
Indian woman whose life was changed through Bible-based literacy training. You will also
read about dedicated volunteers in the Philippines who walk through jungles and mountains
to teach children the truth of God’s saving grace. And you will read about Lim Phanny, a
Church Planter in Cambodia who once hated Christians but now trains Church Planters.
Without partners like you, we would not have seen God do so much. Through your
faithfulness, God has accomplished something great; many lives have been touched, including
mine. You have been caught up by the work of God and by the love for His Word. Because of
you I have been caught up as well. I can see why it is so important to you and I am sure this
is why you continue to give. And God will continue to do great things through you!
There are numerous changed lives to learn about, countless testimonies about how God’s
Word has made a difference. People who have been given a better chance at this life and
an introduction to eternal life. Christ’s finished work at the Cross and at the empty tomb has
made this possible.
The past has been fulfilling, the present is exciting and the future is powerful. I look
forward to serving with you for a long time. Will you continue to partner with us and see
many more people come to Christ and give thanks to God?
For all the touched lives, and from my heart, thank you!
The Joy Report is published four times per year to inform partners about the specific results of their gifts and prayers.
Permission is granted to copy, re-publish, and/or distribute the information in this issue as long as The Bible League of
Canada is credited. For the safety of our co-workers in various countries, we ask that you do not post this information on the
internet. Additional copies of this newsletter may be obtained by contacting P.O. Box 5037, Burlington, Ontario, L7R 3Y8,
1.800.363.9673, ministry@bibleleague.ca. All Scripture quotes are taken from the NIV.
 Encountering God in a Pit
Giving Hope to Hundreds of People in Cambodia
“My soul thirsts
for God, for the
living God.”
Psalm 42:2
> To help train Christians in South East
Asia to plant churches in their
communities, please see the response
form included with this report.
> You can also give online at
www.bibleleague.ca or by phone
1.800.363.9673
Lim Phanny is a former Buddhist
who used to live in a Cambodian
refugee camp. It was here that he
met a Christian who told him about
Jesus Christ. Hearing about this
“living God” made him so angry
that he tied up the Christian and
mocked him, saying, “If this God is
true and living, let Him help you!”
One day, Lim Phanny hid in a pit
to escape soldiers who were going
to send him to a different camp. He
awoke to the sound of a voice outside,
saying “Come to me, all of you who
are weary and loaded down with
burdens, and I will give you rest."
asia
After hearing the Words of God,
Lim Phanny’s life completely changed.
He lost his fear of the soldiers, and
was filled with the peace of the Holy
Spirit. He began to share the Good
News of Jesus Christ with others.
Though Lim Phanny once hated
the name of Jesus Christ, God has
used Lim Phanny for over twenty
years as a church planter, bringing
hope to hundreds of men and
women in Cambodia. Now Lim
Phanny works with The Bible League
as a church planter trainer, training
other Christian leaders to establish
churches in their communities.
 Values Education is a program that
provides Bible-based classes to over
30,000 Filipino children in schools
across the Philippines. Nearly 400
trained national volunteers follow a
laid-out curriculum, teaching children
about God and His love.

The Value of teaching God’s love

Mountain Province was one of the
most difficult to reach with the gospel.
Paganism controlled people’s lives
for centuries. The Values Education
Program (VEP) is only the beginning
of a deliverance of the people from
paganism and great poverty.
“These children see the value of
going to church and hearing God’s
Word,” a teacher says. “Teachers and
parents are so thankful.”
“I thank God for sending volunteer-teachers for our values classes.
Whatever they are teaching our students, I know it must be good
because I see the change, the impact on my students.”
In the beginning, high school
students would just walk out of
the classroom without permission
and not return; some students
played cards while the teacher was
talking. But after much prayer and
perseverance from the volunteer
instructors and the parents, these
students are learning respect,
honesty and obedience.
“I thank God for sending
volunteer-teachers for our values
classes. Whatever they are teaching
our students, I know it must be good
because I see the change, the impact
on my students. I used to get angry
a lot because my students were
noisy, disrespectful, un-attentive and
sarcastic. After a few months, I began
to see the change in their attitude
and most of all, a positive change in
their academic performance. I am
confident to give credit to the values
classes. The volunteer teachers
are doing a good job in teaching
the children about God and godly
values. The students in my class
even volunteer to lead prayer before
asia
we begin the day. My students are of Jesus Christ. They continue
teaching me also. God bless the VEP to work wholeheartedly, walking
and their workers.” many miles through rough terrain
Last October, the endurance of the to teach the children the truth of
Filipino volunteer instructors was God’s saving grace. Nothing is more
severely tested. A typhoon swept the important than the thousands of
South China Sea and smashed into young hearts waiting to hear about
Luzon Island, killing hundreds and the God who loves them.
destroying the homes and livelihoods > To help give Filipino children the
of many in the northern Philippines. opportunity to learn about Jesus,
please see the response form included
Because of the typhoon, the VEP with this report.
classes were suspended in October
> You can also give online at
for up to two weeks across the island
www.bibleleague.ca or by phone
of Luzon as people recovered from 1.800.363.9673
their losses.
“This incident has made me realize
the urgency of praying for my pupils
and for their salvation,” shares a
grieving volunteer teacher, after
learning that one of his students had
lost six family members in the typhoon.
Despite the hardships and tragedies
the typhoon has caused, the volunteer
teachers and pastors are thankful
for the opportunities God has given
them to reach out to the people in
their communities with the message
The Unexpected Gift
Like many of India’s often invisible and
marginalized women, Savita never
learned to read.

Savita married at 13. She believed she had finally

escaped the poverty and loneliness that plagued her
childhood. But Savita was wrong. She quickly became
a very young mother to two children. Her husband
couldn’t earn enough to support the family—so she had
to spend hours working alongside him in the fields
for less than 50 cents a day.
Even the family’s devotion to their
household gods did not relieve their
burdens. Instead, Savita and her husband
lived in fear of angering the gods and
suffering even more misery.
Then Savita received an unexpected gift—she was
invited to join an Adult Literacy Class.
 asia
“Show me your ways, O LORD, teach me your paths.”
Psalm 25:4

Savita felt shy and nervous the
first night. But as the weeks passed
she excelled in her studies. Soon,
she was helping other classmates
with their lessons! Savita didn’t
want to keep this gift to herself! She
often counseled other women in the
village on the benefits of learning
how to read and write. She also
learned to keep her home clean and
free of disease, and became a role
model to her neighbours.
Savita says the most important gift
she received was God’s gift of salvation.
The Bible-based literacy lessons
introduced Savita to Jesus, and today
Savita is joyfully following him. Her
husband is curious to know more
about the Saviour who brought such
dramatic changes to his wife.
Savita is praying that her whole
family will choose to follow Jesus.
> To give women like Savita the
opportunity to learn about God’s gift
of salvation, please see the response
form included with this report.
> You can also give online at
www.bibleleague.ca or by phone
1.800.363.9673

Soon, she was

helping other
classmates with
their lessons!
Savita didn’t
want to keep this
gift to herself!
a day of You will hear firsthand accounts from our
partners on the frontlines of faith. You will

inspiration!
hear the passion, the struggles, the satisfac-
tion and the joy of bringing God’s message of
salvation to those hungry to hear the gospel
of Jesus Christ. Partners from ministries
Date: May 27, 2010 representing all the regions where TBLC is
Time: Noon until 8pm (a complimentary lunch and dinner will be provided) involved will give compelling presentations.
Where: Bingemans Conference Centre Each of the five access platforms (Church
Planter Training, Adult Bible-based Literacy,
425 Bingemans Centre Drive, Kitchener, ON N2B 3X7
Children’s Ministry, Scripture Placement and
To Register: online at www.bibleleague.ca, email ministry@bibleleague.ca or Discipleship Resources) will be highlighted.
call The Bible League of Canada at 1.800.363.9673.
Registration deadline is May 7! Please join us for this remarkable event.

Remembering someone special through a memorial gift is a thoughtful

CelebratingLife
way to honour their life. Your memorial gift will make a difference in
the life of someone who will receive the gift of God’s Word.

In Memory Mr David Pressley Mrs Aafke Haveman Eugene Tracey

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Rev Harold Reid
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You may make your special memorial or celebration gift by calling 1.800.363.9673 or donate online at www.bibleleague.ca