Sri Lanka (MNN) ― Unusually heavy monsoon rains flooded Sri Lanka, displaced hundreds of thousands and indirectly had an impact on a response project for Myanmar's cyclone victims.
World Bible Translation Center's Tom McGregor says they've committed to printing 50,000 New Testaments. Working with a mission printing organization in Sri Lanka and a major literature distribution team in Thailand, WBTC hopes to provide Myanmar with the light of God's Word.
Their printer is in the area where flooding has been bad. However, "The place that is printing them is on higher ground, so they're not really affected by the floods except for the employees who had been affected by the floods. They are having a little problem with the paper since it is stored in warehouses and since the humidity is very high right now in the area."
Three of their workers had to leave their homes due to floodwaters in excess of three feet. One worker moved upstairs and had to use his cell phone to call for food. Another worker took food to the employee and had to wade through waist-deep water for about a quarter mile.
Other than a small delay, the printing schedule is on track again. But the Translation Center still needs to raise $2 for each New Testament printed. They want to get them into Burma before the door slams closed. "There's a lot of the workers that are out there calling on the people and working with them, and a lot of the evangelists that all they can do is turn toward the Word of God."
These New Testaments will now be printed and shipped from Sri Lanka, gathered at a staging area in Bangkok, Thailand, enter Myanmar at Yangon (Myanmar's capital), and then fan out all over the country for free distribution. Many church leaders and congregations have made pleas for copies of God's Word.
Please pray for protection and no further delays on printing of the New Testaments.
