Audio Bibles for the People of Madagascar
God's Word in Audio - Testimonies
Read below about how important God's Word is in a heart language. So important that people are willing to walk for hours to hear it.
Unsatisfied, Found Jesus
Rija was a traditional healer or dadarabe. Unsatisfied with his job, he stopped practicing, but brought sick family members to another traditional healer.
One day, a Faith Comes By Hearing promoter came to his village and invited everyone to join a weekly listening group. Rija attended, received Jesus as his personal savior, and decided to stop going to the dadarabe for good.
He and his family are now regular churchgoers and witness to the neighborhood.
Man in the Orange Shirt
The man standing in the middle of the crowd stood out because of his bright orange shirt, but what really got the woman's attention was the small, tattered book he was clasping. It looked like it may be a Bible.
When she was done preaching, she asked him about it. Yes, it was a Bible, he said—but only a portion. He and the other pastors had to share, so they each had a portion to read and preach from. His was a part of the Old Testament.
She looked at the tattered book with many pages torn from it and was profoundly touched. In the Western world the average Christian household has several Bibles in different translations. Yet where the Gospel is needed most, pastors have to share just so they can have a bit of the Word to preach from.
The woman was only there for two hours—she had come in by helicopter. Many of the pastors had walked for up to three days—through mountains, bush, and rivers—to hear her preach. Since some had no Bible at all, they relied on preaching they heard to preach to others.
We heard this story from a church planter visiting the Malagasy people in the rain forest of Madagascar in 2005.
Since then, the Audio New Testament in Malagasy has begun reaching into these remote rainforests as well as the cities of Madagascar. A total of 7,967 Audio Bibles are at work reaching people in villages, churches, schools, homes, and prisons.
Here are just a few of their testimonies:
"The Malagasy people were astonished to hear the Bible in their native language. They truly love the Word, and love hearing it. The Proclaimers® are a blessing for the church. The believers are very studious; while we were teaching, they would take notes and ask questions. The pastors who received the Proclaimers® were thrilled because they work in areas with low levels of literacy." – Ministry working in Madagascar
"We thank God that despite the road being so bad, He allows people to bring His Word to us. This project is a great help to us as pastors because many of our flocks cannot read the Bible and it makes it easier to feed them with God's Word." – Pastor M., Ampanihy
"At the beginning we used to have a Bible study every week, but we noticed that people had difficulties reading the Bible. There are some people who are illiterate and some who cannot read because of their eyes. It is easier for them to listen so they can know God's Word. We are very thankful to Faith Comes By Hearing to have this tool in God's hand so that many people can listen to His Word." – Pastor R. H., Itaosy
"Mr. R. L. was a traditional healer. He wasn't satisfied with his job because he was unable to attract many people. So he stopped practicing and when one of his family members became sick, he took him to another healer. One day, a worker for Faith Comes By Hearing came to his village and invited everybody to the weekly listening program. Mr. R. L. finally received Jesus as his personal Savior and has decided not to go to the healer any longer. He and his family are now regular churchgoers and witness to the neighborhood." – Malagasy Bible Society
The General Secretary of the Malagasy Bible Society shares, "Madagascar is a big island—the 4th biggest island of the world. Our vision is to reach it for Christ through the Holy Scriptures. The Malagasy Bible Society has opened Bible depots (offices) in bookshops, warehouses, and places where they hold ministry and literacy training. In every Bible depot, there is a Faith Comes By Hearing promoter who promotes and trains FCBH in the surrounding districts. Faith Comes By Hearing can reach the majority of the population. We say the majority because 54% are illiterate; 20% are literate but not at a functional level; 10% don't have the time to read; only 16% are left who read text. We see literate people who say they don't have time to read, using the Audio Bible. This is very impressive."
Thank you Legacy Church, Albuquerque, NM; Concordia Lutheran, Springfield, IL; San Clemente Catholic Church, Los Lunas, NM; St. Thomas Aquinas Parish, Rio Rancho, NM; Shrine of St. Bernadette, Albuquerque, NM; St. Paul Catholic Church, Elton, LA; Holy Cross Catholic Church, Las Cruces, NM; Joy Christian School, Glendale, AZ; Sacred Heart Church, Broussard, LA; Zion Lutheran Church, Clifton, IL; Holy Family Church, Albuquerque, NM; Our Lady of Guadalupe, Peralta, NM, and the dozens of other churches who have made it possible for the Malagasy-speaking people to have God's Word in their own language.