Audio Bibles for the People of Sierra Leone

Read below about how listening to God's Word in a heart language transforms lives for His Glory!

"Pastor Proclaimer"

A Krio man says, I want to thank God for His direction into the Christian faith. I was a fanatic about my [previous] religion before. But since the day I listened to Faith Comes By Hearing's Proclaimer, my life is no longer the same. It was on that same day that I decided to give my life to Jesus Christ.

What touches me the most was that the Proclaimer was playing the second book of Timothy, chapter 3, which tells me about the signs of the end time. After that message by "Pastor Proclaimer," I was able to understand that the end time the Bible is talking about is coming soon. So I was left with no option but to give my life to Jesus Christ. I called it Pastor Proclaimer because it was the Proclaimer that preached to me that very day. I thank God and thank the provider of Faith Comes By Hearing. May God bless you for helping me to be in the faith.

Students Learn and Grow in God’s Word

These young ladies at a girls' school are learning and growing in every field of study - while also being discipled in God's Word through attending Faith Comes By Hearing listening groups. The strong spiritual foundation being laid in their lives has been made possible by our donors' gracious gifts!

God Provides

A Krio woman from Sierra Leone says, "I used to be very worried as to where our next meal would come from. When listening to the Bible, we heard where Jesus fed 5,000 people with a few fish and loaves of bread. I developed faith that if He could feed this large number of people, He would feed my family. He has never failed us."

Faith Comes By Hearing and Hearing by the Word of God

He stared at the pot of water sitting on the wooden table, just out of his reach. He tried to tell himself he wasn't thirsty, but it didn't help. He felt the dryness in the back of his throat, and it was driving him crazy. The sun was also beating down with a vengeance and the shade he had been under from the thatch roof was no longer covering him as the sun rose high in the sky.

He took the stick leaning against the mud wall of his house, put it at the base of the pot of water, and tried to pull it toward him. It didn't move. He pushed the stick behind the pot, stretching as far as he could reach, and tried again. The pot began teetering back and forth. He watched, holding his breath, hoping it wouldn't fall over. It finally stopped wobbling, and he sat back with a sigh.

If he could get out of his chair, he could pull himself over to the pot. No . . . he wouldn't be able to reach it from the ground.

His six-year-old son who usually was there to help him, was nowhere to be found. "Steven! Steven!" Emmanuel called out. His voice reverberated off into the distance, then disappeared. The silence descended heavier and more lonely than before. "Where was he?"

Emmanuel knew Steven would be back—that wasn't it; it was just that he couldn't move and he was so thirsty. He looked down at his legs in frustration. "Move!" he yelled, hitting his thigh with a fist. But his legs lay there as helpless and frail as before. Like useless sticks. He knew being angry wouldn't change anything, but he couldn't help it. He had been paralyzed from the waist down for four months, and he couldn't get around by himself at all, not even to go to the bathroom. He felt bad needing his son's help so much, but his wife had to work in the village during the day—and he couldn't get around by himself.

He looked at the pot again, then down at his legs. He began to pray silently—his mouth was too dry to pray out loud.

A few minutes later, he heard the voices of his wife and son and then saw them walking through the brush. Steven was happily pushing buttons on a black box he was carrying. Emmanuel's frustration was replaced with relief at seeing them.

As they moved him back into the shade and gave him water, he asked, "What is that?" pointing to the box.

His wife answered, "Brother Paul asked us to give this to you. A man in the village gave it to him. He wanted you to have it, since you are the pastor, so you can share it with the people. He said it is the New Testament in our language."

Emmanuel turned it on and heard Mende, his language, the language of his people, the language of his ancestors, coming from the black box. He listened, entranced—God's Word, in Mende!!

He began listening to God's Word through the Proclaimer every day. He remembers the day he heard Acts chapter three. Peter and John met the crippled man at the temple gate called Beautiful and said, "in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk!" When Emmanuel heard this, he felt his faith stir. He says, "I started trusting God for my healing. Most nights I would wake up to pray and claim my healing. I said, ‘Lord, you healed that man that was crippled from birth, you can heal me who is only four months crippled.'"

As he continued to pray, he slowly felt life coming into his feet. Then, one night, he had a dream. He says, "I dreamed somebody was standing before me but I could not see his complete figure. He introduced himself as the angel Gabriel. He assured me God would heal me because of my faith. When I woke up, I called the other pastor to pray with me. The next morning, at about noon, I realized I could do much with little or no support from anybody. After sometime, I began doing my usual work. As you can now see, I am working normally, although I do sometimes feel slight pain in my veins. I am brushing a farm and also burning coal as you now see!"

Skeptics have asked him, "How do you know that you weren't helped by the medical facility?" To which he responds, "I didn't go to a medical facility." And when they ask, "How do you know it was God's special intervention?" He tells them how his faith was stirred by hearing God's Word, and how God sent an angel to him in his dream.

Emmanuel's healing has created tremendous demand for the Mende Proclaimer in Njamawoi, his village in Sierra Leone. 286 Mende Proclaimers are in their hands so far.

Thank you Christ Wesleyan Church, Milton, PA; Community Wesleyan Church, Horseheads, NY; Central United Methodist Church, Evansville, IN; Greater Cleaves Memorial CME, Oklahoma City, OK; First Assembly of God, Meridian, MS; and Tabernacle of Christ, Beacon, NY, and the many other churches who provided for the Mende Audio New Testament recording, so the Mende people can have the opportunity to hear God's Word.

The Krio Proclaimer Brings Hope

The people of Sierra Leone now have the Audio Drama New Testament recording in their own heart language. Krio is the language they use with friends, family, and the Lord. Ever since the launch in September 2005, approximately 636 FCBH listening groups have begun.

Sierra Leone has been called, “the poorest and most desperate country on earth,” yet in the midst of this, the Krio people exude tremendous dignity.

The Proclaimer has been a huge blessing, because the cost of batteries is often prohibitive. Since the launch of the Proclaimer in Krio, 210 Proclaimers have been sent!

More than 200 children in primary schools and children’s homes listen daily to God’s Word in Audio and are learning about God’s love for them.

Audio New Testaments have a powerful impact on listeners, teaching biblical truths that bring freedom, hope, and salvation.

God’s Word Teaches Patience

Through His pure Word, God is able to speak to people in the ways and areas that they need – even if it’s a Scripture that may not seem to directly apply to the situation. Such is the case of Stephen who says, “As I listened to the story of how a father sent two children, with the first agreeing to go but later did not go, and the second saying he wouldn’t go, but later went, it taught me a lot of lessons. I need to have patience with my children and understand them. I saw that I have not been treating them fairly.”

We Heard People Arguing

Yeanor says, “They started this program very close to our residence. Every Wednesday me and my co-tenant heard people arguing and asking questions, so we decided to go and see what the argument was about. What we heard became interesting. When I went home I asked my colleagues what their feeling was of what they had heard. All responded positively.

Hanna’s Finances Are Touched

“Because of our financial condition, I used to be very worried as to where our next meal would come from. During the listening, we heard where Jesus fed the 5,000 people with the small fish and bread. I developed the faith that if He could feed this large number of people, He would feed my family. He has never failed us.”

Jeremiah Changed His Thinking

“I had a problem whenever the pastors and teachers handled the Word of God. Before the introduction of FCBH, I hardly understood anything from the passages they used. Now, I quote from the Bible because of the listening program and am engaged in evangelism. I have converted a lot of souls for the Lord and by His grace I am the youth leader in the church.”

Let The Little Children Come To Me

A boy from one of the children’s homes says, “The program is changing my life. My friends and I were stealing and doing bad things, but through listening to the Bible, we have stopped doing them. Whenever we are tempted to, we remember Jesus’ words.”