By
Michelle Vu
Christian Post Reporter
Thu, May. 10 2007 02:34 PM ET
After weeks of waiting, over 134,000 Children's Story Bibles passed
through Cuban Customs as part of the largest shipment of Children's
Christian material in Cuba's history.
Enlarge this Image
Most important Story Bible
(Photo: WorldServe Ministries)
''Most Important Story '' Bible Cover in English.
WorldServe Ministries, an organization serving the persecuted Church
worldwide, in partnership with American Bible Society, is bringing
200,000 Spanish Most Important Story (MIS) Children's Bibles to be
distributed among Cuba's 56 denominations.
Two of the three containers of Bibles have passed customs as of Tuesday,
reported WorldServe.
"Many thanks for these Bibles," said one of the Cuban denominational
leaders, whose name was not disclosed, according to WorldServe. "They
are greatly used and appreciated."
WorldServe, which began working in Cuba in 1993, focuses on church
planting, pastoral training, Bible distribution, and other areas of
financial assistance to improve the spiritual and living conditions of
the people and the churches.
The 212-page MIS Story Bible, the first of its kind to be shipped by
WorldServe into Cuba, contains important and popular stories selected
from the Old and New Testament. At the end of the Bible, there is also
the 32-page MIS booklet called The Most Important Story Ever Told, which
has been widely distributed in the country in previous years.
Although this shipment is the first time MIS Story Bibles have entered
Cuba, over the past ten years, WorldServe has shipped more than 1.7
million Most Important Story Ever Told booklets into Cuba, averaging
about 200,000 a year.
"Today in Cuba there is a desperate need for children's evangelistic
material," said Tommy Danielsson, WorldServe's vice president of
outreach and special projects, to The Christian Post. "The Most
Important Story has been the most effective children's gospel booklet
for church outreach into the community."
These scripture booklets are said to be popular among Christians and
non-Christians alike in Cuba.
Christian children often give the MIS as birthday favors to other
children at their parties. The parents of non-Christian children see
their children playing and learning from the booklets at home and in
turn requests copies to give to their families and friends.
Over the past couple of years, the Bible Commission of Cuba reported
receiving hundreds of requests from non-Christians for the children's
scripture booklets.
Cuba, a communist country, has had a publicly tense and even hostile
relationship with the United States since the Cuban Revolution of 1959
when Fidel Castro came to power. And ever since 1961, the U.S. has not
had formal diplomatic relations with Cuba.
Yet despite tense U.S.-Cuban relations, both nations have given
permission for the Bibles to be distributed in Cuba.
Cuban Christian leaders explained that several years back the country's
communist leaders approached them for help in educating the youth and
combating the country's drug problems after seeing their good works in
other social areas such as hurricane relief. The church leaders agreed
but said they needed permission to plant churches and import Bibles.
Cuban officials had agreed to their request for both churches and Bibles.
Children of the Eastern Baptist Convention now participate in "Happy
Hour" – a community program where Christian kids invite their
non-Christian neighbors into their homes to sing, play games, hear a
devotional and memorize scripture. The MIS is reportedly used by the
children in memorizing Bible verses.
Moreover, the MIS is also used at hospital bedsides and for chaplains in
prison ministries with both adults and children.
Although unknown to many people, Christianity has flourished and
continues to grow in Cuba where people are said to "flock" to church.
In 1991 – the year when the Congressional Communist Party voted to
change Cuba's constitutional status from atheist to secular state –
there were only 1,100 churches and house churches in the island nation.
About 16 years later there are now more than 16,000 house churches,
according to WorldServe.
"We send our gratitude to you for all of these Biblical materials that
you continue to send," thanked one Cuban church leader, whose name was
not disclosed. "It is the most effective material available to reach the
Cuban Children."
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