Bolivia
The World Church of Messiah Bolivia Bible Distribution Project began its project of distributing Bibles at Palmasola Prison in Santa Cruz, which houses 7,000 inmates. In order to allow not only members but also the general public to participate, members went door to door asking for Bibles. As a result, they received donations of 202 Bibles in good condition, as well as monetary donations that were enough to purchase a large number of Bibles. The major purpose of this initiative, which is being carried out by involving the general public, is not just to collect Bibles, but to convey Meishu-sama’s will to as many people as possible.
A meeting was held between members of the Bible Distribution Project and the superintendent of the prison, and it was decided that up to 12 members would be able to enter the prison and talk about the Bible Distribution Project in one of the many of blocks of the prison. Guided by two prison officers and a pastor who is an inmate, 12 members visited the prison’s prayer facility, where they explained the purpose of the Bible Distribution Project to 110 inmates, conveying to them how the Bibles were gathered and the thought behind that process. Then, they distributed to the inmates the Words of Prayer and the World Church of Messiah Lord’s Prayer, as well as the Church leaflet “Who We Are.” After reading out loud the Words of Prayer and the World Church of Messiah Lord’s Prayer together, the members talked to the inmates about reporting to God the various thoughts and feelings that appear within them and about surrendering the thoughts and feelings that arise within them while reading the leaflet.
Among the 110 inmates, there were many that were moved to tears. The pastor, who is also an inmate, said that he had never felt such deep emotion before. In his closing remarks, he said, “Let us inmates all work together so that we can be born anew as children of God.” It was a touching moment when the inmates hugged each other. Afterwards, the 12 members visited three cells where inmates with particularly bad behavior were housed. They handed out Bibles, the Words of Prayer and the World Church of Messiah Lord’s Prayer, as well as the Church leaflet, and they prayed together.
The 12 members who visited the prison that day were deeply grateful that they were able to respond to Kyoshu-sama’s heart, that is, Meishu-sama’s will, and they left the prison filled with deep emotion and joy. One of the participants commented as follows: “We are in God’s righteousness, and we must respond to God’s righteousness.”
Brazil
Mr. Nivaldo, 53, is a member of the church in the rural town of Tupã, São Paulo. He is also the vice principal of a school with 515 students, which includes both junior high and high school students. One of the teachers working at this school was spending her days filled with sadness due to financial problems and constant conflicts within her family.
One day, when Mr. Nivaldo entered the staff room, he saw this teacher sobbing. Right when he was about to go up to her and talk to her, the other teachers came into the room, so he just said to her, “Let’s talk about it some other time,” and he did not see her again that day.
When Mr. Nivaldo saw her five days later, he was very surprised. She seemed to be cheerful and happy, which was a complete change from five days ago. Mr. Nivaldo said to her, “You seem very happy. What happened?” She said, “It might be hard to believe, but when I read the message that you gave me the other day, my life changed dramatically.” Mr. Nivaldo said, “That’s good,” but in his mind he thought, “Something isn’t right. I didn’t say anything to her. Maybe she has a misunderstanding.” So he asked her, “Why do you say that? I didn’t say anything to you.” Her reply was, “Don’t you remember? You gave me the leaflet that day. I read the message in that leaflet, and it changed my life dramatically. It’s so wonderful that I read it every day.”
At that point, Mr. Nivaldo recalled that when she was crying and he was unable to talk to her, he gently handed her the Church leaflet. Mr. Nivaldo suddenly realized that he had been caught up in the thought that he had to convey something, that he had to say something. He realized for the first time that the leaflet itself is a wonderful message from God and that he did not have to add anything else. And at the same time, he felt ashamed that he did not read the leaflet every day like she did and that he did not remember its content. He felt that he needed to apologize deeply to God.
After finishing work that day, the first thing Mr. Nivaldo did when he got home from the school was to read the leaflet. He was moved and struck by a feeling of freshness he had never felt before, as if he were reading the leaflet for the first time. He thought, “This leaflet contains the essence of Meishu-sama. It contains all the essence.” He also thought, “The content is so wonderful that just reading it changed the life of my colleague.” He felt that God was saying to him, “You are trying to be in the front. You are trying to put me second.” He decided that from then on, he would commit to distributing the leaflets with the conviction that God was working through them.
As a follow-up, Mr. Nivaldo said that he invited the teacher to the monthly service at the Church and she said that she would be happy to attend.
