Health for Life Bibles

Posted by Mercy Ships staff on Aug 05, 2010 at 03:39 pm

A recent gift to Mercy Ships will go a long way in providing information to the people of West Africa about battling malnutrition and reducing the occurrence of HIV/AIDS. Health for Life Bibles have previously been printed in English, but the new Guide de la Vie (Life Guide) represents the very first French language health Bible to be published.

Mercy Ships Holland in Rotterdam is working in conjunction with two other Dutch organizations: Netherlands International Bible Society in Almere and Ark Mission in Amsterdam. Together these groups make up the Health for Life initiative.

Behind the scriptures from the New Testament, Psalms and Proverbs, each of the books contains almost 50 pages of important basic health information – addressing issues such as hygiene, malnutrition and communicable diseases like HIV/AIDS.

A primary goal of the Health for Life initiative is to contribute to the reduction of the worldwide HIV/AIDS epidemic, which has affected at least 40 million people. In fact, 80% of the world's cases of HIV/AIDS are found in Africa. For this reason, Health for Life decided to give basic information about hygiene, malnutrition and other diseases to reduce the occurrence of these debilitating physical problems.

On a hot July afternoon, Alex Williams, Mercy Ships Palliative Care Provider, drove from the Africa Mercy to the Hospitality Center with a box that contained several brand-new copies of Health for Life Bibles.

When Alex arrived at his destination and unloaded the box, he made an announcement to the group of recovering patients – free Bibles for everyone!

Some patients who were resting inside peeked their heads out of their bedroom doors, wondering what the commotion was about. Within minutes, a long line had formed outside under the large canopy tent. One by one, people walked through the line and accepted their new Bible. Within minutes nearly all of the Bibles had been distributed to patients, day-volunteers, and patients' family members.

The commotion and noise quickly ceased as, Bible in hand, people sat on a bench outside and began thumbing through the pages. Instantly, they realized this wasn't just an ordinary Bible.

Emily Odomé, a teenager at the Hospitality Center, had an inquisitive look on her face when she noticed Alex handing out the Bibles. Emily is a plastic surgery patient who came to the ship every other day for new dressings on her surgically repaired hand. Her curiosity drew her to the area where copies of the Health for Life Bibles were being distributed. Happily she got in line and received her very own, shiny new Bible.

“It is nice to have a new Bible,” Emily said. “I used to have one , but it was old and torn. This one is very nice. I will definitely use it.”

Around that same time, Deb Jacobson, coordinator of the Patient Life Program, was distributing other copies of Guide de la Vie Bibles to patients in the ward.

Deb truly appreciated the format of the new Life Guide Bibles .

“Not only are we providing the Word of God for the patients, we are providing them with materials for education.  This is an immensely valuable resource – t he combination of Bible and educational material.”

Additionally, other Health for Life Bibles were distributed by Mercy Ministries to numerous schools, churches and organizations in Lomé, including the Ephata School for the Deaf, where one teacher told Mercy Ships volunteers:

“ This Life Guide Bible is very good , especially for teaching our students on hygiene, nutrition and health in general. In addition, they have the Word of God , which is also essential for their spiritual growth. Thank you for sending them to us. May God bless you .”

The initiative is the first step in the effort to get the Health for Life Bibles into the hands of the Togolese people to improve both their spiritual and physical health.

Mercy Ships is proud to be a part of Health for Life and will gladly distribute the Bibles to Mercy Ships patients and beyond.

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