In Pakistan, Christians are relegated to the lowest status in society. They have the worst jobs, have little opportunity for education and are at continual risk of harassment by Muslim coworkers. And the children in Christian families are affected no less than their parents.

“My father is a laborer,” said Kanwal, a seventh grade girl in a Pakistani village. “He works in the fields or sometimes as a helper to the masons, and on some days he has no work. My mother works as a servant in rich people’s homes. My parents are poor, and they cannot buy me books to read. I always get used books from other kids.”

Front-line workers recently gave Kanwal a children’s Bible in the Urdu language. “I love reading the children’s Bible every day before sleeping,” she said. “I also read stories from the Bible to my parents, and they are very happy. I pray that all kids in my country get this Bible so they can learn about Jesus.”

Kanwal will grow up knowing that she is loved and valued by her Creator even though the society around her tells her she is worth nothing. Her Bible will also prepare her for the persecution she is likely to face as a follower of Christ.

Islam is making inroads by force or allurement across much of the African continent. Front-line workers are therefore distributing Bibles specifically in areas where Islam is growing in order to help Christians remain strong in their faith.

In a predominantly Muslim and animist part of rural Liberia, a front-line worker traveled throughout the region by motorbike, taking Bibles to villages that had none. “The trip to deliver almost 100 Bibles to small villages deep in the bush was to take approximately two and a half hours,” he said. “It took eight hours. We broke down, had a flat tire, got stuck in the mud and had to carry all three motorcycles across a river that was neck-deep.

“When we reached the village, several of the surrounding villages had come together for the weekend. They had erected a large shelter made of palm branches for their church. It was pretty dark, with just three low-watt bulbs running on a small generator illuminating the church, but I would say approximately 100 people came to praise and worship Jesus Christ.

“The best part was to be able to deliver these Bibles to Christians who did not have a Bible and no way to get one. All of the pastors in this area had a Bible, but very few church members had them. Many of their members would like to have a Bible, but you can’t even buy a Bible here.”

In other areas where the front-line worker visited, even the pastors needed Bibles, and the front-line worker was able to bless them with study Bibles. “I just want to study my Bible all the time,” one pastor told him. Christian leaders estimated a need for 10,000 print Bibles and 800 audio Bibles in the region, as some Christians in remote areas are unable to read.