I have been using the French version of the Jesus Storybook Bible for two months now in my Arabic studies. My language partner translates the stories into Arabic; then we listen together, stopping for clarification on new words and phrases. This has helped me immensely in increasing my vocabulary. It also provides many opportunities to share Bible stories with my language helper and discuss the significance of the stories in our own lives.
Now halfway through the book, we just began the stories from the New Testament this week. We have translated and discussed the story of the angel Gabriel announcing God’s plan for her to give birth to the Savior; the story of the birth of Jesus; and the story of the shepherds coming to see the new baby. There is always discussion and clarification of things she has heard that are incorrect or halfway true. Many times I get to see “lightbulbs” going off in her head (and hopefully her heart).
Pray with me that M. (my language helper) will fall in love with Jesus as we continue to talk about the Truth she is presented with.
Pray that she will desire to read the stories in their entirety in the Arabic New Testament and search out Truth for herself.
Pray that God will convict her of her sinfulness, her need for a Savior, and her desperate need to believe in this Jesus who is God’s plan for salvation from the beginning of time.