Among the Azeris:
read >
1) These books are starting to go like hotcakes here! Any way to start thinking about a new shipment? Or do we need to wait for another printing?
2) An Azeri lady read CARS and reports that “many things became clear to me” through it. She “received many answers”.
Among the Bashkir:
read >
1) A Bashkir man just told me CARS is just about the best thing that's ever happened for his people. He sees that his people will read this book and discover essential spiritual truths.
2) When a distinguished foreign visitor presented a copy of CARS to the leading Mullah at a mosque in Ufa, he received it gratefully. In fact, he was so interested that he requested more copies for his assistants.
Among the Immigrants from Central Asia in Turkey:
read >
A man ministering in Turkey is desperate to get as many CARS as possible so he can offer them to the thousands of Russian speaking Central Asians in his city.
Among the Chechens:
read >
1) A Chechen believer living in Grozny had a copy of CARS, but a friend pleaded with her and she gave it to her friend. She said to me “I need more copies. It is an answer to my prayers from years ago. I prayed that we would have books which somehow communicated our faith to our people in an attractive way”.
2) A friend recently felt led to bring two copies of CARS to Norway where he left them with a friend who has a jail ministry. This man recently led a Chechen man to faith in Isa Masikh. This Chechen man is now growing in his faith, learning from his copy of the Holy Scriptures in a Norwegian jail!
Among Dagestanis:
read >
“Once when being driven to the airport, the driver told me that he had been a convinced atheist. However, after reading the Genesis/Luke portion, which he keeps in his glove compartment, he said that he had begun to reevaluate his personal value system and his understanding of God and the world. He said that it bore light to his soul. I was amazed.”
Among the Dungan:
read >
A Dungan has been carefully reading God’s Way. His response was that this was all “really interesting”. He loved Ruth. He loves the themes of respecting elders and responsibility to relatives. Lately he has been saying “these words are right, they are good”.
Among foreign students from the North Caucasus in China:
read >
I gave some CARS books to students from the North Caucasus. They were SO THANKFUL – and amazed that such a book exists! They are so lonely here. We need to get more books.
Among the Ingush:
read >
A man went to several Ingush villages and took some copies of the Holy Scriptures. He had no trouble giving them all away. The next trip he took to that place several people came up to him and said “We know you have the Green Holy Scriptures, please give us copies too”. A mother testified “My daughter took my copy away – please give me another!” While holding the CARS close to her heart, another lady told him “this is the most precious present”. Not only ladies, but community leaders have been trying to obtain the books. One such man requested a copy of the Holy Scriptures when he bumped into this book distributor on the street.
Among the Kabardin:
read >
A Kabardin man told me that, thanks to this translation, he can now confidently give books to anyone, anywhere. He told of one old woman who had a book and could not read it because of her poor eyesight. She called for her husband to read it to her. After reading, this old man repented of his sins, although the woman still has yet to take that step.
Among the Karakalpaks:
read >
EVERYWHERE I've been, EVERYONE wants a copy of the full CARS. I just got back from Karakalpakistan where only a few people have seen them and the demand is high. The same is true in Tashkent although I've heard people can find them there.
Among Kazakhs:
read >
1) “About 2 weeks ago I received my order of 100 CARS Scriptures. Since then I’ve been meeting with my Kazak friends (at work and other places) and have been giving these Scriptures to them. It is unbelievable the positive response that I have been receiving from these books.”
“For example, eight years ago, we gave my friend a Kazak Scripture portion, but he could not read it. We had also given him a traditional Russian Bible, but he was afraid to read that. You should have seen his face when we gave him the CARS Holy Book! We explained that it was portions from the Scripture, and when he saw the cover and first few pages, he had an immediate attraction to it and started reading. He thanked my wife and me profusely for giving him the book! It is unbelievable the difference in reactions between the CARS Scripture and the other Scriptures we’ve tried.”
“I met a Kazakh student who told me that he had become a believer three years ago. I asked him how that happened, and he said that a friend had brought him to a Russian-speaking church and he received Christ. They gave him a usual Russian Bible and he took it home. When his mother saw it, she became very angry, threw it out, and forbid him to go to any church. I gave him a copy of the “Holy Scriptures” and told him to show it to his mother. She not only did not throw it out, she read it herself and shortly become a believer. Whenever I see her she gives me a big hug and thanks me for bringing her family to Christ”.
2) A Kazakh man who has been a believer for years says he really likes CARS. He says this translation is easier to understand than the old Russian. Although he went to Kazakh school, he developed the habit of reading in Russian as well as Kazakh, because there were more Russian language books available. He testifies that he discovered some new truths through reading CARS.
3) I recently gave a copy of the Holy Scriptures to a student at a Muslim seminary. He immediately knew what it was and made sure that he washed his hands before touching it. He was very grateful and anxious to read it.
4) Ibrahim considers himself an atheist and his wife considers herself a Muslim. After attending our study twice we gave them a copy of the CARS Bible. He started reading it and in the first two weeks had read through 1 Samuel. He has been especially excited to read about his namesake – the prophet Ibrahim. He also has an uncle named Musa, so he feels this book helps him learn about the prophets that he and his relatives are named after.
Among Kurds:
read >
While waiting for our meat to cook, I showed the Kurdish kebab man a copy of the CARS Bible. He went and cleaned his hands and then reverently took the book and studied the cover. After seeing his interest, I offer it to him as a gift. He thought about it for a while and, apparently feeling embarrassed to take such an expensive book for free, said “that’s not acceptable” and handed the book back. Our conversation turned to other topics, but a few minutes later he said “Is it really for free?” “Yes”, I replied with a big smile and handed him the book, which he gratefully received.
Among the Kyrgyz:
read >
1) “Two or three years ago, I learned that this book was being prepared, so I am glad to see that it is already published. This work is necessary because most Central Asians understand Russian better than their mother tongue. I think that by employing the Central Asian forms of names and terms, we will remove a serious obstacle--the thought that the Bible is for Russians only and only the Qu’ran is for Muslims.”
2) I have a Kyrgyz friend who calls himself a “shamanist”, a worshipper of Tengri. One time I showed him the only copy I had of the CARS Holy Scriptures and he really wanted to get one for himself. I told him I did not think they were available in our area, but that I would try to find one for him. One month later I was surprised when he asked me “When will you give me the present I asked for, the Holy Scriptures?”
3) A Kyrgyz professor told me that she had tried to read the Russian Bible several times, but every time she gave up after a few pages “because it was too complicated”. Since she got CARS she has been avidly reading it.
Among the Tabasaran:
read >
A Tabasaran man received a copy of a portion of the Holy Scriptures that was printed a few years ago. This man has studied it intensively, reading through it three times. Recently he was given the complete Holy Scriptures and has been enthusiastically reading it as well.
Among the Tadjiks:
read >
1) The books are being very well received everywhere they get out. I'm currently in Tadjikistan, and there have been positive comments both here in Dushanbe and even in a village in the Pamir mountains!
2) Books are also selling quickly at the bookstore in Dushanbe. They've come back to the warehouse three times asking for more in the last three months.
Among the Tatars:
read >
1) “Thank you for the very valuable gift, the translation of the Holy Scriptures, and thank you for publishing this excellent work. Both the translation and the design are very good. The text is easy to understand. It is a very important work for our nationalities.”
2) A Crimean Tatar believer has received a copy of CARS and is getting great response to it from those he works among.
3) In southern Kyrgyzstan, an old Tatar grandmother, when she was given a copy of CARS God’s Way, expressed her heartfelt thanks saying "I have been waiting many years to read a book like this. I will probably be holding this book when I die!" Although she has not died yet, she is "holding the book" most of the time. She is beaming with new information about Old Testament figures and Jesus. She has not yet made the big step of faith, but she is already excitedly telling her Kyrgyz friends about events from Isa's life.
Among the Tatars of Kazan:
4) The people that I have had contact with have really received cars well. One lady asked for a few copies to give to her relatives who did not read Tatar. She read part of it & said it was great. Another good friend of mine got one for his wife. She speaks both languages but reads better in Russian. She also commented on how easy it was to understand.
Among the Turkmen:
read >
A Turkmen brother, who longs for the day when he can read the Old Testament in his mother tongue, told me that he loves the CARS translation because he can understand everything in it, unlike the Russian Synodal translation with its sometimes archaic expressions. He also benefited from the information in the appendices.
Among Uighurs:
read >
“Soon after Ramadan started, my Uighur friend came to our office. He asked me if I had a Russian Taurat for his meditations, as his literary Uighur and Arabic were not very strong. Without waiting for my reply, he went to my bookshelf and pulled a black book out, which turned out to be the Russian Bible. It had a gold cross on the cover, which looked very intimidating. He looked inside briefly, and then with a disappointed look gave it back to me. “No, no, that’s not the Taurat,” he said. I explained that the Taurat is the first five books of the Old Testament written by Moses and that this Bible contained it, but he was not satisfied.”
“Then I remembered that I had a copy of the CARS Scriptures. I told him I might have just the thing for him, so I pulled out the CARS Scripture and gave it to him. Seeing the green and gold cover, he took it reverently and with a pleased look. He opened it and saw the word Taurat and the text in a Russian that he could understand. He closed the book and said, “Yes, this is it. Can I borrow it?” I replied, “You can have it.” He was very pleased as he walked out with the Taurat in Russian.”
Among Uzbeks:
read >
1) “In our minds the Christian faith was always Russian. When Christians used certain words, there was always a connection in our minds with drinking alcohol at funerals, worshipping Mary, and crossing oneself. If we were to use their words and their translation of the Book, our people would think that we had become Russian. We desperately needed a book that was not immediately rejected because of those words."
2) Radio broadcasts expounding the CARS Scriptures are changing lives:
Not long ago I started listening to your broadcast “The Path to Truth”. I really like it. The discussions you broadcast woke me out of a deep stupor and gave me hope and belief in the truth. Thank-you.
3) They love the books in Uzbekistan and wish they could have hundreds.
4) “With great pleasure and satisfaction I am reading the new translation. It is so easy to understand! I am deeply touched by your concern for people who desire to really understand the Scriptures.”
Although he loves CARS, this man is eagerly awaiting the day when he can read the Holy Scriptures in his mother tongue, Uzbek.
