Oceanic Bible Project: August 30-September 23 2012

Can you imagine going your entire life without ever having access to a Bible? What if it cost you nearly an entire year’s wages to purchase one? Such is the case in the Solomon Islands, a system of islands located approximately 1200 miles northeast of Australia. While the Solomon Islands is considered a “Christian” nation and nearly all school children attend a Bible class in their public schools, actual copies of the Bible are scarce. Their costliness and lack of availability make it nearly impossible for the average islander to own one. As one headmaster of a school on the island of Malaita put it, “[For] Melanesians [it’s] very hard to buy a Bible. They can buy fish at the market. They can buy a pig or whatever they want to eat, but to buy the Bible, very few can do it. Very few can do it. … When you give a Bible to somebody, you give him life.”

In an attempt to meet this overwhelming need, the Oceanic Bible Project was born. Missionary Tim Meyer, in cooperation with BIMI, organized an effort to get a Bible into the hands of every high school student in the islands. Last year a team (of which my dad, Ken Earnshaw, was a part) trekked through the island of Malaita and distributed over 15,000 copies of the word of God. This year a team will be giving Bibles to school children on the island of Guadalcanal. My dad and I believe God is leading us to be part of this effort. In addition to distributing Bibles, we will also be filming a documentary to help raise awareness of the needs and work in the Solomon Islands.

We would like to invite you to participate in this work in a couple of ways. First, we ask that you would pray—pray that God would allow His Word to “have free course, and be glorified, even as it is with you: And that [while we are there,] we may be delivered from unreasonable and wicked men: for all men have not faith” (2 Thess. 3:1-2). Updates will be given here on our blog  as well as on the team’s facebook page: Oceanic Bible Project.  Second, if you would like to contribute financially to this endeavor, please make your check payable to Ken Earnshaw, c/o Stanley Heights Baptist Church, 1512 McBrien Rd. East Ridge, TN 37412 and earmark it, "Solomon Islands Missions Trip." 

Thank you for working with us in this effort to distribute God’s life-giving Word throughout the Solomon Islands.