Missions Supplies

For many years, I have had an interest, with my congregations, in sending Christian materials to the Kiribati Uniting Church in the Central Pacific. It began when I visited the Church a generation after the missionaries had left. They had received no new supplies of Bibles, in an inhospitable environment. The General Secretary told me that half of the Church (the people) still had Bibles, although "on the ground" it looked to me that he meant half of the extended families. Some new hymn books had been printed, yet apart from that, supplies of Christian materials (even for pastors) were by and large non-existent. There weren't even the basic "tools", such as Bible Commentary or Bible Dictionary. This morning, more than 20 years after my efforts began, I received the first clear indication that they had yielded a result: from Bridgeway Publications in Australia. Twelve islands were supplied with new Christian materials in this time (mostly Island Church Councils), and eight Church institutions. OBSERVATION: I know that other new supplies resulted, yet don't have details, other than that they were sent.