Winter 2025

"Now he who received seed among the thorns is he who hears the word, and the cares of this world and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and he becomes unfruitful. But he who received seed on the good ground is he who hears the word and understands it, who indeed bears fruit and produces: some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty." (Matthew 13:22-23)

The seeds of the Gospel are sown through the preaching of the Word, through the reading God's Word, and through conversations between a believer and an unbeliever. In these verses, Jesus explains the parable of the sower. He reminds us that many will hear the Gospel and even respond to it for a time, but not everyone will receive it. Praise God for those who hear the Word and then allow it to change them for eternity!

Ministry Update
In the fall each year Bibles International hosts the annual Harvest Dinner. This year, the dinner was held on October 10, and the theme was Investing in National Consultants. There was music by the Ben Everson Trio, and we heard from Dr. Angam, who is himself a Bible translation consultant. A highlight of the event was hearing John 3:16 in 19 different languages. We had the privilege to participate as Ruth shared in Romani (Gypsy) and Dave in Romanian.

The goal for the night was to raise $200,000 for the new Equip for Excellence fund, which is intended to help meet the needs of national consultants who are directly involved in Bible translation around the globe. It will provide funding for computer equipment; software; training in biblical languages, linguistics, and translation principles; and provision for their families. We are thrilled to report that the Lord has met this goal!

Family News
In December, Celeste traveled to Orlando for the Manchester Terrier National Specialty show. Her dog, Rupert, won an Award of Merit out of 50 Toy Manchesters. He just needs a few more points to receive his grand champion designation. Over the Christmas break, Ben continued work on a research project he was part of last summer. He resuumes his studies at the University of Wisconsin Veterinary School January 13.

Amber completed her semester abroad in Japan having experienced much at Kansai Gaidai University. She resumes classes at Miami University on January 27. She has a full load with six classes, two in-person and four online.

We also enjoyed having Amber, Celeste, Ben, and Celeste's friend Avery with us over Christmas. It was a special time together celebrating our first Christmas in Grand Rapids.

Thank you for your involvement in our lives and ministry!

Dave and Ruth

New Children's Material from BI
Ruth has spent several months preparing the 2025 BI Children's Missions Program material, entitled The Toolbox, which features five lessons that teach children how people around the world are using their God-given "tools" to share His Word. It also invites them to give towards the printing of Bibles and special reading "tools" for the Mbum-Nzakambay in Africa. This package of five scripted lessons, PowerPoint visuals, and teacher's guide is perfect for VBS, Children's Church, and many other children's meetings. The Toolbox is FREE and can be downloaded from the BI website. Please contact Ruth at rkimmel@biblesint.org if you would like to learn more about The Toolbox or to discuss how you can use it in your children's ministry.