The release took place in Singapore as part of the
milestone. Biblica International CEO
Keith Danby and renowned author and speaker Philip Yancey detailed the role this
release will play in Biblica's mission and vision for ministry,
as it prepares for a third century of providing God's Word.

Biblica's Richard Loh explains that  the translation will be good for evangelism
because Scripture is clearer. "The older translation was done in 1919, and
it is obsolete. The Chinese Contemporary
Bible helps the reader by giving him a modern day language translation. It is
also very easy to understand."

The full Bible is underway: Loh says the translation of the Old Testament
is already complete. "The Old
Testament is being type-set at the moment, and it (the complete Bible) should
be made available by the end of the year." 

The contingent made their way from the Philippines to
Singapore and finally into China, where Yancey conducted a seminar to help
Chinese Christians and church leaders enhance their writing skills.

They also met with the China Christian Council (CCC) and
leaders of the Three Self Patriotic Movement (TSPM), China's leading groups on
matters of Christianity and the Church in China. 

In the end, the CCC and leaders of the TSPM also showed
their support for New Testament release at the writers' conference. Loh says, "They presented to the
attendees of the writers' conference the first lot of the Chinese New
Testament with Proverbs."

A delegation from the ministry dedicated new Scripture translations in two new
languages in the Philippines this week.

Biblica International CEO Keith Danby and Biblica Group Vice President for Asia Pacific Somporn Sirikolkarn joined author and speaker Philip Yancey and others in
Manila, Philippines, for the release and dedication of the Tagalog and Cebuano Bible
translations.

These translations will serve millions of speakers who will now have contemporary,
accurate Bibles translated using methods similar to the New International
Version® (NIV).

From there, the tour continued through Singapore and Thailand to mark Biblica's 200th anniversary with its partners. Yancey and Danby talked about Biblica's
mission and vision for ministry that will take the ministry into a third
century of providing God's Word. In Singapore, Biblica released the new Chinese
Contemporary New Testament (with Proverbs).

In Shanghai, China, the contingent will meet with officials from the China
Christian Council and leaders of the Three Self Patriotic Movement, China's leading
groups on matters of Christianity and the Church in China. During their stay in
Shanghai, Yancey will conduct a seminar to help Chinese Christians and church
leaders enhance their writing skills.

"This
is an unprecedented opportunity to increase the importance and role of God's
Word in the lives of people throughout Asia," said Danby. "And having Philip
Yancey join us in these historic events adds to the visibility and credibility
of our ministry in this part of the world because he is such a well-known and
respected author throughout Asia."

This copy is one of two original versions of the
handwritten "Bible Across America."
It is the first ever completely handwritten copy of the New International
Version (NIV) Bible translation.

Over 31,000 Americans participated in "Bible Across
America" — a 2009 project celebrating the 30th anniversary of the New
International Version translation.

It took a nine-month
cross-country tour covering 22,579 miles, 90 cities and 40 states to complete
the project. The finished copy is three volumes of the 2,200, 11
x 17 pages, bound in leather.

Lynn Waalkes with
Biblica (formerly International Bible Society-Send The
Light) says, "There's just a sense of ownership and
involvement, being able to do something so tactile and personal as being able
to be involved in a production of a Bible."

Biblica's connection was as the translation sponsor for the
New International Version, however, "When it came time to do the Old Testament, our funding ran out.
But Zondervan funded the rest of the translation. So together, we've worked to
make sure that people had access to this very readable translation." 

Since the 1800s, Biblica
has been committed to transforming lives through God's Word by translating,
producing, and distributing Bibles, Scripture materials, and other Christian
resources. They work through ministry,
distribution, and retail channels around the world.

Waalkes says the auction proceeds will help their
translation work continue to move forward. "We have translations going on
in 27 different languages. We also have Bibles that have been completed, but
the funding is needed to distribute them." 

As of Monday afternoon, the bids were over $5,000 USD. The auction closes on November 22, 2009. For more details, click here.

Graham Sopp of Biblica, formerly the International Bible
Society-Send The Light, says, "These are going out through local churches.
Members of local churches are giving these New Testaments as gifts." 

The customized New
Testaments display Bucharest on the cover, use Biblica's New Romanian
translation (NTR), and include personal testimonies from a senior civil
servant, a soccer player, an actress, and a prominent lawyer.    

Sopp, Biblica Europe
Ministries Director, says the churches' ownership of the project was
encouraging. "I am delighted that these
Bucharest churches have a passion to share God's Word. It is wonderful to see
the NTR Bible translation being used in this way. Please pray for the impact of
these New Testaments on those who receive them."

The Romanian Church has survived
both the Turkish Ottoman Empire and communist rule. However, today the Church
faces new challenges, as the population becomes increasingly secular,
materialistic, and post-Christian.   

Yet, Sopp notes that "a lot of
people, now that the Communist dictatorship has gone away, are still looking
for meaning in life. There is a great deal of openness and receptiveness to the
message of Jesus Christ." 

Is 10,000 copies enough? "I think they'll all be
gone within two or three weeks. I've already had people asking me to do more.
So I think this project is taking off.
I can see all the New Testaments will be in the hands of recipients by the
middle of October."

Because the language of
existing Romanian Bibles was increasingly outdated, Biblica created the New
Romanian Translation. More than a decade in the making, the NTR blends contemporary
language with accurate translation faithful to the meaning of the original
writers.  

For 50 years Send the Light (STL)
has been taking Christian literature to the farthest reaches of the world so
that people everywhere could encounter Jesus Christ through the Gospel message.

In 2007, IBS and STL merged to
take the Bible and biblical resources to new places, in more languages, in ways
never before envisioned.

IBS-STL moves into a third
century of ministry as Biblica. But this is much more than a simple name
change. Biblica is driven to reach those who have never experienced the
transformational power of God's Word in ways that uniquely meet their personal
needs.

The ministry is motivated by 200
years of passion and commitment to the provision of God's Word, but with a
fresh vision to reach the world with the Bible and resources that bring people
into deeper relationship with God.

Biblica is encouraging people to
explore Biblica.com and pray that believers will engage deeply in God's Word
and share it with the world.