That's what Joshua asked on behalf of the graduates of his peace class in Buliisa, Uganda. While “Are We Together?” is universal, most of the graduates are Christians, and the Bible is a treatise to peace – peace between God and people, peace amongst people of all faiths and nationalities (even love for enemies), and environmental stewardship. Therefore, it is a great resource for these teenagers.
Of course, we said yes, we would gladly provide Bibles. What a wonderful question to be asked! We are fundraising to buy every child and facilitator a Bible in their local language, plus unique translations for their library:
- The Message, a contemporary English version
- The Book of God, a faithful, chronological version of the Bible, interspersed with historical annotations to provide context
- The First Nations New Testament and Psalms – exciting English translations in the cultural language of Canada’s First Nations indigenous peoples, and
- The New American Bible Revised Edition, which provides detailed historical context and commentary
The cost of purchasing and shipping the Bibles is $975 CAD. We appreciate any contributions you can make towards keeping this promise. For your own library, we recommend John Dear’s The Gospel of Peace: A Commentary on Matthew, Mark and Luke from the Perspective of Nonviolence (Joshua already has a copy).
During the graduation ceremony, community leaders and parents heard some of what these youth have learned in the last two years. We are launching a new initiative to keep empowering them as peacebuilders. Three weeks per month, Joshua will be mentoring them and they will be preparing to host the new monthly community peace meeting, to pass on what they have learned. It's an exciting new initiative in our peace program.
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