The Tanzanian Bible Project was born out of Craig Smith's mission work to Tanzania. I (Craig Smith) began traveling to Tanzania to volunteer teach in the summer of 2008. After school, I would sing with a local church choir in the small village where I volunteered. I returned the the same village the next summer and bought Bibles for that same church choir - about 20 people. The members of my choir
were elated with the presents, and I initially understood their elation in terms of getting free stuff, something I myself am a HUGE fan of. But their excitement and gratitude didn't fade quickly like mine does when I get free stuff. After considering the situation more carefully, I realized that their joy didn't come from what the gifts cost but from what the gifts were. At least, not a big deal for someone like me in America, who is able to make $100 a day at a decent job. But for a Tanzanian subsistence farmer who would be lucky to make $10 a WEEK, a seven dollar Bible represents a significant chunk of their income. It would be roughly equivalent to walking into a book store here in the US and finding that the absolute CHEAPEST Bible available cost $250. This was a stunning calculation to me. I considered my home growing up and the plural Bibles that various members of the family owned. I could not help think that if the cheapest Bible available in my childhood was $250, it is unlikely that my FAMILY would have owned one, and I certainly would not have had the three that I can remember having personally. With this in mind, I knew that I wanted to distribute more Bibles the next time I returned to Tanzania. The problem was that I had no idea how many I should try to distribute, nor even any idea how to decide such a thing. One day as I was praying and considering this question, I had a clear though come to mind as if a voice were speaking from the outside into my thoughts: 'ONE FOR EVERY PERSON IN BUTTE'. I had no doubt then, nor have I had any doubt since, that this was not MY thought. I was thinking in terms of dozens or hundreds of Bibles, and Butte had a population of over 30,000! I was stunned by this goal that I believe God put on my heart, and I immediately proved how inadequate I am for this calling. The next summer, I returned to Tanzania with barely enough funds to get Bibles for all the church choirs in my village -- about 300 people. But I as continued pursuing this goal, God began giving me connections. I came across a Bible shop in Dodoma -- Tanzania's capital and the nearest city to my village -- that had a children's coloring book Bible. This was the in-road I needed to press ahead for a goal that I believed was absolutely impossible. Elementary schools in Tanzania run from first through seventh grade with an optional kindergarten. In 2012, I started distribution projects at two local schools. These projects consist of an initial year in which every student in the school is given an age-appropriate Bible in Tanzania's national language, Swahili. The oldest students (seventh graders) receive a full, standard Bible -- the same Bible that is used in local church services. The fifth and sixth graders receive a New Testament in the Good News translation, which is a translation that is a bit easier to read. All the students in first through fourth grade and receive a coloring book Bible. In subsequent years, all the students who enter seventh grade will receive a full Bible to supplement the New Testament they had previously received, all the students entering fifth grade will receive a New Testament to supplement the coloring book Bible they had previously received, and all the students who enter first grade receive a coloring book Bible. For tens years since, I have raised and sent money to continue this project in the village I lived in. In 2021, I was blessed with a surge of donations that allowed me to distribute to the two elementary schools in a neighboring village as well. It is hard to describe the joy and excitement of these elementary students who receive their first Bible - often the first book of any kind that they personally own, and sometimes the first book owned by the entire household! While nowhere near the ultimate goal of distributing one Bible for every person in Butte, every year, the Tanzania Bible Project continues to be able to bless children in rural Tanzanian villages who have next to nothing. Please pray and consider how you might help to continue this work. †
