Stones were already in the hands of villagers when he started shouting.
“I’m healed!” A man burst from a low doorway and ran, arms high, tears in his eyes. One stone thudded into the dirt, then another, as men standing nearby stared at their palms as if they no longer trusted what they’d been ready to do.
Inside a hut, the story about Jesus and ten men with leprosy had just finished playing from a small Audio Bible player, one of Renew’s tools. For over a decade, the listener had carried that very same disease. As he leaned in to listen, it was somewhere between hearing the story and believing it was true, that he sprang to his feet to test the miracle. He was healed!
Earlier that day some missionaries arrived at this mountain village of about 80 homes nestled high into the slopes of South Asia. They were led by Bishnu, an indigenous Pastor from the area. The missionaries traveled a long way. There was no road. Only switchbacks. They were equipped with audio Bible players, Lightstreams, and tablets. All digital tools to share the Gospel story in the native language of these remote people.
Upon arrival, the team split into pairs and approached the open doorways with a nod and soft greeting. Phones chimed awake. A small tablet sprang to life. The LightStream Pocket shared the JESUS Film to nearby screens over a wifi signal that it created. The Audio Bible played Scripture in the native tongue. Outside, word spread of the visitors’ arrival, faster than the team could finish a Bible chapter.
While many were intrigued by the stories that they were hearing, not everyone wanted to welcome them. By midafternoon, an angry group of men had formed. They held stones in their hands and were gathered at the edges of the small village. As rage was brewing outside, the man with leprosy sat in his home, among his family to hear the small player give the words of life.
“Play it again,” someone asked. So, they did, and Jesus’ words (from Luke 17) filled the room: “Go, show yourselves…” And something in the man’s chest answered. He stood.
“I’m healed!” He didn’t whisper it. He ran, laughing, stumbling, shouting the news to anyone who would stand still long enough to hear. The men that held stones and anger lowered their arms. Their stones fell from their hands as they walked toward the doorways where the devices were still whispering good news.
“Play it again.” Now the request came from the men outside. “We want to hear.”
There is a simple rule in the hills: a ten-minute walk earns a half hour; a three-hour climb demands an entire day. The team stayed and lingered an hour in some homes, in others two or three. They answered questions and watched faces change in the light of stories that they were hearing for the first time.
The devices had been playing nonstop for the entire day, so by late afternoon, the power lights had turned to red and screens went dark. The team prayed with the people by lamplight for a few more hours, and by night time, they shouldered their packs and turned to go. The leader of the village stepped into the path, one hand lifted, not to block but to invite. His voice was matter-of-fact.
“Please come back,” he said to Pastor Bishnu. “We have seventy-seven houses here. Everyone wants to know more about Jesus.”
Pastor Bishnu and the missionaries were trained on how to use Renew tools to make listening groups: community circles where Scripture could be heard, retold, discussed, and obeyed so that even after the missionaries have left, Jesus followers could continue to grow. They would use the LightStream, a Bible-distributing device, and the Audio Bible to form the groups. These tools were small and simple to use.
When the team returned days later, there were already twelve listening groups established in the village. Then, just a few weeks after that, a video reached the missionaries. The visuals were shaky, and the audio was wind-cracked, but the message was powerful. A 103-year-old man was sitting on a mat. He spoke slowly, a thick accent bending the edges of his words. He said he was grateful to have lived long enough to hear, at last, about the God who sent his Son. He said he would be a disciple of Jesus.
Within months, sixty people stepped into water and rose baptized. The village built a meeting place, and at last count, seventy-eight listening groups meet across the region with Bishnu and his team.
Today, if you stand in that village at dusk, you can still smell pine and smoke and the sweetness of tea. You can hear the clang of a kettle lid, a goat’s discontent, a child’s laugh. But now, you might hear Scripture in the native tongue and see people leaning against the door frame to listen, the way someone does when the Bible finally speaks in a way they can understand.
Many communities are still waiting for their chance to hear the Bible in a way they can truly understand. By helping equip pastors and missionaries with tools like the Audio Bibles and Vista Projectors, you can help bring that moment closer.