Full work started in January of 1997 and by the end of the year, God's Story became available in eight languages.
To show just how God is blessing the use of these languages, here are some excerpts from a letter sent by a medical missionary using the Russian version inside prisons and orphanages in Russia. (She began with 100 copies in the fall of 1997, which were soon used in more than 1000 showings. After sending this letter, she contacted us saying she needed thousands more videos to place in the hands of guards, and of prisoners returning to their homes!)
"...I want to relate to you the great success we are having with the video, "God's Story." After watching the English version twice, I watched the Russian version and was impressed by its equally outstanding quality.
"The Russians, who are very artistically inclined, were very impressed by the video portion, the music, and of course the outstanding presentation of the Gospel. They referred to it as being very "precious," and teachers, guards, doctors, and nurses all asked if they could have copies for their families too.
"Even
three priests of the Russian Orthodox Church were asking for copies for their
Sunday schools and congregations.
"Not only is the music and artistry the best I have seen, but the power is so great because it is purely the Gospel and Scripture. I saw it reaching both the intellectuals and children.
"In Russia, a video is a very special and precious commodity, so I just cannot express how many people these videos are going to reach. They will be shown whenever people visit, and shared with family and friends.
"At Prison #6, they do wood burning carving of furniture, etc., and the director told me that they reward the men by showing them videos. He volunteered that when they showed it [God's Story], over 50% of the men showed evidence of a changed life. He was very impressed by that fact as these were very serious criminals.
"....I would be willing to be a donor to it to any [other languages] and a distributor to India, Romania, Honduras, and other Spanish countries.
"I have the opportunity to reach hundreds of prisons and am good friends with the highest officers in command. I can now see a way to get the Gospel to more prisons than I can reach as these officers drive daily to oversee and evaluate these prisons and are willing to take the video and booklets to them.
"The children and non-criminals respond from 90-95% and up. I have seen whole rooms stand to pray for salvation.
In Christ's Love,
Patricia M. Lindsay, M.D.
P.S. We already have an invitation for all of 1998 from the government officials."