Audio Bibles for the Blind
2007 Stories
Read Audio Bibles For The Blind's "Story of the Month"
Tammie | Glenn | David | Pierre | Floyd | Dalgix | For The Troops |
For The Troops
October 2007
We have before us an opportunity so extraordinary I simply had to write . . . because if I phoned I’m afraid my emotions would get the best of me.
You see, I recently heard from a recipient of one of our Audio Bibles.
This brave soul has vision in only one eye. He has no legs and only one hand. My first conclusion was that he was living in a remote area in a Third World country where quality medical care is scarce at best.
But he was an American. A severely wounded member of our armed forces. And he could not have been more grateful for an Audio Bible.
You see, our American servicemen and women sacrifice everything to defend the freedoms we hold so dear . . . including our freedom to worship freely without fear of persecution or imprisonment.
For a long, painful season in their lives, they give up their families, their jobs, their hopes and dreams . . . and sometimes their very lives . . . all for you and me. Many permanently sacrifice their physical health, like the brave soul I just described.
This war in particular has introduced a new term into our vocabulary: POLYTRAUMATIC INJURY.
One of our partners explains: “What we’re seeing in Iraq, increasingly, is unlike much of what we’ve seen in the past. Soldiers used to return to us with severe damage to one hand or one foot — maybe an entire arm or leg. But this war — and these wounds — are different; more and more soldiers are arriving to us with horrible, polytraumatic injuries . . . the loss of both legs, an arm, and vision in one eye — or both hands and complete vision loss — and so on.”
As you can imagine, these wounded warriors often spiral into a pit of depression and despair. And for some, the greatest pain is not even physical. You see, at their time of deepest need, they are unable to read a traditional Bible, whether because of blindness or because they are literally unable to hold God’s Word and turn its pages.
It must be like drowning with a safety line dangling in front of your face . . . BUT YOU'RE UNABLE TO GRASP IT.
I’m writing you today because God is calling this ministry to be the safety line for these brave Americans who have sacrificed so much.
Right now, using our network of friends and partners, we have an opportunity to distribute Audio Bibles to our wounded American warriors.
But we must act today. So many are depending on us. Frankly, we never know how much time we have before it’s too late. One caregiver explains, “We’re giving soldiers your Audio Bibles — and they’re all requesting them. At such a serious and painful time in their lives, many of them are reaching out to God in search of meaning . . . answers . . . they want to reconnect with God.”
Another says: “Your Audio Bibles provide one of the brightest beams of light for these soldiers who arrive to us for long rehab stays and who have lost their vision and, sometimes, two or three limbs.”
But so many more are waiting and praying for God’s Word. We can let these brave, struggling men and women know they are not alone. We can throw them the only lifeline they will ever need: the Bible in a format they can easily use and understand.
Tammie | Glenn | David | Pierre | Floyd | Dalgix | For The Troops |
____________________________________________________
Dalgix Galina Mihajlovna
August 2007
Dalgix has a very special message for you . . .
The letter I recently received from Dalgix touched my heart so deeply, I wanted to share it with you immediately.
You see, I have no idea how Dalgix lost her sight. I don’t know where she works or the names of her daughter and granddaughter.
What I do know is that this grateful Russian grandmother depended on Audio Bibles for the Blind — on you and me — for what she calls “a priceless gift” . . . the gift of God’s Word on tape in a language that she can understand.
Thanks to your generosity and partnership, we were an answer to Dalgix’s prayers . . .
“I received your package. I was immensely happy that you have not rejected my request and have sent me the Bible on tape and a player. I have been listening to the Word of God not only at home but I also take the player and the tapes to the place of my employment, where other blind people work and can listen with me.
It has been the desire of my heart that more and more people could come to the saving knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. I tell others about my faith in the Lord and how He alone is able to change a human heart when one receives Jesus as one’s personal Savior and Lord.
My daughter and granddaughter take me to church and we are so thankful to the Lord that only He is able to watch over us in these difficult times. I want to thank all the laborers for your mercy and for the joy you caused my soul when you have given me such a priceless gift.”
Not only did you help impact Dalgix’s life, but think of all those who she is leading to Christ as a result of the Audio Bible you helped provide through your gifts and prayers.
But please also think of all those who remain blind, not just physically, but spiritually as well.
Tammie | Glenn | David | Pierre | Floyd | Dalgix | For The Troops |
____________________________________________________
Floyd Meyers
July 2007
This is one story I just had to share . . .
Floyd enjoys few things more than working with his hands.
He’s what the kids today call “old school.” You’d like him if you could meet him. Everyone does. A World War II veteran, he’s quick to share amazing stories from his experiences driving a truck in Germany, Holland, and Iceland.
And he’d never let you forget that he helped build the Macanaw Bridge in Michigan and once worked as a forester planting new trees in Geneva, Switzerland.
I could listen to Floyd’s stories all day long. But there’s one that I absolutely must share with you today . . .
. . . because as a dear friend of Audio Bibles for the Blind, you played a critical role in how it turned out.
You see, eventually Floyd retired to farm the land that his wife, Sylvia, grew up on. In his spare time, he’d hunt and enjoy God’s great outdoors. Independent to the core, Floyd never forgot Who is in control. That’s because his mother helped develop in him a fierce love for the Lord at a very early age. Night after night, they would read God’s Word.
Well into adulthood, the Bible was something Floyd depended on. And then . . .
Floyd’s corneas began to deteriorate. One love after another was stripped from him, beginning with hunting, then driving, then tending to his land. The list goes on and on. But if he was sitting beside you today, Floyd would tell you that nothing pained him more deeply than being unable to read God’s Word, his anchor through so many experiences and a lifetime of ups and downs.
Because you are such a faithful friend of this ministry I have a feeling that you can empathize with Floyd’s love of the Bible. But can you imagine having it taken from you in your time of greatest need?
Can you imagine the joy and peace of God’s Word being returned to you through Audio Bibles? Fortunately, thanks to you, Floyd doesn’t have to imagine. For him, that joy is real.
Through your generosity and prayers — and that of all our friends — we were able to get an Audio Bible to Floyd when he needed it most. And now . . .
“I tell everyone about getting Audio Bibles,” he says. “I tell all my legally blind friends about Audio Bibles so they can get them too. I tell anyone who will listen.”
I want to personally thank you for helping make such an incredible difference in Floyd’s life through your gifts and prayers. His love of the Lord is greater than ever. And because of you, God was able to use this ministry to return to Floyd what he loved most: His Word.
I also want to remind you that right now there are 2,500 men and women like Floyd who contact us each month for Audio Bibles. Only through your generous support can we continue rushing Audio Bibles FREE OF CHARGE to those who need them most.
Tammie | Glenn | David | Pierre | Floyd | Dalgix |____________________________________________________
Pierre Simon
June 2007
“If I just had a New Testament
cassette, I could learn the Bible . . .”
Pierre Simon was beyond blind. He was a dead man . . . spiritually speaking, that is.
A Haitian witch doctor, Pierre worshipped the Loa, “disembodied spirits” believed to walk the earth among the living. His “patients?” Poverty-stricken and ill-educated villagers, desperately looking for help and hope.
To Pierre, they were nothing more than prey — victims of his curses, manipulation and greed.
Rarely have I heard of a person more dead in spirit and soul. Rarely have I learned of someone more in need of new life in Jesus Christ.
Lost in his lust for power, the eyes and ears of Pierre’s heart were squeezed shut to any message of God’s salvation. Blind to the core of his being, there was little hope for the veil of evil to be lifted from his eyes.
Yet, I am reminded that, "With men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible" (Matthew 19:26).
You see, the Lord eventually drew Pierre to Himself though the ministry of a pastor . . . and the Lord chose to work strongly in the heart of this man. So much so that his appetite for power and control was replaced with a desire for true salvation through a personal relationship with Jesus.
Pierre , after coming to know the Lord, longed to grow deeper in his faith. And God left this desire to burn in Pierre’s heart. It surpassed any worldly appetite he ever had in the past. It consumed his life . . . his thoughts . . . his heart . . . his days. Yet God allowed it to remain unfulfilled . . .
“If I just had one New Testament cassette, I could learn the Bible and minister to people,” Pierre exclaimed.
As a good friend and partner of Audio Bibles for the Blind, you know as well as I that we are the hands and feet of Jesus on this earth. We are His mouthpiece. We are commissioned to
proclaim the Good News from one end of the earth to another. And it was through the moving of the Holy Spirit and the gifts of friends like you that Pierre’s urgent prayers were answered . . .
He received not just one but 24 tapes — the entire New Testament — in his native language, Haitian Creole! Now, instead of spewing curses, Pierre proclaims the Word of God to all who would hear. He has listened so frequently to his New Testament that he now quotes Scripture all the time to people around him – and Pierre has even introduced numerous others to the Lord he now knows.
“I am very happy,” he says. “Now I can tell them about the Lord!”
This is the kind of miraculous transformation you are a part of every time you help provide an Audio Bible for someone like Pierre. This former witch doctor is living proof that God works through the generous hearts of friends like you to help make life-changing, eternal differences throughout the world.
Tammie | Glenn | David | Pierre | Floyd | Dalgix | For The Troops |
____________________________________________________
David Schomer
May 2007
“The first thing I’ll see is the face of Jesus.”
As a valued partner of Audio Bibles for the Blind, I want you to be among the first to read the words above.
You see, by God’s grace, you helped make them possible. And you need only to read the story below to realize just how miraculous they are coming from someone like David . . .
. . . someone who once believed he was in hell.
I’m not exaggerating. David was struck by a vehicle while helping a woman whose car had spun out of control and slammed into a guard rail.
David, a young father, was unconscious the first 40 of the 48 days he was in the hospital.
By his side were his distraught wife and three young children.
As he faded in and out of consciousness, his wife explained that he had been in a car accident. Disoriented by pain medication, the memories of others he had seen die in auto collisions came flooding back. Worst of all . . .
. . . when he opened his eyes there was only a veil of black! In his mind, he was dead. David searched for the face of Jesus but found only impenetrable darkness.
“I thought I was in hell,” he says emotionally.
Before the accident, David had been raised in church . . . he knew the Bible stories . . . but he did not know the Lord. Before the car struck him down, he could see, but the eyes of his heart were closed.
“We were going completely down the wrong path as a family,” David explains. “We were not going to church.” The accident left David blind, but his interest in developing a closer relationship with Jesus grew. The Lord led him to Audio Bibles for the Blind and he’s been a radically changed man ever since . . . thanks to the gifts of friends like you . . .
Totally blind, David listens to his Audio Bible every night. He recognizes that he will sacrifice much here on this earth but has everything to gain in heaven!
“I’m going to miss seeing a lot of things in my kids’ lives,” he says. “My daughter’s face at her wedding . . . my son sliding across home plate. But I will get to see them in heaven . . . AND SEE THE FACE OF JESUS! It’s all worth it. The first thing I’ll see is the face of Jesus!”
Can you imagine . . . a man who is thankful he’s blind because the eyes of his heart are now opened to our Lord’s saving grace?
This is the kind of unrelenting joy you are helping provide through every Audio Bible you help put into the hands of someone like David. You see, God works through the generous hearts of friends like you to help make a life-changing, eternal difference.
Tammie | Glenn | David | Pierre | Floyd | Dalgix |
___________________________________________________
Glenn Langston 
March 2007
Have you ever stopped to consider just how much printed material is available to you? Libraries are filled with books. You can access the Internet with just a few keystrokes. Newspapers, magazines, and even this letter can be delivered to your doorstep. You can read just about anything you want—including God’s Word—at any time you want.
But not everyone has that privilege. Glynn Langston is one of those who doesn’t. He was born in Houston, Texas, as a premature twin. His brother lived only three days, but God kept Glynn alive. Even so, because he was so small, he was given a tremendous amount of oxygen, which left him blind. Yet, he has developed a very special “vision”!
Throughout his childhood, despite his blindness, Glynn’s parents expected him to do his everyday chores and helped him be as “normal” as possible. They encouraged him and challenged him. When they were dissatisfied with the quality of education he received at the state school for the blind, they transferred him to a local school. Glynn became the first blind student to attend regular classes in the Texas school system. He graduated magna cum laude in 1967.
Glynn went on to make the dean’s list at Southwestern University, was named to the Who’s Who among Students in American Colleges and Universities, and graduated with honors and a double major in history and public speaking. He also met his wife at the university—on a “blind” date!
After college, Glynn and his wife moved to Europe where they served as missionaries for 22 years. Throughout his ministry, Glynn realized that God was always more concerned about spiritual blindness than physical blindness. But his own blindness made him keenly aware of the difficulties visually impaired people face when it comes to getting to know God.
Only a tiny fraction of printed materials are available in Braille, and what is available can be expensive—and bulky. When Glynn received his Braille Bible at age 10, it filled six feet of shelf space!
Even so, Glynn is committed to making more Christian literature available to the blind and visually impaired. In the last 12 years since moving back to the United States, Glynn and his wife have devoted their lives to Insight International, a worldwide Braille outreach ministry. In his travels thus far, he has reached
out to more than 150 million blind people. His heart’s desire is to place free biblical literature into the hands of the visually impaired, so more souls can know and respond to the Lord. Although Glynn’s ministry emphasizes Braille literature, he realizes that not everyone can benefit from Braille. Of the 240 million people worldwide who are visually impaired, only 10 million use Braille. Many more rely on audiocassettes.
That’s why Glynn was so enthusiastic when, in 1995, he was introduced to Audio Bibles for the Blind. His budget would never allow him to purchase Audio Bibles for everyone he met who needed one. “They’re expensive!” exclaimed Glynn, “But Audio Bibles for the Blind sends high-quality Audio Bibles out to anyone who needs them—worldwide—completely free of charge.” And Glynn was especially excited when he heard that Audio Bibles for the Blind has nearly 70 languages available!
Since discovering Audio Bibles for the Blind, Glynn has told numerous people from around the world about our ministry. “[I] refer a lot of people to Audio Bibles for the Blind,” Glynn says, “and you meet every need … and always make certain every one of them has an Audio Bible in their language!”
“It’s amazing where your Bibles go,” Glynn continues, “I receive letters from small tribes and villages in places such as Zimbabwe . . . some of the places only have solar-powered players, some have hand-cranked devices—often one precious Audio Bible is passed around to many people with one player being available. So it’s astounding to know where the Word of God is able to permeate.”
Today, when he speaks of our ministry, he says, “without you, many people would not have the opportunity to know Christ and spend eternity with God in heaven-it’s just that simple.”
I am so thankful for your ministry,” Glynn says, “ I commend every person that has a part . . . [in] sending the Word of God to the blind.” And that, my friend, includes you!
Tammie | Glenn | David | Pierre | Floyd | Dalgix |____________________________________________________
Tammie Pace
January 2007 
Today, I want to introduce you to an incredible woman who also has an incredibly positive attitude about her blindness.
Tammie Pace was an ambitious and successful woman. She was the first African-American female promoted to captain on the police force in Houston, Texas—the fourth largest city in America. She was also the first female from the Houston Police Department to attend the FBI National Academy. She even became the first female commander placed in charge of the training academy.
And, as if that wasn’t enough, Tammie also taught police sciences at a college, owned her own business.
But success and achievement don’t come without cost—no matter how talented you are. Tammie Pace was no exception. After each exhausting day, Tammie would go home and yearn to study God’s Word. Sometimes she was just too tired. At other times, she stayed up until 2:00 or 3:00 a.m. to read her Bible, only to awaken the following day exhausted from lack of sleep.
Realizing she couldn’t maintain her hectic schedule forever, Tammie began to pray that God would find a way for her to spend more time in His Word. God answered her prayer, but in a way she had never anticipated.
In 2000, Tammie was diagnosed with retinitis pigmentosa (RP). By 2003, her vision had deteriorated to the point she felt she could no longer do her job justice, so at age 44, she retired from her prestigious position as police captain.
“Blindness became for me a whole different world;” Tammie says, “you can’t even describe it to people. Yet I never feel victimized; I’m still grateful to God. . . . You use your physical senses to connect with the world, but you use your spiritual senses to connect with God—that has not been taken away from me.”
Despite her disability, Tammie’s faith in God never wavered. In fact, as a result of her impairment, Tammie was forced to retire. Now she spends hours and hours each day with her Audio Bible—filling her life with God’s Word in a way she was never able to do before.
God actually answered Tammie’s prayer in two parts. Blindness alone would have left Tammie cut off from God’s Word altogether because she could no longer read. But God allowed her to learn about Audio Bibles for the Blind shortly after she lost her sight. She requested a copy, and thanks to the generous gifts of friends like you, we shipped one right out to her.
" I received my Bible in no time flat, and I was very impressed,” Tammie says. “[The Audio Bible is] so nicely put together and packaged [and] I love the voice on the Bible [Cliff Barrows]. It’s better than any [recorded voice] I’ve ever heard.”
In addition to spending hours a day in God’s Word, Tammie is active in her church in their encouragement ministry and as a decision-time counsellor. As a motivational speaker, Tammie has also spoken in the public school system, to women’s ministries, and to police academies. She has even started doing some inspirational writing.
In Tammie’s own words, “God has been so gracious my whole life!” In spite of her blindness, God has provided her with a home, a pension, many activities to keep her busy, and an Audio Bible to hear His Word.
Today, Tammie wants to help others. Even though Tammie was under no obligation whatsoever to give us anything, she sent us a generous donation, saying, “ My Audio Bible means so much to me that I wanted to help others have access to the Word.”
Tammie knows firsthand how valuable an Audio Bible is to someone who needs to hear God’s Word. She also understands that we cannot produce Audio Bibles and place them into the hands of those who need them unless people support Audio Bibles for the Blind. It is donations like hers that allow us to give away nearly 30,000 Audio Bibles each year.
You can read an offical transcript of Tammie's bio here.
Tammie | Glenn | David | Pierre | Floyd | Dalgix |____________________________________________________
