Click here to read the February 2024 Library Newsletter in its entirety.
Missions Month
February is Missions Month at Cornerstone Living Library! Did you know our library director, Ashley Borrego, grew up in South America as a missionary kid? She is passionate about missions, and is so excited to have enough resources to create an entire section in the library dedicated to missions! Since the missions conference at Cornerstone Bible Church is on February 23-25, we thought it would be a perfect month to highlight those books. We have some wonderful biographies of missionaries who have answered God’s call to serve Him. We also have fictional books that tell stories of missionaries or missionary kids. In addition, we have books that describe different cultures around the world. Check out some specific recommendations in Clive’s section below!
February Events
THIS Friday we are having another Poetry Teatime! We hope you will join us at 1pm for hot tea and a chance to enjoy different poetry. Children may bring their own poems to read, or they are also welcome to read from the books we have in the library.
Friday, February 9 at 1pm – Storytime featuring a missionary biography. Our guest reader is our associate pastor, Rob Kocher – a former missionary with Ambassadors for Christ, International.
Friday, February 16 at 1pm – Monthly Book Club. Normally, for our book clubs everyone reads the same book. HOWEVER, this month only, we’ll be reading a missionary biography of our choice. Each child will have the chance to tell about the book they read. We hope to learn about how God has used all kinds of people for His glory!
Friday, February 23 at 1pm – Storytime learning about different world cultures and how God is using missionaries to reach them! Our guest reader is Ruth May, a retired missionary with Wycliffe Bible Translators.
God’s Word in Many Languages
Have you noticed this shelf in our library? These are all Bibles written in indigenous languages around the world! Can you imagine not having a Bible in a language that you understand? Maybe there is one for those who speak the national language, or maybe even for the villages in the next valley over, but not in the language that you use every day.
This shelf in our library is an example of Scriptures that have been translated for these indigenous peoples. It is estimated that there are 7,394 languages being used globally today. Of those, 2,588 still do not have one verse of the Bible in their language. That equates to almost 200 million people who don’t have God’s Word available to them, to help their faith grow deeper, or even to find out who Jesus is and why He came to Earth.
It takes a great deal of time and effort to translate the Bible into just one language – sometimes decades. We are so thankful for the people God has called to tackle this enormous but incredibly important task. Next time you’re in the library, take a minute to flip through these Bibles. Thank God for loving all of us – no matter what language we speak. And pray for those remaining 2588 languages, that they will soon get their own Bible translations.
To learn more about how God is working around the world through missions, please attend Cornerstone Bible Church’s annual missions conference on February 23-25.
Clive’s Corner: Missionary Tales
Enjoy these monthly recommendations from our library mascot, Clive
I’m so excited I get to be in a library that has so many good books about missionaries and other cultures! I have been learning so much, and I hope you take advantage of the resources we have here.
- Around the World with Kate and Mack, by Melissa Paredes – Travel with Kate and Mack as they learn about different cultures, languages and countries. They’ll discover that although there are many differences between them and their new friends, there’s one thing that’s the same — they’re all loved by a God who speaks their language and wants to be their friend.
- Window on the World: An Operation World Prayer Resource, by Operation World – A wonderful resource that develops cultural, political, and geographical awareness in an age appropriate way. This guide helps both children and adults alike know how to pray for countries around the world.
- Do Great Things for God series, by multiple authors – A brand new series to our library! These picture books give a quick peek at a person just like you and me who bravely served God as a missionary overseas.
- Jungle Doctor series, by Paul White – Written by an Australian missionary doctor in the 1940s and 50s, these fiction books are collections of stories based on his own experiences serving in Africa.
- Christian Heroes Then & Now, by Janet and Geoff Benge – This series is published by YWAM and includes biographies of both missionaries and non-missionaries. They are a great family read-aloud to learn at an age-appropriate level the sacrifices and joys that people face serving God every day.