Lutheran Braille Workers
We’ve entered October, and with a new month comes a new Mission of the Month: Lutheran Braille Workers. As stated on their website (lbwloveworks.org), “Lutheran Braille Workers exists to bring the Word of God to the 338 million people throughout the world who are blind or visually impaired …. In over 80 years of ministry, Lutheran Braille Workers has produced and distributed over 15 million volumes of Christian material, in 40 languages, to people in 164 countries. LBW has never charged a recipient to receive these materials as we believe in freely sharing God’s Word!”
Listen to how Lutheran Braille Workers had its start in 1943 in response to a shortage of Braille Bibles for blind pastors in Germany: “Mrs. Helene Loewe Koehler, with the support of her family, felt God calling her to first learn Braille, and then begin the process of transcribing the Bible into German Braille, one dot at a time, moving backwards across the page. After months of hard work, and moving manuscripts and pages from under her bed, to her garage, to Trinity Lutheran Church’s basement, an entire German Braille Bible was crafted and shipped out. Helene thought her project would be over until she received a letter from somebody who benefitted from the German Braille Bibles. The letter read: ‘Thank you for the Braille Bible. It was exactly what we needed. How many more can you send?’ Helene wrote in her journal, ‘I think about how much time and effort went into producing one Braille Bible. How in the world can we keep up with demand? But if people are asking for the Gospel, how can we ever say no?’”
Have you ever wondered, “What’s my purpose? How can I find meaning in my life?” I like this quote I once read: “Man’s meaning is found in his relationship to God.” For Mrs. Helene Loewe Koehler to perceive God’s leading to the point of painstakingly learning Braille and producing a Braille Bible which led to the start Lutheran Braille Workers, she must have had a strong relationship with the Lord.
Is that the sort of relationship with Him that you desire? He desires to have it with you. So how about cultivating it through daily time in the Word, prayer, and prioritizing worship with fellow brothers and sisters in Christ. And together, let’s see what He’s calling us to do to make a positive difference in His world.