As the previously impoverished nation moves toward modernity and recovery, the World Bible Translation Center launches their newest easy-to read work in Croatia. Roger Massey of WBT says, "The Translation Center released its Croatian New Testament in a downtown library in Zagreb. This is important because, following the war between Serbia and Croatia, we had to wait for the political climate and the language to settle down."

Massey says the challenge was getting the New Testament ready for a globally aware age group quite unlike its predecessor. "This is a Scripture that's for the cell-phone generation. If something is not up-to-date, if something is not modern in their speak, they tend to discount it, disregard it as not useful."

In Russia, Christmas is celebrated January 7th. Send International's Carl Kresge says their missions team s in Eastern Siberia helped the children of Ulan Ude celebrate with a special event for Christmas.

"It was put on, actually, by an organization that is registered with the government for the purpose of reaching out to orphans and lower-class children. It was, at least a first opportunity for us to really present the Christmas story and the Gospel to a lot of Buryat children."

Kresge says their workers have a burden for the Buryat people because they are the least evangelized in the area, despite the presence of established Russian Christians.

"Their traditions and their churches really haven't reached out very successfully to the Buryat people. So, we're looking for that key that would really break open the hardness of the Buryat heart to the Gospel."

By Pauline C.