We’ve shared lots of pictures of the tour we are doing for the Roma Decade of the Book. What is the Roma Decade of the Book, what are we doing, who is on the team, etc.? This FAQ will let you know!
What is the Roma Decade of the Book?
This is a special initiative of Roma Bible Union to encourage Roma to higher levels of reading.
When is the Roma Decade of the Book?
It started in 2014 and will last until 2024.
What is the vision of Roma Decade of the Book?
We want to see thousands of Roma families reading good Christian books, and more importantly, the Bible. We believe that God will use this movement also to raise up Roma themselves as writers, theologians, Bible translators, journalists, artists, photographers and film makers.
Where is the Roma Decade of the Book?
It is being held in Hungary, Croatia and Serbia and we would like to extend it throughout all of central and eastern Europe.
What is the reason for the Roma Decade of the Book?
As a general rule, Roma are not readers. Many are illiterate, but even those who are literate do not often read. Also, there is a new generation of Roma who are able to read but do not have Christian books available, especially books written for and or by Roma for Roma.
Why are we in Serbia?
We are on a tour to visit six Roma churches and another dozen Roma villages to present the program of the Roma Decade of the Book. We plan to travel over 1,000 miles and distribute 16,000 books.
What is that program?
We hold meetings for adults in which we have Roma praise music, show a video about one of our Roma coworkers who wrote a Christian children’s book for Roma; act out the story about a Roma girl who was born with a deformed leg and whose father wanted to sell her, yet who found hope in the Bible and in reading and how the Lord changed her life; we hand out a packet to each attendee containing the children’s book “The Cat and the Custard”, the Gospel comic book “Milena’s Bible”, a Bible study booklet for small group study called “Learn to Forgive”, and a Christian novel about the persecution of Roma during World War II.
For children, we go to the village and have a special program for them. The team acts out a drama of the book “The Cat and the Custard”, they sing several songs written especially for Roma, including two that our teammate wrote (one called “Read Every Day, Write to Become Smart”—okay, sounds funny in English but in Serbian it rhymes!), and the song “Read Your Bible, Pray Every Day, and You’ll Grow, Grow, Grow!” Then the kids break up into small groups, talk about the story and make a book marker for reading. Then they play a few games and get treats and a copy of the book “The Cat and the Custard”.
Who is “the team”?
There are 13 of us including Todd; the team is thus made up of seven Roma, one Madagascaran, one Hungarian, three Americans and one Croat. We travel in three cars in a caravan and stay in the homes of Roma or else in the place they meet for church.
Who are all these people in the pictures?
In the pictures you will see our missionary team, as well as many, many Roma children and adults who come to the Decade Roma of the Book meetings.
