Books and Materials in Spanish – Phase 2
Printing and Distribution
Learn more about this project.
Progress toward our goal
As I have traveled and done seminars in South America for the past several years, I have been saddened by the lack of access to the precious materials on true education from the Spirit of Prophecy and other authors. We who speak English take this material for granted, but not many in Latino countries have this material in their mother tongue. Those translations that do exist are often incomplete or inaccurate, and the printed books are often inaccessible or too expensive for the average purchaser.
For several years I have been hoping and praying to be able to translate and publish this important material, but the costs for translation are extraordinarily high. A book of about 250 pages, for example, would cost an average of $10,000 just to get the translation and formatting completed – which doesn’t include initial printing cost.
At the beginning of 2022, a friend encouraged me to move forward, and handed me a donation to get started. It was a hopelessly small amount in view of the total needed, but I took it as the leading of the Lord and embarked on this ambitious project to translate material on true education. It looked impossible. As I made inquiries, translator after translator was either too busy or too expensive. Even at the lowest rates we would need hundreds of thousands of dollars to complete the several books I had in mind.
But the Lord’s hand is not slack. As more funds came in and friends continued to pray, I was put in contact with a professional translator who shared in the burden of this important work. She told me, “I believe in this project and I want to help.” She offered her services at one sixth of the standard industry rate, and one third of the lowest rate I had yet been able to find. Her work is excellent and fast.
By God’s grace we now have nine titles translated and in-print. Gather the Children, Studies in Christian Education, Living Fountains or Broken Cisterns, The Mental Arithmetic, The Story of Daniel the Prophet, Fundamentals of Christian Education, Education, Special Testimonies on Education, and The Cross and its Shadow. These are all available on our online store. We are working on completing several more books. Thank you to all who have supported this project!
We are now moving on the phase 2 – printing. While we print in small quantities here in the USA, it is far more cost effective to both print and distribute within South America. We are currently working with a printer in Bolivia and Ecuador, and have invitations to work with others … but we don’t have the needed funds to meet the all the requests. While the books will be sold to fund future printings, the initial outlay of capital is significant. Can you help us?
The cost to print a book depends on several factors, including the number of pages, but averages about $2.00-$4.00 per book if we print 1000 copies. (That might sound like a lot, but it is around half the price that we can obtain here in the US.) So it costs an average of $2000-$4000 per title to print 1000 copies. To print the five titles we currently have translated would cost around $15,000. Multiply that by the number of printers – one in Bolivia, one in Ecuador, another in Mexico, etc. … and the cost grows quickly!
But while the cost is high, the heavenly treasure being laid up is of far greater value! Recently a lady from Ecuador wrote me and said, “How I wish we could have this bread from heaven!” – speaking of the books we have finished translating. People are hungry for this material. I recently took about 250 of these translated books with me to Bolivia. You cannot imagine the smiles and even tears from the students and volunteers who received them. When I told the mission director about this project, he literally got tears in his eyes. He told me, “We’ve been trying to get these books for years.” The young people were so excited just to hold the books in their hands, and many immediately sat down and started reading them. All through the week that I was there many were carrying them with them and reading every spare minute.
While in the US and Europe we often struggle to find people interested in spiritual books, there are many places around the world where people are begging for them. Constantly I receive the requests for these books, and all I can respond is … “I hope to be able to get them in your country soon”.
We appeal for your support for your fellow Christians in Spanish-speaking countries. You can do so by donating to this project. Any amount is a blessing. Purchasing materials from our online store is also a help.
Or you may donate via Paypal
Or you can send a check to:
A Thinking Generation
P.O. Box 42
Elk Creek, MO 65464
Please note: if you use PayPal or check, please note which project your donation is for. Your contribution will not be immediately reflected on the goal meter above, but we will manually adjust it as soon as we receive payment.
* A Thinking Generation Ministries does not operate as a 501(c)(3) organization and cannot offer tax-deductible receipts for donations.