Mar 2025

"If your plan is for 1 year – plant rice
If your plan is for 10 years – plant trees
If your plan is for 100 years – educate children".
(Unknown)

The Jesus Messiah picture book is not only making a difference in society but is a global phenomenon impacting millions across Africa and beyond. The book is a graphic novel about Jesus's life. It was created in 1993 by Willem de Vink from the Netherlands. This powerful book narrates the story leading up to Jesus' birth and beyond into His early ministry, with facts drawn from Scripture and beautifully illustrated in a comic format. Its appeal transcends age, with both children and adults finding joy in its pages.
A celebratory event was held in 2023 in Holland to mark the 30th anniversary of the Jesus Messiah picture book. More than 30 years ago, the first books were printed, and their global impact since then is truly remarkable. With over 250 translations and counting, the book is reaching more and more people, introducing them to Jesus and helping many learn English.
The book's official website is a testament to its inclusivity. It is meticulously organised by continent, country, and language, ensuring that anyone, anywhere, can freely watch, share, download, or print the digital PDF books, thereby making the book's message available to all. South Africa has 11 official languages, and the booklet has already been translated into a few of them - English, isiZulu, SiSwati, Sotho, and Afrikaans.
Tens of Thousands of books have found their way all over Swaziland, making a massive difference in the lives of those who receive them. The team has visited almost every school in three provinces and is now targeting the other provinces.

SWAZIVISION

Leo Baan from Swazi Vision in Swaziland is actively involved in a project to help spread a book across boundaries. He mentioned, "We are continuing to visit schools in Eswatini. We received the first lesson books on Jesus Messiah, and I have already visited some schools to deliver these books. The schools are very excited about it. Not only do they have the comic books of Jesus Messiah, but now they also have a tool to teach the children about Jesus Messiah. We have already seen a big difference in schools. They also tell us that the atmosphere has changed since they started using this book, also the marks of the children have gone up and the reading skills have improved. I have personally witnessed the difference when visiting these schools. What a difference!"
Leo has a heartwarming story to share about distributing the book. He recalls a recent visit to a school that was quite challenging to reach due to the poor condition of the road. Although the school had been informed about the visit beforehand, upon arrival, nobody seemed to be aware of it, and there was no organization in place. Eventually, they found the person who had been contacted, and she explained that although she knew about the planned visit, many others had made similar promises in the past and never followed through. Thus, they were the first visitors the school had ever received.
Leo remembers, "While we were in Eswatini, we were also looking forward to the work of the Lord in Southern Africa. Two weeks ago, we sent 1,000 books to Mozambique, where children received them with great joy. Local officials also appreciated the books. The response we received was, 'What a great treasure! It's wonderful to know that long after we leave, people will continue to read the Gospel truths.'
Leo and his team delivered 5,000 books to schools in Lesotho. Shortly after, they received a request for another 5,000 books. Additionally, they delivered 1,000 books to the Kwa Siza Bantu Mission in KwaZulu-Natal for the 50th Year youth conference. They received 4,000 books in English, 4,000 in Portuguese, and 1,000 lesson books in English and French from the printers, which need to be distributed.
Note from the editor: Visit the website: https://jesusmessiahcomicmedia.com/en or https://www.swazivision.org/contact.html

Jesus Messiah now in Afrikaans

Exciting news for Afrikaans-speaking people - the book is currently in print for 50,000 books in Afrikaans in Cape Town. Literature4Africa will distribute these books to schools, police stations, hospitals, and many other places in the Western Cape Province. A webpage has been set up for the Afrikaans distribution of the Jesus Messiah book in Afrikaans: Jesus Messiah (frontlinemissionsa.org)