The 55th annual Cairo International Book Fair (CIBF) was held in Cairo, Egypt, January 24 through February 6, 2024. The Arabic literature work in Egypt sponsored a booth and was able to present Living Stream Ministry (LSM) publications.
“What should I do to become a Christian?” This was a genuine question asked by a young man of the predominant religion in the region. He was advised, with the help of the booklet The Mystery of Human Life, to call upon the name of the Lord and ask Him, “Who are You, Lord?”
According to the Egyptian Book Organization (GEBO), 4.8 million visitors from Egypt and the Middle East attended the Egypt International Exhibition Center (EIEC) from January 24 through February 6, during the 2024 CIBF. There were 700,000 visitors on the ninth day alone, breaking the previous record. The total number of visitors in the first nine days was 3.5 million. Approximately 1,200 publishers and 5,250 exhibitors from at least seventy countries participated, of which about twenty-seven were Christian publishers, of which we were one. Praise the Lord!
This is the sixth year that the Arabic literature center in Cairo, known as Al-Jadwal Al-Haii (AJAH), participated in this book fair and presented the ministry publications of LSM. This event is considered to be the largest and oldest book fair in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. It is also considered one of the largest literary events in the world. It is not a small thing for the ministry of the age to be made available in the Arabic language to millions of Arabic speakers in a manner both legal and righteous before God and man. This is the Lord’s blessing!
A middle-aged man from a Coptic Orthodox background came to the booth last year and was very skeptical but purchased two titles in order to know who we are. He came again this year and purchased several ministry books. When he saw the serving one whom he met last year, he almost wanted to hug him. He said that he appreciates these writings because they focus on Christ alone. He later came to the Cairo International Conference on February 22 and joined the first day.
A dear brother from Sohag province (the Upper Egypt area), who is a responsible one in an organization that conducts training and shepherding for a group of pastors and ministers from various denominations, visited the booth. He expressed how much he treasures the ministry and expressed his desire to have the ministry books available to the Upper Egypt region at a discounted price if possible. He also came to the Cairo International Conference last February and enjoyed the Lord’s up-to-date speaking. He was positive, active, and had genuine questions.
One of the young, new translators at the AJAH office came to the booth and brought her family. The first two titles that she had translated into Arabic were exhibited there. It was so sweet to see her giving a “presentation,” sharing her enjoyment on those two titles to her family. She also enjoyed the Cairo International Conference. She is now meeting with the church in Cairo on Fridays, as well as joining a young sisters group meeting for ministry pursuit. Her family, parents, and younger brother would like to come to the conference next year.
A good number of those from the predominant religion in this region visited the booth. A young lady came twice and had some genuine questions. She ended up purchasing the complete set of Life Lessons. Many purchased The Mystery of Human Life. Even some came as wolves to debate, but after the serving one responded to all their debates, the Lord subdued them to hear concerning God’s economy and the subjective knowing of the Lord by eating Him to live because of Him.
“My personal impression and encouragement from this last book fair were related to people’s interest in Brother Lee’s ministry.” This was an observation by a brother serving at the booth this year. People have been coming asking explicitly for Brother Lee’s publications. The Life-study of the Bible has had the largest number of requests. The Life-study of Genesis, John, and Matthew (vol.1) were available at the booth; however, we received several requests from many readers for the Life-studies of the other books of the Bible. Even some customers have sent messages to the AJAH office sharing their top enjoyment from their reading the Life-study of Matthew.
Even though the booth this year was not in a prominent location and was surrounded by publishers who received the majority of the traffic, nevertheless, this did not stop the flow of the Triune God. In fact, this year the Lord sent the sons of peace one by one to the booth with a result of more quality encounters compared to previous years. What could we say but “God is faithful, through whom you were called into the fellowship of His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord” (1 Corinthians 1:9). Day after day and year after year, we have experienced that “the usefulness of the publications is long lasting and widespread. Like water, the publications can spread widely and imperceptibly ‘seep’ into people” (CWWL, 1984, vol. 5, “The Faithful and Diligent Spreading of the Truth—concerning the Publication Service,” p. 216).