We’d love to have you! There is a train strike that day, but the DLR will still run to Lewisham, where you can take a bus a short distance to us! The 25% applies up to book purchases up to £100 pounds apart from our rare books selection in our back room. We’ve brought up thousands of new titles recently, so come ready to find some treasures!
Last week Book Aid Charitable Trust was pleased to welcome Dr David Capes, Director of the Lanier Theological Library in Houston, Texas. David interviewed Christine Pulsford (Book Aid’s Director) and Rob Bradshaw (one of the Trustees) about Book Aid’s ministry. This is now available as part of the Stone Chapel Podcast series. You can listen to the podcast here.
More than a month later than expected and the container has arrived! Our partner writes that it was delivered at 8pm and the COVID curfew starts at 10pm. Thankfully the team unloaded it box by box in one hour. Thank you for your prayers.
That’s about 200,000 books sharing the gospel eagerly awaited.
Book Aid has always sold books, that are not required overseas, in its bookshops and more recently on-line via Amazon.co.uk and the Advanced Book Exchange. The money raised is used to cover the cost of transporting, sorting and packing those books that are sent overseas to Book Aid’s container partners. In order to reach a larger market Book Aid will now be using its Instagram account to sell books in the UK, such as the Folio editions shown above.
Thank you for your ongoing support. We hope that you find this new way of buying books and supporting Book Aid helpful. Do leave a comment below and let us know what you think.
Bob Hiley, the founder of Book Aid went to be with the Lord in the early hours of the morning of 18th February. Bob (and Ada who died 18 months ago) was in Christian Literature ministry for over 60 years – 30 with CLC and 30 with Book Aid. Bob came to faith on board ship serving in the Royal Navy through reading the Bible and when in dock in Chatham found the CLC shop there. The literature ministry of CLC profoundly awoke his calling to serve God through Christian Literature. He and Ada were candidates in the old WEC Highland Road HQ back in the 1950s under the leadership of Norman Grubb and Len Moules and Pa and Ma Whybrow. They went on to serve in CLC Birmingham, Leicester and London.
The high volume of sales they achieved in the Leicester shop drew the attention of the leadership and in the 1960s, whilst in his 30s, Bob was asked to serve CLC as Leader which he did for the next 9 years. They moved on to set up CLC IRIS (International Research and Information Service) in the days pre-computer. They became part of the CLC International Office and Bob travelled widely from the 1960s onwards supporting CLC work around the world. During this time he also worked with the Evangelical Alliance to set up the missionary arm which became the Evangelical Missionary Alliance (now Global Connections).
On leaving CLC at the age of 56, he/they started a small work in the back of the car collecting used Christian books to send to African contacts who could not afford new books and so began what became Book Aid. An absolute visionary to the end, always wanting to be in active service for the Lord in literature ministry he poured himself out for God. Sometimes misunderstood in his zeal and his piercing single-minded vision, but kind and so gracious right to the end you can probably tell that we (his family) loved him and honoured him for all that he stood for and the example he set. Bob lived and breathed passion for the Word of God. Some of his co-workers will speak of the pace he set for himself and for others who had ‘to run to keep up with him’ but many also speak of the vision and action he combined so effectively for the Kingdom of God. Never someone who sought recognition or affirmation he had the enormous privilege of knowing that lives were being changed through the books he enabled to be distributed for the glory of God.
There is absolutely no doubt the legacy he has left is immeasurable.
His funeral will be in Chatsworth Baptist Church, West Norwood SE27 9HN at 12 noon on 8th March. Bob left instructions that he should be carried to the church and to the committal in the Book Aid van.
Bob specified that a photo should be taken and released to the press – ‘with a challenge to others to release what God has entrusted to them for his church work and kingdom on earth’. He did not want to waste any opportunity to envision the next generation and challenge them that when one saint goes home to glory others step up to continue the work.
Book Aid continues apace. On the very day he died requests for containers were arriving at the London warehouse. Books continue to pour in, praise God, and we are thankful to God for the privilege of continuing this awesome programme.
It’s been a few years since Book Aid was able to get a van near to CRE’s site in London, but now that CRE is back at Sandown Park the Book Aid van will be there 16th-18th October 2018. We’ve been allocated space is on the ‘yellow brick ‘ outside the main entrance. Book Aid team members Ama and Joseph will be there to receive any donations of books visitors can bring with them. Do stop and have a chat with them and find out what Book Aid is up to at the moment – we are due to ship a container full of great books tomorrow morning to KENYA!
Book Aid has been asked to provide theology journals for Bible Colleges in Europe and West Africa.
If you have sets or individual journals you would like to donate, we would be most grateful to receive them. Please let us know in advance by emailing office@book-aid.org so that we can check if they are on the “wants list” we have from the colleges.
It is with enormous sadness that Book Aid has to announce the death of Ada Hiley on Saturday 2nd September.
Many will know that Ada was the co-founder of Book Aid, along with her husband Bob and she worked tirelessly and wholeheartedly for the Lord setting up and running the Book Aid bookshop here in London and overseeing the other BookAid bookshops around the country
Ada was 86 years old and was at work on 31 July the day before she had surgery for a longstanding serious health issue. That surgery was not successful and after a number of serious complications she did not recover. She finally went to be with her Lord and Saviour on Saturday morning. Funeral arrangements will be announced shortly.
One year after the container was dispatched to Zimbabwe full of books it has finally been released! When it arrived at Harare last year it was impounded out of the blue and a tax of 40% and $1 per kilo had been imposed. We and our container partners have spent a year praying for its release- unable to pay the tax imposed. Today we have heard that they won their case against the company who have agreed to allow the books to leave the port.
Our partner writes:
“Thank you so much for helping us pray and all glory we give it back to Him. We have accumulated storage charges (over $4000) yes but it is manageable compared to what we could have paid in tax. We have started selling the books now and trusting God for good sales.”
Praise God!
