Bible history. The Christian radio and TV stations supported us strongly. Greg and Celina Danaha are two committed Christians I would mention specifically. Celina helped in our Gift Shop and Greg gave Bible history tours and demonstrated the press. Greg was very interested in archaeology and was an ordained Baptist minister. At that time, however, he owned a very productive business in Branson and was not in full-time church ministry. During our two years in Branson, they made the decision to sell the business and return to graduate school for further preparation for pastoral and teaching ministry. They cited as part of their influence in this decision, their work with the Bible exhibit. Financially, our venture in Branson was a failure, as breaking into this entertainment city takes a lot of publicity capital with a long-term business plan. However, in terms of learning the potential of what a Bible museum could achieve, it was a great success. To use a theater term often expressed in Branson, exit approval was nearly universally positive! Most visitors wrote in our Guest Book or explained to me personally that what they learned was totally new to them. Many others said that they had heard the names of Wycliffe and Tyndale, but knew almost nothing about them. Even more significantly, many said that both hearing the stories of their lives and seeing the actual Bibles they had produced would change their lives and their ministries from that day forward. Others spoke the truth when they said that God’s Word is so easily available to us today, it is easy to just take it for granted. Fourth Exhibit in Tulsa, Oklahoma A missionary organization in Tulsa, Oklahoma heard about the Bible exhibit in Branson and one of their representatives came to see it. We had already made the decision to close in Branson, so we accepted their invitation to become a part of the greater museum they were establishing to tell the history of all Christian martyrs since the Apostle Stephen. A first class museum was underway! Visitors entered as though in the catacombs of Rome, with Scripture frescoes painted on the walls and around the burial places. From there the Bible exhibits with media told about Wycliffe and Gutenberg, and as they moved from the press room into the English Bible room, visitors stared directly into a prison cell. A weary-looking man sat behind a crude table with a few books on it. In the dim light of a single candle, the man was writing and the story of William Tyndale began. Just beyond, an overhead TV showed our movie, The Fire of Devotion. This was truly a worthy museum that carried the story of Christian martyrs to the present day. I spent a paid year helping design the Bible section, as well as sharing ideas for other exhibits. Through some elaborately planned dinners in
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