A few years before World War 2, a humble villager in Eastern Poland received a Bible from a colporteur who visited his hamlet. He read it, was converted, and passed the Book on to others. Through that one Bible two hundred more became believers. When the colporteur, Michael Billester, revisited the town in 1940, the entire company gathered for worship. Afterward they came together to listen to Billester's preaching. As a preliminary to, his message, Billester suggested that they all recite verses of Scripture.
Thereupon a man arose and asked: "Perhaps we misunderstood. Did you mean verses or chapters?”
"Do you mean to say there are people here who can recite chapters of the Bible?" Mr. Billester was incredulous.
That was precisely the case. Those villagers had memorized not just chapters, but whole books of the Bible. Thirteen knew Matthew and Luke and half of Genesis. One had committed all the Psalms to memory. Collectively, the two hundred knew practically the whole Bible. Passed around from family to family and brought to the gathering on Sundays, the old Book had become so worn with use that its pages were hardly legible.