Sue Aranzulla serves in Bologna, Italy, where her husband JP is pastor of Forte Torre Church. While visiting the Aranzullas in Bologna, Beth Buchanan, Crosslinks Director of Mission Personnel, interviewed Sue about her writing ministry.  

Sue, tell us about your writing ministry?

‘All about Jesus’ is a new series of five volumes, aimed at 7–9-year-old children and their parents. The volumes are: The Third Day, The Substitute, For the Nations, The Son of David and The Day to Come. The project was born out of the desire for families to apply the Old Testament more accurately to their lives and for the next generation to understand that all Scripture speaks of Jesus. 

How did it come about?

From infancy my parents taught me the Holy Scriptures. I grew up loving Old Testament stories and even telling them to my teddies! But only when I got to university did I begin to understand how all these stories were about Jesus. Events, which occurred centuries before the birth of Christ had something to tell me about him, both in the typologies, which anticipate Jesus, and in the treasure troves of hidden prophecy.

Before moving to Italy, I worked for an association that organised camps for young people. 20 years ago, while preparing a training day, I read this verse in the Bible. ‘Christ rose on the third day according to the Scriptures’ (1 Corinthians 15:4) – which means there are passages in the Old Testament that speak of the third day AND the resurrection. I set myself the challenge of finding them…and that research is now compiled in the first volume that takes children and their parents on a journey of discovering other things that happened ‘on the third day.’

The more I read, the more I see that every Scripture speaks of him. The whole of history revolves around Christ. All the promises of God ‘in fact have their yes in him’. Only a sovereign God could have written such a profound, rich and full-of-unity book. How I would have loved to have been with Jesus, walking along the Emmaus road after the resurrection, when he explained to his friends that all the stories in the Bible are about him!

Therefore, this series is written with the desire that children have the same experience as those disciples. I want to take children in search of Jesus, to believe that there is ONE story in the Bible, designed before the foundation of the world, of which Christ is the centre. This is why the book covers are a treasure map, and there is a child at the end of every chapter with a magnifying glass pocking out their pocket. The treasure, of course, is Jesus.

What’s different about your books?

In this series there are five volumes, each with a different theme. Each volume contains five stories chosen from the Law, the Prophets and the Writings and connects them to Jesus. Some of the stories are not so well known which means even an adult can discover hidden treasures! For example, the first volume explores the third day of creation, Hosea going home because the exile is over and Esther entering the presence of the king to cancel the decree of death.

Each chapter ends with the opportunity to reflect on the story through some questions and prayers. Children can write and think about the personal implications of what they’ve heard. The applications aren’t exhortations to be good but encouragements to be thankful for how the Lord has revealed himself in that story. The prayer is that children from a very young age can see the beauty of Jesus Christ and that families can share precious moments of discovery together.

Another aspect of the book worth highlighting is the quality of the illustrations. Just as God inspired the hearts and hands of the craftsman Bezalel and Oholiab to communicate his glory in the building of the tabernacle, I think the Lord has gifted Eunice, a dear Sicilian sister, with exceptional gifts and creativity. The text of the book series is adorned with beautiful images that arouse in readers the wonder of the gospel.

In compiling the books together, Eunice and I have been struck again and again how the LORD chose principally to communicate his covenant love through story. Narrative is the predominant genre in the Scriptures. We would never dream of reading to children the concepts of complex doctrines like propitiation. But, with illustrations of the day when the high priest entered the tabernacle once a year, it really is possible to communicate to children through pictures how Jesus turned away the wrath of the Father when he entered the holy place once for and all, presenting the sacrifice of his blood in the throne room.

What encouragements have you seen?

For years I have been passionate about clubs and camps for the next generation. I have found teaching Old Testament narrative fruitful ground for explaining God’s grace. For example: Rahab, under the protection of the greater captain at the last trumpet; Ruth, the foreigner who received abundant loving kindness from her redeemer; Naaman, who humbled himself like a child to be clean. However, time and time again, when I teach the four gospels to children in my neighbourhood who have attended Roman Catholic doctrine classes, I find my young listeners presume to know these stories well enough already. For example, last term we went through the passion narrative and struggled with the children’s dogmatic insistence that Mary had ascended too. How much better to proclaim Christ from the unknown territory of Old Testament stories and invite them to believe in the Lord without the distraction and confusion of their wrong input. 

God willing, these books will one day arrive in the UK and Ireland. But for now, only Italy has the joy of savouring Jesus in this series.