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World Pulse correspondent Deann Alford asked Patrick Johnstone about Window on the World, the children’s version of Operation World, a bright, picture-filled hardback volume originally written by his wife, Jill Johnstone, and now largely rewritten by Daphne Spraggett.

Q: What is the goal of Window on the World? Is that goal different from Operation World?
A: It’s pitched at a completely different section of the Christian population. Jill’s original vision was that children can understand the gospel just as well as adults, and they can be just as involved in prayer as adults and change our world. But it has to be put in a way that is meaningful to them. Really, Window on the World is to help children and families to be involved in praying for the world. It’s a home devotional tool. In a sense, Operation World is too, but at a different level. But you can get children involved in a presentation that’s pleasant for the eye, and is interesting. Children take it to bed, and they don’t want to put it down.

Just to give another example, with the children’s Operation World [titled You Can Change the World in its previous edition], the first country on which Jill wrote in 1990 was Albania. At that time, it was still tightly closed to the gospel, with a communist regime in power and every religion totally suppressed. She shared the chapter she had written with a little group of children, which was then called Operation World Children’s Club. They were praying for different countries and different peoples. She shared this first chapter. The children were so burdened about Albania, that the children in Albania couldn’t hear about Jesus. One little girl prayed passionately. Some months later, the government fell. When Jill shared with them that the country had opened up to the gospel, this girl was so delighted she jumped up and down with joy and she said, “We’ve changed Albania!” Of course, she wasn’t the only one who prayed, but she suddenly got hold of this wonderful truth-God hears prayer and answers.

Q: Then Window on the World is kind of a cut-to-the-chase Operation World.
A: Yes, because it has to be highly selective. Only certain countries and certain people groups can be mentioned.

Q: Window on the World places great emphasis on the former Soviet republics, China, India and the Arab world, but very little on Africa and Latin America. Were these areas Jill was especially impassioned about? How were these areas chosen?
A: There was another factor that emerged during the revision. When it came to photographs, we had a bit of difficulty. I warned the publishers early on when Daphne Spraggett was struggling to do the book, when they wanted to use photographs and not drawings, they were going to have enormous difficulty if we incorporate all these 52 chapters of these two volumes, over 100 chapters. Many of the ones on Africa had to be left out because we couldn’t obtain photographs that were not copyrighted and were not going to cost the earth without somebody going out with a camera and taking the photographs. So the final selection of chapters on Window on the World was often determined by whether there were photographs available. In fact, Daphne Spraggett and her husband, Roy, were our directors for Central Asia and South Asia at different times. They traveled a lot in Asia.

May 10, 2002