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Woman with Down syndrome copied out the entire Bible by hand

WRITING

Ivan Kruk | Shutterstock

Cerith Gardiner - published on 06/18/21

The task required tremendous patience and resilience for over 9 years.

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In January 2012, Caroline Campbell decided to set herself an all mighty task. In fact, it was a challenge that most people would shy away from. The now-28-year-old decided to write out the entire Bible by hand. While the task itself is inspirational, what makes it even more impressive is that Campbell has Down syndrome.

In a report by Lejeune Foundation, Campbell was finally able to put down her pen this June 6. Her work meant filling out 43 binders with 10,493 pages to capture the Word of God.

Campbell opted to transcribe the 1973 New American Standard edition, which contains 782,815 words. While completing this task, Campbell also carried out her normal day-to-day activities, including her job in a restaurant, volunteering at a nursing home, sewing, and playing the piano.

The unusual challenge was inspired by Campbell’s pastor, Carl Broggi. And to mark the end of her project, the entire congregation gathered at Port Royal’s Community Bible Church on June 6 to watch her write out her final page.

The inspirational project shows Campbell’s tremendous willpower, especially as she never gave up. For her parents, it’s also a wonderful opportunity to see just how capable their daughter is.

“It shows more about the ability, and not the disability … Caroline has carved out her own path … In her copying of the Bible, Caroline … provided lessons about discipline, the joy of writing and the capabilities of persons with Down syndrome or other disabilities that can serve as an inspiration for anybody … We’ll be curious to see what she does next,” shared her parents with Lejeune Foundation.

Campbell’s mom and dad plan on binding their daughter’s wonderful writings into one very big book. And while it’s not sure what her next project will be, the nine-year-long challenge apparently brought nothing but joy to Campbell, and she hopes it might encourage others to follow suit.

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BibleDown SyndromeInspiring stories
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