Long Distance Chapel...

A little over a week ago, we had the pleasure of speaking at the PCA chapel via skype early this morning our time. It was great to see and hear everyone and share what God is doing in PNG and in our own lives. 

Settling In...

We are finally settling in to Ukarumpa, after a short trip to Port Moresby, the capital of PNG, to get documents notarized for the sale of our home in New Hampshire. Thank you to all those who were praying and helping us with this process! We moved into temporary housing for 10 days, until we could occupy our new rental home from the missionary family going back to the U.S. on furlough. Now, we are learning to function and find our way around Ukarumpa. This 100 acre translation center was established in the 1950’s under SIL, the Summer Institute of Linguistics, to study the hundreds of native languages in the Pacific, begin literacy programs, and translate the Bible. Accessible by some roads but primarily by air, translators come and go to the language groups they are partnering with, as support workers here maintain schools for their children, a health clinic, store, aviation & housing facilities and security for the center. We are excited that by serving in our support roles as security operations manager and high school science teacher, translators will be able to spend more years in the field, bringing God’s Word to Papua New Guineans eagerly awaiting it!. 

Meeting Bible translation teams gives us Perspective...

As we have met and spoken with more Papua New Guineans, we have begun appreciating how integral their “tok ples”, or native language, is to their tribal culture and identity. This is why having the Bible in their “heart language” speaks to them more deeply and profoundly than trying to study it in English, or Tok Pisin, the trade language. Our friends from the Pacific Orientation Course, the Vargas family, will soon begin a translation project in Alotau, and we are seeing first hand their preparation. Moving their family out to a village and beginning the daunting task of learning a new language and starting a translation project is a great step of faith, and we are blessed to be a part of their prayer team. We were also tremendously encouraged last Sunday night, as a translation team spoke at the evening service about the 40 years they have spent in PNG, translating the New Testament into two unrelated languages in two different regions of PNG. Seeing their video of the Bible being dedicated and distributed in these villages to men and women eager to read the Word of God in their heart languages was inspiring, as was the complete humility with which this couple gave all the glory to God for enabling them to be used for His work and purposes. Perspective- this is ultimately why we are here!.