As many of you are aware, on September 11th, 2022 we experienced a 7.6M earthquake here in Ukarumpa. Thankfully, none of our staff were injured and recovery efforts are underway. We were about to post the following three articles the day of the earthquake and were delayed until now. Our October newsletter will contain more information on the earthquake.
Thank you,
Scott & Kathy
"Then saith he unto his disciples, The harvest truly is plenteous, but the labourers are few; Pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he will send forth labourers into his harvest". -Matthew 9:37-38 KJV
As support workers, we help provide the infrastructure and processes needed to facilitate long term Bible translation projects in Papua New Guinea. We don’t do this alone; there are many local staff members and partner organizations whose work is critical to making Bible translation happen. While fewer overseas workers are coming to the field, there is much that still needs to be accomplished. In order to meet this challenge, our mission is endeavoring to build capacity among our citizen staff by localizing positions where possible. Earlier this year, Scott found a local man to take over his former role of Field Security Officer. Now, a similar search is to find a qualified PNG citizen to take over the role of Chief Human Resources Officer. Over the next 9 months, leading up to our home assignment, Scott will be recruiting, on-boarding and training his replacement. Upon our planned return to PNG in January 2024, Scott will assume a new and, as yet, undefined role. While Scott enjoys the Human Resources role, it is personally rewarding and organizationally important to build the capacity of our citizen staff and partners in Bible translation. Please be praying for this project.
Teaching requires many hours of training, mentoring, and ultimately building trust. We are half way through Term 1, and the Grade 8 students have mastered enough basic lab techniques to be trusted with Bunsen burners (and they did a great job!). So it is in our spiritual walk, as we are mentored by more mature believers, and have the opportunity to pour into those who are newer to their Christian faith. God also trains us each up through our various life experiences, some enjoyable and some very difficult, and as we experience Him working in our lives, our trust in Him grows deeper. Whatever the LORD allows you to go through, seek Him in the midst of it and learn what He is teaching you!
• Papua New Guinea (PNG): Pray for peace and joy during PNG’s Independence Day celebrations on September 16.
• Bible translation: Pray for peace and spiritual protection during the Culture Meets Scripture workshop in Nukna.
• Our roles in PNG: Pray for Scott as he begins the search for a PNG Chief Human Resources Officer, to fulfill localization in that role. Pray for Kathy and all the students at UIS, and for them to go deeper in their faith at the Encounter spiritual retreat on September 23-25.
• PNG missionaries: Pray for the Oral Bible Storytelling workshop taking place in Gulf province, for many languages to be impacted.
• God’s provision: We thank God for providing the rain for our water tank, as we come out of a very dry, dry season.
Thank you for your prayers, and for your faithful financial support of our Wycliffe ministry in PNG.
We could not continue to serve here without you!
