God has been teaching us that our work is less about the programs and achievements that we accomplish, and more about waiting on him to work. We can’t make literacy happen and we can’t force people to do anything, but God is definitely at work in the hearts of the Kungka people. And it’s often in the people we didn’t expect.
My quiet times these past years have been extremely important in rediscovering intimacy with God, far better than anything experienced in the last 20 years. This has also positively impacted my relationships with my wife and boys, along with my relationships with children and staff at school.
I once thought linguistics was not my thing. I failed badly in Indonesian when I was in school and the sciences excited me more. But God changed my mind. Through a couple of service opportunities I was called on to interpret and translate programs into Indonesian.
I have a particular calling to lead and teach women, and before coming to West Asia, God had always provided someone to be my ‘right-hand woman’ - someone who was mature in the faith with whom I could work. However, here in West Asia I have not had it so easy. Over the past three and a half years I have been running a women’s group that has fluctuated considerably in size.
I am currently praying into three matters and waiting on God for breakthroughs. Firstly, after wanting to record more Scripture for a long time, I was finally able to get 1&2 Thessalonians recorded in May 2017. Secondly, I’ve been involved in negotiations on and off with the publisher of the Alyawarr to English Dictionary for ten months now, and still no contract has been signed, nor has layout work begun (as of late May 2017).
On a hot summer morning in June 2016, a group of J girls welcomed an entourage of guests to their village to the sound of beating drums and dancing. It was a day for the Christians of that village to celebrate the dedication of the New Testament now available in their mother tongue. The J language was surveyed to identify the need for Bible translation and language development almost 20 years ago, in 1996.
In my first three years in PNG, I was an unassigned linguist, helping out with various projects all over the country. This was great exposure to the different aspects of translation work, but I desired to settle in with one language community long-term. The slow and challenging process of deciding where this would be was soaked in prayer and required much patience.
During a mission trip 27 years ago, Matthew was first introduced to the need of Bible translation in his own country. At that time, there were an estimated 250 languages needing translation in this strategic South Asian country. Confronted with this enormous need, Matthew wondered, ‘If I committed my life to Bible translation, what difference would this make? It’s like a drop in the ocean.’
The Bible is full of rhetorical questions, but rhetorical questions simply don’t exist in some languages. This can present some unique challenges for Bible translation. Fortunately we discovered that the Teop language can handle rhetorical questions, and actually has a few words that indicate rhetorical questions.
Stanthorpe has lost one of its finest sons. On Sunday morning of the 9th of October 2016, Andrew Sav, aged 54, completed his journey home. Andrew was born in Stanthorpe in 1962 and attended the local high school. After an apprenticeship as a sign writer Andrew joined a Christian Mission organisation called Operation Mobilisation. O.M. is an interdenominational organisation which brings aid and Christian ministry and care to developing world countries via ocean going ships equipped to bring help and hope to all.
Thanks for your patience...Waiting is hard, isn't it. But imagine waiting 2000 years for Scripture in your language! Thanks for your patience. And thanks for your generous support which will help bring the long wait to an end...
