Can you imagine the Prime Minister visiting a party to congratulate you for reaching a special milestone? For Bible translation teams in Papua New Guinea, that is exactly what happened.
On Saturday, 28 March, a special service was held in Papua New Guinea for the 70 years of service of SIL and Wycliffe organisations in the country. The Prime Minister of Papua New Guinea, the Honourable James Marape, addressed local translation teams and expatriate workers from Australia and throughout the world with words of deep gratitude, sharing:
The Prime Minister of Papua New Guinea, Hon. James Marape poises for a photo in front of a banner that celebrates SIL PNG’s 70 years of ministry in PNG.
I’m here … celebrating SIL’s 70 years of unfailing service to the country and our people translating languages. We are the most diverse nation on earth as far as different languages are concerned – over 800 different language groups. For 70 years, SIL has stood as a pillar of service in our country. Your work has reached into the most remote parts of Papua New Guinea, bringing not only the Word of God, but also literacy, education, and hope to our people. It’s so nice to see Wycliffe Australia in partnership also commemorating 70 years of partnership with our country. You have been here for 70 years – longer than our nation has been independent. You are among the forerunners who helped shape the Papua New Guinea we know today. I want to say thank you very much for the support from Wycliffe. Thank you, God bless. Keep on supporting the mission field here in Papua New Guinea.
Helen Sahl was one of the guests who attended the special celebration and she was equally impressed by the words from another influential politician. The Honourable John Boito, Minister of Agriculture, made a special mention of the ‘third culture’ children of families involved in Bible translation work in Ukarumpa:
We thank you for the way you represent our home to the world. Even if you live thousands of miles away, the ‘Ukarumpa DNA’ makes you part of our family forever. We hope you always feel that the gate to Ukarumpa is an open door to your childhood home. With that, I challenge the current generation of SIL members and our local PNG partners: Do not let the fire of the 1956 pioneers fade. Continue to innovate. Continue to honour the landowners. And most importantly, continue to ensure that every Papua New Guinean can read and hear the truth in the language they value most. Thank you, God bless you, and happy 70th anniversary!
I had a special experience this June when I headed to Tonga with fellow Wycliffe Australia representative, Margaret Love. Two local Tongans joined us to train people in how to share their faith by simply asking, ‘Would you like to hear a three-minute Bible story?’
I was impressed with their boldness. Trusting in the power of the Holy Spirit, they went out to the streets and markets on Saturday afternoon to share their faith, using the newly learned tool of Bible Storytelling. I suspect that many of them had not previously known how to share their faith. It was a privilege to be there as they learnt to trust in God to overcome their fears as they witnessed to people outside the Church.
I went to the market with an older man named Peter who asked several groups if they would like to hear a story. They gave him their full attention as he shared with authority and conviction, and they thanked him at the end.
During our time on the island of ‘Eua, I came across a group of young rugby players, waiting for their game to begin. They agreed to listen to a Bible story and I told them about how Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead. This was one of the stories we had trained the workshop group to share. They don’t have too many white men telling them a Bible story before a rugby game, so I’m sure they will remember that story!
Participants in the workshops said to us after their course, ‘We want to train more people for this! It’s exactly what Christians need!’ Jesus never taught without telling a story. We can’t get a better example to follow than his!
Margaret Love joined Ian as a trainer for the workshop. She shares:
My husband, Robert, and I have been involved in facilitating Story the Bible workshops in NSW on a regular basis. We have also run workshops in the Solomon Islands (2012), Fiji (2012 and 2013) and in Tonga (2013 and 2025).
A lot of people think that Bible stories are just for children but they are for everyone. We all start out as oral preference learners and then are taught literacy skills at school. After participating in Story the Bible workshops, I discovered that I still learn better orally. When you can hear, see, and experience something in community, the Bible is no longer dry and tedious to read.
I have discovered so much more about God’s Word from learning Bible stories. I listen to the Bible each morning as I do my devotional readings. I use stories at my Scripture classes, and when sharing at our little outreach church in one of the suburbs of Tamworth.
Suliana is a local Tongan who has participated in previous Story the Bible events. She helped lead workshops with Ian and Margaret and says:
It was good to see my people, on my island, knowing more about God’s Word. It helps me remember Bible stories, deepen my faith, and my journey with God, especially as my family is growing.
Reverend Sitaleki also joined the workshop as a participant. He says:
I came to the workshop because I wanted to know more of God’s Word. I am excited to know how the workshop would help us with our ministry here on ‘Eua Island.
Sign language: a formal language using a system of hand movements for communication (as by the Deaf)
– Merriam Webster Dictionary
It is estimated that there are around 70 million Deaf people in the world today who rely on sign language as their primary means of communication. A common misconception is that cochlear implants and hearing aids are sufficient for enabling Deaf people to understand conversations, yet these devices only help to improve the perception of some sounds. Most Deaf individuals still need sign language to fully engage with and understand conversations. Aside from gaining a clearer understanding of the information being shared, sign language forms a key part of identity, culture and belonging for many Deaf communities.
Unlike spoken languages, sign languages are unique to their geographical locations. There are 280 documented sign languages in the world and anywhere from 138 and 300 different sign languages are being used today. Despite the prevalence of sign language usage, there is still only one complete translation of the Bible in a sign language: American Sign Language (ASL).
Australian Sign Language (Auslan)
Australian sign language, or Auslan, has been in use since the 1800s, yet the Australian Government only recognised it as an official, distinct language in 1991. The first time it has ever been included as a language option in Australia-wide research was in the latest Census (2021). Information from that Census revealed that over 16,000 people use Auslan in the home, but calculations from the Australian Disability Network estimate that the total number of people who speak Auslan is closer to 30,000. Grammar, syntax and concepts are completely different to written English. You will often see a capital ‘D’ in most references to Deaf communities, as it is the preferred way to signify their cultural identity.
Auslan translation and Deaf needs in Australia
there are two completed books of the Bible that have Auslan translations: John and Acts
4% of the Old Testament and 37% of the New Testament has been translated into Auslan
the statistics for deafness increase significantly among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. 2019 figures show an alarming
43% occurrence of hearing loss among people aged seven years and older from Indigenous communities.
The International Day of Sign Languages is celebrated on 23 September every year to raise awareness and support for Deaf people throughout the world. What can you do to show your support?
> Educate yourself about the needs surrounding the Deaf community
> Advocate for greater accessibility and resources in Auslan
All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realise what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right. God uses it to prepare and equip his people to do every good work. 2 Timothy 3:16-17 (NLT)
As a young man, I personally experienced the power of God’s Word to transform a life – my own life! The Scriptures tell us the history of God’s people and point us to Jesus Christ, but they are also living and active and penetrate into the deepest parts of our soul. These words are just as powerful and relevant today as they were thousands of years ago. As Paul shares in his second letter to Timothy, ALL Scripture is inspired by God, guides us in holy living and helps to equip us for ‘every good work’.
This edition of Wycliffe Today shares powerful testimonies about lives and communities that have been transformed for eternity by the power of God’s Word. We also honour the lives of Des and Jenny Oatridge – a humble couple who dedicated their lives to not only translating the Bible but also helping to save an entire people group on the brink of extinction.
May you be encouraged in the truth and power of God’s Word!
My daughter Marlena recently asked me, ‘What makes the Bible so special?’ It was a great question and reminded me of a sermon from the late pastor and theologian Tim Keller titled ‘Labouring for a God who fights for us’. Keller said:
Outside of God’s grace that saved us, the Word of God is the most precious (and powerful) gift in our lives.
I thought to myself: Do I truly believe that? On what basis can we make this claim and, if true, how should this truth impact our lives?
The Bible is unique. Its 66 books span stories that occurred over at least 4000 years of human history. It was written by potentially 36-40 different authors. It is both a divine and a human book, written in Greek, Hebrew, Aramaic, set in its linguistic, cultural and historical context, on three different continents. It is really a collection of writings with many different styles and genres.
The Bible is also the most translated book in history. Of the 7,394 languages in the world, 4,007 languages have at least some Scripture translated. There are currently 776 languages with full Bibles translated, 1,798 New Testaments and 1,433 portions of Scripture. But what makes this book so special? Why has it continued to endure? (2025 update)
Consider this for a moment: a book so precious that people are willing to risk their lives to protect it and ensure that its message continues to reach as many people as possible. Bible translators like William Tyndale lost their lives to translate the Scriptures. Prior to the Reformation, Latin was the only acceptable language for printing the Bible and other translations were seen as heresy.
Before Tyndale, there were only handwritten manuscripts of the Bible in Middle English – the work of John Wycliffe from 130 years earlier. William Tyndale’s desire was to make biblical truths about sin, Christ’s sufficiency and salvation by faith plain to all. These convictions drove him to finish the New Testament translation into modern English and in 1536 it brought him a death sentence ordered by the king and the bishop of London. Tyndale understood the risk and was still willing to pay the ultimate price because he believed that the Word of God is the most precious gift of all as it points us to Christ, ‘the Lamb of God that takes away the sin of the world’ (John 1:29).
God’s good and sovereign plans are accomplished through his Word that goes out. In Isaiah 55, God’s Word is described like rain that waters the earth, producing life. Verse 11 says: ‘It shall not return to me empty but it shall accomplish that which I purpose, and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it’. The Lord’s sovereign plans among the nations will be accomplished as his Word changes history, transforms whole societies and language groups.
How should we then live according to God’s Word? If Jesus, the Son of God, was completely immersed in the Word of God, then we should follow his example. Jesus was always quoting Scripture. He believed that every word was inspired by the Holy Spirit. Jesus himself fulfilled more than 300 prophecies that were written at least 500 years before he arrived on earth as the Messiah.
Following Jesus’ example, we also should put our lives completely under the authority of God’s Word.
Struggling? Go to God’s Word. Tempted? Go to God’s Word. Facing a health or financial crisis? Go to God’s Word. Needing peace or direction? Go to God’s Word. Wanting to share the good news of Jesus with someone? Go to God’s Word.
It is certainly time well spent to read, meditate on, and feed our souls on God’s eternal, living Word!
Gospel Coalition, Keller, T. ‘Laboring for a God Who Fights for Us’ (Tim Keller speaks on Nehemiah 3–4 at The Gospel Coalition’s 2014 National Women’s Conference in Orlando, Florida).https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/podcasts/tgc-podcast/laboring-for-a-god-who-fights-for-us/ Accessed 20 August 2024.
Nelson Tapineng is the new Executive Director of the Bible Translation Association (BTA) of Papua New Guinea – one of Wycliffe Australia’s close partners. A key focus for Nelson as the leader of BTA is ensuring that his team creates change from the inside out. He wants everyone involved in the work of Bible translation to not only be helping others be changed by God’s Word but also be in the process of being transformed themselves. Nelson says:
The vision of BTA is transforming Papua New Guineans through the translated Word of God. I’m challenging myself that, before another Papua New Guinean is transformed, I have to be transformed myself first. The Word of God is not really preaching from a nicely prepared sermon to make people understand. No, it is also the way we live our lives. That transformed life has to flow from within us. How can you transform others if you’re not transformed yourself? I am being changed in the process of supporting Bible translation and so is my family.
Nelson meets with administration and translation staff on the ground on a regular basis to encourage them and to help identify any areas where they need help. He mentions:
The relationship is so important! People need to know they are appreciated and that we care about their needs. We are committed to capacity building, not only with infrastructure and systems but also building up our people. We have done recruitment and training to identify where people fit in and how their gifts can best be used.
BTA has 69 language projects on its books but Nelson says that of these, only 18 are active. More help and resources are needed before the other 51 can be reopened. Of the more than 800 languages spoken in PNG, there are also many more languages needing a translation project to begin. Nelson is planning to create greater awareness among churches and individuals about the crucial role Bible translation plays in not only spiritual transformation but also preserving language and transforming culture. Nelson says:
We’ve got to protect our languages! We thank God for Bible translation and the way it helps with language preservation. The work that BTA and its partners are doing is vitally important for that. I grew up in the church but my knowledge of the importance of Bible translation was very low before I joined BTA. That’s why we are focusing on awareness. We recently held an event with politicians and leaders to make them aware of the needs for translation. Papua New Guineans must understand the importance of Bible translation. We believe that as we do our part, God will provide what we need.
Nelson says that BTA is grateful for the support of churches and individuals who want to help transform individuals and whole communities with the good news found in God’s Word:
I must thank our international friends and families who have been supporting BTA, including our friends in Australia. It’s evidence of the relationship and love you have for us.
PRAY:
for the 5 million PNG kina (around $1.9 million AUD) needed to support the needs of BTA
that the Lord will help BTA to position itself in a way that honours God
for more young people to join the organisation and for opportunities to help them receive training.
So much of what we think and say and how we interact with one another has been influenced by the Bible. Phrases such as ‘love your neighbour as yourself’ and ‘salt of the earth’ have become part of our everyday vernacular. Many people in Australia no longer realise the impact Bible translation into English has had on our society. Yet what we see in modern Bible translation projects is a powerful ripple effect that creates lasting change among communities.
Kim and Annie Colich are a couple I met while I was a teacher in Papua New Guinea. The Colichs were working on the New Testament for about 20 years in the Tami language. They did not feel like they were close to completing the translation but Annie thought ‘We’ve done a lot of translation work. It’s not ready to be published yet but I’m going to take what we’ve got and start a women’s Bible study’. She sent word around the village and the women began meeting together.
Annie gave them pieces of paper with the translated verses written on them in Tami. The women would listen intently during the teaching times. Hearing the Bible verses read aloud in their own language was so exciting! Many said ‘Oh, this speaks to my heart!’ They would gather around the fire in the evenings with family and friends and share what they were learning, applying the truths of God’s Word to their lives.
Aikiba is one of the women who attended the studies. Her husband, Angham, was angry and abusive. After years of living in fear of him, when Aikiba heard God’s Word being read in her language, her heart filled with joy. She began taking the verses she received from the Bible study home with her. Aikiba started showing her husband the written verses but he would grab them away from her and throw them on the ground. Yet one day, he took the paper and read Scripture in his mother tongue for the first time. His heart was ready to encounter the Living God, and he asked her, ‘Do you think I could attend this Bible study?’
The next week, Angham sat quietly at the back of the group of women and listened to the Scripture verses being read. The words began impacting him and he realised that he needed to turn his life around. Aikiba saw her husband become a new creature in Christ right before her eyes! The whole community recognised that Angham was a changed man. Angham later shared with Annie:
I felt like I was the man in the Bible with the evil spirit who lived in the graveyard, and when I met Jesus, my chains fell off and I was free!
Angham wanted others to know that Jesus was the reason for this change. Later, he even became the coordinator for the Tami Bible translation project. Many people in the village are coming to a new understanding of the power of God’s Word and its ability to change their lives.
Annie’s countenance was glowing when she told me how one life transformed by God’s Word can create greater change in the world, and for eternity. Annie shares:
If this was the only ‘glimpse’ of what the Lord did in my 33 years among the Tami, it would be worth it all. But it hasn’t been the only one! We have seen so much evidence of God at work, particularly as a result of the Scripture Engagement courses we have held in the Tami villages. His Word really does change lives!
Bible beginnings in the back of Burke
By John Tan
Boorong was the first known Indigenous Australian to have substantial exposure to the Bible. She was sick with smallpox in 1789 when Governor Philip’s men took her to Sydney for treatment. Rev Johnson and his family looked after her for 18 months. Boorong saw the clergyman’s family reading and studying the Bible, and heard him preach from the ‘buk’ on Sundays.[1]
Boorong, like other Aboriginals in that era, encountered the Bible as colonisers tried to educate and ‘civilise’ their communities. Christian missionaries brought the King James Bible into their society, together with other products of European civilisation. Indigenous Australians learned the Bible as they learned English.[2]
The Bible Society started in Australia in 1817, making the Bible available to the public [3]. For non-English readers, they brought in Bibles in Welsh, Hindi, Scottish Gaelic, Russian, Chinese and other languages[4]. They desperately also wanted to get the Bible into indigenous languages.
Lancelot Threlkeld, together with Aboriginal translator Biraban, finished translating Luke’s Gospel into the Awabakal language in 1831. [5] This could be Australia’s first Indigenous Bible translation.[6]
The list of Indigenous languages grew slowly in the 1930s and 1940s.[7] In 1942, when Wycliffe Bible Translators began in the USA, CMS missionary Len Harris and his best students, Grace Yamambu and Bidigainj, translated Bible passages into the Wubuy language of Arnhem Land[8]. Madi, who heard it read at a campfire, was excited that to realise that ‘Jesus speaks Wubuy’[9].
Wycliffe Australia started in 1954, with some of the first translators sent to work in languages overseas in places like the Philippines and PNG. Others formed AuSIL (Australian Society for Indigenous Languages) and worked in the languages of Bandalang, Burarra, Kuku Yalanji and Wik Mungkan.[10]
Translation efforts picked up in the 1960s and 1970s. The most significant result of this was the Kriol Bible, the first full Indigenous Australian Bible. This Holi Baibul was published in 2007, after about 30 years of work by people from Wycliffe, AuSIL, the Bible Society and the CMS.[11]
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...
By John Tan
Thanks for your patience...