Wycliffe Australia has a long history of supporting Bible translation and language development projects in Papua New Guinea. The land has a special place in my heart, too. My wife, Helen, and I spent over 20 years in PNG as teachers at the international school in Ukarumpa. I also oversaw the training program at the Pacific Institute for Languages, Arts and Translation (PILAT), which was set up to train Papua New Guineans for Bible translation, literacy and other language development work.
During our time in PNG, and since returning to Australia, it has been a blessing to meet people from all different walks of life who have followed God’s call to support Bible translation projects. The work is often tiring, taking place over many years, with translation advisors spending time among the community and working in locations that are often remote.
The stories in this edition of Wycliffe Today feature single people who have dedicated the best parts of their lives to serving God faithfully among language communities in PNG. How do they continue, despite being away from their friends and families? The one thing that seems evident is that being part of a supportive community is a vital part of sustaining them over time. As Paul encourages the church in Ephesus:
You are citizens along with all of God’s holy people. You are members of God’s family. Together, we are his house, built on the foundation of the apostles and the prophets. And the cornerstone is Christ Jesus himself. – Ephesians 2:19b–20 (NLT)
A large crowd gathers, alive with dancing and shouts of praise. A steady procession of people carrying New Testament translations walks past in a continuous line. For many people, this is a highlight of the 70-year anniversary celebration of SIL in Papua New Guinea: the presentation of God’s Word translated into 233 Papua New Guinean languages since 1956. Nothing can dampen the spirits of those in attendance, not even the sudden downpour of rain.
Dr Johnstone Ndunde holding the Label New Testament
As people begin huddling inside a large marquee, Robyn Davies proudly carries the Kandas New Testament to the front. After a few minutes, something catches Robyn’s eye. She notices the Executive Director of SIL International, Dr Johnstone Ndunde, holding a copy of the Label New Testament. This translation, made for a small language group of fewer than 300 people, represents something beautiful: that God cares for all people and wants them all to know him in the languages they understand best.
Robyn explains:
The Parable of the Lost Sheep in Luke 15 is something that resonates with the Label people: they may be small but they are no less important to God. Jesus didn’t say, ‘Well, 99 is enough, don’t worry about that one!’
Robyn has been supporting minority language communities in PNG since 1987. After spending a couple of years teaching at a Christian school in Darwin, she found herself in PNG working alongside Swedish translation advisor, Lisbeth Fritzell, on the Ramoaaina language. This was the start of a friendship of almost 40 years, which has also included living and working among the Ramoaaina, and forming life-long connections with the Ramoaaina, Kandas and Label people they worked alongside.
The work is long and it can be easy to think that nothing is happening, but Robyn says that over the years there have been many ‘little glimpses of God at work’. She reflects on the transformation in the life of one of the Kandas mother-tongue translators over the course of around seven years. Working with God’s Word truly transformed his life. After he received prayer for his sick child, and while translating Luke 15, he was challenged to put his faith in Jesus and trust that he is the true and living God. Sadly, this translator passed away at the age of only 35. Yet his legacy lives on. At his funeral, guests said that he had preached in church only the week prior on The Prodigal Son. When working with the translation team on this passage, he had been challenged by the response of the elder brother, which he had never heard about before.
Robyn says she is encouraged that God is working in the lives of the Ramoaaina, Kandas and Label communities. She is grateful for the friendships and sense of community that come from her time in PNG. Robyn and Lisbeth are both preparing to leave PNG at the end of 2026 for a six-month home assignment and a return to their respective home countries (Robyn to Australia and Lisbeth back to Sweden). Robyn shares:
It’s going to be hard at the end of the year when we go to two separate countries! But both Lisbeth and I know that as God has guided us, been with us and held us in the past, so he will in the future. We’re just weak people that God is using.
Please pray:
that the New Testaments in Ramoaaina, Kandas and Label language communities continue bearing fruit
for the distribution of MP3 players and apps in Label and Kandas.
My journey into Ukarumpa began in a small Kodiak aircraft, winding through the mountain ranges of Papua New Guinea’s Eastern Highlands Province and descending toward a remote airstrip nestled in the valleys below. It was my first time there, arriving as the new Chief Personnel Officer with Wycliffe Australia. I felt the honour of stepping into a place I had often heard about from those with a deep love for this place.
Our group flew with a young pilot who proudly announced to us that this was his second solo flight. While we joked that we would rather not know that, there was such a sense of joy and focus about his awareness that he was doing something he loved, and serving God through it.
The purpose for this trip was to join our partners at SIL-PNG in celebrating 70 years of Bible translation work in Papua New Guinea, and to spend time with our Wycliffe Australia members living and serving in that community. I also wanted to better understand Ukarumpa itself – not just as a field location, but as a lived reality for those who call it home. What I encountered was both deeply moving and quietly confronting.
The most striking impression was the lifelong commitment of those serving there. Many have given not just years, but decades, to this work. Their passion is steady and enduring, marked by resilience shaped over time rather than intensity in the moment.
Equally powerful was the way expatriate and Papua New Guinean colleagues work together. There is genuine friendship, shared purpose, and a sense of family that has formed through years of living and serving side by side. At the same time, life in such a close-knit community carries complexity. It requires patience, humility, and ongoing care to live well together over the long term.
One of the clearest insights I brought home is that Bible translation is sustained by far more than translators alone. It depends on a wide network of people – administrators, educators, pilots, IT specialists, finance staff, and maintenance teams – each playing a vital role.
This trip reinforced to me that caring for people is not separate from mission; it is central to it. The sustainability of this work depends on the health and wellbeing of those who serve in every role. Spiritually, I return with a strengthened conviction that God’s work is often carried forward through faithful people over long periods of time – quietly, consistently, and often unseen.
As you read this, I invite you to stay engaged with this work. Please pray for those serving in places like PNG to be sustained, encouraged, and strengthened for the long term. And please remember the many workers who make Bible translation possible in ways that are often unseen but absolutely essential.
Behind every translated page of Scripture is a community of people who have given their lives to make it possible. And they are still there, faithfully serving.
Sparks of hope: Embraced by the Anuki community
Luz and Karen with one of the traditional Anuki dancers.
Luz Maldonado and Karen Fernandez are young women from Argentina with a heart for the people of Papua New Guinea. The friends have been working with SIL-PNG in Milne Bay Province with the Anuki language group since May 2022. Luz and Karen are grateful for the support of their sending organisation, LETRA Argentina, which is part of the Wycliffe Global Alliance. They also appreciate the way the Anuki community has embraced them. Karen shares:
The Anuki have welcomed us warmly. They built a house for us and they built a classroom where we can work together. They love to be in relationship with one another, they love to be in community.
The support of the Anuki is important, especially when Luz and Karen need to travel among the 16 different villages that speak the language. These villages are often very small and incredibly remote. Many of the locations are inaccessible by road, involving up to seven hours of walking in the mountains. The village where Luz and Karen live is especially remote, only accessible by helicopter or boat. Karen says:
Every time we travel from village to village, we can see God providing for us through the Anuki. They are always there to help us cross the rivers, carry our backpacks or our bilums. We are there to do his work but he is looking after every single detail, through the Anuki people too.
As the Anuki grow in their understanding of God, their attitudes are also changing. Luz says:
When we first arrived, there was a feeling of resignation in the people. They didn’t care much about others. There were so many interrelational problems. But since they have started interacting with the Bible, they know there is another way of living. It brings hope, understanding, discernment and critical thinking.
One of the women in the literacy team working with Luz and Karen has gone through a dramatic change. Luz says:
Mother-tongue Anuki translators hard at work
In the beginning, she was fearful. Animistic cultures are often full of fear. But this lady has now built her faith on God’s Word. She loves the story of the house built upon the rock and relates to it a lot. She has gone through a lot of challenges but her faith and Scripture kept her standing. We see how the Word is little by little bringing transformation in her life.
An Anuki mini-Bible was completed and dedicated in 2015. This included the books of Mark, Acts, and a panorama of the Old Testament. Since Luz and Karen have been working with the Anuki, a draft of Luke has now been completed as well. Luz says that they are pleased to be working with God in what he is doing among the Anuki:
God is teaching us that this project belongs to him. He makes everything, our delays, our successes, every part of this project, work for his will to be done. That gives us peace because we know that we are just a tiny piece in the whole picture.
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!
Did you know that more than 80 per cent of all single people who serve in cross-cultural mission work are women? While this statistic may be surprising, it is not a new phenomenon. Many of Wycliffe Australia’s members currently serving on translation projects are single women and our retiree base includes many single women. Do they feel like they have missed out because they never had the opportunity to marry? The lives of Audrey, Joy and Rosemary suggest otherwise.
Audrey Payne may have never married or carried children of her own but she is fondly remembered by the Serave family in Papua New Guinea. When they heard of Audrey’s passing last year, they sent a ‘heartfelt tribute to our mother, grandmother and great grandmother’. The family said of Audrey: ‘You were not just a missionary or a visitor from afar. You became our mother, nurturer, teacher, and guide.’
The Serave children received an education from Audrey and have stepped into professional careers including a number of engineers, an accountant and a legal practitioner. They say they are grateful for the investment Audrey made in their lives and faith:
These careers – these lives – were made possible through the seeds you planted: seeds of love, faith, discipline, literacy and education. Your presence transformed not only our family but an entire Kamano-Kafe Language speaking community. It is no small thing to say that you … contributed to raising the literacy rate among 50,000+ Kamano-Kafe speakers in the Eastern Highlands Province. You gave us something even deeper than knowledge – you gave us the ability to understand God’s Word in our own mother tongue. That is a gift that lives beyond generations.
Joy Atkinson is another single woman who left an indelible mark on language communities in Papua New Guinea and as a prayer warrior for many Wycliffe Australia members when she returned home. Joy passed away in July 2025 after a battle with thyroid cancer and was remembered in a joy-filled service of thanksgiving in Canberra.
Joy or ‘Joy Bells’ began her time in Papua New Guinea as a beloved teacher in the Fly River region, and later, for many decades, served with SIL-PNG among the Siane people in the Eastern Highlands. Cameron Lati, Administrator for the Fly River Forum, said of Joy:
We are saddened by the loss of someone who gave so selflessly to our people and land. Her life was a true reflection of commitment, humility, and purpose.
After returning to Australia, Joy represented Wycliffe in Canberra and had been a cherished part of our Wycliffe Australia retiree group, known as a great encourager and someone filled with the joy of the Lord.
We also celebrate an incredible milestone with Rosemary Rodda, who turned 101 in March. Rosemary (or Ro to her friends) was one of the founders of the Philippines branch of SIL and served there for 40 years, from 1955 to 1995. She helped to create a written language and translated Scripture into the Batak language in the Palawan region of the Philippines and also offered her services as a teacher in local schools. She also taught as a Phonetics and Language and Culture teacher, training the next generations of linguists and Bible translators. Ro celebrated her centenary last year with a number of parties and was even interviewed for her local paper in Albury, NSW.
Wycliffe Australia is grateful to be able to provide ongoing care for all members. Our Retiree Care team continues to support those who have served as families, couples or as single people when they return home. The community and connection help to ensure that no one is left without practical and prayer support. To connect with one of our Retiree Care workers, contact retireecare@wycliffe.org.au.
Audrey Payne; Joy Atkinson; and Rosemary Rodda
UPDATE: In the time since this story went to print, Rosemary Rodda passed away. She went peacefully to be with Jesus in her own home, surrounded by family.
Sandwich makers
by Greg Conwell CEO Wycliffe Relief and Development Foundation
I attended a conference of charity leaders last month. Half an afternoon was spent making sandwiches for distribution to Aussie school children whose families could not afford the cost of lunch. We were humbled by the story of how the charity grew from one person in their own kitchen to operating nationally.
All 150 of us at the conference were also proud to see trolleys of sandwiches being rolled out the door. We had each contributed towards the sandwiches by buttering the bread, adding cheese, or wrapping them up. Those were ‘our’ sandwiches!
Wycliffe Relief and Development Foundation (WRDF) projects support poor and vulnerable people groups. You are able to be our financial ‘sandwich makers’, helping to assist marginalised communities in ways that increase their skills and quality of life. Would you consider making a tax-deductible contribution to help provide these communities with hope for a brighter future?
Will you be consider being a sandwich maker by making a tax-deductible donation this June to support one of these projects?
Robert and Loralie Handasyde live in Ukarumpa, Papua New Guinea, with their two young children, Emily and Michael. They felt called to serve in cross-cultural missions but were not sure what that would look like until, as Loralie describes, they ‘came across an open door and walked through it!’
Robert was always interested in flying. He heard that helicopters in missions were a real need. He shares:
PNG has minimal infrastructure, so to get supplies to a remote location in the mountains can be tricky without a plane. Many places are inaccessible when flooding closes roads, so they really need help with flights.
Similarly, Loralie wanted to serve God in some way but was surprised that she could use her training and experience to become the first long-term optometrist to care for the needs of locals and others serving in Ukarumpa. She says:
We know that our roles are appreciated [here]. When I can provide glasses for people here in Ukarumpa, they don’t have to take time off work to travel and make costly trips to see an optometrist back home. It makes a difference. The trouble is, it’s often harder to explain here in Australia about why our roles are helpful and how they connect with Bible translation. Churches often want to support a pastor, church planter or Bible translator, so it takes a bit to explain why support roles are so important.
A powerful testimony of the importance of the various roles involved in Bible translation was a recent Scripture Application and Leadership Training workshop in a remote village in the highlands. Robert flew Scripture engagement leaders into the area so they could teach local language communities how to read their Bibles in the context of their culture.
Robert explains: One man who was known to locals as a ‘raskol’ [criminal] turned up to the workshop, not even knowing himself why he had walked an entire day to reach the village to attend the training. After hearing the Word of God being preached in his mother tongue, his life was transformed. He gave his life to Jesus, along with seven others. People in that area had almost nothing, not even enough to buy cups. Yet 40 people came out to purchase Bibles after the training! Working together, you see God opening doors for the gospel.
PRAY:
that the Handasydes continue to be encouraged in their work
wisdom for Robert as he trains new helicopter pilots
for deeper connections with churches and more opportunities to share
for more teachers to fill roles at the International School
And how will anyone go and tell them without being sent? That is why the Scriptures say, ‘How beautiful are the feet of messengers who bring good news!’ – Romans 10:15 (NLT)
I must admit being drawn to images of good looking feet at the nail salon – complete with pedicured and polished toenails. But in real life, I’ve encountered some very unattractive feet, my own included.
When I first arrived in the mountains of Papua New Guinea to serve with Wycliffe, I would scrub my muddied feet each evening … to no avail. Eventually, I grew accustomed to the look of blackened heels and toenails. In fact, mud-stained feet were almost a badge of honour, as each of my family members and colleagues all faced the same dilemma.
Thankfully, as the words of the Apostle Paul and the Prophet Isaiah before him remind us, God sees beyond our muddied feet to gaze upon the posture of our hearts. Isaiah prophesied about the coming of the ‘Suffering Servant’ who would bring salvation and restoration for God’s people. We see that prophecy fulfilled in Jesus Christ. He came not as a mighty warrior or well-dressed king but as a poor and humble servant who stood in our place as a payment for our sins. His feet were disfigured, bloodied, and nail-scarred for our healing. This is the story of God’s great love for us – a story that needs to be shared.
Here at Wycliffe Australia, we are privileged to join with hundreds of other imperfect people who have made themselves – and their ‘beautiful gospel feet’ – available to God, blisters, callouses, warts and all! How beautiful are the feet of Jesus, and beautiful in his sight are the feet of those willing to follow his footsteps! These are the feet proclaiming the good news that every beloved person, in every language, desperately needs and ultimately longs for.
For reflection: Have a good, honest look at your feet as you think about the posture of your heart. Do you have the ‘beautiful feet’ the Lord is searching the earth for?
Be transformed by the Word as you engage with: Isaiah 52 and Romans 10. Prayer: Jesus, I want feet like yours … beautiful feet that bring the message of your salvation and peaceful reign wherever you send me to walk out my one life. Amen.
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.
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...
Thanks for your patience...