THE GOSPEL PRESENTED
The following three people groups are all in Papua New Guinea.
The Wantakia people have recently heard the Creation story and are beginning to hear the story of the Fall. They have already expressed that what they are hearing is clear teaching, unlike anything else they’ve heard before. The women were astounded that God created Eve with inherent value, not just the value her family could get from a bride price. They learned that God created the angels good, which was big for them to think about, because so much of their lives are impacted by fear of spirits. Three Wantakia men have come to believe in Jesus as a result of helping the team translate the Bible lessons!
The Amdu teaching began a few months ago and is going well. Here is a report from the team: We have full confidence that the Lord’s plan here among the Amdu people has not been and will not be thwarted. While facing many obstacles and challenges, our team is also experiencing the joy of teaching our friends God’s Truth in their own language and watching them understand what they are hearing and yearn for more. Many of them have heard bits and pieces of the Bible over the years in the trade language, but never with a strong, clear foundation and never as one story pointing to the coming Redeemer.
The Pei church has been born! Through clear chronological Bible teaching, they heard that they are sinners, that Jesus died for them and that trusting Him is the only way to be saved. Some heard, understood, and put their trust in Christ. They are already asking questions about how the gospel should affect how they raise their children and are saying that this teaching is really “shooting their thinking” (convicting them). They know they are part of God’s family and are learning about what that looks like and are talking about what their destiny as God’s family is.
BANWAON TRANSLATION UPDATE
Albert and Lynne Castelijn minister among the Banwaon in the Philippines. Great news! Once Albert finishes the book of Mark, he only has two more books to translate — the Gospels of Matthew and John — in order to have a complete New Testament for the Banwaon church.
EQUIPPING FAMILIES FOR MINISTRY
The Missionary Kid Care and Education team provides resources and classes related to the education of children for missionaries who are in training, who are overseas or who are on home assignment. They offer home schooling workshops, missionary kid (MK) orientation, homeschool material, classes on child safety, and family debriefing sessions. When possible, they also seek to help and encourage our college age MK’s as they transition to life here in Canada. The goal is to educate and equip families by providing them with the tools they need to not only to educate their children but to see the family thrive in their ministry context.
MAKE IT CLEAR
Richard and Wendy Rees minister in the Southeast Asia Mainland area. As Richard prepares Bible lessons, he reminds us of how important clear understanding of another language is. Here is one of his dilemmas.
Genesis 1:2b “And the Spirit of God moved …” which translates to “Pakacha a wi la tou we wong sa …”
“Wait,” said Richard’s [language] helper, “do you mean wi la (spirit) or wi nyong (spirit)? Because they are different. Every person has a total of 23 wi la and wi nyong. When your wi la leaves your body, it makes you sick. That is why we tie wrists: to keep the wi la from leaving. But when you dream, it is your wi nyong travelling to the places you see and doing the things you dream. So if this is God’s wi la out moving over the water, God would be sick.”
Pray for the translators and Bible teachers as they grapple with issues like this in order to have a clear, understandable Bible translation.
