It’s that time again when I look at my yellow legal pad and divide the list into “must complete at all costs” and “will manage to survive if left undone.” It’s when I attempt to empty out my email inbox, make sure my room is cleaned and put away, check the post office one last time, return borrowed items to rightful owners, review my finances to make sure all bills have been paid, finish up the last laundry load, back up my computer, tuck my house keys into a memorable (yet safe!) place, charge up my kindle, camera and phone batteries, count up my medication supplies, and seal all perishables into rat-proof, ant-proof, water-proof plastic containers.
In other words, it’s when I’m getting ready to head out to the village again!
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| I met some of the Adzera translation team when I went to the Markham in Oct |
Tomorrow I’m leaving for two weeks to help staff a church leader’s conference in the Markham Valley. It’s the first conference of its kind in this area where church leaders from nine different languages and representing (we hope!) all the different denominations therein will gather from 7–11 January to discuss Bible translation in Papua New Guinea and how they can become involved in it. More specifically, we are hoping to discuss the possibility of starting a Multilanguage translation project for the languages of the Markham valley which would allow these people groups to work together in order that they might finally have access to translated Scripture. There aren’t very many opportunities for Papua New Guinean church leaders to mingle cross-denominationally, allowing them the chance to bond over their common faith and develop a spirit of unity. So, this event has the potential for far-reaching impact, much greater than just Bible translation!
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| Last time, we dropped off resources for some of the Adzera schools |
It’s exciting to see what the Lord has in store for this event! And, by the number of things that have already gone wrong or threatened to shut the conference down, it’s evident that the Enemy is trying hard to keep it from moving forward. We greatly appreciate your prayers for this event, and when I return after 12 January, I look forward to reporting back to you how the Lord has worked through it all and demonstrated His glory.
(And even though I’m going to be off in the village without internet or email access, don’t forget to keep checking back here! You never know what posts might crop up regarding more entertaining aspects of life in PNG!)
