Bilong Yu Oltaim Oltaim

I can't believe I'm already a week into the internship!

My name is Brent Bailey, and this summer I'll be working as an intern with Pioneer Bible Translators in Papua New Guinea. I remember feeling shocked a little over a year ago to find out about the huge need for Bible translators in the world: 200 million people still don't have a single verse in their language, and 30% of the world still doesn't have a complete Bible they can read. I cannot imagine trying to live a Christian life—starting a church, raising kids, working my job—without ever having read any of the Bible, and I am becoming more and more convinced of the power that the word of God itself has to transform lives.

There are many reasons that I feel like God may be leading me to become a Bible translator after I graduate. First and foremost, I want to use my life to invest in the spiritual lives of other people—to help others form relationships with God and discover their own potentials for ministering in his kingdom. I have known for awhile that I want to use my life for ministry, but I do not know for sure what that will look like. What I do know is that I have a passion for languages, especially the ancient languages of scripture. I also love detailed work; I tend to be task-oriented, and the work of translation seems to me like a big puzzle that I want to solve.

But the main reason may be hearing stories of just how much impact the translated Bible has on people. How I wish you could hear the stories of how desperately people are yearning for the Bible to be translated—how they celebrate when every book is completed, how they spend days reading and re-reading the same passages because it's all they have, and how their lives and cultures are completely transformed by an understanding of God's word. Translating the Bible sends a message to people that God sees them and cares about them where they are—that he knows their language and is yearning to tell them that he loves them in words they understand.

Therefore, I jumped at the opportunity to experience translation first-hand this summer. I am praying that this will be a summer of clarity and discernment for me so that I will be able to know whether to direct my life toward translation (in my graduate work, etc.).

It seems like this summer has been approaching forever. After initially talking with Pioneer Bible Translators in March of 2008, applying formally for the internship in November, getting accepted in December, sending out support requests, getting a few too many shots, reading all of the required readings, convincing the parents, packing either too much or not enough, and lots and lots of prayer...I'm here!

Until Saturday, "here" means good old Dallas, Texas, where I and the other PBT summer interns are spending two weeks for training and orientation at the International Linguistics Center, home to the Graduate Institute of Applied Linguistics, Pioneer Bible Translators, and a Wycliffe office. Last week, we had a week of pre-field orientation with the internship coordinators, learning about everything from personality types to why it's important to carry toilet paper at all times (short answer: so that you don't have to use love letters from your girlfriend, like one missionary did). This week, our campus has gotten a lot fuller for the Pioneer Mission Institute, a week-long series of seminars and worship designed for past, present, and future missionaries. Our plane leaves this Saturday, June 13th, and we arrive back on American soil August 13.

I cannot make any promises about how regularly I will update this blog while overseas. The internet will not always be reliable, and it may be entirely unavailable in certain villages. In addition, I'll have to be somewhat vague on some of the specifics of our location, dates, etc. in order to protect the long-term missionaries in PNG. So, if you try and get in touch with me but receive no reply, never fear; I'm likely unreachable.

While in PNG, we'll have a variety of activities designed to immerse us in the culture and introduce us to missionary life. Our initial goal will be language learning; we've begun some preliminary study here, but the main way we will learn language is by walking up to people and engaging them in conversation, starting with a "Mi laik kisim save long Tok Pisin," or "I'm trying to learn Melanesian Pidgin." Learning language is a ministry in itself, as it further demonstrates that God—and Christians—are interested in these people where they are, and they don't have to change or become like white men in order for God to love them. We'll spend a few weeks in different villages to help speed up the language learning process; while in the villages, we'll participate in daily life of Guineans to understand them better. One day, I may work in a garden; the next, I could be spearfishing. After we've gotten a pretty good handle on the language, we'll be heavily assisting with a three-week literacy course, helping people learn to read so that they can understand the translated Bible. Along the way, we'll get to experience the work of translation and all of the other facets of life on the mission field.

I feel so excited, and I honestly cannot wait to get onto the plane. The language learning process has already been so much fun, and the culture seems fascinating. Most of all, I'm excited to see the ways that the word of God really is changing the lives of people in darkness.

I suppose I should explain the title of the blog. Since my first semester of college, I've kept a blog called "Forever Yours" at http://brentbailey.blogspot.com. Here's my original explanation for why I chose that title:

"I wanted a name that would somehow summarize where I stand in my faith; a short phrase that would capture my priorities and reveal my goals. I chose "Forever" because I am (and have been for the past few months) trying to live my life in a way that is eternal; after all, we were originally created to be eternal beings before Satan entered the picture. I want to live with my earthly life in perspective; that is, in the scope of eternity, 80 years doesn't seem so long, and nothing on earth is really worth an eternity. I want my faith to be perpetual, not simply relying on the moment and emotions but stretching both forwards and backwards forever. The "Yours" represents a search for self-denial in an attempt to allow Jesus to sweep in and replace me. I want to remove everything about myself that is sinful and human - my selfishness, my pride, my weakness - and give Jesus full authority to take over my life and captivate me. I fully expect the name of the blog to change as the likeness of my faith changes."

"Bilong Yu Oltaim Oltaim" is the Pidgin translation of "Forever Yours"—it seemed fitting, consdering that I'll hopefully be speaking more Pidgin than English this summer.

If you plan to follow this blog, please feel free to ask questions, and I'll do my best to answer them. I eagerly request your prayers, specifically that (1) we will have safety in our travel, (2) we will have patience and endurance in the process of language learning, and (3) God will reveal to me whether this should be my lifelong ministry. As always, pray for the Bibleless people in the world and those who are serving to translate.

I would love, love, love comments! Thank you so much for joining me this summer!