The Next Leg of the Journey

Well, after saying our goodbyes in the second village and hiking 7 hours back to the first village (this time, after some intense rains, our hike involved wading through some waste-deep water) to rest a day and then catch a plane, we are back in the city. Fortunately, the summer and the internship are far from over.

Our next step is a three-week literacy course. One of the things that drew me to work with Pioneer Bible Translators was their willingness to do whatever is necessary to see the word of God transform lives – if that means translating the scriptures, they translate. However, that also means they are willing to teach literacy or plant churches or do anything else to insure that God’s word is able to be understood and able to reach people directly. So, although I am interested in translation, PBT also includes many missionaries whose role involves very little actual scripture translation.

This literacy course aims to provide curriculum and basic reading books for five different language groups in Papua New Guinea. Each intern will be working with a different language group, and we’ll be working (in Melanesian Pidgin) with nationals who have all traveled to the city to develop their vernacular-specific materials. From what I’ve gathered, we are going to be pretty busy (with fairly stressful, cross-cultural work) for the next three weeks. If all goes according to plan, after these three weeks, each language group will have a year-long literacy curriculum and 80 children’s story books (in the vernacular) to use throughout the year.

So, we would appreciate prayers for our work with the literacy course. We’re really excited about how much is going to be accomplished, but we know the work will be challenging and tiring. Pray that we will have energy and stamina to work, but also pray that we’ll have grace enough to maintain a sense of humor (or at least encouragement for each other). Also, pray for the language groups who are receiving these materials – that God will work through the gift of literacy to allow people to read and understand his precious word. As I sat in on a Bible study in the second village we visited and saw the children struggling to read the few scriptures that had been published in their language, I realized what an awesome gift it is to be able to pick up and read God’s word. At the same time, I also felt hope for all of the work that is being done (and is succeeding) to give that gift to other people.

One other note: I’ve changed the title of the blog to “Laik Bilong God.” One of the first phrases I learned in the bush was “Laik Bilong Yu,” which means (roughly), “Whatever you want” or “It’s up to you.” As people would ask me whether I was going to return to PNG after this summer, I had to answer that it was entirely up to God’s will – or, as I was taught to say, “Laik Bilong God.”