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Sept. 19, 2003
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Mar. 19, 2002
Feb. 6, 2002
Jan. 11, 2002
Dec. 19, 2001
Nov. 27, 2001
Nov. 10, 2001
Oct. 1, 2001
Sept. 19, 2001
August 17, 2001
July 24, 2001
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June 13, 2001
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April 30, 2001
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March 31, 2001
March 15, 2001
March 1, 2001
Dear friends,
Living in a province with approximately fifty native languages sometimes makes us feel that we've landed on the site of the original tower of Babel. Recently I was put in charge of a group discussion in a women's Bible class. Three ladies besides myself comprised our group. I am a native English speaker who can "get by" in Tawala and I had a Tawala New Testament. One of the other ladies was a native Suau speaker who doesn't speak Tawala but does speak English and had an English Bible. The other two ladies were both native Tawala speakers who spoke virtually no English. One of them had a Suau New Testament and understood Suau well and the other had a Tawala New Testament, but didn't know how to read. We laughed really hard through our entire discussion, as we read the passage out loud in each of our translations (I read in Tawala, the Suau lady in English and the Tawala speaker in Suau!) and tried to come to a consensus in three different languages. Believe it or not, I think we came up with some decent answers and I felt fairly confident by the end of the discussion that everyone at least understood the passage. Not a small feat! The attached picture shows another small discussion group with multiple native tongues.
One of the other groups had a question about the Passover in the Old Testament. None of the languages in the province have completed Old Testaments, and I could really see the need for translation work as the group reported what they found in the English Bible. They said that people put blood on their doors so that Jesus would pass over them when he went visiting.
We English speakers certainly should count our blessings next time we go to a bookstore and find so many accurate translations of the entire Bible. Most people in Papua New Guinea do not even have one. Many people involved with Wycliffe Bible Translators and Pioneer Bible Translators dedicate their lives to fulfilling that need. Without them, our work would be impossible.
Love,
Diane (with Marcus and Hannah Reese)
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