Julie's been part of a small team trying to record music and the book of Mark in the Akukem language. This is for a people group in the coastal area of the Madang Province, north of Ukarumpa. Three Akukem men plus another VMS specialist and Julie have virtually been sitting in the recording studio every day from 8 am until after 5 pm each work day.
 |
| Julie and Andy recording and editing |
The goal is to have finished Mark (Mak in Akukem) in three weeks but it's been a very slow process. After almost two weeks, the team is only in Mark 7. Recording with these men requires working with their inexperience with reading and speaking in a recording session. Some portions need to be recorded multiple times. Fortunately, the men have been very, very patient.
 |
| The sound proof recording booth |
Unfortunately, they've also been very, very cold. They are from the lowland coastal region where a shirt, shorts and no shoes are very adequate. They do not have, nor did they expect to need to bring warm clothing for the very cold (to them) highland weather. Every day here has been cool; if it's not raining in some manner the whole day, it at least starts with an early morning rain and ends up raining again by the end. The roads and paths here become muddy and cold for their bare feet.
Julie loaned the men my sweatshirt (my RACS one, you Rutlanders), a flannel shirt of mine, and the outer shell of her coat. She's also brought in towels for them to lay across their laps in the recording studio to keep their legs warmer. They've been very thankful and have tried to leave them in her office at night. We've almost had to force them to take them for the night for warmth but they really smile when they understand that we want them to be as comfortable as these small loaners can help.
 |
| Seeing a MegaVoice and listening to Scripture |
We're so thankful for these men, who leave their livelihood and families, come here to Ukarumpa where life is strange, and work so patiently with strangers. They obviously have a heart to reach their villages with the spoken (audio) Word of God. It was a special delight to watch them as Julie explained how rugged audio players like MegaVoice operated and played God's Word for small groups. At the end of today's recording session, Julie's co-worker, Andy, actually loaded some of the Bible on a MegaVoice and these three men gathered around to see how simple using one could be.
Please pray for the remaining 6 work days, that the recordings will go rapidly but accurately. Pray that there will be no technical problems or illness. Pray that these men will be comfortable and that there will be little or no rain to make them colder.
Comments