Our Thursday night Bible study was held at our house tonight, and everyone else (except for us) was a translator. The language groups they work with are in widely different geographical parts of Papua New Guinea. In each case, these translators are living here in Ukarumpa rather than being constantly in their villages, traveling periodically back into the field to handle the next phase of their work.
We took time to share prayer needs and praises during our meeting. What struck me tonight, and what I’d like to share a little about, is how complicated (and sometimes stressful) their work can be.
One of our group, Roland, is working with a language group that is tonal, in which pitch is used as a part of speech, changing the meaning of a word. There are hundreds of thousands of “words” in his language group so he is very dependent on the specialized computer software translators use. He’s also writing a paper for publication and has a deadline rapidly approaching before he and his wife head to Romania for their son’s wedding. He is often getting stuck working out problems with the language but is also now stuck with what seems to be a computer software ‘bug’. Lastly, he’s trying to reach a national translator helper way out in the jungle of the far western region to let him know that he needs to meet Roland in a particular village on a specific date. So far, Roland hasn’t been able to reach him and Roland doesn’t know if he should commit to the expensive travel arrangements yet or not.
A husband and wife are working together on the book of John. In the midst of trying to agree on the definition of key terms so that both of them translate the same concept consistently, they are also planning a trip in October into their village for 4 weeks (for her) and 6 weeks (for him). They have two boys who will need to move from their normal house in Ukarumpa into the supervised (and safe) Youth Hostel (also here) for 4 weeks. The boys want the parents to spend less time in the village while the parents feel they need more time to get necessary work done. On top of all this, because it’s the end of Wycliffe’s fiscal year this month, this couple is being asked to write year-end reports, justify why this year’s unspent funds should be moved into next year (because of slipped schedules) and plan how to accomplish all of next year’s work with 20% less funding than they requested.
A third person, Joan, is coping with an absent husband (who’s out working in his two villages), a chronic problem of tiring easily, and a problem with a hurt right arm (which prevents her from using it for work).
These are three examples of people trained to perform really important and difficult tasks (linguistics) but having to deal with life’s complications, in a foreign environment, under difficult circumstances.
Can you imagine how you might pray for missionaries more effectively? Can you take time to get to know the missionaries better that you and/or your church support?
I pray so.
We took time to share prayer needs and praises during our meeting. What struck me tonight, and what I’d like to share a little about, is how complicated (and sometimes stressful) their work can be.
One of our group, Roland, is working with a language group that is tonal, in which pitch is used as a part of speech, changing the meaning of a word. There are hundreds of thousands of “words” in his language group so he is very dependent on the specialized computer software translators use. He’s also writing a paper for publication and has a deadline rapidly approaching before he and his wife head to Romania for their son’s wedding. He is often getting stuck working out problems with the language but is also now stuck with what seems to be a computer software ‘bug’. Lastly, he’s trying to reach a national translator helper way out in the jungle of the far western region to let him know that he needs to meet Roland in a particular village on a specific date. So far, Roland hasn’t been able to reach him and Roland doesn’t know if he should commit to the expensive travel arrangements yet or not.
A husband and wife are working together on the book of John. In the midst of trying to agree on the definition of key terms so that both of them translate the same concept consistently, they are also planning a trip in October into their village for 4 weeks (for her) and 6 weeks (for him). They have two boys who will need to move from their normal house in Ukarumpa into the supervised (and safe) Youth Hostel (also here) for 4 weeks. The boys want the parents to spend less time in the village while the parents feel they need more time to get necessary work done. On top of all this, because it’s the end of Wycliffe’s fiscal year this month, this couple is being asked to write year-end reports, justify why this year’s unspent funds should be moved into next year (because of slipped schedules) and plan how to accomplish all of next year’s work with 20% less funding than they requested.
A third person, Joan, is coping with an absent husband (who’s out working in his two villages), a chronic problem of tiring easily, and a problem with a hurt right arm (which prevents her from using it for work).
These are three examples of people trained to perform really important and difficult tasks (linguistics) but having to deal with life’s complications, in a foreign environment, under difficult circumstances.
Can you imagine how you might pray for missionaries more effectively? Can you take time to get to know the missionaries better that you and/or your church support?
I pray so.
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