Reflections on 2020

As we put up our nativity set this year, our daughter Bella put face masks on the wise men, the shepherds, and Mary and Joseph—a fitting capstone to 2020. Christmas is supposed to be a time of hope, joy, peace, and eager anticipation. But I found that the heaviness and despair that filled 2020 carried over into the Christmas season as well. If only everything could magically be made new on January 1 and the nightmare of 2020 could be done away with in one fell swoop! But it is not that easy. It has been a hard year, a year of unfulfilled expectation, a year of disappointment, a year of uncertainty, a year of turmoil, a year of sadness and grief. It has been a difficult year spiritually, and it is not all magically healed when the clock strikes midnight on January 1.

Here in Ukarumpa we are fortunate to be able to attend church in person. A few weeks ago a fellow translator preached a sermon that really touched my heart, bringing me to tears. He said that one of the lessons of the Christmas story is that we surrender our plans to God. It was certainly never Mary’s plan to become pregnant through the Holy Spirit and endure the ridicule and shame that would be associated with a pregnancy that took place before she was married. But she graciously accepted the Lord’s plan for her life, surrendering any plans that she had for herself.

A new twist on our nativity set this year

Often I let my own plans take center stage, pushing the Lord’s plans into the background. It is so easy to make this life about myself and what I want to do, and not about God and what he wants to do. But in the end I find that selfish pursuits leave me spiritually empty. The year 2020 has exposed many of our vain pursuits, forcing us to take a good, hard look at who we really are deep inside as we are no longer able to hide in the busyness of life. And, for me at least, it has exposed a selfishness that is at odds with the message of Christmas: giving up one’s own dreams and plans to become a servant of the living God.

The Christian life seems so simple yet so elusive. It is so simple: love God and love others. But it is so hard to actually do that, and we constantly fall short of that simple goal. Like many missionaries, I struggle to understand how God could use an imperfect creature like me to accomplish his purposes for the world. I feel unworthy and incapable, at times taking too much of the responsibility upon myself and not trusting enough in God and in the power of prayer. And when I rely too much upon myself, I am constantly disappointed with the results.

If 2020 has revealed anything to me, it is just how desperately we need to be connected to Jesus, the true vine. Apart from him we can do nothing. Apart from him we are nothing but dead branches ready to be burned in the fire. Apart from him we have no hope in this world. Apart from him our lives are meaningless and all of our efforts and achievements are in vain. Apart from him, although we might pursue pleasure, we will never experience true joy. Joy—just a few days ago Martha and I were talking about the fact that Christians should be known as people of deep joy. Yet somehow it seems that joy is fading from the church. Of all people Christians should have joy no matter what circumstances they face, but it seems that we have grown soft. As the hardships of 2020 came upon us, we began to find out just how spiritually bankrupt we had become and just how much we were dependent upon the things of this world for happiness. And when those things were taken away, the true state of our spirituality was revealed.

Let us join the angel in shouting Hallelujah!

As I look at the nativity scene, I am struck by the fact that the angels are not wearing masks. They are not subject to the disease and sickness of this world, neither in a physical sense nor in a spiritual sense. I find myself longing for that day when all things will be made new, and we too will no longer be subject to the physical and spiritual illnesses that beset us in this fallen world. But rather we will finally become all that God has created us to be. Our enemies—sin, death, and Satan—will finally be conquered, and we will reign with Christ forever and ever. And then God “will wipe away every tear from [our] eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.” That is the hope of Christmas, and that is the source of our joy, peace, and strength in difficult times.

Consultant Checking

We are currently in the midst of a two-week consultant checking session to check the books of Hebrews, James, Jude, 1-2 Thessalonians, 1-2 Timothy, Titus, and Philemon. Last week we completed the check for the first three books, and this week we hope to complete the check for the rest of them. Please pray that we would indeed be able to finish checking all of the other books this week. If we do, we will then have completed the consultant check process for approximately 72% of the New Testament. As always the consultant and the Enga speakers who have come to help with the check have contributed valuable insights to make the Enga translation of the New Testament even better. We are thankful to have David Johns and Philip Kakio with us to check, along with William Walewale, who is one of the translation team members. We are also thankful for Rebekah Drew, who did the check for Hebrews, James, and Jude.

Philip, David, William, Adam, and Rebekah checking Hebrews

As we draw closer and closer to completing the New Testament, we are more aware of our need for prayer. It seems that there are more spiritual attacks, and so please pray that nothing will hinder us from finishing the New Testament in the coming year (2021). Pray for the health and safety both of our family and of the Enga Bible Translation team members and their families: Maniosa Yakasa, Martin Harty, William Walewale, Nete Talian, Frank Paiyak, and Rueben Yonasa. Pray for computers and technology to continue working, and for the generator that the translation team uses in town when there are power blackouts (which are frequent). Pray also for Jacob and Bella as they finish up online schooling. There were a few days last month in which our internet was almost completely out, which makes it quite difficult (if not impossible) for Jacob and Bella to do their schoolwork. Pray also for Martha as she prepares to teach a couple of English classes at the high school next term. She is filling in because of the shortage of teachers due to the pandemic. Pray that she will find time over the Christmas break to prepare for teaching.

Thank you for your prayers and your partnership in this work. We could not do it without you!

Back in PNG

It took a total of 80 hours from the time we left our apartment in Alhambra, California, until the time we arrived at our house in Papua New Guinea, but we are finally home. We flew on Qatar Airways from Los Angeles to Doha, Qatar, where we had less than a two-hour layover before getting on another Qatar Airways flight from Doha to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. We arrived in Malaysia in the morning and spent most of the day at the hotel inside the international terminal before departing at about 1:30 a.m. to fly to Papua New Guinea. The flight from Kuala Lumpur to Papua New Guinea was a charter flight of the United Nations World Food Program, operated by Malaysia Airlines. For all intents and purposes, it was like flying on any other international flight. As we entered the boarding area, however, the gate agents were taking everyone's temperature, and I got nervous about what would happen if one of us had a fever. Would we be stranded in Malaysia? Thankfully nobody in our family and nobody among the dozens of others from our organization who were traveling with us had a fever, and so we were able to board the plane. After flying to Papua New Guinea and arriving in the capital of Port Moresby, we were taken to a hotel, where we spent the night. The next morning we flew to the Aiyura valley on a Kodiak airplane, which seats ten people. From the airstrip, we were transported to our house in Ukarumpa, where we were quarantined for the next two weeks, even having our property closed off with yellow caution tape to remind people not to get too close to us, and to remind us not to leave our property.

Asher visiting at a safe distance with his friend Judah during quarantine

After three weeks of intense preparations to return to Papua New Guinea, followed by 80 hours of travel, spending two weeks in quarantine didn't sound so bad. Martha and I even tried to view it as a vacation of sorts (even though I resumed working after a few days), and it was nice to have some down time. Of course, coming back to a house that had mostly sat empty for 15 months had its challenges. Our toilet was leaking, our water pump died a few days into quarantine, birds had taken over under the eaves of our house, our stove was barely functional, and of course we had the regular ants, geckos, and roaches—but we know how to get by here in PNG. Quarantine was probably more difficult for the kids, who, after fifteen months of being away, were longing to spend time with their friends again, and not just for a few moments at a distance, separated by yellow caution tape. So when our quarantine ended at precisely 8 a.m. on October 27, we were waiting at the tape, ready to break out. As soon as the clock struck 8, we cut down the tape and enjoyed our newfound freedom.

Crossing the tape at precisely 8 a.m. on October 27

We are now transitioning back to normal life in Papua New Guinea, which, like everywhere else in the world is not quite so normal because of COVID-19. Nevertheless, for reasons that are not quite known, the death toll from COVID-19 seems to be much lower here in PNG. It is difficult to estimate how rampant the spread of the disease is throughout the country, but, for the most part, the area where we live does not seem to have had any measurable increase in respiratory diseases or deaths. And while the missionary community in which we live is being cautious and seeking to minimize exposure, in many ways life here feels far more "normal" than it did in Los Angeles. Asher is already back in school—in a real classroom! Things are a bit more difficult for Jacob and Bella because they have to wait until the start of the new semester in January to return to the classroom. As a result, they are finishing up their current semester online through NorthStar Academy. I (Adam) have returned to working in a little cubicle, and Martha is preparing to teach an English class at the high school next semester. Due to COVID-19 there is a shortage of teachers, and so Martha has been asked to help.

We continue to make great progress on the translation work, and, Lord willing, we should finish all of our checking requirements for the New Testament by the end of 2021. Please pray for us as we transition back to life in PNG, and please pray that we would continue to make progress on checking the New Testament. Thank you, as always, for your prayers and your partnership with us in this work.

Departing October 10!

Last month we informed you that we had purchased tickets with Air New Zealand to return to Papua New Guinea on November 15. A few days later, those tickets were canceled. So we rebooked for the next available flight, which wasn’t until January 19. A few days after we rebooked our flight, New Zealand completely closed its borders, so that even transit passengers like us could not switch planes in Auckland, New Zealand. So we began to resign ourselves to the thought that we would not be returning to Papua New Guinea anytime soon. But a week or two later, we received news that a United Nations World Food Program flight would be flying to Papua New Guinea from Malaysia on October 13. To ensure we had space on the flight, our organization went ahead and reserved us seats. The flight was then promptly unpublished, and we found out that our names had never made the reservation list. But a few days later, the flight was published again, and we now have confirmed reservations. Once the World Food Program flight was booked, we purchased tickets on Qatar Airways from Los Angeles to Doha, Qatar, and then on to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. So, Lord willing, we will be departing from Los Angeles on October 10. We are hopeful that this route will indeed bring us back to Papua New Guinea as four couples who serve alongside us have already successfully navigated this route, returning a few weeks ago. Please pray that we will all test negative for COVID-19 when we get our official tests on Oct. 6.

We have also received permission to complete our two-week quarantine at our own home in Ukarumpa. This is a much better option for us than having to quarantine at an expensive hotel in the capital city in Port Moresby. We are thankful for Josh and Becky Harber, friends of ours in Ukarumpa, who will prepare our house for us and make sure that we have all of the groceries and other essentials that we need during our two-week long quarantine at home. 

 

The four couples who have now made it back to Papua New Guinea

Translation Progress
During our extended furlough, we have continued to make great progress on the translation. We have now finished consultant checking the books of 1 Corinthians, 2 Corinthians, and Galatians. That means that 78% of the Enga New Testament has now been checked by a consultant. Not only that, but we have consultants lined up for nearly all of the remaining books. Lord willing, we should finish the checking process within the next twelve months. After that we just need to make an audio recording of the New Testament and then prepare it for printing.

Learning to Surf
Over the past month we have had the opportunity to do a bit of traveling, visiting churches and friends in various locations. On September 17, we drove down to San Diego, where I recorded a short message for Pacific Life Church. During our trip to San Diego we saw many of the people who had come to visit us on short-term missions trips back in 2017, including two men named James and Derrick who had become something like “instant uncles” for our kids. Back in 2017, they told the kids that they would teach them how to surf when we came home on furlough. COVID nearly squashed that dream, but James and Derrick held true to their word and did indeed teach the kids how to surf. Each of the kids was even able to stand up on the surf board. In a time when there have been so many disappointments, it was nice to experience a kept promise and a fulfilled dream. Even as I think about it, my eyes well up with tears knowing just how many disappointments our kids have had, not only over the past six months, but over the course of their entire lives. Being a missionary kid is not an easy life as there are constant goodbyes and disappointments. Back in 2017, as James and Derrick were heading home at the end of their missions trip, Bella wrote Derrick a letter in which she said she couldn’t wait to visit San Diego on furlough and learn how to surf. Little did we know that Derrick had saved that letter and scanned it to his phone. He then read it back to Bella when we saw him again. It was very meaningful to us that he had kept the letter and remembered what Bella had written to him. Thank you, Derrick and James, for keeping your promise! (By the way, if you want to see a 48 second video of surfing highlights, go to tinyurl.com/y356cyol.)

Bella learning how to surf

Do We Really Have Five Senses?

If you ask an English speaker how many senses we have, they will undoubtedly say that we have five senses: sight, hearing, smell, taste, and touch. Most English speakers have probably never considered any alternate explanation to how many senses we have, and would consider it a “fact” that we have five senses.

But what if I told you that, according to the Enga language, we only have two senses: sight and what I would call non-visual sensing? You see in Enga there are only two sensory words: kandenge (“seeing”) and singi (“non-visual sensing”). The word kandenge is used for anything that is seen or perceived through sight, and the word singi is used for anything that is sensed non-visually. What a difference, to go from five senses to two! You might ask, “If the Enga language has only two sensory words, how do Enga speakers differentiate between actions such as hearing, smelling, and tasting?” The answer is that they do so through context. For example, Engans would say “He sensed the words that I said,” or, “He sensed a bad odor,” or, “He ate and sensed the food.” In each case, the context makes the specific mode of sensing clear.

The five senses from the perspective of an English speaker

I always find it fascinating to discover how different languages categorize things in different ways. English speakers categorize senses based on the part of the body that is involved with the sense: eyes, ears, nose, tongue, and hands. But Engans categorize senses based on whether or not sight is involved; apart from the eyes, it doesn’t matter what part of the body is involved in the act of sensing. While that seems incredibly odd to us, we find that in English we do not have words for senses that do not involve specific body parts. For example, think of the story of the woman who had a flow of blood for twelve years (Mark 5:25-35). This woman went up to Jesus in a crowd and touched his garment, and immediately her flow of blood dried up. And in verse 29 it says, “and she felt in her body that she was healed of her disease.” So which of the five senses did she use to come to the conclusion that she had been healed? Well, none of them! She didn’t see anything, or hear anything, or smell anything, or taste anything, or touch anything that led her to the conclusion that she had been healed. She just felt it. Now in English, because there is no specific body part associated with the sense of feeling, we don’t consider feeling to be a sense, but it undoubtedly is one.

The same could be said of the feeling of being sick or the feeling of being sad. When a person says, “I feel sick,” or, “I feel sad,” he or she is not coming to that conclusion based on sight, hearing, smell, taste, or touch. Rather it is an inner feeling that is not associated with any of those senses. And even if you took all of those senses, the person would still know that he or she felt sick or felt sad.

We could describe yet another sense that is sometimes referred to as the “sixth sense.” The “sixth sense” (actually seventh, if we consider “feeling” to be a sense) is defined as “a keen intuitive power.” The “sixth sense” is a way that we perceive the world around us that cannot be associated specifically with any body part and cannot even be associated with an inner feeling we have such as the feeling of being sick or being sad, which are easy to recognize. The “sixth sense” is an intangible sense that is hard to define, yet the experience of many is that the “sixth sense” is real. Again English speakers do not consider this to be a sense because there is no specific body part associated with it. But Engans would include both the “feeling” sense and the “sixth sense” under the category of “non-visual sensing.” So the Enga system is more inclusive of all the various senses, while the English system excludes those that are not associated with a specific body part.

It is amazing how our language shapes the way we think and see the world. That is why it is so important for us to translate Scripture into the language that people understand best, so that they can interact with God’s Word in a way that “makes sense” to them.

Return to Papua New Guinea
We have purchased tickets to return to Papua New Guinea on November 15. Based on the advice of a trusted friend, we have booked with Air New Zealand, traveling from Los Angeles to Auckland, New Zealand, and then on to Brisbane, Australia. We will then have a 24-hour layover in Brisbane before traveling on to Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea with Air Niugini. From Port Moresby we hope to fly directly to our home in Ukarumpa, but we need permission from the government to quarantine at our home instead of at a government-approved hotel. Please pray that (1) our flight will not be canceled, and (2) that we will receive permission to quarantine at home. Thank you!

Travel Plans

Over the past few weeks it has become clear that our return to Papua New Guinea (PNG) will be delayed due to the Coronavirus. Some of our fellow missionaries have attempted to return to Papua New Guinea, only to have their flights canceled. One couple even began the journey, only to have a connecting flight canceled midway through the trip. After scouring the Internet for potential flights, we discovered that it is nearly impossible to fly to PNG right now due to travel restrictions in the various countries that we could fly through. Not only that, but even if we could book a travel itinerary to PNG, there is a high risk of us getting stranded in a foreign country if a connecting flight were to be canceled. And even if we could make it all the way to PNG, as things currently stand, we would have to quarantine in a government-approved hotel for two weeks at the cost of approximately $5,000. To make matters worse, due to the Coronavirus we have been delayed in receiving our travel visas. Although we now have approval to send our passports to the embassy in Washington, DC, we don't know how long it will take to get our passports back with the visa stamps. To complicate matters further, the policies of the high school Jacob attends in PNG state that he must be enrolled either for the entire semester or not at all. Since school begins August 12, we have come to the conclusion that we just will not be able to make it back to PNG in time for him to enroll. As a result, despite our best efforts to return to PNG in August, we have come to the conclusion that our return will be delayed. We have consequently enrolled the children for the fall semester at NorthStar Academy, an accredited online Christian school, and we hope to return to PNG in early January. Both Wycliffe USA and our supervisors in PNG agree that, due to current travel restrictions and school enrollment policies, it is best for us to remain in America for the fall school semester.

Still enjoying our time in America even with the restrictions
(Jacob, cover your nose!)

Thankfully, I (Adam) am able to continue translation work remotely. Because we are far along in the translation process for the New Testament, we qualify for remote consultant checking. So over the past month or two, the Enga translators and I have been working remotely with a consultant to check Romans and 1 Corinthians, and we have other books lined up to check in the coming weeks and months. I am in touch with the Enga translators on a daily basis as we send and receive project notes. And so even though the Coronavirus has delayed our return to PNG, the translation work continues on.

We are so thankful for your continued partnership as we wait to return to PNG. We were quite disappointed once we finally came to terms with the fact that our return would be delayed. The kids miss their friends, and we miss our home. But we are encouraged by your faithful prayers and partnership. Please be assured that even though our return to PNG has been delayed, the work continues to move forward.

The Enga Translation Team
(left to right: Martin, Frank, Nete, Maniosa, William, Rueben)

Prayer Requests
Please pray for our family to not just endure the next few months, but to thrive. Pray that the kids will do well in school, and that we will have quality family time together. Pray as well for the people of Papua New Guinea. Up until a couple of weeks ago, it seemed that the Coronavirus was not spreading in PNG. But now there is an outbreak in the capital city of Port Moresby, and at least one report of a case in another major town. The capital city is now in a two-week lockdown. Finally, pray for the translation team. Pray that their computers will work well and that the virus will not spread to where they are. Pray against every and any attack of the enemy that seeks to disrupt the completion of the Enga New Testament. May the Lord bless you and keep you!

More Baptisms!

Although we are on furlough in California, the translation work that we have completed thus far continues to bear fruit in Papua New Guinea. A few weeks ago I (Adam) received news from my co-worker Nete Talian that he had been conducting more evangelistic outreaches in various places. During the week-long evangelistic outreaches, Nete preaches a different message each night from the Enga translation and also plays various films and recordings such as the Enga Jesus Film, the sorcery public service announcement that we recorded a couple of years ago, and films raising awareness about the problems of AIDS and tribal fighting.

Reporting on a recent outreach, Nete sent me the following message through Telegram: “I was running a week-long Evangelistic meeting at Yaramanda every morning and every night. 23 people accepted Jesus Christ as their personal Savior and went down into the water of baptism. They were baptized by Pastor Thomas Waion, pastor of my church in Rakamanda. At the same time I started the Enga Bible Literacy school. At the moment they are meeting two times per week. Every Tuesday and Thursday they have their Enga Bible Literacy School class.”

As you can see from the picture below, when Nete says that they “went down into the water of baptism,” he is not only talking about going under the water, but also about going down into the valley where there is a natural pool of water where people can be baptized.

Baptisms in the village of Yaramanda

When Nete conducts these outreaches, he preaches from our Enga translation, and it speaks directly to the hearts of the people. Join with us in praising the Lord for the fruit we are seeing from our translation work. And please pray for Nete as he tirelessly works on the translation, while also conducting outreaches and starting literacy programs in various churches throughout the province. Pray that many more will be baptized and learn how to read in the coming years.

A new convert being baptized

Translation Progress
Even though we are on furlough, I (Adam) continue to work daily on the Enga New Testament. Because we are far along in the translation, we qualify for remote consultant checking, which means that a consultant can review our translation from afar and make suggestions and recommendations. I am still responsible for doing a face-to-face check when we return to Papua New Guinea, but this process opens up many more options for us to complete the checking process. It also allows for me to work with a consultant even while we are in America, which is a great benefit. We have just completed the remote check of Romans, and we will continue with more of the Pauline epistles in the coming weeks and months. As I read the consultant’s notes, I write notes to the translation team in Papua New Guinea. They in turn respond to my notes, and I respond to the consultant again. Praise the Lord for technology that connects us, even overseas!

Return to PNG
With all of the uncertainty surrounding the Coronavirus, our plans to return to Papua New Guinea are up in the air. Our desire is to return the first week of August once Wycliffe’s international travel restrictions expire. But there are other obstacles standing in our way. Please pray that our visas will be approved quickly, so that our return date is not hindered. Pray also that we will be able to find flights that will not be canceled. Some of our friends have had multiple flights canceled in their efforts to return from PNG to America. Pray also that we can navigate all of the restrictions on international travel in PNG and Australia (which we will probably fly through), as requirements change rapidly. Pray also that members of our organization will be granted permission to quarantine at our home in Ukarumpa rather than at a government-approved hotel in Port Moresby. We do not want to be locked in a hotel room in Port Moresby for two weeks as it would be very expensive. Not only that, but it would be hard for the five of us to basically be locked in a hotel room for two weeks. With all of the uncertainty, we struggle a bit to be at peace in our daily lives. The missionary life is already one that is full of transition and uncertainty, and it is difficult to add to that the further uncertainty brought about by the Coronavirus. Pray that God’s peace would reign in our hearts, and that we would be content no matter what the circumstances.

You Already Speak Pidgin

One of the languages that I (Adam) don’t talk about much, but use quite often in Papua New Guinea, is a language called Tok Pisin (Talk Pidgin). A pidgin language is one that is used for communication between people from different language groups, and it is generally not anyone’s mother tongue. It is almost always a simplified form of an already existing language, with limited vocabulary.

It can be quite entertaining for English speakers to learn Tok Pisin as it is a simplified form of English. It is fascinating to see how English words have been appropriated for other uses with a change in their meaning. To give you a small taste of what Tok Pisin is like, I am copying the Lord’s Prayer below in Tok Pisin. First, I will write it with the standard spelling, and you will probably have difficulty understanding it—but give it a try. (You will understand more if you read it out loud.) Then, I will write the prayer again spelling all of the words that come from English with their normal English spelling. You will be amazed at how much Tok Pisin you already know, simply because you speak English.

Papa bilong mipela,
yu stap long heven,
Nem bilong yu i mas i stap holi. 
Kingdom bilong yu i mas i kam.
Mipela i mas bihainim laik bilong yu long graun
Olsem ol i save bihainim long heven.
Nau yu ken givim mipela kaikai inap long dispela de.
Na yu ken lusim ol rong bilong mipela,
Olsem mipela i save lusim ol rong ol arapela i mekim long mipela.
Na yu no ken larim ol traim i kamap long mipela,
Tasol yu ken kisim bek mipela long ol samting nogut.
Kingdom na strong na biknem
Em i bilong yu tasol oltaim oltaim. I tru.

How did you do? I imagine it was pretty difficult for you to make much sense out of the prayer. But now I want you to read the prayer again with standard English spelling. Believe it or not, there are only four or five words in the entire prayer that are not derived from English. (Those words are defined below.)

kaikai = food
na = and
save = regularly (pronounced sah-vay)
i = untranslatable (ignore this word)
-im = perhaps from the English word him (ignore this word)

Papa belong me-fellow,
You stop along heaven,
Name belong you i must i stop holy.
Kingdom belong you i must i come.
Me-fellow i must behind-im like belong you along ground
All-same all i save behind-im along heaven.
Now you can give-im me-fellow kaikai enough along this-fellow day.
Na you can loose-im all wrong belong me-fellow,
All-same me-fellow i save loose-im all wrong all another-fellow i make-im along me-fellow.
Na you no can let-im all try-im i come up along me-fellow,
Thats-all you can catch-im back me-fellow along all something no good.
Kingdom na strong na big name,
Him i belong you that’s-all all-time all-time. I true.

Did you understand more this time? Are you surprised at how much Tok Pisin you already know? Even though it was probably not entirely clear, in just a few short minutes you are already well on your way to understanding the Lord’s prayer in another language. But just in case it is still a bit foggy, let me write out the prayer one more time in a literal word-for-word English translation.

Father of us
You are in heaven,
Name of you must be holy.
Kingdom of you must come.
We must follow desire of you on earth
As they regularly follow [it] in heaven.
Now you can give us food enough for this day.
And you can release wrongs of us,
As we regularly release wrongs others make against us.
And you can not let trials come up upon us,
But you can take us back from things [that are] no good
Kingdom and strength and big name,
They belong [to] you alone, [for] all time, [for] all time. [It’s] true.

Did you notice that in just this short prayer I had to translate the word long (along) with six different English words (in, on, for, from, against, upon)? That is the nature of Pidgin languages: they are simplified. And that is one of the greatest shortcomings of Pidgin languages: they don’t have the precision that other languages do. Hearing the Bible in a Pidgin language rarely sounds as sweet and clear as it does in one’s own language. And even if the general point comes across, the depths and riches of God’s word are often lost, just as they were when you struggled through reading through the Lord’s Prayer in Pidgin, even though it was spelled out in English. That is why I am so thankful for your partnership with us to translate the Bible into Enga, so the people of Enga can hear the Word of God clearly and know what they need to do to behind-im it (I mean, ‘follow it’).

Back-Translation Complete

As we shelter-in-place here in Alhambra, California, waiting to see when things might open back up, I (Adam) have continued working with the Enga translation team remotely to complete the back-translation of the remaining books of the Enga New Testament. Just two days ago, we made the final edits as we prepared the back-translation for consultant check. To refresh your memory about what back-translation is and why we need to do it, let me remind you about the checking process for Bible translation. As we complete portions of the translation, we must have them checked by an outside consultant. The consultant is an experienced translator who goes through the translation line-by-line with a couple of Enga speakers to make sure that they are understanding the meaning of the text. But because the consultant does not speak Enga, he or she must have access to a very literal English back-translation of the Enga translation. The consultant then works from the English back-translation as he or she asks questions of the Enga speakers about the Enga translation. We have now completed back-translating the remaining books of the Enga New Testament so that they are now ready for consultant check. We praise the Lord for helping us to complete this work, which can be very tedious (but also very beneficial). We now wait for the time when we can have the remaining books of the Enga New Testament checked by a consultant. This is, of course, all up in the air right now as we wait to see how Coronavirus pans out both here in America and in Papua New Guinea (where there are eight confirmed cases).

Biblical Terms Checking
As we wait to see how things will pan out, there is another check that we will be working on, which is the Biblical Terms checking process. This is a process in which we use translation software to make sure that every word in the Greek New Testament is accounted for in the Enga translation. This process is slow-going at first as I work through Matthew verse-by-verse. But the more Enga terms I match up with Greek terms, the easier the work gets as I go along. So far this process has shown that our translation is quite accurate with only minor words here and there that we failed to account for. Of course, as we identify any words that we accidentally overlooked, we make notes to add them into the translation.

Future Plans
Before Coronavirus hit, we had been planning on returning to Papua New Guinea in early July. Now, we are in a holding pattern, waiting to see what will happen. Our heart's desire is to return to Papua New Guinea sooner, rather than later, so please pray with us that we will be able to return before the beginning of the next school year. Pray as well that the Enga translators will remain safe and healthy and that the number of Coronavirus cases in Papua New Guinea will not increase. We appreciate your continued prayer and support of our work. Please know that we continue to move toward our goal of completing the Enga translation, even as we shelter-in-place here in California.

May the peace of Christ be with you!

Dealing with Fear and Anxiety in the midst of Coronavirus

This morning I had an opportunity to preach via phone to a small group of believers. The title of the message was Dealing with Fear and Anxiety in the midst of Coronavirus. You can listed to it at the link below.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1E00SQFDsacWiMrJjS0lW02U0J3J5O_QE/view

Endurance

March 15th was supposed to be an exciting Sunday where Adam preached the 1:00 service at the Brooklyn Tabernacle. Adam and I were going to stay in New York City for four days, while the kids stayed with a friend. The day before we were scheduled to leave, we heard the news that we had been nervously anticipating: The governor of New York had banned gatherings of five hundred or more, and so our trip was canceled. A few days later we were supposed to spend a week in San Diego—a family vacation, but also a time to see several very dear friends, and once again, Adam was going to preach at a church. We thought we could pull this one off. Adam would co-preach with the pastor via video, and we would meet friends in an open area of a park. If anything, we could quarantine at the Airbnb right on the coast that someone had gifted us for a week and just go the beach. But the night before we were supposed to go, the governor of California called for a statewide lockdown, and we felt we needed to follow it. Another trip canceled. Another disappointment. The next two days I found myself curled on the couch, watching the news and feeling frozen in time.

We were so looking forward to seeing many more friends and spending more time with family. Our time in the states is precious, and we feel robbed because this rare opportunity is now being taken away from us. Though we are grateful for our apartment, it feels small. We felt stir crazy after just the first week of lockdown, and we will most likely have several more weeks, if not months, to go.

When I finally braved the grocery store, I was shocked by the empty shelves. It had been a while since I had gone to the store, and I guess I thought that once the hoarders calmed down, people would return to shopping as normal. But I was wrong. Despite the many empty shelves, I was able to get almost all the food I needed. I guess there isn’t a run on broccoli and green beans. That day at the grocery store left me feeling sad, but fear came the next day. All of a sudden I began to look at our food supply. We have plenty of food, but what if the grocery stores really do run out? I regretted not buying those pinto beans I saw, and those noodle packets. I should have gotten potatoes. What was I thinking? My kids forgot to eat lunch that day, and I was secretly thankful.

Fear is a funny thing. It is like a small animal living inside your head. If you give it enough food, it will grow. I feed my fear with what if statements. What if my dad, sister, or husband gets sick? What if we can’t get back to PNG before Jacob’s 10th grade year begins? (He hates online school.) What if our support goes down? And of course, what we are all worried about, what if I can’t find toilet paper? I could sit and watch the news all day and grow that fear exponentially, or, I can feed it something else. I can feed it hope, faith, and trust. How do I do that? By looking at all the ways God has orchestrated his timing, and by being thankful for the gifts that have sprouted during this crisis.

This virus could have happened while we were overseas, but it didn’t. I am in awe of God’s timing to allow us to be here to look after my niece while my sister is at work, and to be close to my dad in case he gets sick. I can’t imagine being halfway across the world from my family during something like this. Our furlough was becoming busier and busier, and I wasn’t spending as much time with my niece as I had hoped. But now we will be spending lots of time with her, and I have the opportunity to help her with her reading and math. Our lives were super busy before this, and it seemed like we had something planned for every day. That was hard on the kids. Though I am saddened by so many canceled times with friends, we can also appreciate the slow and calm life for a season. These are gifts that I am grateful for.

Jacob, Bella, and Asher at the park with their cousin Somaya two days before the lockdown order in California

In many ways living in PNG has prepared us for living in social isolation and grocery store shortages. In PNG, no eggs and bread in the store are regular occurrences, and every year the store shuts down for two weeks over Christmas break, and for two more weeks during the annual stock take. We must buy enough food and plan meals to last that whole time. Cooking every night and not going to restaurants is a way of life for us on the mission field. We are used to it. I could complain that once again we were robbed from the wonderful freedom of eating out during furlough, but since it is March, and we have been here since July, our plumper bodies testify to that lie. The funny thing is, just the other day I told Adam I had tasted all the food I wanted to taste. The sense of urgency and thrill of eating out is gone. (But I would be lying if I said I didn’t still love the convenience.)

One day before all this talk about Coronavirus, I was reading the book of James, and the word endurance stood out to me like a neon sign: “Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles of any kind come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy. For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be perfect and complete, needing nothing.” I read a little further and there it was again: “God blesses those who patiently endure testing and temptation.” There are a lot of things you can take from those verses, but for me, the word endure continued to stand out. I ended up lingering in the book of James for a while and wondering with a bit of nervousness what it was that God was going to have me endure. I had pretty much forgotten about it until a couple of weeks ago while video chatting with a friend about the spiritual aspects of this virus. All of a sudden it became clear what God was telling me I would have to endure. Never in my wildest dreams did I think it would be a worldwide pandemic.

So far, enduring hasn’t been that difficult. It has been inconvenient, disappointing, and lonely, but we are safe and healthy, and we have everything we need, including toilet paper—for now. The hard part is trying not to worry about what the future holds. The hard part is hearing your 14-year-old say, “I hope we can go back in July. I don’t want to stay here any longer.” And all you can say is, “I know you do.” It is hard not to imagine worst case scenarios of close family members dying or having long hospital stays. And when I think about this virus possibly hitting Papua New Guinea in full force, it hurts my heart.

Just when I thought I was finally getting somewhere in my spiritual life with trusting God, He reminds me that I still have a long way to go. There is so much in this world that we have come to depend on instead of Christ. Our health care system, our jobs, and our investments to name a few. We lean on the things of this world, but God’s word tells us not to rely on the things of this world, but to depend on Christ alone. Never before has this message rung so true, as we are seeing firsthand how fleeting the things of this world really are.

This pandemic is a test of our faith and a chance for all of us to grow as we patiently endure. I still believe that God is in control. He is our solid rock, and our anchor. He has not moved or changed. He is still with us and will not abandon us. Let us put our hope and trust in Christ alone, because when our jobs are gone, and our hospitals are full, and our bank accounts are empty, the Lord will continue to provide his eternal grace and meet our every need. I am not sure what else any of us will be called to endure, but I do know that God never wastes our pain. I pray that none of us misses what God has for us during this time, and that we receive with open hands all the blessings and lessons He pours out. Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, may you find the strength and courage to patiently endure, and, as a result, grow deeply in your faith.

Prayer Requests
Please pray for protection over my sister Ruthie who works at Lowe’s, and my father Charles and niece Somaya who live with her. My father is 85 years old. Pray also for my friend and neighbor Roberta who watches Somaya a couple of days each week.

Keep Papua New Guinea in your prayers. So far, we know of only one confirmed case in the country. Pray specifically for our translators: Maniosa, Martin, Nete, Rueben, William, and Frank, and for the community of missionaries and Papua New Guineans who live in Ukarumpa, our missionary base.

Pray for us as a family living and homeschooling in a two-bedroom apartment on the second floor. Our only outlet is going for a walk around the neighborhood, during which we constantly tell our kids not to touch anything or go near anyone. Living on the second floor means constantly telling our kids not to jump, wrestle, or dance. We are basically living life telling our kids not to be kids. Pray that we can all patiently endure each other’s presence with joy and thanksgiving.

Textual Criticism

When translating the New Testament, the key question we are always asking ourselves is, HOW do we translate the Greek text into the target language. But there is a secondary question that we must also take into consideration at times, namely, WHICH Greek text do we translate. This secondary question is addressed by the field of Textual Criticism.

The books of the Greek New Testament were all composed within the first century AD. But as copies were made, changes were introduced in a few different ways. First, scribes made errors when they copied the text. For example, Papyrus 66, which was copied around AD 200, is full of basic errors because the scribe who made the copy did not speak Greek and was copying letter-by-letter (rather than word-by-word). Given that early manuscripts had no spaces between words, it would be very easy to skip over text inadvertently, which is exactly what the scribe did. (Fortunately most scribes did speak Greek and did not make errors like this.) Other changes were introduced by heretics, who were seeking to bolster their false doctrines. And still other changes were made in an attempt to “correct” the grammar and style of the text. But whether the changes were accidental or intentional, the vast majority of them were introduced before the year AD 200.

As the Greek New Testament spread throughout the Roman empire, three different types of texts emerged in three different areas: the Western text in the western part of the Roman empire, the Alexandrian text in Egypt, and the Byzantine text in the eastern part of the Roman empire. The Western text often shows signs of paraphrasing the original Greek and exists today more in Latin translation than it does in Greek manuscripts (although there are a few Greek manuscripts of the Western text). The Alexandrian text is often short and terse, having readings that are harder to understand, and it is represented by only a small minority of Greek manuscripts. The Byzantine text is represented in the overwhelming majority of Greek manuscripts, and it is longer than the Alexandrian text with smoother Greek.

One of the most famous editions of the Byzantine text is this 1550 printing by Robert Estienne known as the Royal Edition because of its beauty and intricacy

While it appears that none of these text types preserve much in the way of the false teachings introduced by heretics, it is clear that minor scribal errors and intentional changes to grammar and style are preserved in at least some of the text types. The vast majority of these changes are extremely minor and cannot even be translated into English. And of the changes that can be translated into English, the vast majority are again extremely minor and do not affect the meaning of the text at all. Only a small minority of the differences between the three different text types affect the meaning of the text, but even then, none of the teachings of Jesus and Apostles are obscured by these differences, and so we can have great confidence in Scripture as it has been preserved. Nevertheless, as translators we must choose which text to translate.

One of the most notable examples is the ending to the Lord’s prayer in Matthew 6:13. The Byzantine text, which is supported by 98.7% of the Greek manuscripts, reads, “For thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.” But the Alexandrian text and the Western text lack this ending to the prayer. So that leaves us with a question: Did Matthew include this ending to the prayer in his gospel or not? That is the question we as Bible translators must ask ourselves. Unfortunately, the answer to that question is too complicated to address in this short email, and even the best of scholars do not agree on the right answer. Translations like the King James Version and New King James Version include the longer ending, while translations like the English Standard Version and New International Version omit it.

Textual Criticism is just one more factor that Bible translators must wrestle with as we seek to translate Scripture into the minority languages of the world. Thankfully, textual differences are so minor that they do not affect the trustworthiness of Scripture. Therefore our confidence in the inspiration of Scripture is not shaken.

John 3:16

John 3:16. It is the most famous of Bible verses, well beloved and eagerly memorized, proudly displayed on posters at public events, a beautiful summary of the saving work of God through Christ. In its most famous translation it reads:

For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

Yet how well do we understand this verse, which so many of us have hidden in our hearts? The crux of the interpretation lies in the little two-letter word so. When most of us hear this word, we think of it as a word of degree, indicating the amount of God’s love for us. In other words, we typically understand this word as do the translators of the Contemporary English Version (CEV) and the New Century Version (NCV), who translate the beginning of this verse as “God loved the world so much.” But the Greek word translated as so in the King James and so much in the CEV and NCV is more commonly an adverb of manner and not of degree. Consider for example the sentence, “I want you to do it just so.” Here the word so is describing the manner in which the speaker wants something to be done. Another way we might communicate the same idea in English would be to say “like this” or “in this way.”

While it is possible that the word so in John 3:16 communicates the degree of God’s love, it is equally possible that the focus is on the manner in which he demonstrated his love, namely by giving his only begotten Son. Actually, since the word can have both meanings, it is quite possible that John the Apostle wanted his readers to consider both senses of the word. But in most English translations, readers only get the sense of degree and miss the sense of manner.

Although it is not nearly as poetic as the traditional King James translation, the New English Translation (NET) captures well the sense of manner that so often gets lost in translation:

For this is the way God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.



A secondary issue in which translations of John 3:16 differ has to do with who is actually speaking these words. Are they the words of Jesus? Or is it the voice of John the Apostle providing further commentary about Jesus’s interaction with Nicodemus? While most translations consider these words to be a quotation of Jesus, translations such as the NET Bible and the Revised Standard Version (RSV) end the words of Jesus in verse 15. The original King James translation did not have quotation marks, nor did it use a red font for the words of Jesus, and so this question is left ambiguous in the King James. Similarly, the Greek manuscripts provide no indication of where exactly quotations end.

There are interesting arguments to support the idea that verses 16 to 21 are actually commentary from the Apostle John rather than the words of Jesus. First, there is some phraseology that is never spoken by Jesus, but is used by the Apostle John in other places, such as only begotten Son, do the truth, and who believes in him. Second, there is an abrupt shift of tense from present to past. Verses 1 to 15 are in the present tense, while verses 16 to 21 are in the past tense. This gives the sense of an outside observer looking back in time to what had happened in the past and providing explanation.

Ultimately, it doesn’t really matter whether Jesus spoke these words or whether John did; in either case it is still the inspired word of God. But it is interesting to ponder through whom God chose to communicate these words; and in translation it is necessary to make a decision if the target language employs quotation marks or other devices to indicate the conclusion of quoted speech.

John 3:16 is an excellent example of how translation can be more difficult than it might appear at first. One would think that a verse as well known as John 3:16 would be quite easy to translate; yet there are nuances that often escape the attention of the English reader, but which must be decided when translating into another language. This verse proved to be particularly difficult to translate into Enga, particularly as it relates to the little two-letter word so. Ultimately we translated John 3:16 in this way:

God loved all the people of the world; by means of that, he gave his one [and] only Son. He gave [him], saying [that] any person who shall put trust in the Son of him, that [person] shall not die and become lost, but rather he shall receive the life that exists forever.

And, by the way, we did end the quotation of the words of Jesus in verse 15, but there are certainly good arguments to extend the quotation through the end of verse 21.

54 Baptisms!

On December 20, I received an email from one of my Engan co-translators, Nete Talian. He told me that during the Christmas break, when the translators have some time off to be with their families, he had been conducting evangelistic meetings in the village of Immi among the Dyuapini tribe. These meetings were being held in the market area just in front of our village house. Nete told me that he was conducting these meetings preaching in the Enga language and reading the Bible to the people from our Enga translation. Not only that, but he had been showing films including the Enga Jesus Film, a film against tribal fighting, and another promoting Aids awareness. He also played the Enga public service announcement that we wrote condemning the practice of falsely accusing women of sorcery and then torturing them.

As a result of these evangelistic meetings, as well as prior efforts to share the gospel with the people in Immi, fifty-four members of the Dyuapini tribe, the tribe we live among, received baptism in the week before Christmas. Leading the way was a man named Manus, who is a leader among the Dyuapini tribe. (Manus is the one wearing a blue suit in the picture below.) Knowing that Manus is a leader, I have prayed for him to become a Christian, and so I was delighted to see him leading the way among those who were baptized. Praise the Lord that fifty-four people have made a public demonstration of their faith in Christ and have been cleansed and forgiven of their sins!

The goal of our translation work is to make the Scriptures available to the Enga people so that they themselves can do the work of the ministry, and that is exactly what happened this past month in Immi. Please pray for these believers that they will be strong in their newfound faith. Pray for my coworker Nete as he tirelessly works to share the gospel. And pray especially for Manus that he will be a capable and blameless leader in the church and that others will follow his lead.

54 members of the Dyuapini tribe preparing for baptism

Translation Progress
We are moving ever closer to our goal of completing the New Testament. During our furlough, I have continued to chip away at the work of checking the last books of the New Testament. Since our return in July, I have completed my advisor check of Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, 1 Thessalonians, and 2 Thessalonians, which brought to completion my advisor checks for the New Testament. I have also completed the back-translation into English of Romans, 1 Corinthians, and the first five chapters of 2 Corinthians. Please pray for endurance as I hope to complete the back-translations of Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, 1 Thessalonians, and 2 Thessalonians over the coming months. That will bring to completion the process of doing back-translations. Then we will be prepared to do the consultant check of Romans through 2 Thessalonians, which is the last major hurdle before completing the New Testament.

We are applying along with two other language groups to receive funding to finish the New Testament. This will allow us to fly in consultants for the consultant checks as there are currently very few consultants in Papua New Guinea. It may also provide funding for literacy and Scripture use projects, so please pray that we will indeed receive this additional funding. 

Nothing says California like In-N-Out

Back in California
On December 22, after a three-week cross-country trip, we arrived in Alhambra, California, where we are staying in a two-bedroom apartment that is part of Atherton Baptist Homes. This apartment is made available to us as missionaries already furnished and at a reduced rent, so we praise the Lord for his provision, and we thank all of you who prayed that God would provide housing for us in California.  We will be here in California until the end of June 2020, at which point we plan to return to Papua New Guinea for a three-year term. We would love to see our friends in California while we are here, so don’t be shy in reaching out and contacting us. Please keep us in your prayers as we transition to life in California. Even though we have lived here before, we are in a new place, and California does not feel like home to our kids. We also miss our home and our friends in Papua New Guinea and the feeling of being settled rather than living in a temporary housing situation.