The Enga New Testament Is Finished!

Late in the afternoon on Thursday, April 6, William Walewale recorded verse 21 of Revelation chapter 22, and the translation and recording of the Enga New Testament were finished. After listening to the last section of Revelation one last time to check for any errors, the recording studio was filled with tears of joy. I (Adam) was overcome with emotion as I looked at William in the soundproof room and saw tears streaming down his face. As the one reading the entire New Testament, the burden of the work had fallen more heavily upon William than any of the other translation team members. He had done a fabulous job in making the final edits to the Enga New Testament and then recording all twenty-seven books in just nine weeks. As he emerged from the soundproof room, we embraced one another as we felt the burden of this enormous task being lifted in a short instant and as we realized that our translation of the Enga New Testament would now be easily accessible to the more than four hundred thousand people who speak the Enga language. The work we had begun nearly ten years prior on October 18, 2013, had finally reached completion. As expected, we made hundreds of minor adjustments to the text as we did the recording. In the world of Bible translation, it is always advisable to make an audio recording of your translation before printing it because the process of doing the recording serves as a final check for the translation itself. Although we made hundreds of adjustments, they were almost all extremely minor as we found the core of the translation itself to be quite good. A few days ago, on April 26, the technician who did the recording for us finished his post-production edits. I then uploaded the recording to Google Drive for the translation team members to download and begin distributing in their communities. Our prayer is that the audio recordings will spread like wildfire over the coming weeks and months.

Embracing William after completing the Enga New Testament recording

Martha was in the room!
In last month’s newsletter Martha shared how much she had wanted to be in the room when William recorded the final chapter of the Enga New Testament. Although Martha had to be in California for nearly four weeks during the recording due to the passing of her father, by God’s grace she was able to be there with us when William finished the recording. Not only that, but Jacob’s school schedule also allowed him to witness this historic moment as well. Having Martha and Jacob there with us made the completion of the recording an even more joyous occasion.

Martha in the recording studio on the last day

Throughout the course of our translation work, and especially during our nine weeks in the recording studio, the Enga translators and I would often conclude our day by singing the Doxology. Soon after William completed the recording, the entire translation team and I crammed into the soundproof room, along with Jacob, and sang the Doxology together. Although we may not be winning any Grammy Awards for our singing ability, we have decided to include our rendition of the Doxology at the end of the Enga New Testament audio recording to represent our thankfulness to God for enabling us to finish this monumental task.

What now?
Although the translation and recording are now complete, there is still work to do to typeset the Enga New Testament to prepare it for print. We have received funding to print five thousand copies of the Enga New Testament as well as five thousand copies of an Enga-English edition of the New Testament. We are currently in the process of typesetting the Enga-only edition. When that is complete, we will begin typesetting the Enga-English edition. We were able to complete the more difficult preparatory work before and during the recording, such as selecting the dimensions of the printed books, fonts, layout, black and white illustrations, color photos, and maps. With most of that work done, our main job now is to review the PDF samples the typesetter sends us to make sure everything looks okay before going to print. I am hoping to have the Enga-only edition complete by the end of May and the Enga-English edition complete by the end of June. Please pray with us that we would complete the typesetting soon so that we can send the New Testament out for print.

I Wanted To Be In The Room

I wanted to be in the room. When William read the last chapter, I wanted to be in the room.

On the evening of March 7, I (Martha) stood at the edge of our front lawn with Maniosa, William, Reuben, Frank, and Martin, the five Enga translators who were in Ukarumpa recording the Enga New Testament. My father’s health was failing, and I was headed to the U.S. the next morning for an indefinite amount of time. They had come to say goodbye to me, share their sympathy, and give a generous gift. I thanked them for their thoughtfulness, and with tears in my eyes, I told them that I had wanted to be in the room when the last chapter was read. With great understanding they nodded their heads. I didn’t need to explain to them why that moment would be significant to me. I shook their hands and thanked them for coming, and with sadness, I turned around and went inside.

The Enga translators standing in front of our house as they say goodbye to Martha

Each year since Jacob was born, Adam has combined all the best video footage of that year into one yearly Boyd Family video. Since it is Jacob’s senior year, Adam decided that we should watch all our family videos starting from when Jacob was a baby. Over the course of the last few months, on any available Sunday night, we gathered around the TV to revisit our history. I loved doing this and looked forward to our Sunday nights.

But I was blindsided by the pain.

It was so hard to watch the earliest videos. My father looked so young. What had happened? Adam’s parents were in so many of the videos even though they lived on the other side of the country. We saw them that often? They were that involved? Missionaries never really talk much about the cost. I don’t mean money; I mean everything else. The cost of living overseas, away from family, away from a home church. The missing Christmases, birthday parties, and family reunions.

Martha's father with Jacob in 2005

Seeing what our life was like before we left for Papua New Guinea made me wonder what life would have been like if we had never left the U.S. It made me confront the moments that we’d lost. It made me think about the cost. I’ve done this before, but it was different this time. In December, Adam’s father was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, and we lost him in a matter of days. My own father’s health had been declining all year, and now I am in Los Angeles writing this newsletter two days after his funeral. This season of life has us facing the years we lost with family while in PNG.

And that is why I wanted to be in the room.

I wanted to be present for the culmination of why we came. I wanted to see with my own eyes and hear with my own ears and remember…what it was all for.

There are a whole lot of things that feel really confusing and uncertain right now. But one thing I know for certain. I worship a good God. In our darkest moments, He has not left us. We have seen God’s grace and provision during these hard days.

With my father’s health failing this year, I woke up every morning and braced myself before opening my email, wondering if that would be the day I would need to go home. I worried about how it would all work out. Who would teach my classes? What would I miss from Jacob’s senior year? Would I be there for his high school graduation? For Banquet? His basketball season? How would I handle everything without Adam? I prayed for the miracle of not having to leave before June. I didn’t get that miracle, but I did get a window of time and a morning.

Martha with her father, Charles, last July

A few weeks before school break, I got an email from my principal requesting that I write up two weeks of lesson plans for students that would be in the village for the first two weeks of Term 4. I never plan ahead, and I certainly have never planned two weeks ahead. When it became clear that I needed to go home, it was three days before the beginning of a two-and-a-half-week school break and I had already planned for the first two weeks of school. If I was going to go home anytime during Jacob’s senior year and leave my teaching position, this was the window of time that would work.

On Tuesday morning, March 7, I began to make flight arrangements, but the flights were booked on the days I wanted to leave Ukarumpa. I could leave the following morning, but I felt that it was too soon. I didn’t have enough time to prepare. I was in despair. I literally asked God why he wouldn’t help me. When it became clear that Wednesday morning was my only option, Adam called and urged me to take it and insisted that I needed to go then. I was doubtful, but I hung up the phone and began a marathon day where I planned to be gone for an unknown amount of time.

I didn’t know it at the time, but God was indeed helping me. I landed in LA Wednesday night and arrived at the hospital on Thursday morning. I was able to spend a couple of precious hours with my father before he passed away later that afternoon. I was by his side.

God did not prevent my father from dying, but I trust that his timing is perfect. Looking back, I can see that God had been with me every step of the way.

This year has been hard, and Adam and I are grieving deeply. Adam was in survival mode before I ever left, yet the recording continues, and many wonderful people from the Ukarumpa Community are providing meals for Adam and the kids while I’m gone.

Despite all the hard things, I continue to believe that I serve a good God—a good God that can give you something back that you thought you had lost. I serve a God that wants to give me the desires of my heart. Lord willing, on Monday, April 3, I will return to Ukarumpa.

I will be in the room next week when William reads the last chapter. I will think about the cost, and I will remember that we are right where we are supposed to be.

We need a car for two weeks in June
We will be in the Southern California area for the last two weeks of June and are looking to borrow a car during that time. If you live in Southern California and can lend us a car for those two weeks, please let us know. Thank you so much!

Recording 42% Complete

I am happy to report that the Enga translation members arrived safely in Ukarumpa on February 6. Since then, we've been in the recording studio every day from 8:30 in the morning to 4:00 in the afternoon. We have now recorded 42% of the Enga New Testament, and we are currently recording John 11. At our current pace, we should finish the entire recording of the Enga New Testament in the first or second week of April.

The recording studio consists of two rooms. William Walewale, who is the reader, sits in the inner room which is sound proof, while the other translators and I sit in the outer room along with my fellow expat missionary Jonathan Vander Wal, who is the audio recording specialist. The recording process is as follows. William reads through a short section of Scripture that is displayed on a screen for him in the inner room. If he makes any mistakes as he reads, we start over from the beginning of the sentence (or midway through the sentence if it is a long, complicated sentence). As William reads, I check to make sure that he doesn't accidentally miss, change, or add any words. The other Enga translators listen to make sure that the translation sounds clear and natural. As William reads through, we inevitably make a few minor adjustments to make the translation sound more natural. After William completes a section, Jonathan Vander Wal edits it for us on the spot, removing long pauses, equalizing the volume, and making other technical edits. Then we listen to the section again for final approval. Once the section is approved, we move on to the next section and start the process all over again. Below is a video of William reading a short section from Mark 4:35-35. Please continue to pray for the recording. Pray especially for the health of the translators and the safety of their families back home in Enga. Thank you so much for your prayers!

 

Recording Starts on Tuesday

Almost ten years have passed since we began our translation of the Enga New Testament on October 18, 2013. We are now ready to begin the recording process, starting on Tuesday, February 7. It has been a long road, but God is faithful and has seen us through many challenges and difficult times. Even now the translators are facing trying times. On January 24, fighting broke out again in Enga, and one of the Enga translators (Frank) decided to flee his home since the fighting was in the next village over. The translators had been planning to travel to Ukarumpa for the recording via public transportation, but instead I had to charter a flight for them because it is not safe for them to be in town waiting for a public bus. The translators and I are all in agreement that we cannot let this fighting or anything else hinder us from completing the work that God has called us to do. Nevertheless, please pray for the safety of the translators, and especially for their families, whom they are leaving behind in Enga as they come to Ukarumpa to complete the recording of the Enga New Testament. The recording should take two to three months. It will be an exciting but exhausting time, so please pray for strength and energy for the translation team and for my family and me. Pray also that we will be careful listeners during the recording sessions so that we can make any necessary last minute adjustments to the translation for the sake of naturalness. Once the recording is completed the translation will also be complete. Then we will focus on finishing the typesetting process so that we can send the Enga New Testament off for print. Thank you for your prayers. This is a very important time, so please continue to pray.

Indirect Communication

On our most recent trip to the village, we decided to fly instead of drive. As a result, when we would go to town, we would take a PMV (public motor vehicle) instead of driving our own truck. One morning as Martha, the kids, and I were getting on a PMV to go to town, the PMV driver invited me to sit down in the front passenger seat. So I got in, shut the door, and sat down. The PMV driver greeted me by shaking my hand. Then he said to me, “You are a strong man.” Now, I know enough about myself to realize that I am not in danger of winning any World’s Strongest Man competitions, so I began wondering why the driver said this to me.

As we got into town, the man sitting in the front middle seat wanted to get out of the PMV. So the driver stopped, and I got out of my seat to let the man in the middle seat get out. Then I got back into the PMV and shut the door. Again the PMV driver said to me, “You are a strong man.” Now I was really confused because I know that I am not very strong, and so why would the driver make this same statement to me a second time?

Finally, we got to our stop in town. As I got out of the PMV and was about to shut the door, the driver said to me, “The door does not work well; please close it gently.” Then it dawned on me! When the driver had said, “You are a strong man,” what he meant was, “You are shutting the door of the PMV too hard; please shut it more gently so that it does not break.”

This is a perfect example of how Papua New Guineans communicate in an indirect manner. I am sure that there have been many times when people tried to communicate something to me that I totally missed because I did not grasp the hidden meaning. And I am sure there have been times when I inadvertently communicated something I had not intended to communicate because people were looking for some hidden meaning lying beneath what I had actually said. Cross-cultural communication can be so difficult sometimes!

A PMV driver in Papua New Guinea

Translation Progress
We will be finishing up our final edits this month in preparation for recording the Enga New Testament beginning in February. The recording process will probably take two to three months to complete. Inevitably we will make more minor changes as we make the recording. Once the recording is finished, we will finalize the typesetting for the New Testament. Our plan is to produce two editions: an Enga-English New Testament and an Enga-only New Testament. Please pray for us as we finish our final edits and begin the recording process.

A picture of my dad and me from 2015

My Dad
Last month I shared the news that my dad had been diagnosed with stage four pancreatic cancer. On December 6, we found out that he only had a week to a month to live. I had been planning on flying to my parents’ house on Friday, December 16, but when I learned more about my dad’s prognosis, I changed my flights to leave a week earlier on Friday, December 9. After a long trip, I was able to get to my parents’ house on Saturday, December 10, very early in the morning. It was the first time it was only my mom, my dad, my sisters, and me in over twenty years. Although my dad was very weak and could only make very short statements, we enjoyed a beautiful morning together as a family. I was able to sit by my dad’s side, hold his hand in mine, and then pray with him along with my mom and sisters. I was also able to lean over and hug him, and he still had the strength to squeeze my hand and say, “It will be OK.” About 3:30 that afternoon he went upstairs to his room because he was so exhausted. We took turns sitting with him and doing our best to help him and make him comfortable. Although my dad’s body was failing, his mind was still very sharp. The next day was very difficult as my dad was becoming too weak to do anything at all. My sister Brook and I slept in his room that night, waking up every 15 to 20 minutes to help my dad with whatever he needed. Each time I would lie down again, I would pray to God to take my dad home because I knew how difficult it was for him and how uncomfortable he was. The next day God took my dad home. He is now at peace. No more pain. No more suffering. No more cancer. We had his memorial service on Monday, December 19, which you can view at tinyurl.com/ypuav6cx. I am scheduled to depart for Papua New Guinea on January 3. Thank you for your prayers!

A Look Back

Ten years ago we officially allocated to work with the Enga Bible translation project. Now we are on the brink of finishing the Enga New Testament as the Enga translators finish their final edits in preparation to make an audio recording of the Enga New Testament beginning in February. Earlier this month I was asked by a church to produce a video for their missions conference. I felt inspired to use the opportunity to take a look back at the past ten years, which turned out to be a very emotional experience as I saw our children grow from toddlers to teenagers and remembered all the relationships we have built along the way. I would like to share our experience with you, so please watch the video below. 

Pray For My Dad
Today we learned that my (Adam's) dad has been diagnosed with stage 4 pancreatic cancer. As I write this, my dad (Bob) is still in the hospital, where he is being treated for the blood clots that had sprung up due to the cancer. He is in stable condition and doing well, all things considered, and is scheduled to go home tomorrow. However, we ask for your prayers for him and for my mother (Heather). Please pray for healing for my dad, and for the peace that surpasses understanding for both of my parents. Pray that we would all remember that God is with us and will never leave us or forsake us. Pray that the love of God would be a present reality in our lives and that we would learn to trust Him in the face of uncertainty. Thank you for your prayers! If you would like to keep up with how Bob is doing, you can visit his CaringBridge site.(Please note that the donation button on the site is for general donations to the CaringBridge organization. We are not asking for donations for Bob's health situation.)

Quick Village Trip

Between COVID and violence surrounding the recent national election, it has been hard to make it out to the village lately. Although we had only an eight-day window between term 1 and term 2 at the kids' school, and despite the fact that repairs were still being made to our house after the recent earthquake, we decided that we needed to make the trip to strengthen our relationships in the village and also to visit and encourage the Enga translators. We also knew that this was likely the last trip Jacob would be able to make to the village before graduating in June. Our time in the village was unlike past trips as I (Adam) was not traveling into town each day for work. (Due to the political turmoil, the translators were not able to meet together as a team anyway.) Our agenda was simply to spend time with people and strengthen relationships after a long time away, and also to enjoy time together as a family away from our normal routine.

Jacob with his village brothers Lami and Sani

 Although we had no official work agenda, the Lord's timing was such that we were able to be a part of a meeting to discuss a new preschool that will teach young children how to read in the Enga language. Just this morning Martha and I had another follow-up meeting about how we can provide resources to assist this new school, such as producing basic children's books in the Enga language. I was also approached by Tiusa, a member of the church we attend in the village, who shared his dream of teaching adults how to read in the Enga language, and so I was able to encourage him and discuss ways that we could be of assistance. Later I also had the opportunity to spend time with the pastor of the church, Wilson Linu, and encourage him in his ministry, reminding him of the treasures that await us in God's kingdom.

Adam with Tiusa and Pastor Wilson at the church we attend

During our time in the village, we were able to experience God's wonderful provision. One of the things that we had to do during this trip was change out the batteries in our solar-powered electrical system. Because I am not a handyman and have very little knowledge about such things, I was a bit nervous about whether or not I could successfully change out the batteries and have the electrical system back up and running without any problems. On the way to the village, I decided to stop worrying about it and simply trust the Lord. As soon as we arrived, I found out that the son of a former missionary was on a short visit to Enga. He was there installing solar-powered electrical systems! Within minutes of us arriving at our house, he was there to assist me with installing the batteries. God is good! We were also greatly encouraged as we walked down the road after church to see a new health center that was being built. After walking around the new building, we greeted some of the people from the church located on the same piece of property where the health center was. One man at the church told us that he had heard our translation of the book of Matthew, and he just kept going on and on about how good the translation was and what a blessing it was. In fact, multiple people were asking us when the translation would be available. It was encouraging to see that the people were hungry to begin reading our translation of the Enga New Testament.

The church that oversees the health center we visited

Another highlight for us was being able to visit translator William Walewale and his family in their village. Due to problems from the recent election, William has not been able to travel to town and has basically been stuck in his village. As we arrived to visit him, we got a call from Maniosa Yakasa, our lead translator, who in many ways has been like a father to us during our time in Enga. Fighting in his area also made it not entirely safe for him to be traveling around, but he had decided to come visit us anyway. When he didn't find us at home, he called me and was then able to join us in William's village for a nice meal together. We were all encouraged by the opportunity to see each other again.
 

With Maniosa and William

This trip was a great reminder for me that our work is bigger than simply translating a book. Yes, our translation of the Enga New Testament will be a great blessing to many people, helping them to understand who Jesus is and how to follow him. However, our ministry is about more than translation. It is about relationships, sharing God's love with others, and encouraging others in their faith. This trip was also a reminder of how God is in control of things. So many things happened in just a short eight-day trip that I could not have anticipated or predicted. Serving the Lord is often just about making yourself available to him so that he can work through you in unexpected ways. We are thankful that we get to be small participants in God's great big plan for the world.