When we step into the darkness bringing the Light of God’s Word, we know that there will be opposition!

As I learn more about my responsibilities for the finance office I get more of the “big picture.” When a team of National Translators come in to continue working on translating Gods Word into their mother tongue; they are no longer just men and women coming into the office. I am starting to “know” them; I am starting to care about them. There is one couple in particular that I am partial to. I can’t use their names or their people group to respect their privacy. However, I would like to tell you about them so that you will hopefully join me in prayer for the predicament they’ve found themselves in. I have permission to share this much.

This particular couple, I will refer to them as P&K, had been in town for a week or so working on their translation project. I’d see them every day. Since I work in finance, one of my responsibilities is the Petty Cash. This allows me to interact with the national translators (big smile!). We provide them with food and transportation money. One day, I started making little smiley faces on the envelopes that I gave to P. She is adorable. I attended a couple of the Bible studies that we hold on Wednesday nights because she and a couple of other ladies were in town. I sat by her and her husband.

They left town a couple of weeks ago for their 2 day trek home. I believe she said it takes an all-day PMV ride and then about 7-8 hours in a canoe traveling upstream to their village. They made it home safe and sound. But a few days after they arrived home their son (who lives near town) was drinking with some buddies got into an argument about a lighter, there was a fight. During the fight, his buddy fell and hit his head. He died. Now this young man ~ P&K’s son, is in prison for killing his friend. Compensation has been set at 2500 kina and 2 pigs. This is a really large demand. To make a long story short, the family/clan comes up with the money and then P&K are indebted to them. We sincerely prayed that the compensation would be paid and their son would be released (that’s how they do it here). But that didn’t happen as “easily” as I had hoped. The family/clan that lost their loved one has turned violent and P&K have fled to the jungle. Can you imagine fleeing to the jungles of Papua New Guinea because they are “safer than your home?” So we wait … please join us in praying for safety and peace for both sides of this tragedy. I’m really sorry for the loss of this young man’s life, and I really want to see my friends again… I want to share life with them… I want them and the team to feel that they can come back to town and continue their translation work that has been halted… I want for this senseless tragedy to turn into something beautiful. What if God works this out in such a way that this translation team ends up translating the Word of God into the language of those that lost their loved one? He can do this… He can do anything He wants… please pray with me that the end result is something beautiful, maybe even along this line.

My friend ALI wrote this when I asked her to alert my prayer team that I had a desperate and urgent prayer request.
“Team – I received a handful of emails from Sharon today, and they caused me to step back and remember why she is in Papua New Guinea.

Sharon has followed God’s call to make disciples of ALL nations – all people groups – trusting Jesus’ word that the end will not come until all have heard His name (Matthew 28 & 24). Sharon and the missionaries that she serves alongside remind me so much of Paul. They live for Christ knowing that death is gain. To die is to be with Jesus! However to be alive, here, is for the sake of the Gospel – so that by God’s grace, the lost might be redeemed (Philippians 1).

Sharon’s team is on the front lines of spreading the Gospel to a people group that has never known the name of Jesus. And so it is no wonder that the attack that they face is costly.

Sharon is asking us to pray – trusting specifically that an army of warriors will take this directly to the Lord. Here is the back story:

Two of the National Pioneer Bible translators (a married couple with a family) are connected to a crime that resulted in the death of another national (essentially the translators’ son was involved in a drunken scuffle that had a fatal end). In turn, the family of the deceased is seeking revenge.

My understanding is that the married couple (the translators) have gone into hiding. They have a son who is now in jail as a result of the fatal incident mentioned above.

This is part of the email that Sharon forwarded to me:

This is a horrible situation. The family whose boy died wants to kill someone – anyone. It doesn’t have to be immediate family – any one related to them will do. They are out for blood and my friends can’t go home until something is resolved; either money is paid or someone dies. So they have fled to the jungle. Can you imagine?

Sharon is involved in an intense battle. If this is what we know of the physical realm, can you even imagine that battle underway in the spiritual realm?

Please join me in praying for our sister and her team. She hasn’t even been there but a few months, and already the battle is life and death.

Thank you, Jesus, you have overcome this world!”

Update from our Sing and Share last night.

We meet as a team at the office and sing worship songs share communion, pray and fellowship together every Sunday night. I love it!! Jim leads us and I always learn something. I wish that his lessons could be longer.

Brian is the man who gets the updates about P&K. He shared that the family of the deceased has now destroyed P&K’s home and the home of the father of K. They don’t know where P&K are… there is nothing we can physically do. But we can pray!! Please pray that they are safe and that the payment can be made SOON so they can come home… and come to the office!! My heart really wants to see her/them! Please Lord?

Also I received a text from our Director of Support Services last night stating that two more translators are asking for prayers because (they are in town working at our office and) their families cannot be located. Evil is alive and well and doing all that can be done to slow down the work of translating His Word… but just as Ali stated “He has overcome this world”… please pray with us for these precious families.

Thank you for walking alongside of me. I’m glad you are here. I couldn’t do this without your help. I need your prayers, your love, and your emotional and financial support. Thank you for blessing me to be a blessing to the people of Papua New Guinea. I love being a part of Bible translation!!!

Please continue to pray for me. Sometimes I get really lonely and miss my family and my friends. Please pray for strength for those hard times. Please keep my family in your prayers too; for good health and general happiness as they draw closer to God… and maybe you could send me an email once in a while (smile). I’d like that!

My next update is what I was going to share until this came up. Next you will see pictures of a beautiful baptism service in the South Pacific Ocean and hear what a Sunday morning might look like here.

Thank you for your prayers! I know they are heard! I’ll let you know what happens!

You can read “Pacific Orientation | Parts 1-5” on my blog.