CanIL 2015

Whew! What a whirlwind of a summer! I apologize for not blogging more, but this summer at the Canada Institute of Linguistics has been crazy! God blessed me with many fun adventures, as well as deep relationships. One of the main things He reminded me of was the importance of people. Yes, knowledge is helpful and a gift from the Lord, but in this world only two things will last for eternity: God's Word and people's souls. I tried to remember this in the midst of making crazy sounds (for class, of course), studying for exams, and preparing for PNG. This is the reason that I am traveling to that country-to connect people with God's Word. But we can do this anywhere and everywhere we go. So how are you making the Lord known today in your everyday life? How are you investing in people's souls?

Some friends and I at a waterfall 

Some of the girls I was blessed to meet and study with this summer

I Hear my Words!

My words!

So what does a Papua New Guinean New Testament look like? Here is the Dedua New Testament. The Dedua people live in a remote part of the Morobe province. The Dedua New Testament has had a great impact on the area and is available in written and oral form. Being an oral culture, the New Testament on the Audibible, a player in digital audio format, is very popular. More than a thousand have been sold. Pray that this finished New Testament would have impact and that work on the Old Testament would continue.

*This post was taken from the PNG Experience blog. 

In the Beginning...

This book excerpt is taken from "In Search of the Source: A First Encounter with God's Word," by Neil Anderson and Hyatt Moore. It's a great book. To purchase it, visit shop.wyclife.org.

I looked down at the pile in my lap and up again. In the half-light of the place all I could see were eyes and gleaming brown faces catching the fire's glow. Finally, as calmly as I could, I said, "I don't know this food. How do you eat it?"  

"Let me show you," Apusi Ali said. He picked up one of the thick, hot larvae and held it up to his mouth. Feigning to take a few tentative nibbles, he said, "You don't do it like this! That's the wrong way to eat sago grubs." Then, scooping up a great handful, he said, "This is the way to eat them," and he threw thrust the whole batch into his mouth.

He chewed, then swallowed. As he swallowed, I did too, though my mouth was dry.

Then it was my turn. "Do you eat it with sago?" I asked, stalling as best I could. Sago is no favorite of mine either. Cooked, it's a rubber, gelatinous mass-like something between tapioca pudding and sponge. But here I just might need a sponge. They thought the sago was a good idea. They love it. I thought of dishes I had recoiled from in childhood. What I wouldn't give now for one of those to trade for any of this.

Equipped with a bite of sago, I took a handful of the grubs, almost like Apusi Ali had done, inserted them in my mouth, and chomped down.

As I chewed, everybody watched. I chewed for a long time, mouth closed, expression steady, and finally they began to slip down my throat.

As I finished, Holere leaned across the fire and asked, "Felere? Are they good?"

I paused, then matched his grin with my own and said, "Felerapo. Yes, they're good."

With that, everybody burst into great cheers. People were slapping me on the back, waving and affirming emphatically, "Of course they're good. We just wanted you to know they're good!"

With that came a barrage of offers to taste every delicacy they had. Kayame gave me a piece of braided intestines skewered on a stick. Hotere gave me a bite of boar brains. So pleased they were that I would enjoy their food. But they were especially pleased that I would enjoy o foe "grubs." And of course I had to eat some more.

At one point, genuinely interested, I asked, "What are these things, anyway?"

For a moment they looked at me incredulously. Could I be serious? What person in the world would not know what these were? I asked again and Kima leaned forward and said, "Akaoni o foe kaaratapo."

I only got about half of what he said. I'd heard o foe in there and akao, the word for a large beetle, but the verb he used confused me. Kaatapo was the verb "to begin," I knew that, but I had never heard it with the ra in the middle. From other contexts I knew the rainfix, added to the verb"to begin," must mean "cause to begin," but I wasn't sure I had it.

"Wait a minute," I said. "What did you say?"

Soke, sitting next to Kima, piped up. Both Kima and Soke are astute with language, and they were always coaching me. Paraphrasing Kima's message for me, Soke pointed to the grubs on my right then over to the beetles on my left and said, "When these things fly, they fly as these."

I understood that fine. What they were telling me was that the sago grub is the larval stage of this particular beetle.

"But that's not what Kima said," I protested. I needed to hear the exact phrase again.

By that time no one could remember it. It hadn't been that important. But, groping back, someone finally got it, and this time, I heard the whole thing good and slow: Akaoni o foe kaaratapo "these beetles cause these grubs to begin."

I must have looked like I was catching onto something significant, as they were all with me now. "Tell me more about this word, kaaratapo," I said, and everybody jumped in at once with all sorts of examples.

"You know," they said, "butterflies begin caterpillars. Flies begin maggots, rhinoceros beetles begin tree grubs."

When it quieted down a bit, Kima said, "It's like when the world started."

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"You know," he said, "a long time ago. All this didn't just come up by itself. It had to have a beginning and somebody began it."

I looked at Hapele and Isa sitting a little way down from where all this was going on, and they too were listening closely. "We've been looking for a word," I said to everybody in general. "On the first day of translation we got stuck. We were trying to find a word that would describe something like what you're saying here but we couldn't find it-I think we're close, though."

"If we took the word for God, Koto," I went on, "and added ne to indicate God as the one doing the action, then added ra in the middle of the verb, changing it from 'to begin' to 'to cause to begin' what you'd have is: Koke nale alimo Kotone saro haetamo Kaaralipakalepo, 'In the beginning God caused the ground and the sky to come into being.'"

They nodded in unison.

"Just like that?" I asked. I could hardly believe it was falling into place.

"Just like that," they said.

Just like that God created the heaves and the earth. And just like that He had just given us a way to say it.

Spear-Fishing in a Canoe on the Sepik River

To the Ends of the Earth

Thank the Lord and your generosity that I now have 100% of my Wycliffe ministry needs! Next stop Canada, where I'll be studying linguistics at the Canada Institute of Linguistics to prepare for my Wycliffe assignment. Then, on to the ends of the earth to serve the Lord in Papua New Guinea!

Closer to the Edge

There has been a strong focus on the need for the Scriptures in the heart language of the people around the world. The response has been incredible and the work to get projects started around the world has been amazing. Let's not lose that momentum until every language that needs a translation has one. Unfortunately, most of the larger language groups and the ones that were easily accessible have, for the most part, Scriptures in their their language or a project started. The remaining ones are the harder ones to start. Papua New Guinea is one of the places where close to 300 languages have been identified as needing a project started. Many of them are in remote areas. Pray as we identify these areas "closer to the ends of the Earth" that workers and resources could be identified that would reach these areas.

*This post was taken from the PNG Experience blog. 

Almost There!

Praise the Lord! I now only need $63 more per month by the end of this month (three weeks away!) in order to help the people in Papua New Guinea have God's Word in September. A big thank-you to everyone who has already joined with my Wycliffe ministry in serving in PNG! We are making ripples into eternity, my friends, all for God's glory.

*If you would like to partner with my Wycliffe ministry, please let me know at rachel_fike@wycliffe.org

And now an uplifting tale from the PNG blog: 

Yes!!

What give you reason to celebrate? A new shirt, maybe a new car, what about a new translation of the Bible that you can read? Some people think that once a Bible is translated, the work is done. Unfortunately, that's not the case. Languages change; not many of us still say 'groovy'. Many people don't even know what that means nowadays! So it is with the language used in translations and therefore why revisions are necessary. These guys are celebrating the revision of the Ono language. One of the greatest beneficiaries of a revision of a language are the younger generations. Old words become new and understanding occurs as the Scriptures become relevant. Pray for the many revisions occurring throughout Papua New Guinea that are making the Scriptures come alive to the younger generation. 

Hungry to Read

Early Start

The timer buzzed, and the four groups leapt to their feet and raced from one corner of the room to another. As the men and women settled into their new chairs, they read exercise instructions posted on the wall-which told them to take turns reading sentences, paragraphs, and pages of the assigned book. In one corner, a man in a black felt cap opened the reader. "This is a story about a wild pig," he read slowly in Tok Pisin, Papua New Guinea's trade language. The others in his group leaned in close, each ready to take his or her turn. 

The class had started a little over four months ago. "I've always wanted to be able to read the Bible, but I couldn't read or write," explained Mama Ruth. "So that's why I asked Petra to start this class." Petra, a teacher, gladly agreed and began to put together a class based on Creative Phonics methods, which help learners identify and learn sounds in a logical order. Now her classroom is full of over 25 eager students, from grandfathers to young mothers, none of whom could initially read or write and most hadn't attended school. 

"I never had a change to go to school," a woman named Liwai shared. "But now I'm so happy for this class, because now I am able to read and write." 

Another woman agreed, "I can read the church song books now and can even participate when I visit my sister's church which has different liturgy." "Yes, and now I can attend Bible study!" chorused several others. 

One man stepped forward. "I am an elder in my church, but I couldn't read or write." Sika explained. "Now that I can read, I can better serve in ministry!" 

Jack gave a small smile. "Whenever I saw another person read, I felt a deep hunger and I wanted it desperately. But now I can read too!" 

Living full

                                       

 *This blog was taken from the PNG Experience blog. 

All Scripture Points to Christ

A PNG man teaching

 When a young man named Demas showed up for an oral Bible storytelling workshop in Sandaun Province, Papua New Guinea, he seemed a little rough around the edges. But then so did the tiny, unkempt village he came from a day's hike and canoe ride away. He didn't know much about the Bible, but he was willing to learn, and he was willing to ask for prayer for the struggles in his life.

At the workshop Demas studied Bible stories from Genesis. Working with five others who spoke his mother tongue, Mamhoaf, he translated the stories and learned to tell them effectively. All Scripture leads to Christ, and as the days went by, his understanding of the Good News began to grow. One evening toward the end of the course, he asked Jesus into his life.

Four months later, Demas came back for the second workshop in the series. Staff members could hardly recognize him. His appearance had changed and his face was radiant.

He said that when he got home, he immediately told the story of Creation to his family clan. That night, his older brother became ill and strongly felt the oppression of an evil spirit. Family members asked the village's traditional healers to remove the evil spirit, using their spells, charms and chants, but none of the traditional methods seemed to help.

The next day, Demas heard about his brother's illness and went to see him. He offered to pray for his brother, but he said he would only pray if the family agreed to stop asking for help from the traditional healers. He didn't feel right to mix good and evil. Then he told the family that before he prayed, they all needed to confess the wrong things they had done, so they would be clean before God.

The family must have been shocked at the changes in Demas, but they accepted his offer of prayers and confessed their sins as he asked. Then he prayed and returned home. During the night, his brother felt the evil spirit leave him, and he returned to normal. Demas shared more stories, and spiritual interest began to stir in the village. The once-dead church began to revive. The villagers asked Demas to share devotions on Sunday mornings.

They set about building a church and asked Demas to be the pastor. As God's Word in story from began to change lives, five young men felt led to enroll in Bible school. Demas gave his report to the workshop participants with excitement, but quickly voiced a multitude of questions. What does it mean to be a pastor? Can I pray with someone to help them receive Christ? Can I baptize them?

Demas had come to a good place to ask questions, because the workshop was staffed by a strong team of Papua New Guinean trainers and mentors, who along with several SIL workers, were well prepared to talk with Demas through Scripture and find answers to his questions.

At the end of the workshop, Demas went home stronger in the Lord, with a new collection of Bible stories to share and a deepened understanding of how to lead his people toward God. He knew it would not be easy, but he had glimpsed what God could do through His Word, and he was looking forward to seeing what God would do next.

Having too much fun

*This post is from Bob Creson's (the president of Wycliffe's) blog.