Yes!

Over the last year I’ve written blog posts on the various aspects of making a decision about where to work long term in PNG. The country is vast, complex and there are many communities requesting help with translation and literacy, and I am but one person.

The discernment journey has meant thinking about what I mean by ‘call’. It has meant reflecting on what it means to be a single  person in this work, discussing partnership and exploring the option of a bigger team. There has been plenty of research, discussion, prayer and exploration. In the last few months I have visited both GulfProvince and New Ireland to spend time with potential projects. Finally, I have reached a decision.

That decision is to work in Gulf Province long term. This will be work that is alone but not alone. After all the discussions of partnerships and teams, the reality of life events and timing is such that  I am the only one going in a Gulf direction. At the same time, it is not alone, as I have friends working in that region. I may end up the only expat in a village, but I’ll have expat friends in the region, will soon have local friends in the village and know there is always Immanuel. So I’ll be working alone, but not alone.

I have been blessed with a real sense of peace about both the place and about stepping out on my own. For a long time I had little peace about working solo, so this change of heart is not of my own doing. There will be challenges in the aloneness and I’ll have to be deliberate about self care. There will also be blessings as I will have to build closer local relationships and will have more intense times of language learning.

Currently, the Pettersons are the only language workers for a cluster of about twelve languages in that area. They do an amazing amount of work in literacy and in translating the Jesus Film. I’ll be joining their project, initially by working with the Kope people in Ubuo village. There was an expat translator and a local translation team  there in the 1980s, but various factors meant that the work stopped, although bug-eaten drafts of portions of Acts and Mark remain. Last week these people finished recording the Jesus Film, so there is also new momentum and interest in translation.

Old drafts, new momentum… this is the place where things are happening and it is coming together as the place for me to move. The idea is that I move to their area, learn their language and support the community in reaching their translation goal through training, encouragement and advisor work. Their goal may be the Gospel of Luke plus Acts, building on the Jesus Film script and the drafts from decades ago, but these things are still to be established.

In years to come, as their initial goal is met, we will see what the next step is. Kope is closely related to Anagibi, Urama and Gibaio. Some call them dialects of each other, the locals consider them to be distinct languages. Maybe in the future I can work with these groups as well. Maybe neighbouring languages will also be inspired and things will move to more of a training focus. Maybe…maybe…maybe I should wait a few years and see what is happening before making plans, but the needs and opportunities in the area mean that there will be plenty of work for many years yet.