Good Home Cookin'

(From Aretta Loving’s book, Slices of Life: From the Plate of a Bible Translator)

"I particularly enjoyed watching a woman, home early from her taro garden, prepare aboya. Sitting comfortably on the ground, she first peels taro tubers with a homemade knife: a razor-sharp piece of bamboo. Then with a thorny tree root she grates the taro. Water is added and brown hands became snow white as they work the taro-water mixture into a mush. The mush is spread onto a long, flattened bamboo tube, then bedecked with whatever delicacies she has on hand. Smoked rat, smoked frog or large, white witchetty grubs fresh from the foest are favorites. Finally, the woman chews up ginger rot and homemade salt, then spews the mixture onto the spread-out mush. The smashed bamboo is then rolled up and stuck inside a still larger bamboo tube. The long tube is laid over an open fire and gradually rotated and pushed through the fire. To make sure the tube stays on the fire long enough to cook the aboya, but not long enough to burn through the tube, is an art. And Awa women excel at this art!"

In 1959, Mrs. Loving and her husband Ed went to a remote village in PNG to live and work with the Awa people, to learn their language and to translate the Bible into it.

(Note: we won't be eating at that restaurant.)

Two Missionaries and Two Babies

Stories from the McFarlands (by Paula; May, 2009)

This morning as I sat outside in my haus win (rectangular house made out of bush materials with a grass roof and no walls), spending time with the Lord, I read Psalm 78 and I began to remember some of the praiseworthy deeds of the Lord that have happened in our lives since our November 2008 newsletter.

God gave us several opportunities to help our Papua New Guinean friends in major ways.

One Saturday night in November we got word that Iti was in labor. We didn’t know if the hospital was open. We drove to the river. Iti walked through the river in the dark, in labor—pains about five minutes apart, climbed into our car and we were off! Yes, the hospital was open! Praise the Lord! It actually took until Sunday afternoon before little Bruce was born. Imagine this…no mattresses and no water at the hospital! We provided both for Iti.

A month later Weti, our PNG pastor’s wife, was ready to have her baby. We were also able to help get them to the hospital and meet some of their physical needs as well as spiritual as we prayed earnestly for the arrival of their son, Wesley. It was a difficult labor but the Lord was gracious and protected both baby & mom.

Every verse. Every tongue. Every task.

Why the McFarlands Are in PNG

“Every day, Bible translators the world over find themselves pulled away from their primary responsibility—translating the Word of God—to deal with tasks that…can be accomplished by others.” *

Since 1967, Wycliffe Associates has mobilized lay people to partner with Bible translators around the world, freeing up thousands of hours each day to accelerate Bible translation ministry. Every year, thousands of Wycliffe Associates volunteers use their God-given talents and skills to support translators in the field.” * Such is the role of our friends, Bruce and Paula McFarland, who serve as teachers in the missionary community of Ukarumpa, Papua New Guinea.

Why is Bible translation so important? The apostle Paul puts it simply: “faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.” (Romans 10:17)

How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? And how can they preach unless they are sent? As it is written, "How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!" (Romans 10:14-15)

By their work as support missionaries, Bruce and Paula are helping to bring the good news of Jesus Christ to the tribal people of PNG, so that they, too, may hear, believe and be saved.

* from Wycliffe Associates website: www.wycliffeassociates.org

Who are Papua New Guineans?

The indigenous population of Papua New Guinea is one of the most heterogeneous in the world. PNG has several thousand separate communities,most with only a few hundred people. Although the country has three official languages (English, Tok Pisin, and Motu), its more-than 800 other languages add to the country's vast cultural diversity. Its history has been marked by low-scale tribal conflict among the neighboring communities and the advent of modern weapons and migration into urban areas has magnified the impact of this problem.

Population Facts:

Population: 6,057,263 (July 2009 est.)

country comparison to the world: 107

Median Age: 21.7 years

Urban Population: 12% of total population (2008)

Life Expectancy: total population: 66.34 years

country comparison to the world: 160

Ethnic Groups: Melanesian, Papuan, Negrito, Micronesian, Polynesian

Language: The three official languages are English, Tok Pisin, and Motu; there are approximately 860 other languages

Literacy: total population: 57.3%

Where In the World is Papua New Guinea?

Papua New Guinea (PNG) is part of Oceania, a group of islands in the South Pacific Ocean. Situated about 100 miles north of Australia, PNG shares the island of New Guinea with Indonesia. It lies just south of the equator and west of the international date-line. The island is part of a great arc of mountains stretching from Asia, through Indonesia and into the South Pacific. Part of the Pacific "Ring of Fire", its mountains include active volcanoes.

PNG boasts a tropical climate with slight temperature variations and seasonal monsoons. In addition to its volcanism, the island is subject to frequent earthquakes, mud slides, and tsunamis.