“All the Nations” – A celebration of the translation effort in PNG. 20 August, 2012 – Ukarumpa, Papua New Guinea – Tim Scott “Inspiring”, “Motivational”, “Moving”, these were some of the words expressed after the “All the Nations” service on Sunday, August 19th in Ukarumpa, PNG. It was a celebration of Papua New Guinean Scripture translation projects produced by SIL and BTA in the past year. Forty-seven different efforts impacting more than forty language groups were recognised, including six completed New Testaments. Four of these New Testament publications also included portions of the Old Testament. Also receiving recognition were single New and Old Testament books, audio and video Scripture recordings, Jesus films and online publications. The celebration began with a processional of Papua New Guineans, each holding a translated work that was completed sometime between August 2011 and August 2012. The crowd responded with enthusiastic clapping and cheering, as each participant brought a new translation to the front where they placed them on a display table. One colleague was so excited that he shouted out praise in his own language while walking down the aisle. The processional was followed by an international choir singing “All The Nations “, while a video highlighting the new translations was played in the background. Many attenders of the celebration are directly involved in the language development and translation work in Papua New Guinea or spend a majority of their time and effort supporting the process. It was a very rewarding time for them to see the results of their labour.
SIL-PNG known as “Summer Institute of Linguistics” in Papua New Guinea is a faith-based non-profit organization committed to serving language communities throughout Papua New Guinea as they build capacity for sustainable language development. For more information on this release, contact SIL-PNG, PO BOX 413, EHP 444, Papua New Guinea Phone: 011 + 675 + 537-4431 or Email: DO-CCO@sil.org.pg “Tok Save” is the PNG “Tok Pisin” term for announcement or “For your information”