Speaking to the heart October 15, 2013 – Ukarumpa, Papua New Guinea – Karen Weaver with Tim Scott The spinning of the helicopter rotors stirred up more than just dust as the Bell Ranger helicopter descended into Gambulanglune village. It also stirred up the excitement of hundreds of people who filled the yard overlooking the helipad in anticipation of the Stober family’s arrival. Although Scot and Cherie Stober have worked among the Mato people since 1997, this visit was special because the people had feared Cherie might not ever return. While the Stobers were in the United States the previous year, Cherie had been told her heart was failing. But after many prayers and the implantation of a heart defibrillator, her heart resumed its normal rhythm and the family returned to Papua New Guinea. While Scot focuses on translation, Cherie focuses on literacy. She uses shell books, which are short picture books produced by SIL with the intent of adding the text in minority languages. Scot and his team of Mato helpers recently translated 53 shell books and Cherie input the information into the computer and produced over 300 books for Mato teachers to use in the village schools. The shell books cover many topics such as Bible, health, science, animal stories, basic instruction manuals, etc. Some of the books are printed as diglots, in both Mato and English, to help children transition into English, the national language of education. The books are a much needed resource for the teachers, who teach with very few supplies. An adult literacy program has been started in the language group and the books will help improve their reading skills as well. As the Stobers and the rest of crowd watch the helicopter disappear over the mountains, a family friend, Liwang, stepped forward as the spokesperson for the people. He declared, "We asked God to let you live and to bring you back to us. Now that you are standing here, we feel God has agreed that your work with us is not done yet. We believe we still have a job to do in completing the Mato New Testament and improving our literacy situation. Together holding hands, we will finish this work!”
For more information on this release, contact, The PNG Experience, PO BOX 413, EHP 444, Papua New Guinea Phone: 011 + 675 + 537-4431 or Email:
ThePNGexperience@gmail.com or follow the daily blog at www.thepngexperience.wordpress.com. Pictures do not always depict actual event, activities or people. “Yumi Stori” is the PNG “Tok Pisin” term for “Let’s talk” or “Let’s have a conversation”