Talking the words make it clear to the heart December 3, 2013 – Ukarumpa, Papua New Guinea – Karen Weaver with Tim Scott What do airplanes, circular saws, children, dogs, tractors, thunder and helicopters have in common? They all create loud noise that threatened to disrupt the recording of the Iyo Scriptures. Recording technician Andy Weaver was thankful for the insulation in the small recording booth that kept out the disruptive sounds from all but the last two. When the thundercloud and the helicopter had passed by, Weaver interrupted the reader and asked him to repeat the sentence for a clearer recording. Tiepe Baffee and Somanu Upike came to Ukarumpa to record the Gospels of Matthew and Mark in their mother tongue, Iyo. Holding a printed copy of the text, translator Jennie Minter kept her eyes on the words being read, checking for accuracy and encouraging the men through long hours of reading aloud. Both Tiepe and Somanu value the Scriptures and want to share them with others. In fact, Tiepe was part of the team who translated the New Testament and he will get further training to continue with the Old Testament. The team discovered that voicing the words for a recording could sometimes reveal errors in the text that editors had overlooked. For example, Mark 6:3 should read, "All of Jesus' brothers and his sisters had come." But when Somanu was reading that passage aloud for the recording, the verse didn't sound quite right. When he recited as it was written, the words meant, ". . . and his parrot-sisters had come." What caused the error? Just one little letter -- a "w" where there ought to have been an "m". That's why it had been easy for the editors to miss it. In the recording, Somanu used the "m" so that it read correctly, ". . . and his sisters had come." Tiepe and Somanu returned to their homes grateful to have had a part in making God's Word available to their people in audio form. The Gospel of Matthew was completed and Somanu will complete Mark on his next visit to Ukarumpa. He says, "Talking the words made them more clear to my heart. I want to finish this task so all my people can hear it."
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”