VITAL training in Papua New Guinea February 28, 2014 – Ukarumpa, Papua New Guinea – Written by Amy Evers with Tim Scott For Jino Gideon, the Dawawa New Testament dedication in 2003 was a time of celebration, but he also saw larger possibilities. Now that he had the Bible in his heart language, why shouldn’t neighboring language groups enjoy the same privilege? Others were asking the same question, so the multi-language project called VITAL began in Milne Bay in 2005. The primary purpose of VITAL is to train and mentor the teams from up to 13 different language groups, and equip them to do translation for their own people. According to Betty Dunstan, mentor of the Are language team, VITAL has been instrumental in providing training in the use of linguistic software. One of the main reasons Betty wanted to join VITAL was to increase her competency in using Paratext, a valuable computer tool in Bible translation. “I know for sure that if I didn’t come to VITAL, I would be way behind. If I learned Paratext by myself, it would be a difficult job for me,” said Betty. Instead, the community atmosphere of VITAL has encouraged Betty and the Are team. Mariela Del Pozzi, a Scripture Use worker for VITAL, insists, “The biggest benefit of being part of VITAL for this group is that they work together. They share their struggles and see they are not the only ones facing challenges. Sometimes, God is doing something great in one community which can be applied to other groups as well. This sense of community working is very rich.” In February, VITAL met for the 27th time since it began in 2005. This first phase of VITAL will end in 2015. The goal is for each of the languages to have finished translating a “mini-Bible” by that time which will include Mark, Acts and a panorama of the Old Testament covering about 11% or for those that have already finished a New Testament translation to publish just this Old Testament panorama. Plans for VITAL Phase 2 are still in the works, but Jino and the other VITAL leaders hope that the current participants will translate more books of the New Testament, and that new language groups will also send translators. They have a dream that one day all language groups in Milne Bay will have God’s word in the language that speaks to their hearts. For more information on this release, contact ThePNGexperience, PO BOX 413, Ukarumpa, EHP 444, Papua New Guinea Phone: 011 + 675 + 537-3544 ext. 4431 or Email: thePNGexperience@gmail.com
Pictures do not always depict actual event, activities or people. “Tok Save” is the PNG “Tok Pisin” term for announcement or “For your information”. The English spelling conforms to Commonwealth English spelling.