Global effort April 21, 2015 – Ukarumpa, Papua New Guinea – Written by Catherine Rivard with Tim Scott Bible translation is a global task. So when Bob, a high school teacher from Great Britain, saw interest by his friends in the Mauwake language group in Madang Province in having audio recordings of their already-published New Testament, he sent an e-mail to Finland. Liisa, one of the original Mauwake linguistic advisors, had served among the Mauwake people for about 20 years, finally dedicating with them the translated New Testament in 1999, along with her Singaporean co-worker, Poh San. But now Liisa was retired in Finland, and Poh San was busy with translation consulting in East Asia. However, just two weeks before, the two of them had talked about the possibility of audio recordings. The Lord opened doors for support and travel, and so in 2015, Poh San and Liisa flew back to Papua New Guinea for a reunion with their Mauwake co-workers and the exciting and intensive task of recording the New Testament! They chose to record at Ukarumpa, a linguistic centre, where the audio technicians (hailing from Papua New Guinea, Korea, and the US) would be able to assist the six Mauwake readers. “This was the first time I was away from my family,” Maria, a Mauwake reader, shared, “and that was very hard. But I felt that this is what God wanted me to do.” One of her favourite moments was when she was able to read the story of the angel appearing to Mary in Luke 1-2. After she read, she broke into a huge smile, “I really love this story, and I love that I can read it!” Another reader, Alfred, was struck by the power of the Word after he finished reading the last chapter to be recorded, 1 Corinthians 13. As he set down the pages, he became very quiet and then suddenly broke into a Mauwake translated song, Amazing Grace. As the others joined in, voices gathered from around the world echoed the same praises to a God who is over all the nations!
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. Photos by Tim Scott use by permission only. “Yumi Stori” is the PNG “Tok Pisin” term for announcement or “Let’s talk” or “Tell me a story.” The English spelling conforms to Commonwealth English spelling.