Author: Bill & Donna Davis

God Working in Susing

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Hot news from here among the Palawanos…

It’s 90 degrees in the house today. Could it be that dry season has finally arrived? Although the heat saps us, we pray that there will be a time of heat and the dry winds necessary for the Palawanos to burn this year’s fields. So far it’s been raining often and even on sunny days there just isn’t the blazing intensity and wind needed.


In our last update, We asked prayer for some men who have previously played key roles in the church here, Susing and Tirso. We in the week following that, God seems to be working in Susing’s heart. True to the culture here, Bill hear indirectly (from Susing’s brother Abil, our main church leader and teacher), about the issues underlying Susing’s discouragement. Bill then sent some thoughts back to Susing via Abil (Biblical counseling within the cultural pattern of having a go-between whenever possible.) Bill basically shared that when Satan can’t get you to fall into sin, he may try to get you discouraged. Focused on the struggle to support a large family. Listening to the unjust criticism that always dogs a leaders steps. Getting tired of it all. But in translating Ephesians we see that God gives “gifted men” to the church. Not all are meant to be leaders or teachers. So those who have those gifts need to use them… and they will be targets.

It seems Susing took this to heart, and along with your prayers, God has encouraged him. He came to help Bill with translation with his old “sparkle” back. He was at church this morning. And he’s talking about wanting to be involved with teaching at the upcoming conference the end of this month.

We are pleased with really good progress in translating Ephesians. We’ve gone through the first five steps. Soon the first couple chapters will be tested for comprehension… to see how they communicate the intended meaning to a fresh audience.

Please continue to pray for Susing, and for Tirso, who continues to hang back, uninvolved in the things of the Lord as he was in times past. Pray for the translation of God’s Word and for our upcoming conference (April 25-27) when Bill and a number of the men will teach through Acts 1-6, heard for the very first time in Palawano! Pray for us for endurance (remember, it’s 90 degrees in the house!), for health and wisdom in this ministry.

Thanks for your part in Reaching Palawanos!





Busy With Translation

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We are home in the tribe, and settled in again to our work here. Bill
is “cleaning up his Acts.” That is, all the issues that showed up
during the consultant check on the book of Acts need to be gone over
and re-worked. Some things he can do himself, and other items need
input and help from his translation committee of Palawano believers.
Then each change needs to be re-checked for comprehension, twice, with
two different individuals who haven't been involved in the process so
far. Bill is using Arnel, a young Christian man, and Nursalin, a young
mother. Arnel comes Fridays, Nursalin comes Wednesdays, and the
translation committee comes Tuesdays and Thursdays.

Bill has also drafted Ephesians, and is working through that at the
same time. The translation committee gives input into the draft. For
the next step, Donna takes what they have worked over, and reads it to
Rini, who then puts the meaning into her own words, which Donna
records. Bill then listens to those recordings to see what he can
glean in terms of more natural ways of expressing the meaning. Soon
we'll begin exegetical checking and testing for comprehension on this
book, as well.

And so the days go. Please pray for all these people involved in
helping us with this job. We depend on them! And for us, for daily
strength and wisdom.

We mentioned in previous updates that Bill might need a surgery for
his parathyroid gland. Further lab tests have ruled out the need for
that surgery. We are thankful for that news. Thanks for praying for us.

Right now our hearts are burdened for many needs among the people
here. Over the years, a number of key believers have been side-lined
from functioning in the church. There are many causes: quarrels among
themselves, distractions from the world, jealousy. We are praying that
the Holy Spirit would do a strong work among the Palawano believers
and bring them back into a vital relationship with Christ. We are
missing key members of the body here, and it isn't functioning as well
as it could. Would you please join us in praying for a revival among
the Palawanos? We would especially request prayer for Tirso and
Susing. Both men have great gifts God has used in the church here in
the past, but today neither one is plugged into the body. Tirso is
also a clan leader for an area called “Rora.” We would love to see
Rora come alive spiritually again.

Thank you for your part in Reaching Palawanos!

-Donna and Bill

Kidney Stones – Still

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A follow-up with Bill's doctor revealed that the kidney stone which
was treated with shock wave blasts was not fully fragmented as it is a
very hard type of mineral.

So he will be having a second ESWL (blasting) procedure done on Jan
15. After that we can decide together with the doctor when we can
return to Palawan

Meanwhile, Bill is working on drafting Luke and other projects, and
Donna is continuing her work on Palawano language and other projects,
including a number of counseling interactions, while we are unable to
return home to the tribe.

Yours for Reaching Palawanos,

-Bill and Donna

Kidney Stones

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While out in town we discovered that Bill had a stone in each kidney!
Praise God we learned this while we were in a place where we could
get medical attention. Our pilot is sick right now and unable to fly
so if the stone had caused an obstruction and we were in the tribe,
it would have been a real difficult emergency.

The stone on the right side was larger, so a procedure was done Dec 5
to break it into bits. That seems to have gone well.

Pending the full recovery from that, we will plan a second procedure
for the stone on the left side in the next month or so.

Meanwhile, Bill is working on drafting Luke, and Donna is continuing
her work on Palawano language and other projects while we are unable
to return home to the tribe.

Yours for Reaching Palawanos,

-Bill and Donna

Checking Translation

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A BIG WEEK AHEAD

After weeks of frantic work and preparation the week of the translation check is here! Our consultant Ginny Sharp (partner Tim Sharp’s mom) is here to take us through this last step in the process of translating Acts.

The check will probably take close to a week (yep, 6 or more 8-hours days!) Acts is 1007 verses long and around 13% of the New Testament. That takes time.

The main prayer requests would be for…

ENDURANCE and clear thinking (for Bill, for Ginny and for Nili… the young Palawano woman who will work with us as we test the translation.)

WISDOM as we seek to confirm how well (and exactly what) the translation communicates, and as we hope to  discover any remaining problems needing to be fixed.

HEALTH for us all, Bill especially as last week he was hit hard with a terrible chest cold/flu. This week his asthma is acting up as an aftermath to the sickness. He’s begun the stronger “crisis” medicines, but God’s healing touch would be the best thing.

SAFETY and WEATHER as September is our rainiest month (last year: 30 inches!) Ginny and Nili are both on the other side of the river, so that means daily crossings for them. If the river floods too much, “getting to work” each day could be difficult.

God’s Word in Palawano. It’s happening… a verse, a chapter, a book at a time. Pray with us!









Translation Continues

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HELPING THOSE WHO HELP OTHERS
Just a quick update here…
We have been working full blast on translating the book of Acts, in order to meet the deadline for our scheduled consultant check in mid-September.
There are good things happening in the church, with a couple of the men (Abil and Susing) taking more and more leadership there. They need lots of wisdom, boldness and encouragement from the Lord. They are facing many difficult issues (as pastoral ministry always involves.)
We’re grateful for the beginning of rainy season, which means that at least some of the time, the weather is a bit more bearable. May-June are the worst months as the peak of hot season meets the humidity of early rainy season (think: outdoor sauna.)
The implementation of new procedures and the incorporation of new helpers brought into the translation process has gone well. We’re hopeful for both the improved quality of the end product, as well as for a more rapid pace as we work toward the goal of completing the entire New Testament.
Also, in order to encourage literacy in the  Palawano language, we are participating in the Buwan ng Wika (“Language Month”) in the Philippines. This is sponsored by the government’s Commission on Philippine Languages. The director is a friend of Bill’s and shares his desire to see Palawanos (and other ethnic minorities) to be proud of their heritage and to retain their native language, even while becoming educated and advancing economically. So we have put the word out about a writing and oral poetry contest. Winners will receive cash prizes from the Commission in August, as well as t-shirts with Language Month theme imprinted in Palawano! Already there is good interest (and desire to win the prizes!) We’re enjoying reading the entries so far.
Thanks for your part in Reaching Palawanos for Christ!