Ministry Updates

Christmas and Translation

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TRANSLATION UPDATE

Thanks to all who prayed. We have seen a real answer to prayer about the noise and interruptions all around us since our last update. God is good… and powerful. Keep us in prayer, please!

As the end of the year 2011 approaches, we are particularly thankful for two “gifts,” which are:
1) We are nearing the point where the last verse will be beyond the first draft stage. Bill has been working on the first draft of Matthew (with the Christmas story – very appropriate!) He hopes to be done with that step for Matthew before the end of this month.
and…
2) Elisa, Chris and our grandchildren Max and Myri are coming to visit in January! Looking forward to this has boosted our spirits like nothing else could!

WHAT’S COMING UP?
We turned in our “typesetting form” to the office of SIL in Manila. So that’s officially in process. Our deadline to take the Palawano New Testament to digital typesetting is July 2012, with a view to having it printed in August. We can start recording the audio for the Talking Bible version then. So all this means steady work until we meet the deadline.
2012 will be a huge year for the Palawano translation project, as we see it to completion and production. Pray with us about all these important details…
Funds For Printing, Recording and Distribution.
We need in the neighborhood of $25,000, in addition to the $6,000 already in the Translation Fund, to finish the translation, print the New Testaments, record the audio version and get distribution up and running. Through the years, many churches and individuals have expressed interest in being a part “when we reach that point.” Well, we’ve reached that point! These are exciting days. Any gifts toward this project should go to NTM, designated for the “S.W. Palawano Translation Fund, Philippines.”
An Affordable Soundproof Room
We need a suitable place for approximately 5 weeks to record the audio for the Talking Bible version of the Palawano New Testament (time frame: August-September 2012). There are some possibilities, but nothing certain. It has to be here in Puerto. A recording studio would work, but other possibilities would include a building that is isolated enough to have no traffic noise or crowing roosters, etc., in its vicinity.

Checking
The consultant check of the book of Mark has been rescheduled for early February because some of our Palawano TAs (Translation Assistants) were sick. We still need to schedule two additional checks for the final books of the New Testament and are working to coordinate that with the consultants now.

Continued Progress
We need a never-ending supply of health, energy and wisdom to keep the push going so we reach the goal and meet the deadline.
PRAYER REQUESTS FOR THE COMING MONTHS
  • That we stay focused and close to the Lord each day
  • Wisdom in translating the last few books of the NT
  • Funds for printing, recording and distribution
  • A room for recording the audio version
  • A good final consultant check of Mark (now early February)
  • Scheduling of the two remaining consultant checks
  • Health and safety for us, our pets, and the TAs

And pray for God’s protection from…

  • Break-ins, theft or failure of our computers, etc.
  • Distracting family or financial problems for our TAs
  • Moral or sin issues in the Palawanos’ lives
  • Problems that might affect Bingbing and Mylene
We appreciate your part in this ministry now more than ever. Thanks for standing with us!
Reaching Palawanos together with you,

-Bill and Donna

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Time to Really Pray

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TRANSLATION IS A BATTLE

We have been told by other translators that the final months of a translation project can be, well… daunting. In addition to the work and the pressure of a looming deadline, there is increased opposition by our enemy.

You can imagine. After holding the Palawanos in his grasp for millennia, Satan is not exactly thrilled for them to have God’s Word printed and available in their language.

Of course God is supreme (he wins in the end) and sovereign (nothing happens to us that our Father does not allow). So what the Lord wants us to do is to maintain our close connection with him more than ever. and to commit each step into his powerful, loving care.
So what this means is that for you and us both, now, more than ever is the…

TIME TO PRAY!
Please stand shoulder to shoulder in with us in prayer.
We are not paranoid, but we do realize the need for an greater level of taking initiative to commit everything to the Lord daily. There are so many things that can “go wrong” at this point in the work. We’ve seen it happen to others. And for ourselves recently, we have actually sensed an increased level of stress and opposition.
Here’s a partial list of what we’ve experienced so far:
  • Horrendous noise from construction next to our house almost 24/7
  • Our driveway/road frequently blocked
  • The landlord wanted to raise our rent by 33%
  • A number of loud all night parties (no sleep = little work the next day)
  • Minor accidents and injuries
  • Construction workers flirting and yelling crude comments at the Palawano girls
  • Spiritual problems in some of our translation assistants

God has been faithful, and we’ve seen him provide solutions to each of these. But only after a time of trial and some fervent prayer. And when we feel it wearing us down, we go to the Lord and he gives renewed strength.

Because of the construction outside our gate for over a year now, our presence and routine are more well-known now to the construction workers. This means an increased risk of petty burglary. So we’re conscious of a sense of needing to be more careful.
We also realize that we’re not the only ones who might potentially be a target. There might be temptations or other situations to discourage or sideline our translation assistants (TAs). And this would be the worst possible time for either of the two girls, Bingbing and Mylene (who cook and care for the constant stream of TAs) to have a “romantic interest” here in town, which in this culture, would necessitate our sending them home to their parents. They are vulnerable to verbal or even physical assault here in town.
The list of prayer request below will be a little more extensive and specific than most. We’d like to ask you to bring all these before the Lord starting now and right up until the New Testament goes to the printers next year.
PRAYER REQUESTS FOR THE COMING MONTHS
  • That we stay focused and close to the Lord each day
  • Wisdom in translating the last few books of the NT
  • A good final consultant check of Mark in late November
  • Health and safety for us, our pets, and the TAs

And pray for God’s protection from…

  • Break-ins, theft or failure of our computers, etc.
  • Distracting family or financial problems for our TAs
  • Moral or sin issues in the Palawanos’ lives
  • Problems that might affect Bingbing and Mylene
We’re in this together… us, the Palawanos, you and of course our almighty Lord. He doesn’t ask us to go it alone, but he calls us to prayer. Thanks for your part!
Reaching Palawanos together with you,

-Bill and Donna

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This Week In Translation (Oct 18)

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BILL: ON YOUR MARK, GET SET…
…Comprehension Check!
This week Nursalyn and Arlyn are in town and they are helping Bill to test the entire book of Mark to make sure (one last time) that it communicates clearly.
Bill reads them portions and they tell it back to show what they understood. Then he asks questions. More and more specific questions. He writes down every word they say as part of the process.
It can be tiring for the girls and Bill, but it’s exciting to see how the translation communicates! This is the last major step in the procedure before we have a final consultant check (in November?) We continue to work toward our deadline for printing the NT.
DONNA: SAY IT AGAIN, SAM…
Well, not Sam. It’s Susing. Donna is working with him to record Revelation 10-22. These audio “retellings” of the translation help Bill to make the grammar and vocabulary more natural, and the process also serves as a preliminary comprehension check.
NEXT WEEK…
Susing will stay in town next week and the other men will join him. Stay tuned…
FOR NOW, HERE’S HOW YOU CAN PRAY WITH US
  • Energy, health and wisdom
  • No Electrical Outages this week and next
  • Lots or recording done well by Donna
  • Completed Comprehension check of Mark (by Bill)
  • Minimal need to revision Mark
Reaching Palawanos together with you,-Bill and Donna

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Palawano New Testament – COUNTDOWN

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We have a lot of news about the translation progress, so will divide it up over the next few updates…

PRINTING DEADLINE!
In September we met with the publishing department of SIL (i.e. Wycliffe Bible Translators in the US). They will do the digital typesetting of our Palawano New Testament translation and they will be the ones to work with the Philippine Bible Society concerning the printing. “All” we have to do is finish the translation and do the proofreading before printing.
This will be a HUGE help to us. We’re thankful for others in the body of Christ to help us in this way.
But yes, we said deadline… in our meeting with SIL, we set July 2012 as our scheduled target date to turn over the files to them for the typesetting. We think this is doable, but it will require a steady final burst of work between now and July.
The finished New Testament will have two columns, footnotes at the bottom, page-marking ribbons, a glossary of Biblical terms in the back, b/w line drawings and some color illustrations… just like a “real” Bible. (The photos here are of the Kagayanen NT, done by some friends of ours; we are using it as a model for formatting.)


We are currently in the process of deciding how many copies to print initially, and soon we will know the total cost of printing so that everyone can pray and get involved as the Lord leads. This is the grand finale of a big project that’s taken nearly 30 years to bring to completion.
God gets ALL the glory.
We are so excited to be this close to getting God’s Word into the Palawanos hands…
…which involves the later phase of Distribution. More on how that will happen in the next update!
PLEASE PRAY WITH US
  • Energy, health and wisdom
  • Continued pace in translation progress
  • Meeting our July 2012 deadline
  • Development of team to fund NT printing
  • Plans for distribution of NT
Reaching Palawanos together with you,

-Bill and Donna

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Dragons and Beasts!

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THIS WEEK IN TRANSLATION…
The Palawano translation keeps moving ahead. This week Donna has been recording Revelation and a bunch of the smaller books (2 John, 3 John, Jude, etc.) It’s been going well. In the middle of a book full of symbols and wild creatures, God spoke to Donna’s heart and encouraged her during a recording session with the scene of heavenly worship, where people of “every tribe and language and people and nation” are redeemed.

She looked up at Lini, a member of one of those tribes and languages, and thought, “This is what God challenged me to be a part of so long ago!” It’s our privilege to be involved in how God is calling out a people for his name, and we’re thankful for all of you who are part of our team.

Bill has been doing the first draft of Hebrews, a complex and challenging book!

We’re exciting with the progress and with seeing the end in sight. Recently, we met with the people who will help with publishing our New Testament next year. More on that soon in a future update…

UPDATE ON BETTY BINDER’S DENGUE FEVER
Thanks to those who prayed and are asking for an update. Betty’s platelet count rose (finally!) to 96 and she was released from the hospital a few days ago. She still feels exhausted and will take a while to get her strength back.

SO PLEASE PRAY WITH US…

  • health and wisdom
  • keeping up the pace on the translation


Reaching Palawanos together with you,

-Bill and Donna

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Good News and Better News

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Good News: Successful Translation Week

The week with our translation helpers went very well. Way beyond our expectations. We were able to finish ALL the material we had ready (nearly 800 verses of first draft, two steps covering the whole book of Mark, and much more!) The books of Romans, 1 Timothy, 2 Timothy and 1 John are ready to proofread a few times and then we can distribute some copies.

Ruben, the new kid on our translation helper block, fit right it, was comfortable working with us and the other guys, and he contributed a lot of good insight.

Best of all, we learned that our key terms are well-understood in his area’s dialect, so no changes need to be made to made the translation usable and accepted there!
Better News: Talking About Printing
We head to Manila tomorrow for some leadership meetings and while we are there, we will have an exciting, first-ever experience, something we’ve been looking forward to for the nearly 28 years we’ve been translating…
We will start making arrangements for the printing of our New Testament!
A translator cannot wait until the last minute to start this process, so tomorrow we will be meeting with someone from SIL (Wycliffe Bible Translators) to talk about what needs to be done for us to turn our translation over to them for digital typesetting next year. That has to happen before the book goes to the printers.
So tomorrow we will start to learn what reformatting we have to do, who we need to be corresponding with, what the time table might be, how to go about selecting pictures for the New Testament, and a lot of other important information. We will also get an idea of some of our printing options and what the actual cost of printing will be.
So it’s not the last minute, but maybe it’s the next to the last minute for us!

We’re excited. God’s Word is that much closer to being in the Palawanos’ hands.
Thank you for your part in this.

Pray with us

  • Praise for great week with the men
  • Prayer for our meeting tomorrow
  • For clear direction as to printing process
  • Favorable (read: expedited!) schedule

Reaching Palawanos together with you,

-Bill and Donna

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