Ministry Updates

Revising Luke… and Cancer Patient

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WORKING ON LUKE…
This week we have 4 of our Palawano translation helpers in town for intensive sessions of working on Luke. The guys will be working with Bill, drafting, revising and reworking passages from many chapters. The men will also help Bill to finalize the last few pending revisions on Ephesians and 1 Peter so those two books can be printed and distributed!
Donna will be working with one of the men (Susing) for a few hours each day, recording his oral retelling of the passages, a technique which helps us to get smooth natural flow in the written translation.
AND HELPING A PATIENT…
We also have another Palawano man and his companion in town to see the doctor. Donna will be running them to and from doctor’s appointment and, eventually, the hospital. Pidi will most likely need major surgery as the painful, horrible growth on his foot is almost certainly melanoma, and even seems to have spread to lymph nodes in his thighs. A biopsy tomorrow will confirm that.
PLEASE PRAY…
So please pray for us this week as we need lots of energy, wisdom, patience and compassion. Pray for good progress on the translation and for Pidi’s medical condition and even more, that he would put his faith in Christ.
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Reaching Palawanos together with you,
 
-Bill and Donna
 

Translating Luke

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SO MANY VERSES…
There’s a problem with translation ministry. Sometimes it’s hard to write a fresh-sounding update since it takes so long to get a lengthy book like Luke (1,150 verses, to be exact) done! So it seems like we’re doing the same thing… for weeks at a time. Nothing “new” to tell you.
And in a sense, we are doing the same thing: translating. Day after day. Verse after verse after verse.
So we need prayer for perseverance, patience, a high level of concentration. We need to stick at it, doing the “same old thing” day after day, week after week.
But in another sense, each day brings new challenges…
How to translate difficult concepts like…
  …deny yourself?
  …take up your cross and follow Christ?
What do you do when even the scholars argue over the meaning of a Greek word?
So we also need prayer for the fresh, new and unexpected challenges that turn up almost every time we sit down to work. We need wisdom and insight from the Hold Spirit in order to get the job done.
God’s Word… the most important message in the universe. So needed, so full of hope. So we take the job pretty seriously!
PLEASE CONTINUE TO PRAY…
So please pray for us as we “do the same thing” day after day. And please pray as we “do something different” each day.
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Reaching Palawanos together with you,
-Bill and Donna

Nili’s Heart

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THANK YOU FOR PRAYING…

Here’s a final update on Nili.

Yesterday we learned from the doctor that Nili’s echocardiogram showed two defective heart valves. This is apparently a long-standing condition, which resulted in her enlarged heart and caused her recent symptoms.
She is on several medicines now, which have her blood pressure and heartbeat stabilized. Because of that, her breathing is normal again. So she and Odi went home today. Nili was missing their five children, as you can imagine.
She’s feeling a lot better than she was last week, and we’re thankful for that. She is supposed to avoid heavy work, which is difficult in the Palawano farming lifestyle. And according to the doctor, her condition could become serious and even life-threatening at any time in the future.
She will return to Puerto in a month to see the doctor as a follow-up. It remains to be seen how much she can travel to be involved in the translation project, but she should be able to continue working in the clinic in the village.
PLEASE CONTINUE TO PRAY…
Please pray for healing for Nili, for physical strength and health, as well as encouragement from the Lord and wisdom as she adjusts to a new level of physical activity.
Reaching Palawanos together with you,
-Bill and Donna

Update on Nili

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IMPROVING…
…THANKS TO YOUR PRAYERS!Nili has stabilized and was released from the hospital and she’s breathing well now without oxygen.

She is on several new medicines which have her blood pressure down in the normal range.

Now we’re waiting for the results from an echocardiogram taken yesterday. She’ll see the doctor again tomorrow and we’ll know more about the causes of her symptoms and discuss the doctor’s plans are for long-term maintenance.

PLEASE CONTINUE TO PRAY…
Please pray for healing for Nili, wisdom for the doctors and pray for her husband Odi and their family.
Reaching Palawanos together with you,
-Bill and Donna

Pray for Nili

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MEDICAL EMERGENCY…
Nili (pronounced “nee-lee”) Mistero is a 31 year-old Palawano mother of five that we’ve known since she was 4 years old. She was one of our daughter Elisa’s best friends growing up. Now she’s our main clinic worker and also one of our key translation helpers.
She was just brought to Puerto today because she was very sick. She had to be carried for 3 hours in a homemade stretcher over the mountains, and then had to ride a shuttle van for 6 hours. That trip is not even fun when a person feels well!
Our doctor friend here in town examined her and immediately had her admitted to the hospital. Her breathing was very fast and her right lung sounded full. Her blood pressure was dangerously high. At the hospital, another doctor came in and took over. They suspected pneumonia at first, but she had no fever. Then an xray showed an extremely enlarged heart, about double the size you would expect in her tiny chest cavity. This means there has been a serious underlying problem for quite some time, which has only just now manifested these symptoms. The doctor said you don’t develop an enlarged heart overnight.
So they have her on oxygen and are running other tests like thyroid level, etc., to determine what the underlying causes are and how to treat it all. They’re already warning us that is will probably not be quick or easy to see her brought back to good health.
PLEASE PRAY…
Please pray for healing for Nili, wisdom for the doctors and pray for her husband Odi and their family.
Reaching Palawanos together with you,
-Bill and Donna

Palawano Profile: Lini

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MEET LINI We first met Lini in 1983. Our family had just moved into our new bamboo house in the Palawano tribe.

Donna and I was new missionaries in our mid 20’s. Elisa had just turned 4. Bethy was not quite 8 weeks old. We were embarking on the adventure of reaching the Palawanos.

Lini was 3 and a half years olf.be

just took DOWN MEMORY LANE… We just took DOWN MEMORY LANE… We just took DOWN MEMORY LANE… We just took