Davis Update August 30

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HEY, JUDE!

This week we have 4 Palawano men here to help us work on the translation. Bill just finished going over the first drafts of Mark 11-16 and the whole book of Jude (all 25 verses) today. Yet to go… 2 Peter, 2 John, 3 John and Revelation. The men will also help him clean up the last details from Romans and the other books we had consultant checked in July so they will be ready to print.

Donna will be doing recording of about six chapters; another step in the process.

We’re excited to have Ruben Rensawi with us this time. He has not worked with Bill on translation yet. Ruben is from another area (a valley about 4 hours’ hike from our village down south.) He is a church leader in his area and the son of a Palawano that our former coworkers spent a lot of time discipling. So the fruit is in the second generation.

We know that Ruben might give good input, as he is a strong believer with keen insight into the Word of God. He can give insight into how the translation would communicate in his area, as there are slight differences in the dialect. We want the New Testament to communicate and “sound good” to the widest possible audience. We also want him to feel ownership of the translation so he will use it and help to promote distribution when the time comes. He seems to be fitting right in with Bill and the other men and isn’t shy to contribute.

We’ve already learned of a couple word substitutions that would help in his area. And we’re particularly thrilled that a number of the key theological terms we are using communicate well to him!

SO PLEASE PRAY WITH US…

  • energy and wisdom
  • good progress in translation this week
  • no electrical power outages while the men are here



Reaching Palawanos together with you,

-Bill and Donna

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Translation Coming to Town

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They’re All Coming…
Today the translation consultant arrives by plane from the USA via Manila. Three Palawano women (Rini, Lini and Nili) arrive by bus from down south.


What’s it all about? Tomorrow we start the consultant check of five books: Romans, Galatians, 1 Timothy, 2 Timothy and 1 John. This will take a little more than a week (we’re guessing) as we check one last time how well these books communicate. It’s exhausting mental work for Bill, the consultant and the Palawanos. Sometimes they might have a good laugh (but hopefully not because the translation is laughable!)

After the check and final approval we can print and distribute copies of these books for the Palawano churches!

The countdown to final NT Printing continues.

We’re excited! Would you please pray with us…

Pray With Us
safe travel for everyone
NO power outages during the week

Bill’s health: he’s fighting off a chest old
Also Bill has had lots of back pain lately
Donna, in all the logistics of feeding and caring for everyone

Reaching Palawanos with you,

-Bill and Donna

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Translation with no Sting

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Translation Update
We’re thankful that Donna and Susing finished the recording of Mark 1-10. We didn’t expect them to get it all done, but they did! Now those chapters are ready for the next step.


Wasps!
We recently discovered a huge nest of red and black wasps way up in a tree in our yard. This aggressive species of wasps can kill a person (or even a water buffalo!) if the swarm attacks. A couple of Filipino men with experience in getting rid of these pests at church camps came and took care of the problem! No one was hurt (well, except the wasps, sorry– the credits cannot say “No wasps were harmed in the filming of this movie.”)

What’s Next?
Now Bill will continue to draft Revelation while he processes those recordings of Mark and gets ready for the upcoming consultant check of five other books in just a few weeks.

Pray With Us
Thanks for elimination of the wasp problem safely
Prayer for clear thinking and progress in translation


Reaching Palawanos with you,

-Bill and Donna

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Davis Update June 19

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BLESSING GALORE

Our heads are spinning: a new granddaughter, time with our grandson and kids, then straight to Singapore for two missions conferences, and now back to Palawan to dive into translation. And so many celebrations…

God blessed us by allowing us to be there for Myri’s birth. We had lots of special times with our daughters and the rest of the family, while getting to see friends and supporters and update them on our ministry.
Then, in Singapore we were absolutely overwhelmed with what God is doing there. God is stirring his church in that city to send out many missionary laborers into the Asian harvest fields in the days ahead. While there, we were also able to see three Singaporeans who had visited us on Palawan in 1987 on a short-term missions trip. We hadn’t seen any of them in 24 years!
We returned to Manila on May 31, exactly thirty years to the day since our first arrival there in 1981, when we were in our twenties with toddler Elisa in tow. As we look back on thirty years of ministry in the Philippines (and elsewhere), we can only say, “God is good.”
Now today, we celebrate our 35th wedding anniversary today. And it’s Father’s Day, as well. We are again thankful for God’s blessings on our lives as we enjoy our life together and the privilege of serving him.
TRANSLATION UPDATE
We’re digging into translation as we have a consultant check coming up in July, which will cover five books: Romans, Galatians, 1-2 Timothy and 1 John. Meanwhile, this coming week Donna will be working with Palawano helper Susing, having him record the book of Mark, while Bill continues to draft Revelation, as we push toward completion of the Palawano New Testament…
PRAY WITH US

  1. praise that the cholera epidemic is over
  2. thanks for 35 years of marriage
  3. good progress recording the book of Mark
  4. no electricity outages during Donna’s recording
  5. Bill as he works on Revelation

Reaching Palawanos with you,

-Bill and Donna

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Bill and Donna on Facebook

Rescue Operation

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Cholera Epidemic Update
We are so thankful for our mission pilot, our friends at the Palawan Red Cross and Dr. Ed Cruz who went to the rescue of the Palawanos during this cholera epidemic. They shuttled in 1,200 pounds of medicine, saved several lives with immediate I.V rehydration, treated over a 100 other patients, and helped with a childbirth emergency. They even spent the night down there to get it all done.

There is a possible follow-up next week and we hope to get the German Red Cross to fund projects in the area, including a potable water system for the whole valley.

PRAY WITH US
…for the Palawanos who are still sick
…for long-term solutions to the need for clean water

Reaching Palawanos with you,

-Bill and Donna

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Checking Romans

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“So, Arnel, what does it mean when Pablo says that we ‘died with Christ’ on the cross?”

Bill is back on Palawan working with Arnel (photo) and Joseph to finish checking how well Romans is understood. Paragraph by paragraph, phrase by phrase, we check comprehension of the passage. This the final step in our translation procedure.

When this checking is done, we will email Romans, Galatians, 1 Timothy, 2 Timothy and 1 John to the translation consultant so she can prepare for the final check in July.

PRAY WITH US
We need stamina and sharpness of mind. We need wisdom. We want the book to check out well. Yesterday the electricity went off for an hour. Please pray this doesn’t happen as each lost hour really slows down the check.

Donna is still in California, enjoying a bit more time with the family and taking care of some matters there. We will meet in Manila next weekend.

Reaching Palawanos with you,

-Bill and Donna

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Bill and Donna on Facebook