A Missions Update
--for the latest photos and letters, keep scrolling down...
from Ed and Catherine McGuckin, Wycliffe Bible Translators
Below are three/fourths of the translation team with Ed, Maureen and Catherine (30 August 2004). Please read the accompanying letter from the McGuckin's.
Greetings,
This week at Ukarumpa has certainly been a busy one!
Four language helpers arrived: Malcolm, John Basil, Stanley and
Bartholomew, came on Tuesday (one day late because weather had stranded the
plane overnight in Alotau).
Maureen has departed: for what may be the last time, Maureen left
on Wednesday morning. We had two precious weeks together here at Ukarumpa, which
we all greatly enjoyed. At the moment she is spending some time in
We are in the Hebrews workshop now: With lectures in the mornings
and revising our draft in the afternoons, the pace is challenging. So far we are
keeping with the goal of 13 verses a day. While revising, we will trot along at
a good pace until we hit a challenging verse, and then we will bog down on it
for an hour or two trying to find the right way to say it in Gapapaiwa. Please
pray for the Lord to give us the insights we need to capture the truth of
what His word is saying to us!
In the picture, the language helpers are, left to right: Stanley,
Bartholomew, and John Basil. (Malcolm stayed at the house)
Blessings,
Ed and Catherine McGuckin
The following photo and letter were received 06 September 2004:
Hello to all of you!
We are well into the production workshop on the book of
Hebrews. Some of the terms we are discussing are challenging to put into Papua
New Guinean languages. (We've had real problems with 'great high priest' and
'throne of grace'.)
Our afternoons are spent translating into Gapapaiwa, but
often we have to work after dinner as well because we get bogged down with some
of the more complicated passages. We are averaging 13 verses a day, which is a
pretty challenging pace for an epistle as difficult as Hebrews, but so far we
are keeping up.
It's interesting that we just finished Hebrews 6:8, which
talks about people who fall away and reject Christ after having first made a
decision to believe in him. It says 'Land that produces thorns and thistles is
worthless and is in danger of being cursed.
In the end it will be burned.' The reason that it is interesting is that
it is dry season here, and this time of the year the local people are constantly
burning the countryside. Some do it to clear for a new garden, some to flush out
game for hunting, some to 'make it rain' (?), and sometimes it is just village
kids playing with fire. Ashes are falling all the time from the sky, like snow.
So several of our language helpers and Ed are suffering from allergies with all
the dust and smoke in the air. Please pray for allergies to lessen and some rain
to put out the fires and keep down the dust would be nice.
Thanks!
Ed and Catherine McGuckin
The following is an email update received 29 Sept 2004.
|
From: |
|
|
To: |
|
|
Subject: |
29 September update from
McGuckins |
|
Date: |
|
|
Greetings, Today, Wednesday, is the last day of the workshop and we only
have 11 more verses to go. Looks like we'll just finish before the four
Translation Committee members go home back tomorrow morning.
We're all ready to be through, it has been a lot of hard work. Here are some prayer needs: On Sunday John Basil came down with pneumonia so we spent some
time at the clinic on Monday. He's on Amoxicillin and improving. Pray for
his complete recovery. Also on Monday, Malcolm had oral surgery to extract a broken
tooth (left upper molar). He's taking it remarkably well, I think he was
in great pain and recovering from the surgery is an improvement. Wow!
They're tough people. Pray for his healing, especially for no infection. On Thursday the four Translation Committee members: Malcolm,
John Basil, Stanley and Bartholomew, will fly from Ukarumpa to Alotau, the
capital of the province. Then they will get a boat for the 15 hour trip
back home to Menapi. Please pray for their safety while traveling. We'll be heading down to Menapi village on 12 October. Ed and Catherine McGuckin |
The following is an email update received 12 October 2004.