Why should we support Bible translation? After spending five weeks in the village of Karadou, within the language group of Amele, I have seen firsthand a people group who loves God but does not have God’s Word in their heart language.
One of the main purpose’s for village living is to gain more fluency in the trade language of Papua New Guinea (PNG), Tok Pisin. PNG officially has two languages, English and Tok Pisin. English is used by the educated, businessman, and political figures. The everyday language spoken amongst the 6.5 million people in PNG is Tok Pisin. However there lies a problem, 6.5 million people also speak over 800 languages. The Madang Providence where Pioneer Bible Translators (PBT) serves, there are over 170 language groups thus making it the most dense language providence in the country. The focus of PBT is to bring the Word of God into their heart language. For a person to hear or read God’s Word in their language is very special. Let me try to explain.
The very first day in the village, we sat under a mango greeting and meeting all the village people and families. As we began speaking in Tok Pisin they were eager to share with us the Tok Ples (Amele, their heart language) word equivalent.
English Tok Pisin Tok Ples (Amele)
Morning Moning Até
Noon Belo Acir
Afternoon Apinun Dewa
Night Gut Nait Vicoo
So right away they were pressing on us their heart language in just a few simple day greetings. It was special for them to teach us ‘their’ language and just not the trade language of the country. As the village living experience continued my Tok Ples word list continued to grow. When we were hiking on the trails to get water, go to church, or go to another village; I passed another person on the trail I would greet them in their Tok Ples. Their faces would light up, ears perk up, and they would reply back with hesitance the same greeting. They were thinking, this white man knows my language. Right then I had broken down barriers and I was starting to enter their culture and language. In just a simple word, I was not just another outsider but I was one of them.
This made me think, if they had the Bible in their heart language how would they react. Would their eyes and ears perk up like they did when I spoke their language? God is the Father of all languages and He speaks all languages. When the people from the village of Karadou worship the Father, he knows their cries and praises.
This language group does not have a New Testament Bible. I have heard they do have NT books in the works. However, they do have a Tok Ples church songbook. They do sing in their heart language at church but the general service is spoken in Tok Pisin, not Tok Ples.
Bible translation in the vernacular allows the Spirit to transform lives. The vision statement for PBT is ‘Transform lives through God’s Word in every language.’ The Bible is a transformation tool. When people can hear or read God’s love, grace, forgiveness, and mercy their lives are changed. Bible translation is a very hard task and can require a lifetime commitment. Remember to lift up Bible translators around the world.
I am starting to gain an understanding for the depth and challenging needs of translating God’s Word. A nearby village to Nobnob, where Pacific Orientation Course (POC) is located, the village of Kamba is struggling to come up with the vernacular words for Savior and Kingdom. Key words like these are the everyday challenges that face translators.
Please pray for these strategic PBT prayer requests:
- That God would inspire great progress in the 49 translations PBT has started
- For Tay and Waran projects to finish the New Testament (both PNG language groups)
- Pray for Vision 2050, that every person on earth will have enduring access to at least the New Testament in print, in audio form, or even via cell phone, by the year 2050
Tyler and Emily in PNG 
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