‘So, tell me again … when is it you’re going?’

Heaps of friends have questions about what we are doing, and when we take the step on to a plane bound for PNG. So here is a refresher!

What we can tell you …. 

We are ALMOST there!  Our home-based training has been completed in February 2014, our visas and medicals are in process, and we are sorting what remains of our worldly possessions into three piles – give away, ship to PNG, or store for two years.

All that remains is for our Partnership Support to be finalised, and we continue to visit churches, chat over cups of coffee, and generally take every opening to share the opportunity of this ministry. We have partners committing around 51% of our required $3,167 monthly support, with perhaps 3%in additional pledges yet to be confirmed.

If you have been following our journey, and can help us make that final step, we would love to hear from you. Send us an email at keith-elspeth_campbell@wbt.org and we can guide you through the Partnership process. If you prefer an anonymous contribution, simply visit Wycliffe Bible Translators’ donation page at wycliffe.org.au/donate/payments/ and follow the prompts.

We hope to have our Partnership finalised in time to schedule flights for mid-August 2014, to commence Pacific Orientation Camp near Madang – where we will learn (or begin to learn) the Tok Pisin language and some cultural insights needed to build relationships with our local community.

What our job will involve!  The Regional Centre managers directly assist multiple translation and literacy teams, providing administrative support, financial management, arranging supplies, transport or medical aid, and maintaining their lines of communication with the organisation and Partners. The Centre also provides temporary accommodation, and facilities for training and other events.

We will be working with PNG national staff in the Centre, so our ability to communicate and build relationships will be crucial. Making contacts in the community, and getting involved in a church will be high on our agenda in the initial months.

What we can’t tell you, yet ….

Where our eventual assignment will be! Of the seven Regional Centres supporting translation and literacy projects across PNG, five are in need of qualified, permanent managers. We have been advised that
several centres are managed by translation staff diverted from active roles in the field. This really generates a sense of urgency in our hearts – we can free a couple to return to the task they have trained hard for… putting the word of God in the hands of the PNG church.

Thankfully, the decision rests with SIL (Summer Institute of Linguistics) in PNG, and we know the outcome is in the Lord’s hands.

Prayer points

Join us in praying for the remaining funds to come in. That’s a big one!

Thank God for the support we have received from Wycliffe at every stage of this journey. There are many who have gone before, and are prepared to share their experience with us.

Pray for God’s people in PNG. They have showed much patience over the decades taken to provide them with the scriptures in their heart language – and there remains much more to do!

Pray that others will be stirred by God to fill vacancies in the field. Be specific – check out Wycliffe’s vacancies on their website, and pray for workers to join the harvest.