Fuelled by the Past (Continued)

Double Love
The Kims have reached a stage in life and ministry during which many couples would consider returning home. The Waima church is capable and passionate to continue with Bible translation and related ministries. And the couple’s daughters are grown and gone.

But fuelled by the same love for people and love for the Word that sent them to PNG 20 years ago, the couple has decided to stay in PNG and undertake a new project. They’ve started work not in one more language but in three, all of which are related to Waima: Nara, Gabadi and Doura.

Because these communities are located fairly close to the capital city, there are many educated and influential local people who are able to participate in the translation work. One such individual is Nara speaker Peter Baki.

As a boy growing up in the dry, eucalyptus-covered hills, Peter Baki learned to appreciate the value of education. When he finished high school, Peter decided to begin a career as a teacher. After teaching for a few years, he became a principal, then an education inspector, and in 1997, he was appointed PNG’s secretary for education.

During his eight-year tenure in the position, he met John Hobson. John, a Wycliffe member from Australia, developed a friendship with Peter and gave him a copy of the Bible. As the men got to know each other better, John encouraged Peter to begin translating the Bible for his own people.

Peter agreed. Over the years, he says, he came to believe that education alone is not the answer people need.

“I realized that God knows your language, and God wants you to talk to Him in your language,” he says. “God is not a foreign God.”

Adapting It
John introduced Peter to a software tool called Adapt It. The program assists individuals who are bilingual in related languages to adapt a text from one language into the other. Peter is fluent in both Nara and Waima, so he was able to do an adaptation of the Waima New Testament into Nara in less than two years.

Drafts produced with the assistance of Adapt It are far from perfect, of course, and the next step is to do a series of accuracy and comprehension checks with the Nara community and with experienced translation consultants.

In mid-2007, the Kims did some checking with Nara speakers. “Peter’s adaptation is quite a good quality,” they reported. “People were very happy with it.”

Now a team of Nara translators is continuing with the checks and revisions.

Meanwhile, the Kims have also worked with Gabadi speakers to begin a similar adaptation project. The books of Mark and Matthew are in second draft. They plan to meet with Doura community leaders as soon as possible, hoping to get the third adaptation underway.

The Nara and Gabadi communities have each chosen two young men to participate in the STEP training program, which will prepare them to coordinate literacy programs for their people.

Years ago, the Kims came to Papua New Guinea when their hearts were touched by the tremendous need for the Bible there.

Today, that need is still great, and the Kims aren’t planning on leaving any time soon.

David J. Ringer is a communications consultant with Wycliffe International.