HOME AGAIN! It doesn’t seem possible that we have been home from our 5 month visit in the Philippines for 3 months already! Bob was quite sick again with Tropical Sprue when we arrived home. After 5 months in the tropics with his history of having this tropical disease, we were not really surprised! But he has been through the required antibiotic treatment and is back to 100%…….well, for an old man of 75! During these past weeks of recuperation and settling into living here in the US again, he has worked occasionally with our son in his business and done some improvements and yard work around our place here in Alabama. This has given him good relief from the mental concentration (translation work and teaching) from the work in the Philippines. All in all, we are praising the Lord for the good health that God has given us both that allows us to STAY INVOLVED and keep busy with the work He has given us to do, both here and in the Philippines!
Bob is back to work now on the book of Isaiah. We did finish a consultant check on Isaiah during this last visit to the Philippines as well as for the book of Deuteronomy but there are some portions of Isaiah that Bob would like to revisit and work on before finalizing that text. He is also preparing some extra footnotes to help in the understanding of the more difficult passages and cross references to provide the chronological setting of Isaiah in relation to the other prophets and events of the Old Testament. 1 and 2 Chronicles are also prepared for us to work on so we anticipate a busy few months ahead as we get back to the desk and the consultant checking of the Kalanguya Old Testament translation!
Back in the Philippines, the work of ministry has continued unabated. The Kalanguya believers there have had a very busy couple of months with the the Annual Believers’ Conference that took place in early May, VBS programs conducted also in May by some of the women and young people in several villages, as well as preparation at the CFM compound (Christian Fellowship Ministries) for the return of the college students for another year of discipleship and study. We are so thankful for believers who have faithfully taken on these ministry responsibilities.
We are also grateful for the efforts of the men and women on the Kalanguya and Ibaloi Translation Teams, who are working diligently to complete the translation of the whole Bible into their respective languages! Bob just received the Ibaloi translation of the Song of Solomon (via email!) from the Ibaloi team. They are now working on the Ibaloi translations of Isaiah and Nehemiah. The Kalanguya team has been working on NTM’s Chronological teaching material, translating it into the national language (Tagalog), working in conjunction with the NTM leadership of the Philippine field. These lesson materials will eventually be available for all churches in the Philippines for use by pastors and teachers who seek to lay a foundation for people to understand God’s plan of salvation for a sin-sick world. Hopefully the team will soon be able to get back to work on the translation of the book of Psalms, the last book of the Old Testament that needs to be completed in the Kalanguya language!
So……on opposite sides of the world, the ministry continues! Believers are being taught the Word, people are being reached with the Gospel through the outreach ministries and God’s Word is being translated for thousands of people who speak these two languages, Kalanguya and Ibaloi. What a privilege for us to continue to be able to participate in this ministry! THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT IN GIFTS AND PRAYER! WE APPRECIATE YOU! Without your financial support, our participation in the ministry would not be possible and we count on your prayers, knowing that we need the strength and wisdom that only God can give to finish the task He has given us.
If you’d like us to come to your church and share personally what God is doing in the Kalanguya churches, do let us know. We’d love to see and hear from you!