Final Consultant Check of Matthew and Luke
We just completed the final consultant check on the Simbari translation of Matthew and Luke (2200+ verses!). That is about 27% of the New Testament and brings us to a total of 65% being final checked and ready for print. A translation consultant, Greg Melendes, reviewed our draft verse by verse for months and then came over to PNG to check comprehension with some Simbari people who had never heard the text before. The two Simbari guys were Nikson and Abraham and neither had ever helped with translation work before this. It was the first time they had heard these truths in their own language and the translation was well understood. In fact, there were two times during the check that they were moved to tears by what they heard. During the check we identified a few things that can be adjusted for an even clearer translation. So after the check David and his translation helper, Raymond, worked through those adjustments and then completed a full spell-check of the New Testament (that had been started months ago). This is harder than it sounds because we have to write the dictionary as we go. 
There are about 33,000 words in the Simbari translation so it was no small task. Here is an example of what Simbari words look like. This single word from John 14:2 nyullovurovaikubwemwalmonyugono means “I will indeed go up and continue to prepare for you.” These long verbs are common in Simbari and many are even longer than this one!
Summer Adventure
While we were busy with all this translation work during the summer our son Jason made a trip home to Calif. on his own. He was able to represent our ministry at our home church as the kids raised funds for printing the Simbari Bible. Here is a link to the video Jason made for the kids this summer: Olivia | Missions from a Youth’s Perspective. Jason is back with us now and is just starting his senior year of high school. Please pray for him and all his classmates at NCA. (www.ncapng.org)
Checking and Rechecking
Our focus in the coming months will be proofing other books that are still needing final consultant checking. Those books are: John, 2 Corinthians, Galatians, Philippians, Colossians, 2 Timothy, Philemon, Hebrews, James, 1-2 Peter, 1-2-3 John, Jude and Revelation. These books have been a work in progress for years so at this point we are just fine tuning and checking and rechecking. Pray for wisdom for us, David & Shari, as we proof the draft. Please also pray that translation consultants will be available in the new year to complete the final checking of the Simbari New Testament. Church planting and translation takes a team and we are so thankful for everyone on the team. Financial supporters, friends and family who pray, trainers, consultants, mission school staff, flight program staff and the list goes on and on. It’s the body of Christ working together in order that He may be glorified among the nations. What an amazing job God has entrusted to us all!
David & Shari