Just a little update on the printing of the Manubu’ New Testaments – two of them – two different dialects. The Philippine Bible Society (PBS) has finished the films and are almost finished with proofs of the pages. If all goes well they will send them to us down here in Mindanao next week via a package service. We will then look over every page to double check the formatting and the sequence, and will read all 1000 pages of each New Testament to check for things such as misspellings and lack of a space between words. Carol has already found in our computer files one instance of lack of a space. We proofread both New Testaments as did a number of Manubu’ believers before we sent the files to PBS, but it is so easy to miss something in 2000 pages.
Please PRAY for eyes to see any mistakes when we read through the proofs, and that we will be able to stay alert and awake while doing so. Spending hour after hour of reading we tend to get sleepy.
PBS says that after they receive the proofs back from us including any pages that we have corrected mistakes on it will be about two weeks before they start printing. We plan to be there when they start to consult on the inking level.
The 2000 New Testaments are expected to fill 80 boxes. We were a bit surprised to learn that the cost of shipping them from Manila down here to our guest house in Mindanao will cost $2,400! But, praise the Lord that a new gift of $5,000 for the New Testament project has just been given.
That should also help with equipment and materials for shrink wrapping all of the New Testaments that are not immediately purchased. (They will be sold at a very minimal cost of about $1 – it is best that people pay something for them). There will be more New Testaments than there are literate believers presently so it will be some time before all are purchased, hence the reason for protecting them against mold in this tropical climate by shrink wrapping.
We also plan to make available Bible covers that will protect their New Testaments from cockroaches.
While waiting for the proofs and then the printing we’re working on revising Acts Bible lessons in light of some new vocabulary used in the finished New Testament translation. The lessons are quite long so we are also trying to shorten them and also break them down into more lessons. Please PRAY for wisdom from above as we do this.
We’re thankful that PBS has been moving right along on preparing for printing. Thanks for praying with us about that.