We have received good news in relation to our temporary management of
the New Tribes Mission guesthouse here on our island. You may remember
that the couple who have been managing the guesthouse for the past year
returned to the States in October for family reasons. It was
questionable as to whether or not they would return to the guesthouse
ministry as they were hoping to retire at the end of 2016.
We have been managing the guesthouse since Oct 23 and it was looking
like we might need to continue doing so until there are new permanent
managers which might be August or even later.
However, we just received an email from the managers that they will
return to the guesthouse ministry until there is someone to permanently
replace them. That means that we should be able to return to the tribe
permanently around the end of April.
Although we have been able to do some scripture translation and work on
other teaching helps while managing the guesthouse, it has been slow
going as managing a guesthouse involves maintaining a large building and
out buildings and the guesthouse vehicle, recording expenses, paying
bills, and more. There is constant need for repairs. It is really a full
time job of long days.
So, we are looking forward to getting back to the tribe where we can
work full time on our ministry there. Well, pretty much full time
because there is always maintenance of our house and equipment to do.
But, the Lord has given Mahan, a Manubu’ Bible teacher, mechanical and
carpentry aptitudes so we hire him to do a lot of that for us.
Last week we had Pulding, our primary translation helper, Mahan, and
Anu, another Manubu’ Bible teacher, flown here to us by helicopter and
we were able to check with them four chapters of Nehemiah to be sure the
chapters will be clearly understood. Verses in Nehemiah are long with
lots of clauses so translating the verses to fit Manubu’ grammar and
logic has been a challenge. But, revisions made through the checking
process with those three guys culminated in clear understanding in
further checks Pulding did with other believers back in the tribe.
Before NTMA (New Tribes Mission Aviation) can sign the lease for the
land they want to lease for a helicopter hangar and before they can
apply for a building permit for the hangar, the barangay (town)
officials want a second public hearing before issuing the required
barangay clearance papers. Although a majority of people approved NTMA’s
request at the first hearing, the barangay officials are seeking
unanimous approval. Please *PRAY* that the hearing will take place as
scheduled and barangay clearance will be given, as the Lord wills.