Burdett’s Are Back in the Dom

We are back in the Dom! We’ve been here for two and a half weeks now unpacking and settling in. It’s been great to see all of our believers and nonbelieving Dom friends again. These last few months have been hard for them all because of the drought which has caused a severe shortage of garden food. However the good news is that rain has come at last. In fact the day after we arrived here with a truck load of supplies we got rain, then another rain and another to the point that we are fairly certain that the long dry spell has broken. At least for the time being. We see our Dom neighbors all around us working in their gardens getting ready to replant sweet potatoes. The challenge now is to find enough sweet potato vines to replant. During the drought there was a freak frost that killed all the vines. So they have to come up with enough vines to replant.

The rain, though a blessing, is also a challenge for us. Our mountain road was already in poor condition. Daily heavy rains will only make it worse to the point of impassable. Please pray for us in this matter. Also our truck is parked until we can get it fixed. We suspect that it is something to do with the drive shaft or differential but not being mechanics we are at a standstill. It’s always something.

It has been great to see our believers reading their new Dom New Testaments! We have also been asked by others for copies. One of our main goals this term is to promote the Dom New Testament as far and wide as we can introduce Dom people of other clans and villages to the joy of reading God’s Word in their own language.

We would like to start a literacy class for new students in the next couple of weeks and also either do a short class for readers who need help or just have a couple evenings a week where they come to our house as we have lights and help them in their reading. Many of them can read but not being readers as a culture, they do not practice enough. So we would appreciate prayer about these classes and the logistics of them.

Ours days back were not without problems. Our batteries were very low so Jim turned our old generator on but it packed up after a few hours. Just not worth the effort to fix it again. Thankfully someone from our support staff made a special trip up here and brought new generator and some used batteries that work. For a few days before that we had to use our coworkers’ generator and we are still putting things in their 12 volt fridge down at their house as our old one will not run on these used batteries. It is just too old and too many problems. But thankfully a new 12 volt fridge has been purchased and will eventually arrive on a container from the USA.

Our house is finally clean and straight. Jim’s office that adjoins the house was infested with rats which made a big mess. It took several days to clean it up. We still have some more barrels and crates to unpack too but will do that bit by bit.

Jim is already working away at revising the Bible teaching lessons. We had made some significant changes to how Dom is spelled before the New Testament was printed. So now the Bible lesson materials need to be revised accordingly. There are hundreds of pages to read through and revise so it will take some time. The other day two Dom Christian men from the church at our old location came asking for lessons for 1 & 2 Thessalonians. That’s when we realized that Jim had not finished writing them because he had been so busy with the Dom New Testament. However now that the Dom New Testament is printed Jim can concentrate on finishing all the Bible lessons.

We have not heard from our three sons lately but Heather writes often. She has a job that she is starting soon at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, Louisville KY. She also has an apartment which she will move into soon that is close to SBTS. She has no vehicle yet so it’s public transportation until then. She is still going to apply at local hospitals for a job as a Nurse’s Assistant. Thank you for praying and we are thankful for answered prayer for her. It has been hard not hearing from Ilai. We do not know what is happening with him and one else has heard from him either. So appreciate prayer as it is hard to not know what is happening. We see Brian occasionally on Facebook. Darren and Katie are both busy between classes at SBTS and work.

Being November, Thanksgiving is just around the corner. No turkey for us but we are thankful for all the blessings God has bestowed upon us. He is with us through every problem and challenge and we see His hand in our lives and circumstances.

With Thankful Hearts,

Jim and Judy Burdett Dom (dome) Tribe, Papua New Guinea Partners with Gerolf and Mailis Wuest