Translation progress and other news

Fear not, for I am with you;
Be not dismayed, for I am your God.
I will strengthen you,
Yes, I will help you,
I will uphold you with My righteous right hand. (Isaiah 41:10)

Greetings from our jungle home in the Philippines where we feel relatively ‘safe’ from COVID-19.

COVID-19: What a precious promise the above verse is, especially in light of all that is happening in the world today.

In anticipation of not having flight service for a while, we went to town last week to buy two months’ worth of supplies. Since then, due to the coronavirus, the President of the Philippines has banned all domestic travel into and out of Manila for the next 30 days. That edict has changed the plans of our pilot family; they have decided to stay longer than they planned and now we’ll have flight service when we didn’t think we would. Also, the mission conference that was supposed to happen next week was canceled. There have been so many changes happening quickly. We’re thankful that we serve a God who never changes!

Translation checking progress: Since we arrived back in the village we’ve finished the final comprehension checking of the books of Daniel, Esther and Ezra. It was a lot of fun watching our translation assistant’s reaction to stories he had never heard before.

We started checking Isaiah and then, because it was ready, we took a break to check Nehemiah, something a bit less taxing on the brain. Imagine NOT having the book of Isaiah, or any number of Old Testament books for that matter. What a blessing it will be to have these books completed and available for the Higaunon. Please continue to pray for a faithful translation that communicates God’s message to these people.

Tadha is our main translation assistant. He listens to what is read and repeats it back in his own words. If he makes any mistakes, then we know that we have to rework the passage. It’s not an easy process but we need to get it done right.

Our family: Praise God with us for things happening with our children. Our son, Robert, was able to return to work a few weeks ago! Our daughter and family renewed their visas to stay in Thailand for another month. There is no word yet on schools reopening in their adopted home country, so they continue to do their schooling and work online.

Thank you: In these uncertain days, we have confidence in God’s Sovereignty. We are in His hands and nothing catches HIM by surprise! Thank you for praying and partnering with us financially so we can get more Scripture done for the Higaunon.

Secure in Christ’s love,

Lance & Laura

Videos: If we have no internet and need to communicate, that means someone has to hike up the mountain trail to where there’s a cellphone signal and call out. I had to do that recently and I took some pictures along with a time lapse video of my hike back down the trail. Sure makes us appreciate having the helicopter. >>Click here to see that video<<

>>Click here<< to view the helicopter with a sling load.