Lance and Laura Ostman
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Translation Progress, a Homegoing, and Students Being Equipped

July 5, 2026 by Lance and Laura Ostman

Yandang, a long-time Higaunon church leader passed away.

“One generation shall praise Your works to another, And shall declare Your mighty acts.” Psalm 145:4 (NKJV)

Greetings

Hello once again from our jungle home! We are on the home stretch of our time here, and we are grateful for the Lord’s goodness. He continues to give us strength and good progress as we work toward completing several important ministry projects before we leave early next month.

Translation progress:

Thank you so much for praying for us as we work on the Higaunon Scripture translation. Our team recently finished the final comprehension check for Job, Joel, and Amos. One comment that kept coming up from our translation helpers (pictured here) was how brazen Job’s “friends” were in their statements about him! But, as you know, the Lord set them straight in the end.

During the last week of June, I continued the initial checking of Psalms with my translation assistant. In previous years, we completed the final comprehension checking of Psalms 1–81. We have now begun checking Psalm 82 and hope to complete the remaining Psalms through Psalm 150 before we leave later this month. (That may be a bold goal!) Please pray that the Lord will give us wisdom, endurance, and good progress as we work through the rest of the Psalms.

Printing:

Please also pray for Ron as he works on printing hard copies of the Old Testament. We won’t have the entire Old Testament bound in a single volume, but it is exciting to see the individual books in physical form. Please pray for the printing and binding process. The binding machine is manually operated, and the blades dull quickly, making the process slow and labor-intensive. Ron hopes to purchase an electric binding machine when they return to Australia, which will make future printing projects much more efficient.

Yandang:

One of the longtime Higaunon pastors, Yandang, passed away this past week. He had faithfully ministered for many years in the village he called home. His funeral will be held there tomorrow (Monday, July 6). Please pray for his wife, Nanay, and their family as they walk through this difficult time.

When someone passes away, it reminds us why the Lord brought us here in the first place—to bring the message of hope found in Jesus Christ. As the Higaunon believers have reflected on Yandang’s life and homegoing, that hope has been a topic of conversation. Praise the Lord with us that they know and believe in the ONE who brings comfort and confidence in the promises of God’s Word.

Equipping:

The equipping program that Laura and I serve with as advisors has just completed its application process for the new academic year. We were expecting an increase in applicants, and the Lord certainly answered that prayer. This week, 122 new students from 17 different countries will begin their first year. We praise the Lord for this opportunity to see believers further equipped for ministry.

Thank you:

We are so grateful that the Lord has allowed us to be part of His work here among the Higaunon people. Thank you for standing with us through your prayers and faithful giving. Your partnership makes it possible for us to continue this ministry, and we thank the Lord for each one of you.
Secure in Christ’s love,

Lance & Laura

Here are some links for you to consider:

Click here to read our last update

What questions do you have about Bible Translation

Click here for a challenging video we hope you will share with friends or in your church.

Check out our YouTube Channel

Here’s a link to a video of the approach to the village.

Filed Under: Ministry, News Article, Prayer Request Tagged With: equipping, Ethnos360, Higaunon, Lance & Laura, Old Testament, Ostman, Philippines, Pinting, thank you, translation, Yandang

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