Compilation post about this beautiful survey trip – helicopter, tropical island, wonderful people, win-win! – with daughter Anya, teammate Kristy, and translators Denis, Simon, and Christabel. From Sep 2022.
Tag Archives: about-Carters
3/3 Muratayak Survey (Apr’22)
We enjoy telling stories on FB, but when one trip get spread across 33 posts – actually, 34 – the narrative gets a bit chopped up. We’ll combine original posts in three compilations here. Enjoy!
2/3 Muratayak Survey (Apr’22)
We enjoy telling stories on FB, but when one trip get spread across 33 posts, the narrative gets a bit chopped up. We’ll combine original posts in three compilations here. Enjoy!
1/3 Muratayak Survey (Apr’22)
We enjoy telling stories on FB, but when one trip get spread across 33 posts, the narrative gets a bit chopped up. We’ll combine original posts in three compilations here. Enjoy!
Beginning Again
AND… we’re back in PNG! Consider being one who responds to Go! yourself!
One of the weird things about working overseas – at least with our model – is the coming and going, and therefore the stopping and starting. But the stopping and starting provides an opportunity to reflect, learn, and grow. Since God made people to need sleep, giving us each new day as an act of grace, it’s logical that stopping and starting can be healthy.
The lessons we’re mulling at the moment are simple. Yes, simplicity is one of them: how can we limit the physical and mental clutter so that we can be more at peace as we engage in God’s work? Being present is another: not only to shrug off unnecessary concerns, but also to invest in now, in the people and tasks immediately to hand. Sometimes we get to focusing on some grand plan and miss the things right in front of us.
Things here haven’t changed drastically in the 8 months we were gone, or even in the 11.5 years since we first arrived in PNG. Hundreds of language communities await translation. The challenges to doing Scripture translation and engagement remain significant. But we’ve built relationships, learned a lot, have conducted research in 70+ language communities, and have had three girls join our family in those years! Our task now is to remain patiently engaged, present in the now, celebrating every blessing from God and every good thing he allows us to participate in.
One of those good things is the Participatory Methods for Engaging Communities workshop in a few weeks. We’ve been using participatory approaches since 2011 in our research, and I finally got a trainer to PNG in 2017. It seems to have stuck, as this is now the 4th or 5th workshop since then, and we know of various staff using these skills in their work! Katie is organizing groups for students to practice newly-learned skills with… and those groups or teams will get a free facilitated team-building or decision-making activity. These approaches are excellent in PNG, where relationships and collaborative decision-making are highly valued.
Happy Birthday Katie!
Katie’s got a birthday coming up! Milestones make me reminiscent, and I couldn’t be more blessed than to have Katie as my traveling buddy these 12 years. This cross-cultural life has its challenges, often experienced very differently by each spouse. Here are some of my highlights with Katie:
- Katie playing violin gracefully on the grass the summer we met, then playing soccer aggressively on the same grass shortly thereafter.
- Flying to PNG four days before our first anniversary. Living together in a bush house without plumbing or electricity for five weeks.
- Katie missing my first survey because we discovered she was pregnant with Tikvah.
- Her going on the second survey, five months pregnant with Tikvah.
- Katie and 8-month old Tikvah coming on the fourth survey with me.
- Katie braving three births at a birth center (Tikvah), a home (Anya), and in PNG (Mira). What an amazing process to witness!
- Katie transitioning out of the diaper years and engaging in opportunities to serve in the community.
- Her listening to hundreds of hours of me thinking aloud about everything from survey strategy to managing crises to personnel issues to…
- Playing hundreds of ultimate frisbee games together.
- Learning over and over to trust God.
- Katie getting her own motorcycle for errands and to ride with me!
The truth is, this depends every bit as much on Katie as it does on me:
Anyone who knows our story knows that what I’ve told isn’t even a tenth of it. What’s exciting is that that there’s still more of this delightful story to come! Thank you Father.
And Happy Birthday Katie! May the Lord grant you many more years of delight in and faithful service to him.
Carrying Burdens
We shared about Papua New Guinea 11 times during two trips this month. From ten minutes with an excited group of kids to an hour-plus with a group around a fire, what we shared was different each time. We enjoy and are blessed by these opportunities to connect with others and focus on PNG.
However, my overriding sentiment by that fire was frustration with trying to communicate cogently about the people of PNG. Why frustration?
- Because PNG is fantastically varied. Its languages, cultures, and environment are strange to many in the USA.
- Because I tend to provide a multitude of facts for those unfamiliar with PNG. Facts can educate, but they don’t necessarily impel action.
- And because yes, I desire to impel people to action for PNG, in a world where everyone has a stage and all are shouting about a cause they care about. A world where most of the audience is weary of the noise.
Jesus’ call is to radical faith-lived-out, to sacrifice, to being transformed each day into the new being he originally designed us to be. His commands to Pray! Give! Go! are for you, me, and the people of Papua New Guinea too. For PNGans, ‘the ends of the earth’ is places like America, which needs Jesus’ saving and sanctifying every bit as much as PNG does. Disciples of Jesus should expect to crisscross the globe – and other earthly barriers – until Jesus comes.
Feeling frustrated brings reminds us of Jesus’ words: “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” (Mt 11:28-30) And so we pray that the urgency appropriate to the task be paired with the peace that passes understanding (Phil 4:7).
I’ve been around Bible-less peoples my whole life, and the question below still don’t have good answers. There are some answers – we’re not without hope, and God has his ways – but the lack of vernacular Scriptures in a huge barrier!
- How can a non-believer learn who God is – and how he’s different from local deities – without a Bible in their language?
- How can a new believer come to know God’s character – and how God wants her to live – without a Bible in her language?
- How can a believer become spiritually mature without the wealth of history and truth a Bible in her language would provide?
- How can a pastor or lay leader teach and disciple others without having comprehensible Scriptures to guide him?
Praise God for the work he accomplishes in hearts and minds even where vernacular Scripture doesn’t exist! Pray that he would be swift to rally his children to translate Scripture for all peoples.
May Jesus “do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us.” Indeed, may it be in PNG, the USA, and among every tribe and tongue, that “to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever!” (Eph 3:20-21).
78 days to PNG!
See more pictures from the PNG gallery at beautiful PNG. Other galleries at the Carters and survey trips.
Call to Action
[Mail recipients, please go to the webpage to see the video.]
In our first post, we invited you to tell us what you want to see here! That invitation stands.
Also in our first post, we said, “[Surveyors] write reports, but we aren’t fully satisfied when readers are just informed. Our research is intended to be applied, acted upon – in the survey context, this means language communities being served as a result of our research into their needs. Likewise, we’d love for you to act on what you see here by praying, becoming part of our team, or getting involved in a more direct way yourself! Jesus’ call to “Go!” is for all believers.
This week, instead of adding to the word count, I want to invite you to action, or to conversation. So, today, I’ll share highlights from posts to date. They’re organized by our call to action: Pray! Give! Go!
Watch the video or read the text below, they are nearly identical.
Pray! – there are many in PNG without Scripture in a language that communicates best
We answered “What is Language Survey?” with “We do applied research, desiring that those we study would benefit from language development.”
We recounted a 2011 survey and defined language survey as: research the sociolinguistic situation to identify needs and desires and suggest strategies for meeting them.
When a Language Dies – the story of a grandma who was the last speaker of her language – explained, “A language is an artistic system to express all of the meanings deemed valuable enough to articulate verbally. A collaborative effort to explain the world. A tug of war between new words striving to find acceptance and old ones reluctant to be forgotten.”
Pray for those who’ve lost a language they loved, to find identity as God’s children. For those losing one to understand its value and to have wisdom to respond. Pray God’s message would be clear, regardless: “The heavens declare the glory of God… Day after day they pour forth speech… they have no words… Yet their voice goes out into all the earth” (excerpts from Ps 19:1-4).
After telling the second half of the 2011 survey, we noted, “Though there is translation work going on nearby, Mur Pano people haven’t been able to partake in a significant way. If you were one of the residents of the village, how would you think about the possibility of Scripture in your language? Would you judge it worth the effort? Will speakers of Mala and Mur Pano be among the “persons from every tribe and language” singing “You are worthy!” to God? (Rev 5:9).”
Pray for the 70 language groups we’ve researched in the past decade! Consider playing a part in researching and advocating for other speakers of minority languages by partnering with us!
Give! – your partnership enables research, which enables strategic Bible translation
As in the canoe described in Furlough & Partnership – Canoeing Sideways, we aren’t steering on furlough… YOU are. God uses you, his Body, to care for cross-cultural workers, send them to their place of service, and support them while there. Without the Church providing transport, overseas workers get dumped in that muddy river.
Furlough is a faith-growing exercise for cross-cultural workers. We do what we can, then wait trustingly – balancing the while – for the Church to say, “Yes, we want to make that happen!” (If you’re ready, get in touch, go to Partner, or ask us for suggestions about work that aligns with your interests.)
In Is It Dangerous? we asked, “Why do we do it?” Here’s one way to look at it:
- Problem: people without any Scripture in the languages that communicate best
- Solution: experts translate the Bible, guided by research (that’s our job)
- Outcome: people engage with Scripture in their languages, better able to know and follow God
Would you go to an event if your invitation was written in a language you don’t know well? “If this is really for me, why isn’t it in my language? I’m not entirely sure what this is about.” God invites people from every nation and tongue to his table. Translating the invitation – the Bible – makes it clear and cogent.
By last count, there were close to 2000 language groups in Oceania, Asia, and Africa about which not enough is known to categorize translation need with confidence.
Solution: RESEARCH! Understanding what type of translation is beneficial and where is the first step towards meeting the needs of these people who are, in some ways, “the least of these” (Mt 25:40, 45).
Research guides translation experts to where they are needed, and often provides strategic information about how to work with a particular people group. Those translation experts do the heavy lifting, often investing 10-30 years working alongside local people to complete a New Testament.
The outcome is wonderful: another people group with God’s Word clear and attractive. “God speaks my language!”
I’m a strong proponent of long-term relational engagement across cultures, walking with God and pursuing him together, using all the languages we speak. Your part in this is pretty special, and critical. Without you, most cross-cultural Bible translation work – and the research that guides translation – just doesn’t happen. You provide the financial, prayer, and relational support needed for translation and research experts to do their jobs in those thousands of languages which remain Scripture-less.
Go! – many skillsets contribute to Bible translation
In What Just Happened? – multicultural teamwork, we stated that our organization in PNG includes staff from 15+ nations and tens of language/culture groups from around PNG. One of my goals as Chief Communications Officer role is to facilitate communication that builds relationships and team and enables collaboration within our organization and with partners. Pray for our staff as they navigate the complexities of multicultural teamwork and build relationships.
Languages and Mountains spoke of how we’ve served in a variety of roles as we see needs we can meet. What skills could you contribute? In PNG, a wide range of professions are needed!
We’re all ordinary (if anything created in God’s image is). All followers of Jesus have received the same call. Read how Tikvah responds in Obedience-Based Faith. How are you responding?
In Multi-part Harmony, we described how “[The Wheel of Vitality’s] primary purpose is to assess intergenerational language transmission, [enabling us to] make estimations about [the language’s] future. Since Bible translation is often a multi-decade endeavor, it makes sense to have some confidence that the language will be spoken when the translation is completed!”
While we were there, it felt like we, the translation team, and the local folks were singing a multipart harmony joyfully and beautifully. “How good and pleasant it is when God’s people live together in unity!” (Ps 133:1) But our tale in Milne Bay has a twist ending: the translation team moved to a different role a few years after this trip, so translation has slowed since. Pray that all the “singers” needed for effective harmony can be recruited.
A Walk on the Survey Trail: And then I arise [from the river], feet finding purchase among the stones, lungs breathing deep, life’s ebb and flow renewing. It’s time for another village with a different language, time to connect with a new set of beings made in God’s image. The Living Word seeks to be incarnate through Scripture in their language. He is already present in Spirit, but his message is not yet clearly and fully expressed in their tongue.
We’ve met many people in Papua New Guinea who would benefit from having the Bible in their language, enabling them to better know and follow God. There are many other groups whose need is unclear. Answer God’s call to make disciples! Pray! Give! Go!
Obedience-Based Faith
[Prayer requests at bottom (and a hilarious video).]
This young lady is one of my favorite people. She’s an ordinary girl, neither graced with superpowers nor recipient of extra-Biblical callings. Though sometimes grumpy about trying new things, she is obedient, just as we are seeking to be to our Father.
This 2014 trip began with a footbridge crossing – the vehicle bridge had collapsed – and included cramming vehicle-accident victims into our van for transport to the hospital. Sweaty nights on a tropical coast, ocean breeze blocked by trees. Being with local kids she didn’t share a language with. Patiently waiting through long meetings as the team discussed their research. Baths in a bucket.
What did she do in response to these challenges and discomfort? She danced in the rain.
We’re all ordinary (if anything created in God’s image is). All followers of Jesus have received the same call.
How are you responding?
Not everyone can go* – at least not to ‘the ends of the earth’ – but believers can enable disciple-making there by praying and giving. How are you saying “Yes, Lord” today? If not today, when?
*Or can they?
Prayer
Thank you for praying for the survey team’s trip to Gulf Province last month. They reported success despite significant challenges:
- Theft revealed conflict over the land of the airstrip they landed on.
- Sickness of a partner they were training – praise for access to a hospital in the area.
- Retaliation related to sorcery led to the team leaving a village during the night.
These certainly highlight the challenges of multicultural teamwork and the dangers of language research!
Please continue to pray for:
- Healing for an ongoing health issue limiting a surveyor’s ability to go on trips.
- Wisdom to know where to focus research in a nation with 840 language groups!
- Further opportunities for effective partnership.
- Hanna and the translation team as they take the next step with these communities towards language development and translation.
Is It Dangerous?
“Is it dangerous?” We get this question sometimes when we share about conducting language research in remote villages in PNG. Yes, there is some danger and a high degree of uncertainty.
Why do we do it? Here’s one way to look at it:
- Problem: people without any Scripture in the languages that communicate best
- Solution: experts translate the Bible, guided by research (that’s our job)
- Outcome: people engage with Scripture in their languages, better able to know and follow God
Would you go to an event if your invitation was written in a language you don’t know well? “If this is really for me, why isn’t it in my language? I’m not entirely sure what this is about.” God invites people from every nation and tongue to his table. Translating the invitation – the Bible – makes it clear and cogent.
God created humankind and seeks to live in everlasting fellowship with it. Sin – rebellion against God and his design for us – separates us from God. Some facts enable us to understand God’s invitation: that we are sinners and condemned, that Jesus as the sacrificial lamb opened a Way to God, that we have but to believe in the Savior and follow our Lord. Those facts must be communicated; complex communication happens best with words. Hence the Scriptures.
Let’s examine that problem further: “people without any Scripture in the languages that communicate best.”
- We’re about people, possessed of eternal souls, just as God is. Sometimes we get to talking a lot about languages and translations, but it’s about people like you and me.
- Once you’ve learned to read, it’s pretty difficult to know what it’s like to be illiterate. Similarly, for those with Scriptures in their language, it’s hard to imagine themselves without Scriptures. Try for a second. The Word is a treasure.
- There is no substitute for Scripture, no alternative. God purposed it and imbued it with great power.
- Languages are the primary way people connect with other beings, including spiritual beings. Multilingual people have several languages to choose from, but usually a particular language is used for their most significant interactions. They will benefit greatly if they are able to connect to God in that language.
Today, “Bibleless peoples” are on a continuum, which includes:
- those with no Scripture in their language
- those with Scriptures in one of the languages they regularly use, but not in the language that would ‘communicate best.’
For those with zero access to Scripture (1), the need for translation is clear. For those with some access (2), what is needed or desired can be less clear, but translation can often be beneficial.
Here’s a curveball for you: in Oceania, Asia, and Africa, there are hundreds of people groups whose level of Scripture access is insufficiently understood. In PNG, our team’s research in 70 language groups since 2010 has:
- described previously undocumented languages
- found multiple dying languages not in need of Scripture (these people now speak other languages), and
- has confirmed that the speakers of a significant portion of these 70 languages would benefit from Scripture.
By last count, there were close to 2000 language groups in Oceania, Asia, and Africa about which not enough is known to categorize translation need with confidence.
Solution: RESEARCH! Understanding what type of translation is beneficial and where is the first step towards meeting the needs of these people who are, in some ways, “the least of these” (Mt 25:40, 45).
Research guides translation experts to where they are needed, and often provides strategic information about how to work with a particular people group. Those translation experts do the heavy lifting, often investing 10-30 years working alongside local people to complete a New Testament.
The outcome is wonderful: another people group with God’s Word clear and attractive; “God speaks my language.”
It would be nice to end this post there. The reality, as shown by our Scripture Use Research and Ministry project (2014-17), is that many communities who have Scripture in their language do not use it as much as we hope. Why? Well… that’s another post. What it means: that communities benefit when someone – whether people from our organization or someone else – comes alongside them beyond the completion of vernacular Scriptures. If you haven’t figured it out by now, I’m a strong proponent of long-term relational engagement across cultures, walking with God and pursuing him together, using all the languages we speak.
Your part in this is pretty special, and critical. Without you, most cross-cultural Bible translation work – and the research that guides translation – just doesn’t happen. With such an involved task, a tent-making approach generally isn’t viable. You provide the financial, prayer, and relational support needed for translation and research experts to do their jobs in those thousands of languages which remain Scripture-less.
Well, that’s one way to look at the ‘why.’ Additional pieces would include personal indebtedness to God’s redemptive work and the power of his Word in our lives. It’s a big endeavor, complex in its motivations. It’s part of God’s Kingdom work.
“Is it dangerous?” A counterquestion: “What’s worth risking in service to our Lord?” And a testimony: our experiences in remote PNG villages has generally been very positive. Hospitality is widely practiced.