pryor john bonita 1978 png
TRANSCRIPT
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N W
UINEA
NEWS
Forwarding Agents:
Mr. and
Mrs. ale
Dunlap
Route 16,Rhea Road
KnoxviUe.TN 37920
PIONEER
BIBLE
TRANSLATORS
John and Bonita Pryor
Volume
July August 1978
No.4
In
our
l a s t
NGN, we were s t i l l i n Madang
making
preparations
to
go
to Samban.We had
f i n a l l y
decided
to send out l l of our goods
by
MAP M i s s i o n a r y A v i a t i o n F e l l o w s h i p ) . The
waterways had dried
up
to the
extent
that
we
could
no
longer
motor-canoe
our
t h i n g s into
Samban.
August and Maelene
Ben, ustralian
Churches
of Christ missionaries who
have been stationed
i n Samban
for
the
past
three years, were i n
Madang a t t h e same
time
we were,
w a i t i n g
t h e
b i r t h of
t h e i r fourth
c h i l d .
They returned to
Samban on
June
8th,
and
we
had
reached a
j o i n t
agreement
h a t
we
would
g i v e
them
a
week
to g e t s e t t l e d i n .
Then we
were to b e g i n ou r
advance
to
Samban.
I
arrived in Samban on
the 15th of
June
with
a
plane
load of
m a t e r i a l s
to b e g i n work on
making h e c l a s s r o o m b u i l d i n g
a t
Samban i n t o a
home for Bonita,
J e s s e ,
and myself. The
main
t a s k s
a t hand were: making
h e
house
mosquito-
proof;
i n s t a l l i n g
guttering
and
water tanks to
catch,
store,
and channel the water into
the
house; i n s t a l l
a gas l i n e
to our
stove;
i n s t a l l
a
s i n k
and
shower t l l
b u c k e t - t y p e
shower);
and
to
put up c a b i n e t s and s h e l v e s
for
books,
pots
and
pans, lothes, t c .
Our
i r s t
task
was
to
get
some bush timber to
supplement the
p r e - e x i s t i n g
c e i l i n g j o i s t s . I t was
my
i
r s t
e x p e r i e n c e
i n t o G r a s s - l a n d
j u n g l e ,
and
q u i t e an
eye-opener,
r should
I
say
skin-opener.
Even
though
i t i s t h e dry
e a s o n ,
t h e
mosquitos
a r e t h i c k i n
the bush. I quickly learned how to
activate
the
local broom.
t i s a
bundle
of
long
thin g r a s s stems used to hit
and
k i l l the
gunduma (Botin f o r mosquito).
And
I
a l s o
learned to build a
f i
r e
and
stand on the
smokey
s i d e , a s
t h i s seems to provide
some p r o t e c t i o n .
I t
i s i n t e r e s t i n g to n o t e
t h a t
t h e l o c a l p e o p l e
have
s e v e r a l
names
for the
d i f f e r e n t
types
of
mosquitos, and t h e
number
r e s e n t ) .
Once t h e e x t r a j o i s t s
were up,
we i n s t a l l e d
t h e
i n s u l a t i o n paper
f o r t h e c e i l i n g u s e d i n t h i s
p a r t of
h e w o r l d . I t i s t h i n , heat e s i s t a n t paper
designed to
ward
off the heat of the metal
roofs.
On June 19,
Ron
Augsburger r r i v e d to f f e r
h i s a s s i s t a n c e f o r
a few
d a y s . Our
next
t e p was
to
screen i n
the
e n t i r e house, to
provide
p r o t e c t i o n
from
the gunduma. The w a l l s of
t h e classroom r e a bamboo weave,and f a r
from
a i r - t i g h t . So
we
ined the e n t i r e i n s i d e w a l l s
with
John
cutting
bush
timber.
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Putting
scaffol ding in
place.
screen
wire.
The n ext project was to
i n s t a l l
the guttering
to
catch
r a i n water. Augu st
b u i l t
the scaffolding
o n t o
t h e
h o u s e
w h i l e
R o n
a n d
I
s o l j d e r e d
guttering sections,
c o n n e c t e d
down-pipes, a n d
p re p a re d th e guttering to b e n a i l e d u p . As o o n
a s these t a s k s w e r e c o m p l e t e d ,
we
a i l e d
u p
the
g u t t e r i n g mak ing ure i t h a d
the
p r o p e r angle to
run the water into the tank.
This
wh o l e process
was then re p e a te d o n the opposite s i d e o f the
house. Befor e Ron e f t we
w e r e able to make
platform for
o u r
1000
g a l l o n
water
tank
to
s i t
u p o n ,
nd
i nished the down-pipe work enabling
t h e w a t e r
t o
f l o w i n t o t h e t a n k f o r s t o r a g e a n d
l a t e r
use.
A l l t h i s completed,
t
was
now une 22,
a nd
R o n h a d t o r e s u m e h i s d u t i e s
i n M a d a n g . ^ o n l t a
a n d
Jes s e a rrived
in Samban
with the
r e m a i n d e r
of our
g o o d s .
I t was
good to
be r e - u n i t e d w i t h
my
amily
a f t e r
a
week
o f
separation.
The next t a s k was to t r an s f on t i the in s i d e
o f
t h e
c l a s s r o o m
i n t o
a
home
o r
t h e
t h r e e | o f
u s .
We i
r s t set the sink into a set o f p r e - e x i s t i n g
s h e l v e s
a n d
put up
another
s e t of s h e l v e s for
s t o r i n g our f o o d , e t c .
Next,
we
had to
s e t
a nd
l e v e l our kerosene
r e f r i g e r a t o r
and t h e n
h o o k
up o u r
s t o v e
t o t h e g a s
b o t t l e
we
had r e v j i o u s l y
obtained.
Upon
c om pl eti on
o f
these
t a s k s
we
s e t
our shower
stall
and
ins ta l l e d
our
bucket
with the
s h o w e r
h e a d
i n the b ot t om . T h u s ,
our kitchen and bathroom
combination
was
complete.
To c o m p l e t e the l i v i n g area,
we
made a n
eating
bar
a n d storage cabinet
f r o m
some helves
that
w e r e
already in the classroom.'After
b u i l d i n g
s o m e b o ok
s h e l v e s
a n d
p u t t i n g u p
curtains o n the win d ows , a n d m aki n g some
curtain
p e t i t i o n s
for inner
w a l l s
the
i n s i d e
beg an
to take s h a p e .
The n ext
c h o r e wa s to un p a ck . Since t h i s
wa s the tenth
h o u s e
we
h a d
stayed
i n since
o u r
a r r i v a l a year ago
i n
PNG e were ready to g e t
t h i s
task
c o m p l e t e d .
After the addition o f
an other set o f helves,
made
f
bush
timber a n d
s p l i t bamboo we
w e r e
able to c om pl et ely
un p a ck . t
has
sure b e e n great to store the s u i t
cases
a w a y
a n d
f i n a l l y
f i
n d
things
we
knew we
had somewhere.
We
re m o s t appreciative
to
Ron
Augsburger
for i s
help.
And we re indebted to
August
a n d
Ma e l en e for
su ch gracious h o s p i t a l i t y
a n d
help
fulness i n helping
us
get
s e t t l e d
e s p e c i a l l y to
August
a n d h i s unending
k n ow l e d g e
o f
bush
b u i l d i n g . I'm
sure s o m e
of
o u r techniques a nd
material
wou l d
cause
my
c a rp e nte r
friends
i n
Oklahoma to
s h u d d e r ,
but
when
o n e i s in the
B u s h , o n e d o e s wha t
o n e m u s t to
l i v e .
On c e we w er e s e t t l e d we
beg an ou r fo rmal
language work. As our f i r s t
t a s k
i s to obtain a
conversational
a b i l i t y
i n the language,
we
have
begun by trying to e l i c i t n a m e s o f
f a m i l i a r
objects a n d
a c t i v i t i e s .
At the s a m e time we are
p r e s s i n g
to
g a i n
a n
understanding
o f
the
culture
of
the
people h e r e . T h e people a r e r e a l l y
excited
ab out o u r work a n d a r e
t r y i n g
t h e i r b e s t to
help
Guttering being adjusted o n o u r h o u s e .
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Setting the water tank.
u s . Some f the a c t i v i t i e s we
ngage
i n each day
are: attempts at conversation with the local
people;listeningand
mimicing
the conversations
of
t h e
l o c a l
p e o p l e ;
l i s t e n i n g
to
t a p e
d r i l l s
we
have made, e l i c i t i n g s p e c i f i c
information
we
need
to obtain to
g a i n a b e t t e r understanding
of
he language;
n t e r i n g words n t o a d i c t i o n a r y
f i l e a s we hear and
confirm
t h e i r
meaning;
observation of culture; and learning the names
of i l l a g e folk and t h e i r f a m i l i e s .
Sometimes
ou r
heads about pop from
l l
t h a t w e r e
t r y i n g
to
cram
into
them
At t h i s point
w e l l
go
to
our garden.
As
a l l of
the
people l i v e
off
t h e i r own gardens,
we
decided
to
plant one. I t
i s
abo ut a 20
minute
walk into the
bush, n d I'm
sure,
ooks
i k e n o n e
you've ever
seen,
as i t has been cut out of the
j u n g l e .
However, the
ground
here
i s
v e r y f e r t i l e ,
and
we ope
to
soon b e
eating f r e s h corn,
beans,
melon,
pumpk in,
and
b r o c c o l i .
Later
w e l l
plant
bananas, coconuts, papaya, and some more
common v e g e t a b l e s . So, when
we
say
we're
going
to the
garden,
the
people here understand
and are happy to see us adjusting to t h e i r way of
l i f e .
We
i n c e r e l y a p p r e c i a t e your
p r a y e r s for u s .
Please continue to pray that we may
provide
God's
word
for t h e s e
people
i n t h e i r
own
language.
Recently, Bonita and I were asked to help in
teaching th e i l l i t e r a t e
adults
i n Samban to
read
and
w r i t e
Pidgin. We
take t h i s
i n v i t a t i o n
as a
step
toward i n t e r e s t i n
l i t e r a c y
a s a whole
and
a s a step toward i n t e r e s t i n learning to
read
th e
v er na c u l ar as
t becomes vailable.
Since w have arrived a t Samban w have
seen that
our t r a n s l a t i o n
ministry w i l l b e
somewhat d i f f e r e n t
than we had expected.
We
ad
pictured
our
w or k
as mostly e v a n g e l i s t i c .
B u t God
has e d
us to t h i s
group
and
quickened
our
thinking
to
r e a l i z e that
our ministry
w i l l b e
one of equipping those
C h r i s t i a n s
already
here
and providing
them
with the powerful
e v a n g e l i s t i c toolGod's Word in t h e i r own
l a n g u a g e s .
Eventually,
we xpect
to
b e i n v o l v e d
in th e e v a n g e l i s t i c aspect, b u t you cannot
realize
how
difficult this is
u ntil one
has
accumulated adequate language
and
c u l t u r a l
knowledge. In the meantime, we w l l b e helping
those
who
already
have
those innate
a b i l i t i e s .
I t
i s a t h r i l l i n g prospect. Because Samban s the
center
geographically and
d i a l e c t i c a l l y ,
most of
the
other v i l l a g e s frequent Samban And since
i t
i s a Christian v i l l a g e , the p o s s i b i l i t i e s of outreach
are g r e a t .
The
Scriptures in th e
vernacular
g r e a t l y
e n h a nce t h i s outlook.
The
work of th e
Australian Ch urches of Christ Mission already
b e g u n
and maintained here
in
Samban an d
nearby
areas w i l l aid considerably i n the propa
g a t i o n
of
the S c r i p t u r e s .
^ l l l l l l l l l l l l l l t l l l l l l l i i l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l i i i l l l l l i i i l l l l l i i i i l l l l t l
D I T O R S
NOTE
1
S
lease address
a l l
stateside
S
orrespondence and make
S
M
hecks payable
to Pioneer
=
S
i b l e
Translators. Use t h e S
S
eturn address
on this
news-
S
Se t t e r .
Thank You. s
f f
l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l i
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JESSE'S CORNER
.SHARING I N THE WORD
I t
was
j u s t
a
year
ago
a s t month
that we entered PNG; almost a
year
to
the day we ntered
Samban,
three years and eight month s from
the time we decided
to
enter th is
work. With these f a c t s in mind , and
t h i n k i n g i n
r e t r o s p e c t ,
I'm remind
ed of the words of s a i s h i n
chapter
40:31 Those
who
wait for the
Lord w i l l g a i n new strength; They
w i l l
mount up
with
wings
l i k e
e a g l e s , They w i l l
run
and
not
g e t
t i r e d
They w i l l w a l k , a n d n o t b e ^
come weary. And as
Stuart
Hamblin
adds
i n h i s song of
t h i s
v e r s e : Teach
me
Lord, Teach
me
Lord, to
wait.
Many times
the
Lord
has
had to teach us h i s lesson,
and this advice from Isaiah has
always proved to
be
sound and
wse i n e v e r y s i t u a t i o n .
W a i t i n g
i n ;
volves
a
great
deal
of t r u s t
on ou r
p a r t . Rosalind
R u s s e l l ,
the popular
entertainer who fought and
l o s t
a long
b a t t l e
with cancer, wrote
the
following
v e r s e ;
Trust
Him,
when
darkest
thoughts
a s s a i l
you,
Trust
Him, when yo u r f a i t h i s
small.
Trust Him,
when ust t o t r u s t Ifim,
I s
the hardest t h i n g of
l l .
I
r e a l l y
l i k e Samban. There
are
l o t s of kids
here to p l a y
with,
and I'm always the center of
e v e r y b o d y ' s a t t e n t i o n I l i k e
t h a t e s p e c i a l l y .
Mama
and Papa c a l l me a show-off.
What's
that?
T he b e s t p a r t ,
though,
s
my
r i e n d s
here
pick
me
u p and carry
me
around everytime I
fuss
j u s t a l i t t l e . All
I
have to do s cry a l i t t l e
and
up
I
goI have
t h e m w e l l - t r a i n e d . I think
Mama
and Papa c a l l i t spoiling me.
u s t
got
over
h e mumps,
nd
i t wasn't much
fun. I hope
the
next
time
I
can
announce
that
I
can
walk.
On July 22, 1978, I was
one
year old.
t
sure
i s
nice being the
youngest
n the Pryor household.
I seem to g e t a
o t
of
t t e n t i o n ,
s p e c i a l l y when
I s t r i k e up
my pots
and pans band. See
ya
laterJesse.
Bonita and esse
arrive
atSamban.
Pioneer Bible Translators
Forwarding
Agents
Rou te
16,
Rhea Road
Knoxville, Tn
37920
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