It has been a difficult past two years for the five translation consultant interns I (John) work with here in Papua New Guinea. The training center here at Ukarumpa has been unable to offer the courses they need because of COVID and lack of staff so the interns have been unable to make progress toward becoming consultants. For that reason, I decided to bring them to Ukarumpa in late February and mentor them for two weeks. A few weeks before they came, it looked uncertain as to whether the training could happen as the Omicron wave hit Ukarumpa. Fortunately, it passed through fairly quickly (I got sick, but Brena didn’t) so we were able to go ahead.

During the two weeks with the interns, I was able to focus on teaching them the practical aspects of consultant checking Scripture passages. I spent most of the time teaching them how to analyze back translations. You might well ask, “What is a back translation?” Well, A back translation is a fairly literal translation of the local language back into English (or sometimes the trade language Tok Pisin). Since the consultant doesn’t know the local language, it allows him/her to see how the translation team has decided to translate different passages and determine if it is accurate or not. I had the interns analyze back translations from many different languages and taught them how to identify places where there were errors or possible misunderstandings. It was encouraging to see them start to be able to apply what they have learned in the past to the practical work of being a consultant. I also was able to get to know them much better and I was impressed by their love for the Lord and dedication to helping their own and other Papua New Guinean languages get access to the Scriptures.

Below is a picture taken at a recent Candlelit Cafe with some of my (Brena’s) helpers who enable these Cafes to happen. To my left is Evie Wade, a 9th grader, who dreams of eventually doing some type of culinary schooling and career. It’s been fun to have her help and also to give her an opportunity to start using her gifts. To her left are Carl and Pam Campbell. Carl is my boss and the two of them enjoy helping at these events.

My friend Max and I just put on a dinner for 31 ladies who spend time out in PNG villages. We did a Fajita Bar and served ice cream pie for dessert. The ladies spent time getting to know each other and then Karen Schlatter, who lived for many years in a PNG village, shared her story of God’s healing and grace in her life.

PRAISE & PRAYER:

• Thank you for praying for the two-week training John did for the interns. God answered prayer with a productive and encouraging time for all of them.
• Thank you for praying for me as I put on Cafes and a Village Ladies’ Dinner this past month. I appreciate so much the volunteers who help with me with each event. I couldn’t do it without them. Please pray, though, that I would be able to find more helpers so that the events can continue to happen.
• John has been preparing to do some consultant checking for the Edolo language group this coming month. Please be praying for those checks, that problems will be identified so that the correct meaning will come through.
• And thank you to all of you who read our updates, pray for us, write to us, and give financially. We couldn’t be here without you! It definitely takes a team to make Bible translation happen.

TO BE IN TOUCH:

john_bruner@sil.org

PO Box 1 (134), Ukarumpa EHP 444, Papua New Guinea (OR send to: c/o Andrews, 4807 Ruidoso Dr., Arlington, TX 76017 because of COVID delays in airmail)

WEB ADDRESS FOR PARTNERSHIP:

https://www.wycliffe.org/partner/Bruners

MAILING ADDRESS FOR PARTNERSHIP:

send gifts to: Wycliffe Bible Translators, PO Box 628200, Orlando, FL 32862 (The check should be made payable to Wycliffe Bible Translators and include a note that says preference for the ministry of John and Brena Bruner)