Author: Bill & Donna Davis

Davis Update August 30

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HEY, JUDE!

This week we have 4 Palawano men here to help us work on the translation. Bill just finished going over the first drafts of Mark 11-16 and the whole book of Jude (all 25 verses) today. Yet to go… 2 Peter, 2 John, 3 John and Revelation. The men will also help him clean up the last details from Romans and the other books we had consultant checked in July so they will be ready to print.

Donna will be doing recording of about six chapters; another step in the process.

We’re excited to have Ruben Rensawi with us this time. He has not worked with Bill on translation yet. Ruben is from another area (a valley about 4 hours’ hike from our village down south.) He is a church leader in his area and the son of a Palawano that our former coworkers spent a lot of time discipling. So the fruit is in the second generation.

We know that Ruben might give good input, as he is a strong believer with keen insight into the Word of God. He can give insight into how the translation would communicate in his area, as there are slight differences in the dialect. We want the New Testament to communicate and “sound good” to the widest possible audience. We also want him to feel ownership of the translation so he will use it and help to promote distribution when the time comes. He seems to be fitting right in with Bill and the other men and isn’t shy to contribute.

We’ve already learned of a couple word substitutions that would help in his area. And we’re particularly thrilled that a number of the key theological terms we are using communicate well to him!

SO PLEASE PRAY WITH US…

  • energy and wisdom
  • good progress in translation this week
  • no electrical power outages while the men are here



Reaching Palawanos together with you,

-Bill and Donna

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Translation with no Sting

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Translation Update
We’re thankful that Donna and Susing finished the recording of Mark 1-10. We didn’t expect them to get it all done, but they did! Now those chapters are ready for the next step.


Wasps!
We recently discovered a huge nest of red and black wasps way up in a tree in our yard. This aggressive species of wasps can kill a person (or even a water buffalo!) if the swarm attacks. A couple of Filipino men with experience in getting rid of these pests at church camps came and took care of the problem! No one was hurt (well, except the wasps, sorry– the credits cannot say “No wasps were harmed in the filming of this movie.”)

What’s Next?
Now Bill will continue to draft Revelation while he processes those recordings of Mark and gets ready for the upcoming consultant check of five other books in just a few weeks.

Pray With Us
Thanks for elimination of the wasp problem safely
Prayer for clear thinking and progress in translation


Reaching Palawanos with you,

-Bill and Donna

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Davis Update June 19

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BLESSING GALORE

Our heads are spinning: a new granddaughter, time with our grandson and kids, then straight to Singapore for two missions conferences, and now back to Palawan to dive into translation. And so many celebrations…

God blessed us by allowing us to be there for Myri’s birth. We had lots of special times with our daughters and the rest of the family, while getting to see friends and supporters and update them on our ministry.
Then, in Singapore we were absolutely overwhelmed with what God is doing there. God is stirring his church in that city to send out many missionary laborers into the Asian harvest fields in the days ahead. While there, we were also able to see three Singaporeans who had visited us on Palawan in 1987 on a short-term missions trip. We hadn’t seen any of them in 24 years!
We returned to Manila on May 31, exactly thirty years to the day since our first arrival there in 1981, when we were in our twenties with toddler Elisa in tow. As we look back on thirty years of ministry in the Philippines (and elsewhere), we can only say, “God is good.”
Now today, we celebrate our 35th wedding anniversary today. And it’s Father’s Day, as well. We are again thankful for God’s blessings on our lives as we enjoy our life together and the privilege of serving him.
TRANSLATION UPDATE
We’re digging into translation as we have a consultant check coming up in July, which will cover five books: Romans, Galatians, 1-2 Timothy and 1 John. Meanwhile, this coming week Donna will be working with Palawano helper Susing, having him record the book of Mark, while Bill continues to draft Revelation, as we push toward completion of the Palawano New Testament…
PRAY WITH US

  1. praise that the cholera epidemic is over
  2. thanks for 35 years of marriage
  3. good progress recording the book of Mark
  4. no electricity outages during Donna’s recording
  5. Bill as he works on Revelation

Reaching Palawanos with you,

-Bill and Donna

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Checking Romans

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“So, Arnel, what does it mean when Pablo says that we ‘died with Christ’ on the cross?”

Bill is back on Palawan working with Arnel (photo) and Joseph to finish checking how well Romans is understood. Paragraph by paragraph, phrase by phrase, we check comprehension of the passage. This the final step in our translation procedure.

When this checking is done, we will email Romans, Galatians, 1 Timothy, 2 Timothy and 1 John to the translation consultant so she can prepare for the final check in July.

PRAY WITH US
We need stamina and sharpness of mind. We need wisdom. We want the book to check out well. Yesterday the electricity went off for an hour. Please pray this doesn’t happen as each lost hour really slows down the check.

Donna is still in California, enjoying a bit more time with the family and taking care of some matters there. We will meet in Manila next weekend.

Reaching Palawanos with you,

-Bill and Donna

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Waiting for Myri

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TRANSLATION CHECKING
We were able to complete the comprehension checking of nearly all the books we had ready in early March. We will finish the rest in of Romans in May, meaning we’ll have all of Romans, Galatians, 1-2 Timothy and 1 John all ready for the final consultant check in late June or early July!

WHERE ARE WE NOW?
After the checking, we packed up and flew to California for the birth of our granddaughter, due on March 20.

We’ve enjoyed see our daughters and sons-in-law and our grandson Max and are looking forward to getting to spend time with friends, family and supporters while here for this quick trip Stateside.

A COMMUNICATIONS HEADS-UP
As of tomorrow (Thursday March 17) we will be offline for a day (or two?) while we update our computers. We can be reached our temporary cell phone number in the meantime

PLEASE PRAY WITH US

  • healthy final week(s) for Elisa and the baby
  • a safe delivery
  • a fruitful time with those we see here
  • Max’s adjustment to us caring for him
  • Max’s adjustment new sister

Reaching Palawanos with you,

-Bill and Donna

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2010 becomes 2011

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LOOKING BACK
2010 is nearly over and it has been a most eventful year for us.

FAMILY… Our family was blessed with two additions and happy celebrations. Our first grandchild, Max, was born on February 2, and we were able to be there for that special event. Then, in September we were back in San Diego for the wedding of our youngest, Bethy, as she and Ricky Cobabe started their new life together.

TRANSLATION… We are very thankful for encouraging progress in the Palawano Translation. This year we completed the translation and final checking of the book of Luke (a long book: 15% of New Testament!) and we finished the first draft and early revision of more than ten additional NT books totaling another 22%. On top of that, we took several of those books through the next few steps in the procedure.

MINISTRY… Our first-ever trip to Singapore, courtesy of NTM Singapore, was an adventure and the fulfillment of a dream we’ve had since 1987, after a short-term team of Singaporeans came to our Palawano village. We were blessed to be involved in a camp challenging young Singaporeans to take the gospel to unreached people in Asia.

CRAZY STUFF… It was stressful and difficult, but God saw us through having to evacuate our house and deal with the lingering health hazards of termite poison. We’re glad to be settled in and back to work.

We want to thank God for all he has done in 2010 and express our appreciation to you who have prayed and been a part!

LOOKING AHEAD
2011 will provide another welcome addition to our family–Max’s little sister! Elisa and Chris are expecting our first granddaughter in March. We’re praying for God to provide a way for us to be there for that.

We are laying out the plans for continued translation and some final checks to get additional portions of the Word of God into the Palawano language as we move closer to our goal of the completed New Testament.

PLEASE PRAY WITH US…

  • praise for amazing blessings in 2010!
  • continued progress in translation
  • health, strength and wisdom
  • provision for travel to be there for our granddaughter’s birth

Thanks for praying and standing with us in this ministry.

Reaching Palawanos together with you,

-Bill and Donna

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