LINI IS IN TOWN…
Donna is busy this week working with Lini on the recording step of translating Galatians and Romans. Lini was Elisa’s childhood best friend in the tribe. So it’s a joy to work with her now that she’s a young mother of three, since we’ve known her for her entire life. She brought two of her children (our Palawano “grandchildren”) to Puerto with her.

RECORDING TRANSLATION…
The recording step is an important part of getting the Palawano Scriptures to sound natural and to flow smoothly. It is also a very intense task, mentally taxing with lots of speaking out loud. So Donna and Lini need extra energy to keep going all week.

KEEPING IT GOING!
Pray with us that the electricity will stay on every day, so the computers, lights and fans, etc., keep working while Lini is here. We are also asking the Lord to keep the technology (the aging Mac and iPod used for recording) cooperative. These tools are a huge help in the translation process compared to the typewriters and cassette players we used in years past. Now we’re really dependent upon them!

SO PLEASE PRAY WITH US…

• strength and wisdom for Donna and Lini
• successful recording of Galatians and Romans
• electricity to stay on; computers and iPod to work
• Bill as he drafts Mark and works on other books

Reaching Palawanos together with you,

-Bill and Donna

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Bill and Donna on Facebook

Translation… and a wedding. Where have you heard that before?

No, we’re not translating John chapter 2 with the story about the miracle at the wedding in Cana of Galilee. We’re talking about what’s been going on in our lives lately…

WEDDING…
We just got back from a quick trip to the USA for our daughter Bethy’s wedding. Everything came together nicely and the wedding was a fun time for everyone. Bethy and Ricky said it was “perfect.” We’re so grateful for the friends and family and Bethy’s coworkers at Habitat who all pitched in to make it a special day. We enjoyed spending some time with Elisa, Chris and our grandson Max, too.

TRANSLATION…
In recent weeks, Bill was able to complete the first drafts of some really important books: Romans, Galatians and 1 John. We really want to get these books into the hands of the Palawano Christians. Can you imagine not having the book of Romans? …or Galatians or 1 John?! So much vital truth there.

Then, just before flying to California, his Palawano translation helpers came to town and they were able to go over those three drafts and to do some work on 1-2 Timothy. Bill never expected to get all that done in the time they had together, but we were pleasantly surprised at how quickly they were able to progress through the material. They were also able to completely finish all the final details remaining from the consultant check of the gospel of Luke! So we can print some preliminary copies of that soon! We’re excited about that.

Now Bill is pushing ahead with drafting some new books, and Donna is getting ready to do the steps of recording and checking all that previous material.

SO PLEASE PRAY WITH US…

• as we continue with the translation work
  
• for our health and stamina day by day
  
• for Bethy and Ricky in their new married life
• for God’s continued provision for this ministry

Reaching Palawanos together with you,

-Bill and Donna

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Bill and Donna on Facebook

DONNA IS WELL…
We’re thankful that Donna finally seems to be completely over her bout of dengue fever. She was very sick with a fever for a week and then weak and easily tired for about another week. Whew! Thanks to all who prayed.

TRANSLATION MOVING AHEAD…
Bill just finished the first draft of Galatians. What an awesome book. Now he’s starting on Romans and doing some revision of 1-2 Timothy. We’ll have the Palawano men come up in a few weeks and work through all this material. That visit should also finish up a few final details so that we can print and distribute copies of the recently-checked book of Luke.

WEDDING PLANS!
Our daughter Bethy is getting married to Ricky Cobabe in September! Ricky’s a great guy, and were were first able to meet him when they visited here in November (actually they got engaged right here in Puerto in our gazebo.) So we’ll be traveling to California for the wedding. It will be a fairly quick trip, but Donna will go a little ahead, to help with pre-wedding details. Bill will continue working on translation here and fly about a week before the wedding. We’re excited about this special event, and the chance to see Elisa and Chris and our grandson Max, who will be 7 months old by then.

Bill is also planning to participate in the 7th ICLL (International Congress on Language Learning) in Colorado Springs at the end of September, just before we return to the Philippines. Since 2002, he’s been the NTM representative on the steering committee for this event which helps to further the spread of the gospel by training missionary language learning consultants.

Unless another place opens up, it looks like we can stay with Donna’s sister while we’re in the USA. But we need a car to use while we’re there (Aug 22 through Oct 4), so we’re praying about that.

SO PLEASE PRAY WITH US…

• health and strength
• continued progress in the translation
• provision for travel and workshop costs
• a car to use while we’re in the USA
• all the details for the wedding to come together

Reaching Palawanos together with you,

-Bill and Donna

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Bill and Donna on Facebook

SUCCESSFUL SURGERY
A final update on Lomi.

The surgeon was able to completely remove the growth without incident and Lomi healed up quickly after his three-hour operation. After a follow-up visit to the doctor yesterday, he and his family were able to go home.

Thank you for praying concerning Lomi’s surgery, and for his parents Malmagan and Salmida. Please continue to pray for them, especially that the help they received would make them open to the gospel.

Meanwhile, translation is in progress and we are working on 1-2 Timothy and Galatians.

SO PLEASE PRAY WITH US…

• for Lomi and his family – salvation
  
• as we also continue the translation work

Reaching Palawanos together with you,

-Bill and Donna

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Bill and Donna on Facebook

ON TO SURGERY
A quick update on Lomi. The CT scan showed that the growth was indeed the kind of tumor the doctor suspected, but it is totally encapsulated and has not invaded any other organs or bone! It should be 100% operable. We praise God for that and thank everyone who is praying.

Lomi needs to see a pediatrician tomorrow to be cleared for surgery, so our partner Rich will be taking him for that appointment (both the pediatrician and the surgeon go to our church here in Puerto).

The way things work here in the Philippines is that Lomi will need to have blood donated in advance, since the hospitals do not stock it. Rich is O+, so we only need to find one more donor to match Lomi’s blood type and we should be good to go.

Please continue to pray for little Lomi and his parents Malmagan and Salmida.

SO PLEASE PRAY WITH US…

• for Lomi and his family
• wisdom for the doctors
• safe, successful surgery
• for us as we help them
• as we also continue the translation work

Reaching Palawanos together with you,

-Bill and Donna

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POOR LITTLE GUY
We spent today taking a Palawano family to the hospital. They are from another area (not our village down south) but went to our partners for help who then sent them up here for us to take to the doctor.

Their little 4 year-old son has this huge growth so that one of his buttocks is enlarged (larger than a softball but not quite a volleyball). It’s gotten painful recently and is causing problems for him.

The doctor requested a CT scan to determine what kind of growth it is, whether or not it is cancer, and where (and how large) it might be internally. He needs to know if it is attached to the spine or pelvis.

So today we took them for blood work and the CT scan. The nurses were very kind to this Palawano family who are not only far from home, but who feel so out of place here in “the big city” that they might as well have been dropped on Mars. They don’t even speak the national language, Tagalog, much at all. So Nili’s husband Odi accompanied them and helped us interface with the doctors and nurses. Because of various delays it took all morning and Lomi and his parents were really ready to leave the hospital… we were, too, actually, but at least we’re healthy and used to living in town.

The lab work showed very low red blood counts and a high white blood count (possible infection?)

Now we’re waiting for the results of the CT scan and then we’ll have the doctor look at him and decide what can be done surgically.

Please pray for little Lomi and his parents Malmagan and Salmida. They’re scared, uncomfortable and feeling out of place here in town. Pray for healing or that something can be done medically. But most of all, they need to know the Lord. So pray also that this time of getting medical help will be a way for them to see Jesus’ love demonstrated in a way that will make them receptive to the gospel.

SO PLEASE PRAY WITH US…

• for Lomi and his family
• wisdom for the doctor
• for us as we help them
• as we also continue the translation work

Reaching Palawanos together with you,

-Bill and Donna

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