Nepalese woman… who will tell her of the savior?

We’re Excited!

We are transitioning into a new ministry, and want to tell you about it as we launch our site under its new name: HeartLanguages.org.

After over 33 years in the Philippines, we will now be under New Tribe’s International Ministries Office. Bill’s new position is called “International Language and Linguistics Consultant.”

We were blessed to be a part of seeing the Palawanos reached for Christ, and to translate the Word of God into their language.

Now, we will help the newly-reached to reach the unreached.

What Does This Mean?

There are about 7,289 Unreached People Groups remaining around the world.

At same time, the face of missions is changing: The church in many countries which used to be mission fields is now rising up to send their own missionaries to reach the unreached. These missionaries can go where Westerners are not welcome. But they need to know how to learn the languages of the people they want to reach.

A Global Partnership

These non-Western missionaries have invited us to partner with them to make them more effective in communicating the gospel and in discipling cross-culturally. Bill and his team will develop training materials and conduct seminars where missionaries from countries like Myanmar, India, Singapore and China can be taught how to learn the languages of many Unreached People Groups.

New Tribes Mission is exploring several parts of the world where we minister. Sub-Saharan Africa. First Nations in Canada. Remote parts of Asia. We’ll be opening new works, and forming new partnerships. Bill will help formulate strategies based on the unique language and linguistic challenges missionaries will face in each region.

Meanwhile, will still be involved at missionary training centers in North America, including Radius International, where Bill teaches a few times a year as adjunct faculty.

Heart Languages: Partner with us!

It’s super-exciting to be a part of facilitating a wave of missionaries going out from the non-Western nations, and to be a part of seeing the nations impacted with the gospel in the near future!

We continue to serve the Lord “because everyone deserves to hear in their heart language.”

Please pray, and partner with us as we labor to see hundreds of Unreached People Groups hear about Christ…

…each in their heart Language.

Have you ever been so happy you cried?

At a loss for words?

The emotions were powerful at the dedication of the Palawano New Testament…

Abil crying tears of joy

We first met Abil when he was a scowling teenager. His father was our neighbor and Bill’s friend and language helper. Abil’s little sister Lini was our daugther Elisa’s best friend. Now Abil is a passionate preacher of the Gospel. As he led the dedication service, he cried. Afterward, he told Bill, “I don’t think I would even be a believer if it wasn’t for you and your teaching me.”

“This book is a treasure!”

Abil told everyone, “This book is a treasure. It’s God’s Word in our language. It’s worth more than gold of silver.”

Angga exhorting others to obey

Angga is a young mother with fiery enthusiasm. Her father Karding was a 13 year-old who hung around watching Bill build our first house in the village. Bill was one of the “old men” who spoke at Karding’s wedding. Now his daughter Angga has grown up with a passion for God’s Word. She urged everyone to “read and obey” this book.

The experience was overwhelming

The heat and humidity was oppressive, and we are no longer acclimated to the tropical climate. Bill even had to cut his message short as he felt faint. But the overpowering emotion of the day was joy. We were so glad to see God’s Word in the Palawanos’ hands at last; so glad to hear their testimonies and exhortations.

“Thank you for coming.”

Angga’s aunt Karing was another one of Elisa’s friends, playing with dolls in our home years ago, in between several forced child marriages and divorces. Now she is a faithful Christian, and married to Rinard, who is a church leader. She cried as she thanked us for coming to bring them God’s Word.

Happy to have God’s Word

Believers came from far away to celebrate with us and to get their copies of the New Testament. Several came from Kementian, where our partner’s outreach has grown to a thriving little church who desire to take God’s Word and reach out to others.

Rinard holding the New Testament

Rinard was a quiet, intelligent 6 year-old boy when we first met him. He worked diligently on the math problems and spelling lists Elisa gave the kids when they played school. When he got tuberculosis as a teenager, he wanted to help pay for his medicine, so he sat in the corner of Bill’s office, coloring the pictures Bill used to teach Bible stories. His attention to detail made sure that Moses’ clothes looked exactly the same in every picture, Aaron’s and Abraham’s were different. Now he is a church leader, giving that same concentration to his study of God’s Word so he can teach others.

It was our privilege and joy to know these Palawanos through several generations, to teach them and by God’s grace, to give them the New Testament in their heart language. We are so grateful to each one who helped and played a part in this ministry, so that this day could become a reality!

• Pray with us that God’s Word will have a powerful, immediate and long-lasting effect on Palawanos’ lives and their communities.
• Pray with us, too, as we prayerfully seek God’s will for our next phase of ministry.

Bill and Donna with the Palawano Translation Team

The Palawano New Testament is done!

In the hands of the people. Being read, studied and taught. Being memorized. Being listened to. Being shared with unbelievers. Changing lives. Even as we write these words, we can hardly believe it. Even though we were there, handing Bibles to the Palawanos, we can hardly believe it. After so many years of work. Done. At last. In their hands!

Our special friend Iping smiling as she holds God’s precious Word

Smiling faces, tears of joy, laughter, and words of thanks as the Palawanos held the New Testament for the first time.

Joy, praise to God, humble thankfulness to all who have helped us, and grateful satisfaction with the quality of the printed books and the audio players.

A great sense of relief as a 30-year project was completed and transformed into books and audio devices that will have an eternal impact on Palawanos and those who live around them.

Words are really inadequate to describe recent events and and the emotions they brought. Pictures might help. Can you imagine what it would have been like if you were there?

Palawano kids love their new Bibles with color pictures!

First New Testaments unloaded in the tribe by pilot Josh Dalton

Carrying the Bibles from the airstrip to the church

No quick drive to the Bible Book Store here.

It wasn’t easy to get box after 50-pound box loaded and flown into the tribe, unloaded and carried across the river, down a muddy trail to the church. A generous donor gave a substantial gift to allow a second plane to be on Palawan, which enabled us and all our visitors to get in (and back out!) over a few short days during early rainy season. And we’re glad this meant that both pilot families–the Josh and Candy Dalton family, and the Joel and Missy Davis family–were able to attend our New Testament dedication with us.

Our partner Tim Sharp and church leader Abil baptize a new believer in the river

Our partner Rich Bright baptizes his son Richard Jr. with Susing’s help

The celebration started with singing and testimonies the night before. There was a baptism in the river after the dedication service, and then the singing and sharing resumed and continued well into the night.

Maritess, Bible memory champion

13 year-old Maritess blew everyone’s minds by reciting over 30 memory verses from the Palawano New Testament without prompts, without a list of references, without hesitation… and without error. Amazing! And so exciting to see Palawanos memorizing God’s Word.

Our home church in San Diego sent their missions/worship pastor, our longtime friend Nathan Robinson, to celebrate with us

Our visitors made it all more fun: friends Al and Bonnie Hudson from Temecula, Terry and Sharon Moody from Escondido, missionaries Elise Long from Palawan and Barbara Lee from Indonesia, and Nathan Robinson from San Diego. Pastor Nathan sang a song for the Palawanos, and they were blessed to hear him share how their brothers and sisters in San Diego have been praying for them for all these years.

And people had to eat! Donna and Bonnie cook 15 meals ahead in town to feed our partners and all our visitors in the tribe, with up to 26 people at the biggest meal

Thanks to partners Tim and Monika Sharp for letting us stage this chaos in their home, and for all the yummy snacks they provided twice a day. And no one would have survived without Monika working the coffee press all throughout the day.

Opening the boxes… This is God’s Word in your language!

How long we have waited, and labored, to hold this book and to tell the Palawanos that they now have the New Testament in their language! We were encouraged by many testimonies during the celebration about how glad they are to have God’s Word, how clearly they can understand the translation, and how much they appreciate our part in their lives.

A happy moment for us.. and yes, it was unbearably hot and humid!

We praise God for his grace and help through all these years. And we want to acknowledge each one of the innumerable people who have been a part of seeing this translation become a reality: friends and family, pastors, trainers and teachers, leaders and mentors; 4 Tagalog teachers; 9 pilots; so many supply buyers, mission home hosts and office staff doing our bookkeeping and immigration work; 6 sets of partners; our faithful Palawano translation team; 11 translation consultants; financial supporters, prayer warriors, encouragers who kept us going… everyone.

Thank you all for your part.

And praise God above all, and to him be all the glory!

Stay Tuned! Additional updates coming soon with more pictures and details about the dedications, and a look into the future.

We Got Our Hands On The Palawano New Testament

And about 30 years later…. there it is! Over 100 volunteers helped us check about half the copies for defects last night (and we only found a few). More checking today…

In hand. At last. Praise. Joy.

Read the full UPDATE here…