BLESSING GALORE

Cholera Epidemic Update
We are so thankful for our mission pilot, our friends at the Palawan Red Cross and Dr. Ed Cruz who went to the rescue of the Palawanos during this cholera epidemic. They shuttled in 1,200 pounds of medicine, saved several lives with immediate I.V rehydration, treated over a 100 other patients, and helped with a childbirth emergency. They even spent the night down there to get it all done.

There is a possible follow-up next week and we hope to get the German Red Cross to fund projects in the area, including a potable water system for the whole valley.

PRAY WITH US
…for the Palawanos who are still sick
…for long-term solutions to the need for clean water

Reaching Palawanos with you,

-Bill and Donna

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Bill and Donna on Facebook

“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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Bill and Donna on Facebook

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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Bill and Donna on Facebook

TRANSLATION PROGRESS
We are so thankful for the progress this past few weeks. The Palawano translation helpers remained healthy, we had NO electrical outages (none… for three weeks straight!), we burned through massive amounts of translation, exceeding all our goals for the time. And best of all, the translated passages we checked had no major problems at all.

As always, Bill learned a few new words and grammatical tidbits. Stay tuned for a blog on that.

WHAT GETS DONE IN THREE WEEKS?
Donna worked with Susing and did the recording of Romans and 1 John. Bill listened to those recordings (sometimes after dinner in the evening) to be ready to discuss them with the men. Between Romans and 1 John, Donna took three days (yes, three DAYS) to renew the registration on our truck and to finishing changing the title into our name. Three days. Three. There just might be a blog in there somewhere.

Bill went over Romans, 1 John, Galatians and 2 Timothy with the men, comparing the original drafts with the recordings and making revisions. (now these books are ready to check for comprehension…)

Bill went over the first draft of Mark, getting through chapter ten (now those chapters are ready for Donna to record…)

But that’s just the translation!

While the men were up, Bill took them to meet with a local businessman to pass on their thanks for his help. His phone call moved the governor to follow up on building new school buildings down in the village. This meeting led to another with some officials who can help the Palawanos with some trouble regarding their land.

Bill also took the men to meet with a former missionary (Filipino) who had worked in our village. She had recently been involved with a government agency which protects the rights of tribal people. She confirmed that the Palawanos’ application for Ancestral Domain (ownership of their ancestral land) was approved! We put a lot of effort into this application and the survey of the land, etc., a few years back. Then we had been told it was denied, but apparently that was a lie, told by those who stand to lose money if the tribe gains control of their land. We are following up with the government agencies to get the maps and papers to prove this and to find out how the Palawanos can benefit from it.

Bill was also on the phone trying to deal with a situation where one of our Palawanos fell for a phone scam and lost a bunch of money. Another blog coming with details on that. Meanwhile, we have all the information now to turn over to the NBI (the Philippines’ equivalent of the FBI).

UPDATE ON OUR HOUSE IN THE VILLAGE
We sent some termite treatment down with the men, and some money to pay for some repair and replacing two walls (we learned that the previous repair was temporary.) Praise the Lord for a gift that came in designated for house repair which was just the right amount for all this!

PLEASE PRAY WITH US THIS WEEK

• thanks for good progress in the translation
• continued progress in the coming weeks
• health and strength for both of us

Reaching Palawanos with you,

-Bill and Donna

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Bill and Donna on Facebook

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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Bill and Donna on Facebook