Translation Progress!

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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