Pioneer Bible Translators July 2014 eNews “Hope Still Floats”

Hope Still Floats: For 12 Years, No Airplane had Landed at this Bible-less Village — Galatians Stolen! Scripture Comes to the Center of Yalunka Ancestor Worship

Hope Still Floats  

For 12 Years, No Airplane had Landed at this Bible-less Village

Vibrant green hues of vast swamplands stand out in defiance to the hazy gray, Southeast Asia sky.  Our single-propeller float plane cuts through the mist and starts its descent.   Feelings of anxiety and nervousness are replaced with mounting anticipation. In a matter of minutes our exploratory team will step off the plane and into the unknown.  Reports indicate that the village below us is unreached and unengaged, with no church presence or any known believers.  I ask the Lord again to help us find a person of peace.

With a calculated swoop, our float plane circles over the river which, today, doubles as a runway. As we land, a sea of children and adults swarm to an overcrowded dock. A boisterous chorus of laughter and applause resound when we step off the plane. I am surprised to see person after person in this remote village—completely inaccessible by road or foot—holding up tablets and camera phones to get a photo of the bearded bulai (or white guys).  “Where are we?”

Galatians Stolen!  

Scripture Comes to the Center of Yalunka Ancestor Worship

One day we were listening to Scripture and discussing it with a crowd of 80 people under a mango tree. I had a box of free Scripture portions sitting on my bumper, waiting to be distributed. As school let out, a steady stream of students began to trickle by our meeting. One young man spotted the box of Scripture and stopped. 

I wish you could have seen the look on his face when he started reading the words in his own language–intrigued. He picked up a booklet and flipped through a few pages. He carefully glanced around to make sure no one was looking. He slowly sidled away until he had just enough of a head start to make sure no one could catch him. Then he took off. It was the first theft of the book of Galatians in Yalunka history.