Pioneer Bible Translators – May 2017 Prayer Partner Letter – Is It Worth It? Yes!
The Prayer Partner Letter is a publication of Pioneer Bible Translators
May 2017
Craig and Katy Bennett and their children (Elijah –5 and Josiah –almost 2) serve in the South Pacific island nation of Vanuatu. This is their first term on the field. In addition to learning the language of wider communication (Bislama), they have been deeply involved in learning the culture and in developing relationships with the local people (ni-Vanuatu). In the midst of all this, Katy and Josiah left on February 14 to come back to the States so Katy could help care for Craig’s father who was going to have serious spinal cord surgery. Then on February 23 they got word that Craig’s sister had died unexpectedly, leaving two children of her own. Craig felt it was very important for him to come back to the States for his sister’s funeral. After all of this, as the whole family felt stressed and worn out, Katy wrote an article in their March newsletter entitled “Is It Worth It?” Here’s what she said:
As I write this newsletter to you, I feel like there is a lot of stress and heartache here. Sometimes we wonder, and maybe sometimes you wonder, “Is It Worth It?” Is it worth it for us to be away from home and from our families? Is it worth the sacrifices that you make to send us here? Is it worth raising our children in a culture so different from the one we grew up in?Are we making a difference? I want to share with you two stories from this month that tell me, “Yes, it’s worth it.”
Last month, while our whole family was waiting at the airport for Josiah and me to leave for the US, we were sitting next to a group of tourists and a ni-Vanuatu acquaintance of ours. We made polite conversation with everyone, interrupted frequently by chasing after Josiah. During one such moment, Craig heard the tourists ask the ni-Vanuatu woman who we were since we were speaking to her in the trade-language, Bislama. The woman pointed to us and said, “They are ni-Vanuatu.” I don’t think we have ever received a higher compliment in this culture or a greater indication that we are becoming a part of the community here.
In our last newsletter, I wrote to you about the work I am doing to distribute local-language Bibles that are already in print through the work of other organizations. This past week, I was able to deliver two such Bibles at Elijah’s school. There isn’t a translation available for the language Elijah’s teacher speaks, but I was able to acquire a translation in a language closely related to hers. When I handed her the Bible she read the cover of it with wonder and then opened it and began reading eagerly. “I can read this!” she said. While she couldn’t read every word, she said that her family at home would be able to understand all of it. She was so excited to share it with them!
Another one of Elijah’s teachers requested a Bible from her husband’s language. I delivered it to her along with a MegaVoice, a solar-powered audio player which reads the Scripture while people follow along with the printed text. She reported to me the next day that her husband turned on the MegaVoice, listened for a minute, and then exclaimed, “It’s reading the Bible to me in my language! It’s like a man is here preaching in my house!” She said he was so overjoyed and engrossed in reading and listening that he didn’t even want to leave the house. The next day they invited their family and friends to their home to hear the Bible read in their language for the very first time.
So, is it hard? Incredibly! Is it worth it? Yes!!!
Thank God for Craig and Katy persevering to serve Christ in Vanuatu even though the stresses have piled up and it has been very hard to keep on keeping on.
Thank God for His gifts to them in the two stories Katy told that greatly encouraged their hearts at just the right time and renewed their conviction that what they are doing is definitely worth doing.
Thank God for every Pioneer Bible Translators’ missionary who continues to persevere through the innumerable difficulties of serving in hard places around the world.
Praise God for the MegaVoice, the solar powered audio player that enables people from hundreds of different language groups to hear God’s Word in their language.
Praise God for each missionary and each Christian national who is taking the initiative to get this audio player with recorded Scripture into the hands of people who have never heard God’s Word in their language.
Thank you for your prayers, Gerald & Ruth Denny Coordinators of Prayer Ministries Pioneer Bible Translators
Another one of Elijah’s teachers requested a Bible from her husband’s language. I delivered it to her along with a MegaVoice, a solar-powered audio player which reads the Scripture while people follow along with the printed text. She reported to me the next day that her husband turned on the MegaVoice, listened for a minute, and then exclaimed, “It’s reading the Bible to me in my language! It’s like a man is here preaching in my house!” She said he was so overjoyed and engrossed in reading and listening that he didn’t even want to leave the house. The next day they invited their family and friends to their home to hear the Bible read in their language for the very first time.
