Photo: Aruamu Worship Dancers, declaring His glory!
Prayer prompts
Pray for good progress on Aruamu Old Testament drafting and checking this next month. Martin and I are planning to exegetically check Nehemiah and Zechariah over the next month. John is working on doing spell checking and other basic computer checks on Isaiah. (Sue Ellen Wrenn is helping to type in part of the Isaiah drafts, as well.)
Thank God for supplying a used Dell laptop for Martin to work on.
Thank God for the folks who have been reaching out to John and Martin to welcome them, spend time with them, and get to know them. Being friends with people makes life so rich!
Thank God for regular Skype calls that have been happening twice a week between John Igos and his wife Cathy, and Martin Ases and his wife Anna! Such a blessing for them.
“God was thinking of us, when he told Isaiah that prophecy”
Dear family and friends,
The other day, as Martin Ases and John Igos, (my Aruamu co-workers who are here from Papua New Guinea) and I were working on Old Testament translation in our office on the International Linguistic Center campus, we were blessed by a lovely visit from Greg Pruett, our Pioneer Bible Translators President. Greg and his wife Rebecca previously completed a translation of the full Bible into Yalunka, a language in Africa. Greg was very encouraging to John and Martin. He was quite interested to hear from then about how they are doing, and what books we are working on, and what things God is showing them. John has been working on the text of the book of Isaiah, and Martin has been mostly focused on Zechariah.
Greg was enthusiastically talked about how he loves the book of Isaiah. Then he suggested to John and Martin that he thinks what Isaiah says in chapter 66 is talking about them, the people of the distant South Pacific Islands! God predicts through Isaiah (66:18-20a):
“And I… am about to come and gather the people of all nations and languages, and they will come and see my glory. I will set a sign among them, and I will send some of those who survive to the nations—to Tarshish, to the Libyans and Lydians (famous as archers), to Tubal and Greece, and to the distant islandsthat have not heard of my fame or seen my glory.They will proclaim my glory among the nations. And they will bring all your people, from all the nations, to my holy mountain in Jerusalem.”
Amazing, isn’t it? Over 2700 years ago, God looked down through history PLANNED that his glory would be declared to the people living on the “distant islands” of the world — including the jungles of Papua New Guinea. And here John Igos is, this very week working on the translation of Isaiah chapter 66 for his entire people group! It gives me goose bumps! How meaningful for John and Martin to treasure the thought that “Truly, God was thinking of us, when he told Isaiah that prophecy.”
Thank you SO much for your prayers and encouragement this last month.
Declaring his glory, Marsha (for Nathan – and John and Martin, as well!)
