But blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, whose confidence is in him. He will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream. It does not fear when heat comes; its leaves are always green. It has no worries in a year of drought and never fails to bear fruit. -Jeremiah 17:7,8

Tuesday, January 2, 2018

Kasua NT Dedication


On October 26, 2017, the Word of God came to the Kasua people in the Western Province of Papua New Guinea. The Kasua population is located in 8 main villages, covering almost 1000 square miles, and consists of approximately 600 people. The Musula village is very remote, with no roads leading in or out, making it accessible only by air—in fact the airstrip took 7 years to build, using only hand tools to carve it out of the jungle.

My friends Tommy and Konni Logan worked for 27 years in the Musula village to complete the Kasua translation. In addition to translating, they taught literacy classes, helping the people learn to read their own language. The Logans first moved into the village when their oldest daughter Rachel was only 3 months old—their youngest daughter Laura was born 3 years later. The Logans are my heroes in the faith!

When we arrived, we were immediately greeted by a "singsing"—singing and dancing Kasua people in their traditional dress.  We were each ceremoniously given a string bag (and also a Lei) called a bilium, which is made from natural plant fibers. When all 3 of the planes missionaries and guests had arrived, the procession for the Kausa New Testament began. There was much singing and dancing, and we were honored to be part of the prosession, carrying the boxes of Bibles from the plane to the village.
Being greeted at the Musula Village

Unloading the Bibles from the plane.
Escorting us to the village.

Leading the singsing.
Then the speeches began…all 15 of them!   Three hours later, the boxes containing the Kasua New Testaments were opened, along with more singing and dancing!

Finally, after the speeches concluded, the New Tes
taments and the Audibibles (for those who couldn’t read) were available for sale. It was wonderful to see men, women and children excitedly open their Bibles for the first time as well as listen to Scripture read to them in their own language on the Audibible.

Late in the afternoon, came the mumu! They had killed 11 wild pigs and smoked the meat (wrapped in banana leaves) which was laid on top of hot rocks, placed in a pit in the ground, and then covered over with dirt to cook. Wild boar along with sago
—what a feast!