Email from Neil and Carol Anderson
Here is an email I got the other day from Neil and Carol Anderson of whom I stayed with for 3 1/2 weeks:
Dear Family and Friends,
Greetings from Ukarumpa once again. We have just returned from a four week stay in the village and want to share some of the highlights with you.
E-Mail
We were privileged to be able to send and receive emails during this stay in the village. Our apologies to anyone who tried to write to us but did not receive a reply. It turned out that for some unknown reason we were not able to receive emails from non-SIL addresses though we tried repeatedly. We did get most emails that were sent to us via our normal email address. We encouraged some to reply to us via our friends Craig and Sue Swanson so we did hear from a few as Swansons forwarded mail to us. Thanks to those who wrote while we were in the bush. It is always a big encouragement to hear from people, especially when we are out of touch in every other way. The last week in the village the email system for village use was not operating due to a malfunction at the Ukarumpa end.
Pastor's Workshop
During the first two weeks in the village Neil and the village pastor, Paul Hons, and translators Oliver Kasa and Tom Bese worked through the creation of a curriculum for the 5 day workshop. Each days' lessons were worked out with the overall goal in mind to help the eleven Folopa pastors use the newly translated scriptures to teach and preach from. Others from the neighboring villages were expected to attend as well but we were surprised that over one hundred people wanted to actively participate. Adding to the general atmosphere were twenty or so children who played in and around the church building. Neil had a first hand lesson on why PNG preachers tend to yell more than talk. No sound system and lots of competition necessitates the raising of the voice.
Neil was the principal presenter with Paul, Tom, and Oliver helping with the daily sermon planning exercises. The last day Neil came down with a cold and juuuuusst made it with his voice. The next day he was almost voiceless.
A second goal of the workshop was to clearly present the message of grace and salvation that the Bible teaches. The booklet that was created during our last stay (July 2005) with selected verses focusing on these topics was given to each pastor. They were shown how it could be used as a source for bringing a clear message. The response was very good and each pastor wanted more copies to take back with them. We were sorry that we ran out of materials and were not able to produce many more. We plan to try to get some booklets printed at Ukarumpa to send out.
Most of these pastors heard the scriptures read in their own language for the first time and understood despite dialect differences. All seems to comprehend the passages very well once it was read and studied.
All in all, the event was very positive and the pastors are anxious to do it again next year before the dedication of the New Testament in January 2007. The gathering for worship and fellowship was a positive motivation for all, most of whom were from villages that were once (and some still are) fierce enemies of the others. On the final Sunday service (3 hours long) there were lots of testimonies of how God was working among the Folopa churches.
Getting Ready to Leave
By the time you get this email we will have returned to Ukarumpa. We have just a few days left before leaving until next year when we return for the dedication preparations. We travel through Thailand, Spain and then on to Spokane by December 3. We look forward to the months in Spokane getting our lives reorganized for the next phase of our career. Though the current plan calls for continued contact with the Folopa people, and additional translation if they desire it, it also calls for a change of assignment starting next summer.
We look forward to meeting with as many friends and family as we can during the coming months.
Our address will be 4207 N. Howard St., Spokane, WA 99205. The phone number will be (509) 328-5874. Cell phone number to be announced once we get one.
Thanks for all your prayers and encouragement to us.
Blessings to all,
Carol and Neil Anderson
Dear Family and Friends,
Greetings from Ukarumpa once again. We have just returned from a four week stay in the village and want to share some of the highlights with you.
We were privileged to be able to send and receive emails during this stay in the village. Our apologies to anyone who tried to write to us but did not receive a reply. It turned out that for some unknown reason we were not able to receive emails from non-SIL addresses though we tried repeatedly. We did get most emails that were sent to us via our normal email address. We encouraged some to reply to us via our friends Craig and Sue Swanson so we did hear from a few as Swansons forwarded mail to us. Thanks to those who wrote while we were in the bush. It is always a big encouragement to hear from people, especially when we are out of touch in every other way. The last week in the village the email system for village use was not operating due to a malfunction at the Ukarumpa end.
Pastor's Workshop
During the first two weeks in the village Neil and the village pastor, Paul Hons, and translators Oliver Kasa and Tom Bese worked through the creation of a curriculum for the 5 day workshop. Each days' lessons were worked out with the overall goal in mind to help the eleven Folopa pastors use the newly translated scriptures to teach and preach from. Others from the neighboring villages were expected to attend as well but we were surprised that over one hundred people wanted to actively participate. Adding to the general atmosphere were twenty or so children who played in and around the church building. Neil had a first hand lesson on why PNG preachers tend to yell more than talk. No sound system and lots of competition necessitates the raising of the voice.
Neil was the principal presenter with Paul, Tom, and Oliver helping with the daily sermon planning exercises. The last day Neil came down with a cold and juuuuusst made it with his voice. The next day he was almost voiceless.
A second goal of the workshop was to clearly present the message of grace and salvation that the Bible teaches. The booklet that was created during our last stay (July 2005) with selected verses focusing on these topics was given to each pastor. They were shown how it could be used as a source for bringing a clear message. The response was very good and each pastor wanted more copies to take back with them. We were sorry that we ran out of materials and were not able to produce many more. We plan to try to get some booklets printed at Ukarumpa to send out.
Most of these pastors heard the scriptures read in their own language for the first time and understood despite dialect differences. All seems to comprehend the passages very well once it was read and studied.
All in all, the event was very positive and the pastors are anxious to do it again next year before the dedication of the New Testament in January 2007. The gathering for worship and fellowship was a positive motivation for all, most of whom were from villages that were once (and some still are) fierce enemies of the others. On the final Sunday service (3 hours long) there were lots of testimonies of how God was working among the Folopa churches.
Getting Ready to Leave
By the time you get this email we will have returned to Ukarumpa. We have just a few days left before leaving until next year when we return for the dedication preparations. We travel through Thailand, Spain and then on to Spokane by December 3. We look forward to the months in Spokane getting our lives reorganized for the next phase of our career. Though the current plan calls for continued contact with the Folopa people, and additional translation if they desire it, it also calls for a change of assignment starting next summer.
We look forward to meeting with as many friends and family as we can during the coming months.
Our address will be 4207 N. Howard St., Spokane, WA 99205. The phone number will be (509) 328-5874. Cell phone number to be announced once we get one.
Thanks for all your prayers and encouragement to us.
Blessings to all,
Carol and Neil Anderson
posted by Corey Adams @ 4:14 PM
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