ThatTheyMayKnow - Bible Translation

Some Early Kamea Bible Translation Work

John Allen — Sun, 12 Jun 2011 16:25:00 UT

In January 2011 Kennias Tia and I sat down to do some translation exercises. We did several verses commonly used in preaching here, as well as tackling some more complex songs that the Kamea people like to sing in Melanesian Pidgin. We still have much study to do in learning the language, but these exercises were a great help in both assessing and expanding our Kamea language work.

The “a” with the umlaut (two dots over it) sounds like “ah,” the other “a” sounds like “uh.” The apostrophe is a glottal stop, the sound you make (or don’t make) in the middle of the exclamation “uh-oh.” The “q” sound you make at the back of your throat.

Other than that, the language sounds nothing like English. :-)

Jon’o 1:12 (John 1:12)
Täne’a qi’ya, ämä’ä oqänama qämeawänga ä’oi, ä’onga mäqa mänaqui’a ti hai häinga qa’na Nkot’oi’ya ime’a temaunaiwati. E, ämä’ä häinga qunu qam nhuta qai’ya taka’unta.

Qämnga 1:1 (Genesis 1:1)

Okä qämanga nime fi mhe’a täna, Nkot’o qäwa fa qoä fa qiyamakanqa ti.

(Kamea notes for linguists: Glottals/non-glottals in this exercise are subject to much more scrutiny, as are “y” and “w” glides. Also there are small changes in spelling; again their decision. Nothing is final; far from it. It is all a work in progress.)

Tags: translation

FEED MY LAMBS

Mon, 25 Oct 2010 02:00:12 UT

Recently, I have been provided with several opportunities to teach some of the children here in Kamea Land. It has been a great blessing, and I thought I’d share with you a little of what I’ve been doing so that you can pray for both wisdom for me and spiritual growth in the lives of the children.

Some of the R.I. Students

First, while one of my co-workers has been back in the States taking care of paperwork, I have been able to fill in this last month teaching the Religious Instruction (R.I.) class at our village school. One of our church ladies assists me with this class. It is held every Friday morning for an hour to an hour and a half. The attendance ranges between 30 and 35 students. We pray, sing songs, review the lesson and memory verses from the previous week, and teach a new Bible lesson. Since we started the class we have gone through Creation, the Fall, Cain and Abel, Enoch, and are now halfway through the life of Noah. One of the main prayer requests for this ministry is just the simple fact that school will actually be open so that we can hold the class. This week was our third consecutive week to hold classes, and that is a record for this school year. Often the teachers come and go at will, and it doesn’t take much for the school to be closed.

Second, I have been able to teach Jr. Church quite often lately here at Kotidanga Baptist Church. Generally, the children have their own Sunday School class, but then stay in with the adults for the next two services. But we’re running into a “problem” – often there is not room for both the children and the adults in the church building. So we hold a Jr. Church. This month the children have been learning Psalm 119:9 for their Bible verse – “Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way? By taking heed thereto according to thy word.” I have been trying to share Bible stories with them of children in the Bible who chose to heed God’s Word. Next month, I plan to have the theme of godly friends. We also attempt to pass the missionary vision on to them by telling a missionary story every week. It was a blessing to have one of the boys come to my house this past week and ask me to show him the verse again that they are memorizing in Jr. Church.

Jr. Church on the Veranda of the New Clinic Building

I am so thankful for these open doors of opportunity, and do not take them lightly, or view them as “just teaching kids”. I hope you will pray as fervently for the salvation and training of these young people as you do for the work of the Bible translation or any of our other ministries. In many ways the Kamea church is now living their book of Acts and these young people will become the Timothy’s and Rhoda’s of the church.

Tags: Children, Jr. Church, Kotidanga Baptist Church, R.I. Class

In many ways the Kamea church is now living their book of Acts and these young people will become the Timothy’s and Rhoda’s of the church.

Sarah Glover Arrives in PNG

Sarah Glover — Sat, 17 Apr 2010 02:52:01 UT

Three years, seven months, and seven days after the Lord confirmed in my heart that He would have me to serve Him in Papua New Guinea, my feet stepped onto the Papua New Guinea soil to begin my ministry here. During that time the Lord allowed me to receive invaluable linguistic, cultural and translation training; complete deputation; and make two short term trips to the field. God has been so good to me, and I praise Him for His miraculous leading in my life. It is a wonderful privilege to get to serve Him.

Of course, being in PNG, I already have many pages full of interesting experiences that we have encountered this past week. If you have not yet had a chance to read Becky’s article on our road trip last weekend, take some time to do that before leaving the site.

I have been able to read several good books on language learning and literacy as we’ve been in Ukarumpa these last few days, and I hope to be able to apply many of those principles in the future.

Lord willing, we will fly to the village on Monday morning, April 19 (Sunday evening, U.S. time). It is my intention to jump immediately back into the work of language learning and relationship building. I have been blessed with some phenomenal training and given some incredible tools, and it is now time to put them all to use. The most important part of any building is the foundation, so pray that, with the Lord’s help, I will lay a very strong foundation for this new phase of my ministry and life.

Thank you for co-laboring with us, through your prayers, as we endeavor to take the light of the Gospel to those beyond the road that they may know our wonderful Lord!

Tags: Bible translation, literacy

Photo Journal November 2009

John Allen — Sat, 05 Dec 2009 15:57:34 UT

Asking for someone to come and Preach the Word!

John Allen — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 12:39:38 UT

November 2009: Open doors for ministry among the Kamea and neighboring Languages:

We brainstormed at the recent Preacher’s meeting and these are the places that have asked for someone to come and preach the Word.

Places that have asked for someone to come and preach the Word!
Kwaiyu
Komako
Hauabango
Manimango
Yeka
Ipaiyu
Wake
Eiya
Aminaua
Auyakutumpa
Weiaiya
Watopaiyu
Mbauya
Muruasimnga
Kengo
Intovi
Antavi
Wanki
Meiwari
We’wa
Hoyti
Taupuei

Coastal:
Kepamai
Kembaua
Ipiya
Eponi
Aspopo
Kiaru

Other language groups near us who have asked for a preacher:

Angave:
Bu’u
Iokwa
Sinte/Shinte
Wawepa
Ikrumpti

Tewata:
Pangoni
Kaminakaua

Ankoye:
Waikuna

Never have I seen so many open doors. Pray!

Observations of Missionary Living: Remind Me to Learn Only ONE New Language at a Time

John Allen — Sat, 07 Mar 2009 22:56:53 UT

“…where I heard a language that I understood not.” (Psalm 81:5)

When we were students at Baptist Bible Translators Institute, we studied dozens of different languages. From Albanian to Zapotec, we listened to, mimicked, wrote, and analyzed their sound patterns, their tones and their rhythms. Several times, as we were being swamped by learning all the possible stops, fricatives, nasals and affricates, we were calmly assured by our instructors: “But when you get to the field, you only have to learn one language and the sounds associated with that one language.”

So when we moved in among the Kamea, our thought was that we would only have to learn Kamea (an unwritten dialect). Then my son announced that he was leaving on furlough, and that we would be “holding the fort” here until he and his family return in a year or so. Suddenly, Selina and I realized that now we also needed to learn the trade language, Pidgin English, to function outside our tribe.

That Every One May Hear in His Own Language!

Since Pidgin is a written language, largely based on English, we thought, “This won’t be too bad. We can use written Pidgin materials and lessons, and we should be proficient in no time at all.” Famous last words.

I developed study cards for both Kamea and Pidgin. When we flew out for supplies, I bought Pidgin story books to supplement our self-paced Pidgin language course. Only a few of our contacts in the jungle speak English, so we were forced to use Pidgin and Kamea to communicate. Then it happened; we were mixing all three languages! There were days where we seemed to be making some progress, and the sentences, childish as they were, really flowed. The next day, we would slaughter the language so badly that people even cocked their heads like a dog hearing a strange sound for the first time.

Communication is so vital to us in our daily lives, but we take it for granted when we live among those who speak our native tongue. Find yourself placed among those of a “strange speech,” and you long for the ability to communicate your thoughts clearly and powerfully. For any missionary who has to cross language and culture barriers to perform his ministry, there should be a team of prayer warriors back home holding the ropes for him. Few things feel more isolating than an inability to communicate with or to understand what is being said by those around you.

A missionary friend in Hungary reminded me that, “The Lord GOD hath given me the tongue of the learned, that I should know how to speak a word in season to him that is weary:” (Isaiah 50:4) Of course, that’s easy for him to say; he already had learned to speak Russian before beginning his language studies in Hungary!

The truths of God’s Word are the most important things to be communicated. Pray for those who must learn a new language in order to carry on their ministry. It is hard to tell people about the love of God while their heads are cocked at an angle!

Tags: Pidgin

Observations of Missionary Living: Interruptions are the Key to a Crucified Life

John Allen — Sat, 07 Mar 2009 22:33:05 UT

Jeanne Guyon once said that “Interruptions are the key to a crucified life.” Someone else said that the “stressful visit that interrupted your study may well be the very lens through which the text will open to you as never before.” Read on to get a missionary’s perspective of a “normal” day.

Planning. Scheduling. Organizing. These are mainstays of the Western mindset. I must plan, schedule, and organize.

Then I moved to the jungle.

A Typical Bush Clinic Day!

More often than not, our days are unplanned here. Not that we don’t plan, mind you. It’s just that, well, things come up.

Medical missions is part of our outreach ministry. Since everyone in our region knows that my wife (the RN) treats everyone for everything, they show up every day. Never mind that clinic days are Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. The only time they usually have to wait is on Sunday, because we don’t see anyone on that day until after our church services are over. “Except for emergencies” is our motto; and what isn’t an emergency? Malaria, typhoid, knife wounds…all of these cannot wait until “business hours.”

On a particular day we were supposed to work on language learning. Then two patients came to be transported over the mountain to the hospital. Then came another. By the time I was back at the mission station, my language helpers were gone. So what did I learn in language today? I guess I spent the majority of the day speaking in the two languages we are learning because our patients and their families don’t speak English. The little boy who walked with me to the village taught me how to say “We (two) are walking to the village,” along with some other words and phrases.

More importantly, I learned (again) that interruptions are the key to the crucified life. My plans are always to be subject to my Master Planner. His wisdom is infinitely higher than mine, and His path is much more worthwhile than mine. I will continue to plan, schedule, and organize; but daily I will lay these “desires” at the Cross of Christ that I may know Him better, and that my life may be more like His. God desires that I be conformed to the image of His Son, and I have noted that in my life, He engineers the conforming.

Let’s start tomorrow’s plans with a “Lord willing, we shall…” and allow Him to interrupt us as He pleases.

Sarah Glover Joins Kamea Outreach Team

Sarah Glover — Sun, 03 Feb 2008 00:55:20 UT

Linguistics and medical team: John & Selina Allen, Cherith Stevens, Sarah Glover

Sarah Glover, from Sturgis Baptist Church, in Sturgis, Michigan, has joined the outreach among the Kamea people. Sarah first heard of the need among the Kamea when Matt Allen spoke at her home church. In May 2007 she made a trip to Kotidanga to work with Matt and Becky Allen, and the Lord knit their hearts together. She returned to the US to train at Baptist Bible Translators Institute in Bowie, Texas.

Sarah and Kamea children, Summer 2007

She received her undergraduate training in education and worked for the last several years full-time at her home church. She also is a trained medical first-responder and will be a wonderful addition to all of the outreach and linguistic work among the Kamea people. She began her deputation to raise her own support in January 2008.

Cherith's Testimony

Cherith Stevens — Wed, 11 Jul 2007 23:30:55 UT

“O Lord thou art my God: I will exalt thee; I will praise thy name; for thou hast done wonderful things; thy counsels of old are faithfulness and truth.” Isaiah 25:1

By God’s grace I was born in a Christian home. My parent’s godly teaching and example impacted me greatly and set my course for life. After graduating from Christian school I went off to Christian college, where I began taking mission trips.

After my first missions trip to China, I knew my life was to be spent on the mission field. In later years I took missions trips to Northern Canada, a Native American Reservation, and two trips the Democratic Republic of the Congo. In September of 2005, under the preaching of Dr. Charles Keen of First Bible International, I first saw the great need for bible translation. As I pondered the joy of having God’s word and the reality that so many do not, I realized this was the ministry the Lord had for me. I pleaded with the Lord to increase my faith and make me willing to leave my comfort zone as a teacher in a Christian school. As I surrendered to the burden, God placed on my heart Isaiah 50:7, “For the Lord God will help me; therefore shall I not be confounded: therefore have I set my face like a flint, and I know that I shall not be ashamed.”

After attending a week-long translator’s course I fell in love with the study of linguistics, and I immediately enrolled in Baptist Bible Translators Institute in Bowie, Texas.

At Baptist Bible Translators Institute I received indispensable training. I learned the phonetic alphabet, which gives a symbol to represent each sound in every language around the world. I also learned how to reduce an unwritten language into writing by creating an alphabet, spelling, and grammar rules. As I studied linguistics I also learned the impact culture has on a language. Along with the linguistic studies, I have focused on literacy development and Bible translation, which is the culmination of all my instruction.

The translators of the King James Version wrote to the readers, “Translation it is that openeth the window, to let in the light that breaketh the shell, that we may eat the kernel; that putteth aside the curtain, that we may look into the most holy place.” As English speakers we have the privilege to read God’s word in our heart language, the language we understand the most. There are thousands of people groups who have not had the window of God’s word opened unto them. Are we any more deserving than they?

While attending BBTI, the Lord answered my prayer for future direction by supplying my coworkers, John and Selina Allen. Through the Allens my eyes were opened to the great need for Bible Translation in Papua New Guinea, a country of over 800 languages and less then 200 complete Bibles.

Cherith and Kamea ladies

The Kamea tribe, 40,000 in population, is one of the tribes that has still not heard God’s word in their mother tongue. My desire is to take the training I have received and put it to work by reducing the Kamea language into a written form and translating the Scriptures.

The vision God has given us is bigger then we are, but I believe as Romans 15:21 says “To whom he was not spoken of, they shall see: and they that have not heard shall understand.”

Bible Translation

John Allen — Wed, 20 Jun 2007 04:45:13 UT

The Kamea people are one of the “bible-less” people groups of the world. One of the main reasons for this is that they do not yet have a written language! Unlike many tribes in Papua New Guinea, a majority of the people do not speak the trade language of the island, Pidgin English.

A Kamea family

Before we can begin translation of the Scriptures into the Kamea language, the language itself must be reduced to writing. A linguistic analysis has been initiated by Cherith Stevens, a graduate of Baptist Bible Translators Institute. Through these initial language studies, we have discovered that Kamea is a sub-language of Hamtai, spoken by the Hamtai people to our east. Utilizing every tool and help at our disposal, we appreciate the help we have received in working on the Kamea language from missionaries who have worked among the Hamtai for over fifty years.

The Kamea are one of the “Bible-less” people groups of the world.

Our next step involves describing the grammatical features of the language: words, phrases, sentences, paragraphs, and stories. When this point is reached, we can begin literacy classes in the Kamea language, teaching them to read and write their own language.

Baptist Bible Translators Institute

Concurrent with our linguistic work, in-depth cultural studies are performed on a daily basis. Learning how the Kamea people think has great influence on what they mean when they speak. With these cultural clues and the linguistic tools at our disposal, we can work on a translation of the Scriptures in the heart language of the Kamea people. We will use the King James Bible, Textus Receptus, and Masoretic Text as our translation resources. And we will certainly depend entirely upon the leading of the Lord in all that we attempt to do with His precious word!