Tag Archives: Bible translation

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Pray for the Somau Garia people during April 2026!

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Unexpected

Papua New Guinea is famously known as the Land of the Unexpected. Surely some clever marketing writer came up with that phrase to sell tours to a country positioned just off the equator, far from North America or Europe. Having lived and worked in Papua New Guinea off an on over the last 29 years, I can confirm that the title is well deserved. The spine of Papua New Guinea geography is a range of impossibly rugged mountains, cut by deep ravines and raging rivers. It is geologically active, earthquakes as regular as its torrential rains. Move away the central cordillera toward the coast and you encounter vast plains containing meandering rivers, oxbow lakes, and swamps. Most of the country is ringed by world-class reefs.

The people are as rugged as the environment which they inhabit. Tough and resourceful, they overcome conditions that would break most other people. Their languages and cultures are among the most diverse in the world—over 840 living languages and many more that have begun to fall out of use. Each language constitutes a distinct culture. Each people group, with its language, struggles to maintain a sense of ethnic identity and cultural heritage in a world that grows “smaller” every day. The advent of cellular communications and alternative power sources has given younger people challenges that their fathers never needed to grapple with. They are being drawn away from ethnic identity toward national identity.

Context

It is in this context that Bible translators minister. Each of the peoples that speak those 840 + languages represents a people called by God to be represented at the Throne of the Lamb that was slain, casting their crowns at his feet in worship. Many of those peoples see the value of having God’s Word in their heart language. Others see Bible translation as a means of preserving their language and culture. Bible translators, by and large, have training in linguistics and anthropology, in addition to Biblical languages and expertise used to amplify the resources, skills, and abilities of local speakers.

Yet this very context is that which introduces the unexpected into every interaction, every plan, and every relationship. It is this unexpectedness that moves us far deeper into prayer and intercession than we might choose to in any other context.

Answers & Challenges

If you were involved in praying through March, you know that I (Todd) departed Papua New Guinea mid-month and that the Somau Garia team returned to their villages. Each of us have been working separately in the mean time. God has been gracious to us in the working. Prior to leaving, the team and I successfully completed the consultant checks of the books of Hebrews and James. In the weeks following those checks, we worked on editing 1 & 2 Corinthians, 1 & 2 Peter, and Jude. Shortly after arriving in the U.S., I was able to generate and send the files of several New Testament books to Papua New Guinea for the team to use in a literacy course that was scheduled for late March, to take place in Somau Garia villages.

That was Plan A, anyway. Then the unexpected happened. The New Testament books were printed. Arrangements were made for the literacy course. People were appointed to travel to the provincial capital to pick up the materials and to accompany the literacy specialist to the village. A few days prior to the course, however, a group of people from another language group came to one of the Somau
Garia markets situated along the Ramu Highway to confront a man who was married to one of their women. The confrontation resulted in the death of the husband. Somau Garia people responded to that death in a very traditional way—reciprocity. Though they didn’t kill anyone, they did burn a 12-passenger van belonging to the people who killed the husband.

Now it is unsafe for Somau Garia people to travel to and from the area. Somau Garia representatives are unable to travel to the city to pick up the printed Scripture portions, the literacy specialist is unable to travel to the area to conduct the literacy course. People are on edge.

Pray!

As you pray during April, please pray:

  • that cooler heads will prevail and reconciliation can be made between Somau Garia speakers and those who killed one of their men.;
  • that the way will open for the scripture portions to be delivered to the Somau Garia translation and literacy teammates for use in local churches and during the literacy course
  • that God will use this series of unfortunate events to bring people to a recognition of their need to be in relationship with the Prince of Peace
  • that the current work I (Todd) am doing in checking the meaning of 1 & 2 Corinthians, 1 & 2 Peter, and Jude will get into the hands of the translation team for their input and corrections—and that in a timely fashion, that we will be ready for checks which are scheduled for June
  • that I (Todd), as the exegete, will be energetic, focused, and attentive as I examine the drafts of these books—and that I will be wise, discerning, and insightful in my suggestions for necessary changes to the drafts.

Thank You!

Thank you for praying through these requests. I know that God will allow our prayers to bear good fruit for the Kingdom.

Blessings!!

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Crossing the Finish Line: Transformation

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The Final Stages of a Bible Translation Project

Because Bible translation is a decades-long endeavor, it is divided into multiple stages. Stage one involves learning the language and culture of the intended language group. Stage two is initial training of the local team, translating the first book, and producing a print run of that book (in our case, Xoiteupo Asinaku Kuna Makie Xayawoki, i.e. God’s Good Talk that Mark Wrote or the Gospel According to Mark)—celebrated and distributed to the people. Stage three is the full production phase, when the bulk of the New Testament is translated and checked. Stage four, combines final checking with preparations for typesetting and publication. We are in this stage of the project.

While each stage serves its purpose, the current stage aims at consistency across all of the New Testament. The ideas vital to gaining clear understanding and insight from the Scriptures are often phrases rather than single words (as they are in Koine Greek). These need to be consistently translated book to book. That is this stage’s purpose.

For example, consider the word “church”. In Koine Greek this word is ἐκκλησία, which is based upon the root καλέω “to call”. Its New Testament usage refers to a congregation or assembly, or in modern parlance, “church”. However, its constituent parts add up to “called out”. This word is more than the sum of its parts. A whole sub-discipline of theology (ecclesiology) is devoted to its study. There is no one word in the Somau Garia language that encapsulates its meaning. We, therefore, derived a phrase that, for Somau Garia speakers, best describes what the church is: “the (group of) men and women who believe in and follow Jesus.” So, as we review the New Testament in its entirety, we are examining how ἐκκλησία is rendered in each instance and making adjustments where necessary to make its usage consistent. This is one but scores of such key terms.

The aim is that the translation be received and used by the local churches, pastors, teachers, and families in their homes. When the Scriptures are learned, memorized, studied, and used in the language of the heart, transformation in lives, communities, and people groups is far more likely. Transformation of men and women into the likeness of Jesus Christ is our primary desire.

2026 and Beyond

By God’s grace, in 2025 we successfully achieved the translation goals the Lord put before us. In 2026, we are scheduled to check the final books:

  • Hebrews
  • James
  • 1 & 2 Corinthians
  • 1 & 2 Peter
  • Jude
  • Revelation

You Can Get Involved

The enemy of our souls is heavily invested in keeping people ignorant, enslaved, and downtrodden. His native language is deception, his operational attitude is hatred and division. His fingerprints are all over the division and irrational hatred so prevalent today. As a Bible translation project nears completion, the enemy becomes more and more stirred to oppose anyone and anything involved in completing that project. He knows all too well that the Word changes people, correcting his lies with Truth, breaking open the gates of death and hatred that hold so many captive, setting people free from fear.

However, the power of our enemy to interrupt people gaining access to the Word of God in their own language is limited. One way in which God limits the enemy’s success is by calling his people to intercede for the translation team through prayer. God involves each of us in his great mission to make Jesus known in every tribe, tongue, people, and nation. He asks us to pray, to give, and to go.

Here are a few ways to participate:

  • You can pray. At the beginning of each month in 2026, I will be updating this website with current prayer needs.
    • If you are interested in receiving weekly prayer and ministry updates in your email inbox, click here and request to be added.
    • Each update has a list of five priority prayers for the week, three photos or graphics, and a brief article with news or a devotional thought.
  • You can donate. See our donate page for instructions and a link to our mission’s giving page.
  • You can invite others to join the prayer or provision team by directing them to this website or to our ministry page on Facebook. 

Thank you for giving your time and attention for the last few minutes. Thank you for the time and energy you can give toward praying purposefully for the successful completion of the Somau Garia New Testament translation. Your prayer and participation is leaving an indelible mark on the future history of an entire people.

Blessings!

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Get Your Prayer Guide Here

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Prayer is a vital activity in advancing the Kingdom of God. Christians are called upon to be constant in praying for enemies, for governments, for authorities, for fellow believers, for open doors, for boldness, etc. Christians are called upon to be devoted to prayer.

experimental-prayer-guide-book-cover

Even with all the Bible passages that direct us to pray, many of us struggle knowing how to pray enemies or governments or fellow believers or, as in our case, missionaries. Not knowing how to pray often kills motivation to try. Don’t give up! One helpful means of discovering how to pray is to use a prayer guide. Click here or on the image to download a prayer guide to assist you in praying for the people involved in the translation of the Somau Garia New Testament.

 

Thank you for joining us in making the scripture accessible to the Somau Garia people!

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You Can Still Shake the Gates of Hell When Things Don’t Go As Planned

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You Can Shake the Gates of Hell

When Things Don’t Go as Planned

“For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are my ways your ways,” declares the Lord.”

– Isaiah 55:8

In the West, we highly value productivity — or at least the appearance of productivity. We Western Christians all too often herald the expectation of productivity as a core value of following Jesus. Many of us believe that our life in Christ is only valuable if there are attendant measurable, attainable results (products)—or the appearance of them. Many of us even stake our identity in this idea.

What happens when God the Father decides that our dependence upon productivity is a huge hurdle to our growth in maturity and Christlikeness? How do we respond when God’s highest purpose for a season may very well be to teach us to deal with frustration, waiting, desperate praying, or trusting that there is real activity in the other realm that eyes cannot see?

I am a Bible translator in Papua New Guinea. My family and I live in a mountain village that gets upwards of 200 inches of rain a year. Mountainsides slide. Roads erode. Floods flow. The nearest city is over 60 kilometers away and is sometimes blocked by all of the above. Used to these realities, the locals here are … patient, easygoing, not concerned with speed or efficiency. Survival is enough.

These realities are disruptive, as are the questions. In the moments when this world is caving in on my expectations and the flesh is tired of waiting, the enemy goes to work on my sense of self-worth and accomplishment. He knows all too well how to use the expectation of productivity against me—and perhaps you, too.

Satan wants us to lean into our efficiency, to depend upon our productivity as a means of earning God’s affections. He wants us to think that if our productivity is interrupted by cancer or car wreck or even living in the developing world, that our faith is worthless and our position in God is null and void.

If you want to shake the gates of Hell, don’t take the bait. Don’t allow the adversary to convince you that the substance of your life is pent-up in getting things done efficiently any more than it is in the abundance of your worldly goods.

My college-aged sons and I were walking between villages a few months ago. We were talking about life and what we had planned for that day. We had made very efficient and productive plans for that day, but we instead found ourselves hiking and talking.

Our original plans thwarted, we asked God for his plan. The answers to that prayer took us to the house of a man who was sick and needed to be encouraged. They took us on a journey that would help establish a program board to streamline the work of translation among the Somau Garia people. God’s efficiency is about building people and his kingdom rather than merely giving us a personal sense of accomplishment.

The enemy hates it when we respond to frustration with prayer; when we choose to trust the Unseen rather than wallow in despair of what is only dimly seen. His designs for our destruction are thwarted when we surrender to our Father and his plans.

Are efficiency and productivity negative values? Of course not. Ministries like Bible translation are too great a task to finish without employing these values. But we dare not confuse the outcome of a set of work habits with fruit born of the Holy Spirit. Shaking the gates of Hell is done in the Spirit, by fruit born of Him and effort made through the strength of Christ—especially when things don’t go according to our plans.

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Light from Broken Lamps

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My friend, Lim, came sauntering up to the house one afternoon carrying an old kerosene lantern. He often stopped by to chat in the late afternoon. “Brother Todd, could you help me fix my lantern?”

Of all the skills I had to acquire to thrive in a jungle village, fixing leaky kerosene lamps wasn’t one. Like most Westerners, I’d probably just go buy another rather than fix it. They are relatively cheap. On the other hand, I might learn something. I suspected that he knew how to fix it, just didn’t have the stuff.

“Sure, Lim. What’s the problem?” “It’s leaking right here (he said as he pointed to the seam along the base.” “Any idea how to sort it out? I painted it last time.” The verb “paint” is about as ambiguous in the trade language as it is in English. We can speak of painting something with oil, paint, or even medicine when speaking of treating a wound. I was trying to figure out what he was getting at. We walked into my little workshop and started looking around. He picked up a can of paint: oil-based paint that becomes gummy when it dries. Clever. I never would have that of that one.

Outside in the breeze we started brushing paint around the bottom of Lim’s oil lamp. He grinned at me. I suppose he’d had similar experiences when trying to teach his children lessons that seem so straightforward to an adult. We set the lamp aside to dry and took up the real work of the day, talking about what was going on around the village, in Lim’s life, and eternity.

I’ve often thought of Lim’s leaky lamp since then. When you only make a few hundred dollars a year, kerosene is an expensive commodity. How sad and stressful it is to watch it drip down the side of your lamp and spill onto the ground, especially with such an easy, if unorthodox, fix.

Missionaries, especially in the kinds of remote areas where many Bible translators work, can be isolated for months at a time. Spiritual nurture is rarely external. Maintenance of the inner life can be costly and precious. Stress mounts: sometimes cultural; sometimes emotional; sometimes interpersonal; as often as not physical (sickness). Whatever the cause, the lamp of life tends to spring leaks and the precious flow of Oil drips out the bottom instead of feeding the flame.

The servant of Jesus must pay attention to the condition of the vessel. Where are there leaks? How large? Can I plug them or do I need help? Where can I find help? The servant’s life must be filled with the life-giving flow on a regular basis, lest the light dwindle to mere shadow.

Following are a few Bible verses that may help fan the flame and give the servant an advantage.

“I lift up my eyes to the hills. From where does my help come? My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth.” –Psalm 121:1-2, ESV

“And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.” –Hebrews 10:24-25, ESV

“Is anyone among you suffering? Let him pray. Is anyone cheerful? Let him sing praise. Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer 0f faith will save the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven. Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed.”–James 4:13-16, ESV

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Close the Gap

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Uria Village, Madang, Papua New Guinea – Rainy Season, late 1990’s.  It was a season of tragedy. Among other things, the wife of one of our dear friends died in childbirth. The hike to the village where she was to be buried was three hours’ hike away, across a couple of ridgelines, and I (Todd) was sick with what I thought was malaria. Angela would stay home in Uria with the kids and I would attend the gathering.

storm clouds gathering

Storm clouds were gathering as I prepared to leave with my Somau Garia neighbors. I stared at the dark clouds and into the dark jungle and prayed. The bush treks around Uria are stony and slick, narrow and uneven. About an hour into the hike, I was feeling nauseated and dizzy and became disheartened by what I saw ahead.   Before me was huge gap in the path—six feet wide and a hundred feet deep. It was beginning to rain. I stopped in my tracks and considered what to do. It was either turn around and add hours to the journey or take a leap of faith, as it were, and keep going.

Angela and I are in the process of resourcing the translation of the Somau Garia New Testament. We have been hiking this path for a few years now. We’ve just come around a corner and are staring at a gap in the path—just wide enough to be scary, just short enough to be doable.

Fortunately, we don’t travel alone. When I was hiking the path to the funeral, one of my friends leapt across ahead of me in order to “catch” me on the other side. In resourcing the translation of the Somau Garia New Testament, we need ministry partners who will either repair the path or leap across and “catch” us.

During the remainder of 2014, we are asking the Lord to close the gap between the current commitments that have been made toward resourcing the translation of the Somau Garia New Testament and what is still needed.

Would you consider being one of those God is calling to close the gap?

If you are interested in joining the prayer and provision team click here to join the provision team or click here to email us with your name and email address to join the prayer team.

Thank you for prayerfully considering your part in making the Word of God available in the Somau Garia language.

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Breaking Through the Barriers–Day 9

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Breaking Through the Barriers Graphic Day 9

 

“There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love.” –1 John 4:18

The long history of false gods and bodange to shamanic religion has created a fatalistic fear in Somau Garia (and many other Melanesian) culture. There is an ever-present fear of reprisal for breaking taboos. Examples of reprisal: being waylaid and consumed by demon monsters en route to the place of the dead, sudden death while sleeping, sickness, or ruined crops. Ask God to break through the barrier of fear to establish the reality of his love for the Somau Garia people.

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Breaking Through the Barriers–Day 8

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Breaking Through the Barriers Graphic Day 8

“Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions . . .” –Galatians 5:19-20

All mankind has at one time lived in the flesh. Where idolatry (e.g, bush god) worship is present, a priesthood of those gods’ devotees is also present. Among our closest neighbors lived five shamans (people who use ritual to manipulate the non-physical realm)–some claiming to do good, some evil. Ask God to break through the barrier of sorcery and the bondage it creates in peoples’ lives. Ask God to set the Somau Garia free of bondage, freeing them by the Truth of the Word.

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Breaking Through the Barriers–Day 7

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Breaking Through the Barriers Graphic Day 7

“For they themselves report concerning us the kind of reception we had among you, and how you turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God . . .” –1 Thessalonians 1:9

Somau Garia culture is populated by numerous “bush gods” who hold many devotees to this day. Fear reigns supreme in many peoples’ lives. Ask God to break through barriers of old bondanges and allegiances to false gods. Pray that through coming into a life-transforming relationship with Jesus, fear will flee and our friends will walk in freedom and joy.

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Breaking Through the Barriers–Day 6

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Breaking Through the Barriers Graphic Day 6

“The word of God is living and active . . . discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.”–Hebrews 4:12

Garia Mark for Web

The Gospel According to Mark (see above) has been available in the Somau Garia language since 2007. Ask God to break through the ignorance of his word, his character, his power, his salvation by means of this slender little book. Ask God to break through the barriers of illiteracy  and inaccessibility to his word that these precious men, women, and children might know Him who died for them.