It was with much joy that the Iwalaqamalje believers received the teaching from the book of Daniel this summer. They clapped their hands when they heard the words from Daniel 2:44 and are looking forward to the time that the Lord will reign on earth and that He will reign forever.
Robert and Nicole Westerveld started their time in Papua New Guinea in Goroka for translation checking. On the first day with their language helpers (who had been flown in from their villages) they checked Jonah and Esther. That went well. Then they spent almost two days checking Daniel. That checking also went well. Then they all flew into the tribe.
They taught for eleven days in a row at least one chapter from Daniel and also continued working on the translation of Exodus. Translating the instructions concerning the making of the tabernacle was the hard part but the how the Lord gave them wisdom in translating these difficult portions. People from all the different Iwalaqamalje villages received audio Bibles with Genesis and the whole New Testament that Robert and Nicole had taken in on the flight.
Another eleven days were spent on the other side of the tribe. Robert divided the time between working with language helpers on the lessons on Acts for the Iqwaye dialect and finishing changing all the chronological Bible lessons into another local dialect. On the Saturday they went to another village and did some literacy teaching. They enjoyed seeing the progress in reading. Pray that the Lord will use the chronological Bible lessons in that part of the tribe (it is where most people of the tribe live) to draw people to Himself. While going through the lessons it showed again how necessary the dialect changes are. Some words are completely different in every dialect.
Robert and Nicole also enjoyed spending time with co-workers the Chappells and Osborns and meeting with the Menya believers who trusted Christ for their salvation earlier this year. They thank the Lord for a very profitable and blessed time in PNG.