Poul and Carol Joensen both went to Papua New Guinea at the beginning of April. They spent nearly three weeks in Wewak town along with three Sorimi believers who flew out to meet them. Two Bible translation consultants checked various Epistles, and Matthew. It all went well, but with long and intense days, often feeling weary, they were held up in prayer by many. As the last verses were checked, all present broke out with joy and thanks to God that the Sorimi NT checking is 100% completed! This process began 15 years ago and Poul and Carol give all the glory to God for all He has done!
A few days later, they flew into Sorimi for ten extremely special days with the believers, rejoicing and giving thanks to God for the completion of the New Testament. Carol was thrilled to see everyone after four years. She is so thankful that the Lord opened the door for her to join Poul on this trip to see God’s Word completed and share this time with the Sorimi church. The believers are very excited about the prospect of soon having “God’s Talk” in just one book and it being available to each of them! It was great for Poul and Carol to see the Sorimi believers faithfully meeting together, with church leaders teaching. Three teachers are running literacy classes. The churches are doing well but face increasing pressure from outsiders continuously travelling through Sorimi land prospecting for gold or sandalwood. A logging company is also slowly making their way through the jungle towards Sorimi, building a road heading to another large gold mine in the mountains. These activities cause concern for the believers, as they know it will bring changes to their lives. Pray that they will remain steadfast, and secure in their Saviour, and be shining lights to those who pass through.
Poul and Carol were sad to leave their dear friends in Christ, but they were grateful to be able to pack so much into those ten days, from individual times of sharing to the leaders testifying their thanks to God in a fellowship service.
Although the checking is complete, there is still a lot of work to get it ready to print. Poul and Carol trust the Lord that it can be presented to the Sorimi church next summer. Poul plans to return to Sorimi in January, to read the New Testament with believers, working on any editing, e.g. grammar/spelling etc. A translation advisor will assist Poul with the editing process.
Upon returning to the UK, they were very soon involved with various ministries again at the college. Carol was involved in the planning of the missions’ conference in June, which received positive feedback.
During the missionary trainees’ five weeks of mission simulation, Poul and Carol loved being in Sorimi mode, acting as ‘village’ teachers to one group. Their 20 minute oral speaking and active presentation showed how much the students had been able to learn with the language and culture methods they had been taught through the year.
For Poul and Carol it is a real blessing to be involved with the students! They have joined the 3C team, so will gradually become more involved with the missionary training programme.
Recently they celebrated the marriage of their son Jonathan to Megan. They are so thankful for how God brought Megan into his life. She grew up in Mexico and they work with her parents at the college. The Lord brought everything together for a special and God honouring day!
Thank you for your prayers and support for Poul and Carol as they serve the Sorimi people, for them as a family, and for their college ministry.