Partner Express

Vol. 1, No. 1 — Summer 2004

Partner Express is a quarterly publication. It is sent free of charge to those who want to help facilitate Bible translation. This is one way we can express our gratitude and encourage you in return.

These praise reports, project updates and people profiles will be mailed to those who indicate interest in JAARS projects. To subscribe for the printed issues of Partner Express, phone Partnership Ministries at 704-843-6168, or email info@jaars.org with your mailing address.

My hope is that Partner Express will encourage you in your gift of giving. We welcome your comments and suggestions for making this publication truly yours.

Butch Barkman
Partnership Ministries

The Wreck on the Road to Tum

by Randall Lemley

Amid the sounds of grinding metal and crushing glass, I heard people crying out, “Yesus Kristos!” and “Father!” Upside down, the rugged, four-wheel-drive vehicle skidded a few yards before coming to a halt.

Returning to the capital after a three-week stay in the Dizi village of Tum, we were not expecting this jolting turn of events. I went there to make a battery-powered computer system in the village more usable for translators Marvin and Suzanne Beachy.

The trip from Addis Ababa to Tum took more than two days of bouncing over rough roads and traversing mud holes. “You really have to want to get to this place,” I thought, as we threaded our way through herds of cattle, sheep and goats. Baboons scattered for cover as we approached. The Beachys do want to be there for the long-term task of helping the Dizi translate the Bible into their language. The Dizi church has heard the gospel in our generation through the work of Presbyterian missionaries and has seen slow but steady growth.

After we arrived in the village, I had the privilege of attending a service in a mud plaster building filled almost to capacity with about eighty people. Bible reading and preaching were in Amharic, since the Dizi Scriptures are not yet available. Heads nodded in understanding and agreement, I noticed, only after the preaching was translated by a passionate elder. Although some of the people can get along using Amharic in conversation, only a few can read the Amharic Bible with good comprehension.

Marvin and Suzanne Beachy and their sons

After two successful weeks of work, Marvin and I prepared to return to the capital city. Two Dizi translation assistants and a lady needing medical attention would ride with us. Their families and friends gathered around the vehicle before our departure. With prayer, we committed our way to the Lord and began our journey down a dirt track through wilderness that continues to defy human settlement.

Less than two hours later the wreck occurred. We swerved to dodge a large rock in the road, and the edge of the road gave way. After lurching and rocking side to side a few times, the vehicle rolled over.

I was momentarily stunned. Then I wriggled from my seatbelt and crawled through a mangled window on the other side. The roof was crushed down to the steering wheel, and almost all the glass was shattered, but praise God, we all escaped serious injury. As we gathered to give thanks for our spared lives, this sobering realization came: in one terrible moment, hope for the Dizi Scriptures could have been snuffed out.

But God wants the Dizi people to have His Word. The translation team survived, and the Beachys were quickly provided with a replacement vehicle, thanks in part to Wheels 4 Africa funds. God has given the Beachys the will to keep on going back to Tum. JAARS and your gifts are making the trip possible.

“Hey kids, wanna go to McDonald’s?”

For missionary kids Jonathan and Mary Whiteacre, a trip to their favorite eating spot is not an everyday event. The golden arches are a five-day journey from their home in Mueda, Mozambique.

Their parents, Steven and Dana Whiteacre, are literacy specialists. To get to the office, bank, hardware store and post office is an 8–10 hour drive. And when it was time for the baby to be born—the hospital was right next to McDonald’s, five days away.

Why would a young, American family choose to live so far from amenities? Steven and Dana Whiteacre serve as part of a Bible translation project in Africa. In February 2000, the Makonde translation of the book of Genesis was dedicated, the first Scriptures published in that language. The Makonde people now have a translation of the Christmas story too. But the Scriptures won’t be fully accessible until people can read them. That is why the Makonde church invited the Whiteacres to help with their literacy program.

To do that, the Whiteacres had to move their family to Mueda, located on a plateau, 3,000 feet above sea level. The 200-square-mile area has only two paved roads, and those are often full of pot-holes. But dirt roads are a worse problem, especially in rainy season, when many villages are inaccessible without a four-wheel-drive (4WD) vehicle. The average family car wouldn’t survive one trip.

Steven and Dana knew they would need a 4WD vehicle, but the expenses of flying to Africa, ship-ping household goods, attending language school and other preparations left them with only a portion of the money required to buy one. But God supplied through generous gifts from His people.

In their rugged Land Rover, the Whiteacres have taken church leaders to remote communities over roads of deep sand. Steven has driven seriously ill and injured people to hospitals. They have driven over log bridges, through washouts, and through grass taller than the vehicle. This family can do without McDonald’s, but they can’t imagine trying to live and work without their 4WD vehicle.

Praise Report

Some time ago, an aircraft controller in Papua New Guinea asked a pilot, “Cessna XYZ, what is your location?” The pilot answered, “Just a minute, and I will let you know.” In a few minutes, the controller requested, “Cessna, what is your position?” The pilot again replied, “I am working on that, and I will be back to you shortly.” Soon the air traffic controller again asked for the information and wanted the pilot to explain why he was taking so long to answer the question. Did he not know that he was required to always know the location of his aircraft?

“Yes,” the pilot replied. “I know that on navigation chart 27, I am right over the U in ‘Uncharted Territory’.”

The aviation navigational radar system in Papua New Guinea (PNG) operates only in the area around the capital city, Port Moresby. A pilot flying over the rest of the country relies on maps and visual cues to navigate and report the aircraft’s position to flight followers and air-traffic controllers.

However, with today’s Global Positioning System (GPS), pilots can always report their exact position despite missing information on charts.

With precise GPS information, pilots can navigate around bad weather and find remote airstrips. They can fly directly to their destinations, saving operational time and fuel. This lowers the cost of operation and provides more reliable service to translation teams.

A Cessna 402 in PNG received a major avionics upgrade in December 2000. Since then, GPS units have been installed in five other aircraft. Flying in PNG is safer and less stressful now that the old, mixed assortment of avionics systems are being replaced. But an unexpected hike in the price of this upgrade has increased the amount needed.