We arrived on the field of Papua New Guinea in June of 2005. After 9 months spent becoming fluent in the trade language of PNG, Tok Pisin, we began scouting out tribal groups that had an interest in having missionaries come and live with them.
The first (and only, as the Lord would have it) on our list was the Akolet tribe. Adam and our co-worker Ryan began taking survey trips to them in April 2006. After months of trips back and forth and receiving an official invitation from the Akolet tribal leadership, we began the process of building our homes in November 2006.
House-building out in the bush took us about 4 months, and by early 2007 we were into full-time language and culture study. The Akolet language had no written form, so we were the first outsiders to begin learning it and breaking it down into writing.
In of June 2009, we have passed 3 of the 4 language and culture evaluations required before we’re considered proficient in the language. We have developed an Akolet alphabet, and we are pushing ahead towards complete mastery of the language.
So what is our long-range goal? That would be to establish a solid, New Testament church in the Akolet tribe. Toward that end we work in these areas:
- A literacy program so that the people can read and write in their own language (we hope to begin this in later 2009)
- Chronological Bible lessons which will be taught to the people, laying a solid foundation for God’s character, His purpose in creating man, and mankind’s desperate need for Christ (no date set yet for when these will begin)
- A translation of the New Testament and portions of the Old Testament in the hands of the Akolet people so that they can read God’s Word for themselves (Old Testament portions began being translated in June 2009).
In all of this, it is Christ’s work to build His church, not ours. We are simply vessels that He uses for His glory so that His name can be made known to the Akolet people. We are not particularly special or gifted in any way. It is all and only by, to and for Him that we can accomplish anything of eternal value.
