Pioneer Bible Translators

Pioneer Bible TranslatorsP.O. Box 9533Knoxville,TN 37940-0533

Jim &Cindy Davis

DRUMBEATP.O. Box 997MadangSllPAPUA NEW GUINEA

Redirecting Our VisionHave you (or someone

you were observing)ever smacked into a plate glasswindow while trying to walkthrough what you thought was anopen door? The door seemsopen...view clear, but when youtry to walk through it, your facecollides painfully with an invisible, but very real, barrier. Thisquite accurately describes howwe ended 1998. We expected tobe writing this newsletter back inSeptember or October as soon aswe received our work permits toenter Tanzania. Most of youknow that what was supposed tobe a 3-4 month routine visa application process ended up beinga 6-7 month wait ending in disappointment and unanswered questions when our work permits

were ultimately denied. Whatwas so difficult to comprehendwas that after much prayer fordirection and so many indicatorsthat this was indeed where we

were to serve, we were inexplicably refused the one remainingthing we needed in order to go.Needless to say, this has been aunique learning experience forus. 1998 gave new meaning tothe passage in James 4:13-15:'Now listen, you who say,"Today or tomorrow we will goto this or that city...Why, you donot even know what will happentomorrow.'"

Many of you who havestood beside us through thisknow how disappointing andheartbreaking it is for our family.Your prayers and words of en

couragement keep us goingthrough the rough spots and wetake great comfort in knowingthat when we are unable to

voice a prayer, many of you aresending up prayers on our behalf. Jim & I firmly believethat our ability to let go of Africa and turn our hearts towardthe needs in another part of theworld is a result of your faithfulness. Thanks to the Lord,our bruised faces and broken

noses (and hearts) are on themend as we redirect our efforts

towards Papua New Guinea.So we will once again put before you our plans and goals,prefacing everything we endeavor to do with v. 15 whichreads, "If it is the Lord'swill..."

LATE NEWS BULLETIN!!! WORK PERMIT GRANTED

Immediate plansSince returning to

Knoxville after Christmas, our time has been consumed with fulfilling requirements for our visa and workpermit applications. Everything has been submitted to

appropriate offices and we areonce again in the waitingmode. We had hoped to getto Papua New Guinea by theend of February in time to attend the Pacific OrientationCourse. This is a four month

training program designedto facilitate a smooth entryinto the country. Althoughwe will not make it in time

for this session, we still Intend to leave for as soon asour visas are granted.

Inside this issue:

Meet Mike & Amy 2

Financial News 2

Family Gallery 2

About P. N. Guinea 3

Did you know... 3

Prayers & Praise 4

, NOTICE'/!

Now that we have a forward- Iing agent in place, all checks ,|

;n;eed to be., sent to ourdress here in Knoxville; AUt' jchecks still need to be made |out to:

... . .H'-i

Pioneer Bible TranslatorsP.O. Box9S33Knoxville, TN 37940-0533 j

, Please remember not to put ^our name on the checia, dueto IRS regulations. Checks ^

. , made out toJim or Cindy t^ Davis cannot be receipted \

and are not tax deductible.

Volume 3, Number]Page 2

M. MlliMKiM M MlliMlliM BjgjM [M [MlliMl [M Ml 1

Meet Mike & Amy BlissMikeand Amy have gra

ciously agreed to beour Forwarding Agents and handle all of our personal affairswhile we are on the field. Mikeand Amy both went to schoolwith Jim at Johnson Bible College and are long time friends.Mike is an elder at WoodlawnChristian Church, and Amy isthe worship leader. We areconfident they will be an assetto our team as both of themhave administrative and business experience. How blessedwe are to have such goodfriends we can trust to handle

Things are going well as far asour monthlv suooort is con-X our monthly support is con

cerned. We so appreciate thosechurches and indi- ^ r , ,,vwuals who have Onecfthehksscommitted to part- able togo to Tainer with us in our l j i

.. we had planned,work with Pioneer ^Bible Translators. churches addingRight now, if Ifigure budget.correctly, we arealmost to our desired monthly

Michael-Age 12-1/2

our affairs for us.

Mike and Amy have two children. Emily and Madison.Emily Is in the third grade andMadison is three years old. Our

kids are really going to missplaying with them when we finally leave Knoxville.

This is a wonderful familythat would appreciate your

prayers as they are just asmuch a part of world evangelism as we are. Please feelfree to contact them if youhave any questions. Mikeand Amy are also available torepresent us at your church ifyou would like to leam moreabout our work and the ministry for PET.

$ Financial news $budget. One of the blessings of our notbeing able to go to Tanzania in August,

as we had planned,was two new

^ r.L LI - r I . churches adding usUne ot the blessings ol our not oeinp- ^ , . . to their missions

able togo to Tanzania inAugust, as budget. It Is amaz-we hadplanned, was two new '' '

' am amazed at whatchurches adding us to their missions God can do7?l!)budget.

a blessing out ofadversity! Ourthanks go to Him

and to all of you who are making ourwork possible.

We are still in need of one timegifts. Our air tickets to Papua NewGuinea will be almost double what theywere to Tanzania. We also have shipment costs, although there is a strongpossibility that these will not be asmuch. We also will need to acquire avehicle once we are there, probably a 4wheel drive. Please pray about this, andonce again, thanks to all of you whohave helped this way.

Family Gallery

David - Age 11 Keren - Age 7

Volume 3, NumberI Page 3

QilillillillillillflM BI[3i|[li[li[M

AGout Papua Nay^ QuiueaPapua New Guinea forms the

eastern half of the island ofNew Guinea, the world's second largest island. It is situated just northof the world's largest Island, Australia. The mainland and the larger islands are characterized by ruggedmountain ranges. Several mountainsexceed 13,000 feet elevation, thehighest being Mt. Wilhelm at 15,400feet above sea level. Papua NewGuinea is situated in the tropics so ithas a generally hot and humid climate.The weather and climate conditionsvary from location to location, however, due to the mountainous terrain.

...there are approximately 6,700languages worldwide?

...only 319 have the full Bible Intheir own language?

...only 801 have the New Testament In their own language?

...there are only 4550 languagegroups that have no Scripture intheir own language?

The sad thing is that the churchlargely stands and watches. The affairsof self take precedence over the needsof others.

WHAT ARE YOU DOINGABOUTIT?

Over 75 per cent of the land is covered with rich tropical rain forest.The rainfall also varies greatly fromone location to another with the country as a whole receiving more than 60inches a year on average, although asmuch as 280 inches has been recorded. Needless to say, vegetationgrows profusely due to this combination of temperature and rainfall.Papua New Guinea's animal life is asdiverse as its landscape and vegetation. It is inhabited bya rich varietyof usual wildlife. Particularly notableare the insect and bird life, most ofwhich are unique to the island.

Did ybu knbw..,One of Pioneer Bible Translator's

roles in world evangelism is to mobilizethe church in this awesome task, specifically through Bible Translation. We dothis by sending linguists, literacy workers. support specialists, and leadershiptrainers to live and work among Bi-bleless, unreached ethnic groups. Thisaccomplishes the following: translationof Scripture;literacytraining, training forleaders in communities and churches.

The end result is to see that unreached people groups might haveGod's Word in the language they understand best. This will lead to eachethnic group having planted within itculturally relevant, growing churchesable to evangelize their own peopleand reach other groups.

PBT has work going on in the following countries:

_ East Asia- 1 missionaryEquatorial Guinea - 3 missionaries

Rep. of Guinea - 18 missionaries

P._N. C5. -^ 28 missionaries ,

USA - 12 missionaries.

The people of Papua New Guinea areas colorfuland diverse as the countrythey inhabit. Although PNG has approximately 738+ languages, it alsohas two main trade languagesMelanesian Pidgin and Hiri Motu.

1 VI. ^ "

-A-

(Continuedonpage 4)

We have five people waiting.to gonow (including Cindy and me) and 4more who want to be on the field bythe end of this year.

You can be involved. We have thefollowing ways:

Full time missionary

Short term assistance (anywherefrom 6 months to 2 years.)

Internships

Besides translators, we need literacy and survey specialists, teachers,

church workers, computer technicians,administrators and office workers, etc.

Where do you fit in?

For more information, cll1-800-332-8667

Visit PBT's website: ^

www.pioneerbible.org

Pioneer Bible Translators

P.O. Box 997Madang 511PAPUA NEW GUINEADallas, TX 75236

Phone: 011-675/852-2440Fax: 011-675/852-2506Email:

Bringing the Word to Life

We're on the Web!www.pioneerbible.org

(Continuedfrom page 3)Most communications with people onthe part of the government, missions,and private business is In Pidgin withabout 500,000 people being conversant in the language. It is this language that Cindy and I will study andattempt to become fluent in.

Pioneer Bible Translators has 28personnel in Papua New Guinea: 10Tronslation teams, 1 Literacy Workers, and 7 Support Workers. We willbe joining the Support Team in thecoastal town of Madang. Jim's official job title is Church Growth Advocate and his role will be that of encouraging the local churches throughBible study and leadership training.Our other duties will involve buyingond shipping of supplies to the variousbush stations, logistics, and administration. Pray for us this year as welearn to carry out these responsibilities in a completely new and unfamiliar culture and environment.

Before you move, please send the mailing label with acopy ofyour new address tomission services association, POBox 131II,Knoxvillc,TN 37920-01II.

Mission Services AssociationPOBox 13111Knoxvilie.TN 37920-0111

Non ProfitOrg.37950-9998

U.S. Postage PaidKnoxville, TNPermit #374

ADDRESS CORRECTION REQUESTED

MPrayer Requests

Pray for quick departure to our field of service, but also that theLord sustain us should our departure be delayed longer thanwe anticipate.Pray for our children to make a smooth transition into a newculture.Pray for us as we tie up loose ends and make final preparations(packing, selling our van, buying remaining supplies, etc.)Pray for the Reed family who we originally planned to work withIn Tanzania. They hope to be on their way to East Africa inApril.

Praises

Praise for two new supporting churchesPraise for ongoing encouragement and sustenance by the Lordthrough the challenges of the past several months.Praise for so many individuals who regularly express love, concern and support through correspondence, e-mail, phone calls,and most importantly, prayer.

Q111i1iiiiii

0

Jim and Cindy Davis, 06:54 AM 3/22/99 jJjQOD, We are herell

"David & Marsha Parsons" ,"Daud &Janet Read" ,"Daud & Cathlene Strong" ,"Dave Parrish" ,"Dave & Sharon Pryor" ,"Dave & Mona Entwistle" ,"Darrin & Jeanne Coleman" ,"Darren Tedrow" , "Daniel Ea" ,"Dan & Dee Dee Snyder" ,"Cralg and Sharon Mundy" ,"Community Christian Church" ,"Christy Bowlei" ,"Chris & Lee Ann Owens" ,"Chris & Dena Harkey" ,"Charlie Delaney" ,"Charlie & Betty Delaney" ,"Chad & Laurie Sikes" ,"Buster & Barbara Robertson" ,"Biyan Smith" ,"Bmce & MaryAnn Graff' ,"Brian & Laura Bailey" ,"Brent & Jerilyn Weaver" ,"Bill & Judy Morgan" ."Bill & Jackie Brant" ,"Beth & David Sauls" ,"April & David Kasdin" ,"Angie Osbome" ,"Angie Eikel" ,"Amy Ashbeck" ,"Allen Moore" , "Alice Panish" ,"Alan & Andrea Duncan" ,"PBT, EA Branch"

Subject: We are herel!Date: Mon, 22 Mar 1999 06:54:03 +1000XMailen Microsoft Outlook Express 4.72.2106.4X^VIimeOLE: Produced By Microsoft MimeOLEV4.72.2106.4

Greetings to everyone from Papua New Guinea!!

Yes, we made it, and had a greattrip over. We left Knox^lle on Tuesday the 16th, vrith Mom and Dad drivingus to AUanta, where we flew out of to begin our Joumey. We spent several hours in London, where we caughtup on sleep and toured a bit (actually went to hoity-toity Harrods) Afterthat itwas off to Singapore, and on toPNG. We cleared immigration and customs there no problem, and was happytoseeall 10 of our suitcases,and all in one piece! Then it was Just a short hop up to Madang, where all of the PBT folks who (were in town) were there to greet us! itwas a wonderful feeling getting off the plane and wondering what the next 3 or 4years would be like. They had a party for us that night, which was fun, but we were the party poopers! Thetravel caught up with us and we had to crash.Church on Sunday was at the local Australian Church of Christ and itwas sooo familiarto us -1 could closemy eyes and easily be back in Zambia.

They have us getting right in the swing of things. Today (Monday) we are going up to visit Pacific OrientationCourse, where we had wanted to be, and visit the folks there who have been praying for us. After some

Printed for Mission Services Association

Jim and Cindy Davis, 06:54 AM 3/22/99 +1000, We are herell

orientation on Tuesday and Wednesday, we willfly out to visit Davidand Sharron Pryor and spend some timein the \nllage with them. We are really looking forward to that

We want to thank all of you for praying for us and for getting us here. Without all of you lifting us up to theFather, we doubt we could have sustained the lastfew months. Ialso know that your continued prayers willstrengthen us as we attempt to fill needs here and get into the work.

For those of you who were wondering about the stress test I took right before I left, I have good news ofanswered prayer. The doctors office called Tuesday morning, right before we left, and gave me a clean bill ofhealth. We were concerned about a tachycardia I have, and so Iwent to see him, and he indicated that itwould be no more than an inconvenience, butwhile there, thought he saw something he didntlike, so he hadme come back and do the stress test with the dye and nuclear imaging. Needless to say,we were greatlyrelieved when it came back normal.

There is one need I mustshare with you all. fis you know, Iwill be doing quite a bit of work in the bush, andwill need a 4wd vehicle to do much of my traveling (some of the more remote areas can only be reached byplane) There is a possibility of a vehicle becoming available, as a missionary with another group Is returning tothe States - it is a Toyota double cab Hi-Lux. I haventseen ityet, so I don't know the condition, but have beentold it is in good shape. The price is right around $10,000.00, and if it is in good shape, and what we need, Iwill probably try and purchase it And yes, this is where we need your help. We do have some money availablebut notthe full amount as ourtickets here took almost double whattheywould have for Tanzania, ifyou oryour churches can help, we could certainly use it. Justsend your donations for the truck to:

Pioneer Bible TranslatorsP.O. Box 9533Knoxville,TN 37940-0533

and mark it'Truck Fund" Please pray about this and see ifyou can be involved in some way-this will be a \Ataltool for our ministry!

Once again, we are so grateful to all of you for your prayers of support your words of encouragement yourdisplays of love on our behalf. We are all partners together in this ministry and with out you prayingforthe work weare doing, our ministry would be doubly difficult

Love and blessings, Jim.

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Jim and Cindy Davis, 11:56 AM 10/4/99 +1000, off to the village

Sender jdavs@pioneerbible.org.pgFrom: "Jim and Cindy Davis" To; "Jim and Cindy Davs" S_ufe|ect: off to the vUiage^^ate: Mon 4 Oct 1999Jj?56:16 +1000

X-Mailer: Microsoft c5utiook Express 4.72.2106.4X-MimeOLE: Produced By Microsoft MimeOLE V4.72.2106.4

Dear Friends,

Just a quick note to let all of you know we will be off to our village living allocation for the next 5 weeks. We leaveWednesday morning, early, which is Tuesday evening for all of you. We would certainly appreciate all of yourprayers as we develop relationships with the people, as we leam from them and work with them. Pray that theywould see Christ in us, in how we relate to one anoftieras a family, and in our everyday lives as Christians in anunfamiliar setting.

Pray for the kids as they adjust to living in the village. I know they are looking forward to it, as we are, but theyalso have fears and apprehensions as well (as we do). Praythat our family dynamics will remain strong, and thatwe can support one another. Pray for Cindy as she homeschools the kids. Pray for me as 1make contact withchurch leaders in the area, and define needs that they might have in areas of Bible teaching, leadership training,and even their personal walk with the Lord. We have found out that one of the young men who lives in the villagewhere we will be lost a son une)qDectedly, and is still grieving overthat. He was a co-translator with John andMarsha Relyea (PBT translator and literacy team) and dropped out of the program when his son died. Pray that wecan minister to him and be a source of encouragement to him and his family.

We will not have personal email contact during this time, but you can send us messages with our name on thesubject line to pbtpnQ@Qlobal.netpq Two weeks into our village stay, Ray and Glenda Leach, the POC directors,will be making a midway visit and will be bringing a mailbag to us. Itwould be greatif itwere filled with emails fromall of you. 1would saybythattime we would really appreciate hearing from the outside world.

We love you all and thank you so much for our prayers.

Love, Jim (for Cindy, Michael, David, and Keren)

Jim & Qndy DavisPioneer Bible TranslatorsP.O. 997

Madang 511Papua New Guinea"&'inging the Word to Life'

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