MICHEALS’ MEMOIRS November 2013 Update
Dear Friends and Family, There are lots of good things to report regarding the work of Bible translation, especially in Papua New Guinea (PNG) where we served for 15 years.
New Bible Translation Training Center, Ukarumpa, PNG
Students - Bible Translation Training Center, Ukarumpa, PNG
The photo above is the Training Center at Ukarumpa, PNG (where we lived). It is now fully operational and being used for training Papua New Guineans in the work of Bible translation! However, it has been a long time coming.
Eventually, after many years funding did come in and the center is now built! Training courses are now being held in a wide variety of areas including Biblical Greek, as a new generation of Biblical scholars and translators from PNG take their place in the worldwide work of Bible translation.
Back when we lived in PNG, Chuck served on the Executive Committee which helped oversee the work of Bible translation in the country. The Training Center had been built in the late 1960s and early 1970s. It was getting old, had limited space for participants and wouldn’t meet the needs for future work. So, in the 1990s, the Executive Committee began to pray that funds would be found to build a new Training Center. In anticipation of a new center, plans for the buildings were drawn up as well as plans for funding. However, for many years the funding did not come in. That meant many training courses just could not be held or they were held in less than ideal conditions. The work of Bible translation was being held up.
If you had asked us when we arrived in PNG in 1985 if we would live to see the day that PNG men were learning Biblical Greek, we would not have thought it possible. It had only been 30 years earlier (1956) that the territory had been open to the work of missions as people had only recently been discovered living primitively in the highlands. Now the work of the Executive Committee in the mid-1990s is bearing fruit. The church in PNG is flourishing and God’s Word is being translated to even more people in PNG. We praise the Lord for this work and also thank you for your faithful financial and prayer support. Watch a short video of the Training Center here: Training Center Video
GET GLOBAL – PNG 2014 In June 2014, the Lord willing, the two of us will be leading a GET Global trip to PNG like we did in 2009. We pray that we will have a dozen young people, ages 15 – 23, come with us to explore the work of Bible translation. We plan to visit Ukarumpa (where we lived) so students can see support work and also spend time in a village so they can see the Bible translation work first hand.
Praise and Prayer PRAISES
Our daughter Maria and husband Josh Mishler and their three children (Ryan, Kody and Maya) are back in Germany where they work with Wycliffe. We enjoyed being near them while they lived in Orlando on a year-long furlough. Our son Isaac and his wife Suzanne are also back in Germany where they work with Wycliffe. They both teach missionary kids at Black Forest Academy. They finished a furlough year in the Dallas, TX area where Isaac did his first year of studies toward a master’s degree in history. For those who stand with us through prayer and financial giving. Thank you!
PRAYER
Ukarumpa, PNG – Where we are headed in 2014
RECRUITS
SPECIAL NOTE
Ivan and Jesse Dishman are a young couple that Chuck worked with by helping them find a place to serve in Wycliffe. They wanted to serve, but just didn’t know how or where. Chuck was able to help them in both of these areas. Recently they attended Wycliffe’s new missionary training and told their story. We wanted to share their story. Click on the photo below or the link provided.
For our upcoming GET Global trip to PNG. Pray for students to sign up, for plans being developed and for health and safety as we go. For the Arop - Lokep people of PNG. They are planning their Bible dedication June 7 – 9, 2014. Pray for the planning of the dedication and that there would be an interest in the newly translated Scriptures!
We value your gifts this time of year as they make up for the shortfall we experience in the summer months! Last year’s giving this way meant we were at 100% support this year. Pray for giving like this again this year! Give To The Micheals Online
FOR PRAYER SUPPORT / OUR HOME ADDRESS
Chuck & Barb Micheals - 5167 Poinsetta Ave Winter Park, Florida 32792-7229 Tel: (321) 278-2225 Email: Chuck_Micheals@wycliffe.org, Barb_Micheals@wycliffe.org www.cbmicheals.ning.com FOR SUPPORTING US FINANCIALLY
Wycliffe Bible Translators P. O. Box 628200 Orlando, FL 32862-8200
Ivan and Jesse Dishman Video Link
Mark on separate sheet mark: “Preference for the Wycliffe ministry of Chuck & Barb Micheals, Account # 221879.”