News from Ross & Lyndal

July ‘08

Dear friends,

Last weekend we had the privilege of joining 50+ overseas guests to witness a wonderful event in the bush of Tanna. You've heard about it long enough - the launch of the New Testament in the North Tanna language in both printed and audio form. About 400 North Tanna speakers turned up for their event of a lifetime and celebrated with traditional music, and a good number of speeches - always a feature of Vanuatu significant events. The 5 local translators along with their SIL advisors Greg and Bethann Carlson made quite a fitting spectacle dressed in their Vanuatu flag coloured shirts and Island dresses!

Lyndal and I attended with our staff from the office and a ni-Vanuatu translator, Joel, from another island - whose significance I will reveal in a minute or two! We were well looked after with lots of local food including 2 meals of meat a day courtesy of a couple of cows that gave themselves up for the occasion. We were billeted variously in the Presbyterian church, a new bush house, and other villagers' houses. Some of the overseas guests opted for the slightly more comfy mattresses offered by some tourist resorts on Tanna - albeit it meaning a bumpy truck ride to and from the two-day celebration.

 The first day of festivities was the ribbon cutting, a few formal speeches and dances traditional and other, in the interests of showing off the unveiled Word and expressing their joy. Many really joyous ones went and bought themselves a copy of the New Testament and the audio version on MegaVoice. Joshua, one of the translators, expressed disappointment at sales wondering why there was such a frenzy over the release of a new mobile phone system a few weeks earlier, and comparatively little of the same enthusiasm, numerically speaking at least, shown for something vastly more precious. Life's like that all round. Blind eyes can't see and dull taste buds don't savour flavour regardless of promotional prowess - unless the Word's Speaker breathes life. I'm sure you'll be happy to pray that for the North Tanna people - for seeing and believing eyes and hearing and believing ears in coming days. While there are pockets of believers, many people in that area have a confused notion of what it means to be a Christian, including a whole lot of people who follow a bedraggled looking fellow who calls himself a prophet and who mix semblances of Christianity with traditional thinking and call themselves ‘Unity’. Perhaps life's like that too!

A high point came with the sermon on Sunday from Ps Peter Namuli, the coordinator for Bible translation in the province who gave a rousing reminder that the Word brings understanding, and understanding faith that protects from the devastation caused by error promoted by those even within the church. He thanked the publishers of the North Tanna New Testament for including a picture of a lion in the 2 Peter passage he was preaching from - a stark reminder that the prowling lion likes 'fresh meat'  - "i.e. you! So read or listen to the Word now that you can readily understand it, and mature in the Faith."

As for the significance of Joel from the other island... as 'Ross the boss" I was called out to accept a 'fire stick' from the chairman of the local translation committee and pass it on to a representative of the language group who would next be dedicating their translation of the Bible. We had notice of this and took along Joel, translator from the Tangoa language in the North of Vanuatu. He took the smoldering stick from me and we placed our hands as a gesture of acceptance on the heap of local produce and woven baskets laid out as a passing of the baton. May God be pleased to get the Tangoa New Testament to the printers in coming weeks in time for it to arrive for an Easter dedication next year. Nice to have something to look forward to, eh?!

There were naturally tears at times too – translation advisor Greg had to cut short his speech of thanks. It sure reminded me of the Irumu dedication. Seventeen years of work focused on a day does things to the heart! Pray for Greg and family as they head back to the US and contemplate their future. We want them back - dare I say we need them back - but they have a few years of settling kids to do first. But hopefully there will be interim visits. Next year we plan to kick off a new translation project based on a computer adaptation of this North Tanna one. Something else to look forward to.

 And something else too... Lyndal and I are making plans to visit Zuepak in December to do a bit of light revision of the Irumu NT with a view to reprinting, and also to do some distribution of the recordings we did two years ago on MegaVoice (read all about it here) - and to record the rest as time permits. Much future ahead. And it probably starts by stopping here!

Lots of love,

Ross & Lyndal 

Ross & Lyndal Webb, PO Box 174, Pt Vila, Vanuatu 

Wycliffe Australia – www..wycliffe.org.au