There are lots of churches in PNG, even in language areas that don't yet have the Bible in their own language. These churches use the English Bible (which most people don't understand) or the Tok Pisin Bible (which is often vague and hard to understand, even for people who are fluent in Tok Pisin). Often, by the time the New Testament is translated into the local language, the churches in the area have been using English or Tok Pisin in their services for so many years that it has become a deeply entrenched habit. They almost start to think of those languages as "church languages", and it can be really hard for them to get used to using the Bible in their own language during church. Sometimes church leaders aren't quite sure how to incorporate their own language into church services, even when people understand it so much better than the "church languages".
That's why we're hosting a "Tok Ples Scripture Use Conference" in Ukarumpa this week. ("Tok ples" is the Tok Pisin way to say "local language".) We invited denominational leaders, pastors, and presidents of Bible colleges and seminaries from all around the country to come and discuss how they can encourage Papua New Guinean church leaders to use the Bible in their local language to reach people's hearts.
For the past two nights, I got to help cook dinner for these people. I quite enjoyed pouring 10 cups of soy sauce and 7 cups of oil onto sweet potatoes and chicken for 95 people, serving pumpkin to a bishop, and making a massive carrot cake involving 22 eggs and 16 cups of grated carrots.
No comments:
Post a Comment