Supporting Bible translation in Papua New Guinea

November 2013

The Best Laid Plans

I love to plan. I have plans for what I will accomplish today, plans for the next week at school, plans for my
three-day holiday in December, plans for completing my masters degree, and plans for my upcoming
furlough. Part of my job is to make plans for the schools future. I have lots of plans. They make me happy.
My cultural background has taught me that plans are necessary for the success of an endeavour. I feel like
Im prepared for anything if I have a plan. I am in control.
PNG is known as the Land of the Unexpected. Planning ahead is not part of the culture. Plans regularly
fall through. My roommate deals with the situation by not planning. When she wants to go to Lae (the portcity several hours drive away), she wakes up, calls a friend to see if shes willing to make a trip, packs a
backpack, and heads to the PMV (Public Motor Vehicle) stop to catch a ride. Sometimes shes successful;
sometimes the friend is unavailable, the PMVs are full, the road is blocked, or the guest house is full, but
shes able to roll with the punches. When I go to Lae, Ill book a PMV and room, gather a group of friends,
and compile shopping lists...several months in advance. I joke that Ive actually learned to construct multiple
plans because the first several usually fall through.
This week was yet another reminder that the saying, the best laid plans of
mice and men often go awry is true. Ive learned that the vice principal at
my schoola talented, knowledgeable, and efficient friend and colleague
For wisdom and
will not be on the job for the foreseeable future. Theres no one else
energy as my job
available to step into her position. This means that my workload is doubled.
description expands
Its a daunting situation. In the past few days, Ive progressed from sitting in
for the next few
a puddle of overwhelmed tears to starting to think through a reasonable way
months.
to handle the responsibilities. Because of the additional workload, I most
That I will rest in the
likely wont be revamping the schools curriculum, completing my graduate
peace of Gods plan.
studies as scheduled, or painting the remaining dingy walls in my house in
the next few months. My plans have failed. I am not in control of the
situation.

Pray

I am learning through repeated lessons that while plans are sometimes helpful, they dont provide
guarantees or mean that I am in control. Im so thankful that I have a Father who is in control and has a
plan. He doesnt even need to construct plans A through H just in case!
For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil,
to give you a future and a hope. Jeremiah 29:11
My friend and neighbour, Catherine, is a talented writer. Her adventures as a linguist and translator in PNG
are amazing, and Im often impressed at how well she communicates thoughts that have been running
through my own mind. She posted Behind the Facade (http://catherinepng.blogspot.com/2013/05/behindfacade.html#.Uoa2QeKIkc4), an article delving into the topic of plans and control a few months ago. I
encourage you to check out this article for additional insight. In fact her entire blog (http://
catherinepng.blogspot.com/) is a great way to learn more about PNG and the work of Bible translation!
Email:
rachel_stanton@wycliffe.org
Address:
PO Box 1 (349)
Ukarumpa, EHP 444
Papua New Guinea

Contributions:
Wycliffe Bible Translators
P.O. Box 628200
Orlando, FL 32862-8200
www.wycliffe.org
Wycliffe accepts tax-deductible contributions by mail or at wycliffe.org. If by mail, please include a
separate note indicating, Preference for the Wycliffe ministry of Rachel Stanton, Account # 219508.

Remain Calm
While our group of 7th and 8th graders gazed in awe at Argo, the
fourteen-foot-long salt-water crocodile, our enthusiastic tour guide
answered a student's query on the proper actions to take if
attacked by a crocodile. According to our guide, a victim should
remain calm and fight off the attacking croc with any weapon they
happen to have on their person.
As a chaperone on our recent biennial middle school field trip to
Lae, I was able to apply our guide's advice to more instances than
hypothetical crocodile attacks. Since our school is located in a
fairly isolated part of Papua New Guinea, field trips are not a
common part of our curriculum. Every two years the school takes
our middle school students on a three-day trip to Lae.
The most challenging part of the trip was the travel. We had to
stop along the side of the road several times to redistribute
students into a smaller number of vans. PNG roads are
notoriously rough, and we suffered through multiple vehicle
breakdowns. By the last day of the trip 12 students had to enter
and exit their van by climbing through the drivers door or the back
hatch since the sliding side door refused to slide. My travelling
mantra became, Do you need to sit in the front? There were only
so many forward-facing near-the-front spots available, but none of
us wanted to be in a tightly packed van with anyone suffering from
travel sickness!

Furlough Approaches

We visited the hydroelectric plant that powers most of the country

with electricitythe students experienced safety equipment (hard
hats and ear plugs) for the first time. We also visited a crocodile
farmwhich provides protein to PNGians and expensive
handbags to Europeans, the Rainforest Habitatwhere we saw
this (left) cassowary and Argo the giant croc, the National
Agriculture Research InstituteI almost left with a pet goat, the
Coca Cola bottling plantwhere we lost the eighth graders to a
three hour tour, and the Biscuit Factorywhere we were amazed
by the complex machinery that forms the popular PNG snack.

In June Ill be leaving PNG for a break in the United States. Ill have been on the field for a four year term, and
Wycliffe recommends that I spend a year in the US. I wont, however, be taking a 12 month vacation. I will be
spending some time resting and catching up with my family, but mostly I will still be serving with Wycliffe. My
most important job will be sharing my stories with partners and churches so that you can
better understand what God has been doing in PNG! Ill also be completing some
additional professional training that will help me in my work at Ukarumpa
June 2014
International School. More details will be shared in future newsletters, but
Leave PNG for
for now, heres my furlough schedule:

furlough

JuneJuly
Final graduate courses
in Germany

Jan.May
Aug.Dec.
Family time in
Maryland, speaking &
visiting with partners

Principal
internship in
Pennsylvania

June 2015
Return to
work in PNG