Supporting Bible translation in Papua New Guinea

May 2015
For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans to prosper you
and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call
on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and
find me when you seek me with all your heart.
~~
Jeremiah 29:11-13

Get Ready, Get Set

Ill be leaving the US on May 27th. Less than a month from now. Im busy making lists and piles and have
started eyeing up my suitcases as I try to determine exactly how much will fit inside.
As I think back over the past ten months, Im amazed at how quickly the time has gone. Im sorry that I wasnt
able to visit all of my supporters and that Im out of time. However, this furlough has been an amazing time of
renewal. Ive appreciated uplifting moments with friends, family, and mentors and have grown in my understanding of God and my relationship with Him. Ive also completed four graduate courses, four professional
certification exams, marvelled at the beauty of autumn, survived a winter, and am currently enjoying the
emergence of spring. I love the sound of spring peepers!
Now even as I struggle with saying good-bye to loved ones, Im also looking forward to returning to my
school, taking my dog for a walk, catching up with friends who are my far-away family, and cleaning my own
house againnot to mention fresh mangos and pineapple. In June, Ill be jumping back into the role of
principal of the primary campus at Ukarumpa International School. Im looking forward to seeing my students
again (a few are shown below), and think that Im ready to return to the challenges of running a missionary kid
school in Papua New Guinea.
If I havent managed to schedule a visit with you, please know that you are still in my thoughts and prayers
and that Im thankful for your friendship and generosity. Im learning to rest in the knowledge that God has
thought through my lifes plan, and I wish to also encourage you with that promise.

Financial UpdateCleared for Take-off!

My ministry income has been at 100% of my field budget for the past several months, and
I have been cleared to return to Papua New Guinea. Thank you! Im amazed at Gods
provision. Depending on donations for financial support has always been something of a
struggle for me, but God continues to show His generosity through my faithful partners.
Email:
rachel_stanton@wycliffe.org
Phone:
301-750-4274

Contributions:
Wycliffe Bible Translators
P.O. Box 628200
Orlando, FL 32862-8200
http://www.wyclife.org/partner/rachelstanton

Address:
12421 Bittinger Road
Grantsville, MD 21536

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.

In Which Jesus Was Properly Baptised

by Catherine Rivard (originally posted on http://catherinepng.blogspot.com)
Tiang translator was confused why Jesus would ask John
for baptism, and so he assumed he misread the text and
translated it as John asking Jesus. When I discovered the
mix-up in our advisor checking, it led to a great discussion
about the reasons behind Jesus baptism and the
implications for later.
Similarly, when we checked the story of Mary and Joseph
bringing Jesus to the temple to present him to God as
their firstborn son and to give the offering for Marys
purification, they read Marys purification as Jesus
baptism and christening. We had to work together to find
a different way of describing the ceremony that would not
lead the readers to think He was being baptized as an
infant.
d

Translating in the cool of the shade.

So, I asked again, Who was baptized?

d

The group looked at me blankly. No one.

d

No one?! How could no one have been baptized? I

pointed to our paper. We just talked about how it was
Jesus asking to be baptized by John and not the other
way around. What happened after John finally agreed?
Gillian, the main translator, peered closely at the paper,
then burst out laughing. Nothing happened, because it
doesnt say 'Jesus was baptized.' It only has the
conversation before between Jesus and John, and then it
says Jesus came out of the water really quickly. So,
Jesus wasnt baptized.
d

I shook my head. Well, then, I guess we have to make

some changes!
d

The group bent close together as they discussed in

murmurs the best way to translate the sentence into
Tiang. I was working with a group of pastors, Sunday
School teachers, and national translators to translate and
produce a Sunday School book following the life of Christ.
It was a two-week workshop out in New Ireland, and we
were nearing the end of the first week, beginning the
process of advisor checking (where an advisor works
through the text with a group of speakers, making sure its
clear, accurate, and natural).

Sometimes only one word can make a huge difference

such a change in verb agreement (Mary and Joseph
fleeing to Egypt with a crowd of people instead of secretly
in the night) or pronoun (when Jesus was rebuking the
disciples and included Himself as if needing correction as
well!). As you can imagine, advisor checking can be a
lengthy and mentally-taxing process, but extremely
fascinating as language, culture, and Scripture work
together in a marvellous display of Gods creativity.
d

The group had finished their edits (Jesus was now getting
properly baptized), but I had one more question. Im
curiouswhy did Jesus come out of the water really
quickly? My mind was conjuring up images of the Son of
God leaping with flailing arms out of the water, as if
shocked by the cold or bitten by a fish...
d

Well, they looked at each other, because thats what the

Bible says.
d

Hmm. I glanced back at my notes, and then at my

computer screen, where I had several New Testament
versions, including Greek, opened to the passage. Here it
says, Immediately after Jesus was baptized, the Holy
Spirit descended upon Him like a dove. Immediately
d
means to happen right away...not necessarily quickly.
The group had started out translating the Bible stories into Understanding dawned across their faces as they once
Tiang, after which another group edited it. Next, they
again scribbled red corrections over the paper.
back-translated the translated Tiang story into Tok Pisin, d
the trade language that I know. I then read through the
So, who was baptized? I asked one last time.
Tok Pisin text to see if there were any potential
d
inaccuracies or mix-ups, which would indicate a problem Jesus! they chorused, grinning at me.
with the Tiang. I also came up with a series of questions
d
to ask my focus group in order to test if they are able to
And what happened when He was baptized?
come up with the right answers from the text (who, what, d
where, why, how, for what purpose, what next, as a result Right away, the Holy Spirit came down!
d
etc.). Finally, I checked areas of potential translation
I closed my notebook and grinned. Jesus had now been
challenges, like rhetorical questions, double negatives,
key terms (words that are loaded with impact, like glory or baptizedin Tiang!
resurrection) and cultural details (what does a well look
like to a Papua New Guinean? why did Judas kiss
Catherine Rivard is my friend, neighbour, and dog sitter
Jesus?).
d

If they arent able to answer my questions correctly, then

we begin to pull at the threads of the story to find out
where there might be problems or parts of the text that
could be translated more clearly. This part often turns into
a mini-Bible story as we discuss the text in depth. For
example, in the story of the baptism of Jesus, the original

in Ukarumpa. She is also a translator in Papua New

Guinea and is working with the Tiang language group.

Thank you for working with me and Catherine and many
others to share Gods Word with Papua New Guineans!
I value your support.