Excerpts from the Martins' Memos - July, 2007

Martins' Memos

Fort Mill

South Carolina, USA

July 2007


We're on our way to Australia and PNG!

In answer to your prayers, Lenore and I finally have our passports and visas in hand for our travel to Australia and PNG! On July 4th we fly to Southern California where we will spend two weeks. Then on July 18th we fly to Cairns, Australia (via Honolulu and Guam) where we’ll spend a week holiday. Then we fly to Melbourne Australia to visit with Bruce and Glenys Waters.

Then back to Cairns for a few days before traveling on to Ukarumpa, PNG (via Port Moresby) on August 3rd.

Adapt It Featured in Rev7

Look at the Spring 2007 Rev7 publication. Rev7 is a quarterly publication of JAARS. The whole issue focuses on the exciting role that cutting edge technologies are playing in the world of Bible translation. On pages 8-9 you can read about how the Lord gave Bruce Waters the dream that inspired the initial development of Adapt It. On pages 10-11 and 13 are stories of how Adapt It is being used in clusters of related languages in the Bantu Initiative in Africa.

Low Power Translation Kits Ready to Ship to PNG

We have purchased, tested and are ready to ship the special low-power Dana computer equipment, solar panels and water-proof cases ahead of us to PNG. Nyindrou national translator Charles Kowak plans to meet us at Ukarumpa where we’ll help him plot out a strategy for continued translation work in the Nyindrou language and possibly supervising a multiple language Adapt It translation project into other languages on Manus Island.

The low-power computer kits can be used by nationals from several other Manus language groups that would like to use the Adapt It program to translate the Scriptures into their own Manus languages, which do not yet have any of God’s Word.
 

Adapt It developments

I (Bill) have made good progress on the Linux and Macintosh versions of the Adapt It program. Your prayers have helped me to have wisdom to find solutions to many of the challenges I’ve encountered in getting fully working versions ready for wider testing. The Linux Developers Conference I attended in May in Calgary Alberta Canada was a wonderful time of interaction, learning and fellowship. It was very good to get to know the 14 other Christian programmers there who are diligently and selflessly working on Bible translation software.

Update on our financial situation

We praise the Lord for supplying the funds needed for our travel to PNG and the cost of purchasing the low-power Dana computer equipment, solar panels, and water-proof cases. Pray that the remaining costs for shipping the equipment will be met by the time we start traveling to PNG. Continue to pray also that the Lord will provide more financial and prayer partners to insure that our ministry goals and projects continue to be achieved in the future.

 

Praise Items:

Prayer Items:

þ  We praise the Lord that our passports and visas arrived two weeks before the start of our travel to Australia and PNG.

o  Pray for strength and energy for our travels, and that we would stay healthy and be a blessing to those we meet.

þ  Lenore's reading students advanced in their reading skills to the point where the parents have asked Lenore to tutor them in other subjects in the Fall.

o  Pray for a neighbor’s son whom Lenore has been tutoring that he will continue learning on his own through the Summer while we are gone.

þ  We praise the Lord for you, who pray and give financial gifts to make it possible for us to serve in our roles in support of Bible translation.

o Pray that the Lord will supply the remaining $1,200 needed for shipping the translation kits to PNG.

þ  We praise the Lord that Charles will be able to meet us at Ukarumpa, since he will be there for BTA’s biennial general meeting.

o  Pray for Charles and other Manus people as they plan for a possible Adapt It project from Nyindrou to other Manus languages using the translation kits.

þ  We praise the Lord for progress in the development of Adapt It for Linux and for use on low-power computers designed for remote areas of the world.

o Pray for Bill and co-developer Bruce Waters as they continue their development work of the Adapt It program.

   

Thankfully serving our gracious Lord,

Bill and Lenore Martin
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