Beasleys' Backlogof news from

Papua New Guinea

Slaleslde Address:Wes and Alia Beasley5366 Boardman River Rd. S.W.South Boardman, MI 49689Phone (616) 369-3289

Forwarding Agents:Lany & Dottie Tanksley112 Stone CoveClinton, MS 39056Phone (601) 924-0299

It's been so long since we have written anewsletter that we don't know where to start.Our last newsletter brought you up-to-datethrough the summer of 1989. I'll try to fill youin on events from that time until now. Most ofyou know by now that my father died inNovember of last year. It was a blessing forhim to finally go be wiUi the Lord as he wassuffering quite a bit and was ready to go. Twoof my sisters, my mother and I were with himat home when he died. Two other sisters andmy brother, who all had farther to travel, cameshortly. We had a praise service for the funeral. We miss my Dad tremendously. MyMom is by herself on the farm now and is doing well. When we were to go to the funeralhome to see my Dad's body for the first time, Iwas having a hard time because he had becomeso emaciated. Jonathan took my hand andsaid, "Mom, Grandpa is not there; that's nothim; he's with the Lord." I'm so thankful formy husband and children. God has blessed megreatly with them. They have been a greatcomfort to me.

Wes made another trip to Papua NewGuinea in January of this year to check on ourhouse, the village situation and our languagehelpers. The situation had not changed buthad actually worsened. There had been a largefight and several of the men were in jail. Westried to call a meeting so he could talk with tiievillage leaders but could not. It was very sadand very discouraging. One bright spot to the

Final Edition 1990

visit was the fact that Casimir, our languagehelper and national translator, and hisbrother, Augustine, had started a young people's Bible study to try to counteract the badinfluence of the fighting and to try to give themhope in their futures. Wes was able to encourage them in that. Many were concerned thatthe boys and I weren't there as they wanted toapologize for the theft of some of our thingsfrom our house. The breakdown of leadershipbad left a sort of lawlessness which led to frustration on the part of those who wanted to advance. Our close friends felt partly responsiblefor not having done anything to stop the theftsor to bring about the return of our things.Their hands were tied because of the villageconflict. Wes told them that he would bringthe boys and me back during the summerwhen the boys were out of school so they couldgive Jonathan and Adam a proper "farewell".They felt that our boys were their children tooand they felt a responsibility toward them.Wes also informed them that we would be staying in the States until the boys finished highschool and were settled into college or their careers. He also told them that our return to theKurti translation project would depend uponthe Kurtis' ability to settle this ongoing dispute, reestablish a working society with lawand order and, especially, back the translationwork by being a part of it instead of preventingothers from participating in it as in the past.

We traveled to Papua New Guinea the end

Alta with good friend, Pinahai - it was hard to say"good-bye."

of June 1990. We spent three days in Madangwhere Pioneer Bible Translators has its headquarters in PNG. The day after our arrival allour travellers' checks were stolen while wewere at church. We reported it immediately toAmerican Express but couldn't wait for the refund since we were scheduled to fly out toManus Island the next day. The missionkindly loaned us money to buy groceries for ourstay on Manus Island. We were very happyand touched to return to the village a^r having been gone for 2 years (for the boys and me).Most of the people were happy to see us. Manyof the village leaders were too embarrassed togreet us since they felt responsible for not having solved the land dispute and village problems. Our house was in very good shape andvery neat and clean, thanks to Rose, our verygood friend. She had the curtains washed, thesheets washed and on the beds and the houseclean and dusted. She is a wonderful person.One water tank was completely rusted out butthe other was full. The Lord blessed us withplenty of rain to keep it full while we werethere. However the electric pump which weran with the generator broke after one pumping and the hand pump was also broken. So,we carried water from the large tank up intothe house. We were thankful to have the water. Later, we discovered a leak in the goodtank and, upon closer examination saw that ithad been cut with a machete. We were able toplug the leak temporarily. The gutters on theback of the house were broken but those on thefront of the house caught enough rain water todirect into the tank for use during our stay.

Jonathan and Adam miss their good friend, Sandel.Please pray for him -- he ia searching for a closer walkwith the Lord.

We were still unable to call a village meeting because the leaders were fearful that fighting would break out. Not because of us but because they couldn't get together themselveswithout fighting. We had some more theftswhile we were there which further embarrassed tlie leaders and some of them tried torecover the items. We had good visits with ourfriends, with Casimir, and with two of theleaders who came at night. We prayed a lotand asked God for His guidance. We tried toget the people's opinions as to the future of theKxirti translation. Those who respect God andHis Word and who are interested in followingit were very sad because of the situation but letus know that they were afraid for us to stay atthis time. We felt like we would like to justtake them out of the situation but realized thatwould not be a long-term solution. Many of thefamilies are moving out of the village and intothe bush or to other villages. It's sad, however,because the same problem exists throughoutMeinus Island and much of Papua NewGuinea. We were very encouraged whenCasimir told us that he wants to attend theChristian Leadership Training Center to become an evangelist. We told him that wewould encourage him in it and would supporthim in his effort financially and with prayersand study materials. He said that he feels heneeds to be better prepared spiritually for thework of translation. We were thrilled with hisinsight and maturity. He wants his wife to attend also so she can keep up with him spiritually.

Before we left the village the young people

Our good friends from Andra Island came to visit usone more time before our departure.

had a special "sing-sing" for Jonathan andAdam. That is a time when they dress up intraditional costumes and do traditional dances.They also prepared food and brought it to thehouse and ate with us. Many presented theboys with special gifts of necklaces, braceletsand woven bags. Some of my close lady friendsgave me necklaces and bags also which theyhad made. One gave me a possum tooth neck-lace which is a special treasure. It was hard toleave our friends. We were advised by the village leaders not to leave anything in our housethis time so we gave a lot of our personalthings away, sold some of the larger things andgave the rest to fellow missionaries. We askedthem to continue to care for the house in casethe mission can find someone to take our placefor the time being and if the village situationimproves. After we left Manus Island we spent6 days in Madang to report to our director andto visit fellow missionaries. We also collectedthe refund on our traveler's checks. Praise theLord. On our return trip from PNG we wereable to stop in Germany to visit missionaryfriends who had also lived on Manus Islandand to take Adam to his birthplace in Heidelberg. It was a highlight to our trip after thesadness of leaving PNG.

OUR PLANS

After our visit this summer we made a definite decision that we could not continue withthe Kurti translation until the situation improves. We have reported our findings to both

Jonathan with his namesake.

our director in Papua New Guinea and to ourdirectors here in the States. We have askedthem to assign someone else to the Kurti translation program for the time being. We hadmade the decision to remain in the States untilthe boys are out of high school and settled intocollege. We had hoped to be able to keep thetranslation going through the two nationaltranslators but have found that this is impossible without village support. We feel thatthere is a need for someone who is physicallycloser to the situation to direct the program ifthe situation changes. We told the villagersthat we would suggest that PBT find someoneto take our place for the time being, but thatwe would not recommend that anyone movethere until they solve these terrible problemsand support the work with their interest andinvolvement. We have requested a leave of absence from Pioneer Bible Translators and theboard of directors has granted it to us. Wehave reported to all our supporters and haverequested that tliey cease their financial support to us for now. We still covet the prayers ofall our supporters and friends both for theKurti people and the Kurti translation, forCasimir, and for us that we will know His willconcerning our future involvement. We continue to be committed to Bible translation andGod's work worldwide. Right now we are continuing to work with the Spencer Church ofChrist in northern Michigan. Wes is helpingwith the preaching, Bible Studies, SundaySchool class, and house churches. He is alsoteaching World Evangelism at Great LakesBible College in Lansing. We attended the Na-

Jonathan and Adam relaxing with our good friendand fellow translator, Casimir.

tional Missionary Convention in Tulsa wherewe each took part in a workshop. It was greatto see some of our co-workers from PNG and tovisit with fellow missionaries. It was one ofthe best conventions we have attended.

Jonathan and Adam are doing well inschool. They both made the honor roll thisfirst school term and continue to be involved insports and band as well. Jonathan has madethe decision that he would like to go intomedicine so is in the process of applying to Mil-ligan College in Tennessee for their pre-medprogram. He is still interested in the militaryalso so may take his graduate work as an officer. Adam is considering the field of psychology and is also interested in art. They are bothdeeply involved with the church youth groupand are currently planning a missionary worktrip to Mexico for next summer. Jonathan gothis certification in advanced lifesaving and wa

ter safety instruction this past spring so hasthat potential job qualification for the summerand while in college. God has blessed us withtwo fine young men who have groYoi up toosoon, but whom we have given to Him. Theyare already fine Christian servants and we areexcited to see how God will use them. Thankyou for all your prayers for their schooling,safety, health and happiness while we were inPNG and in all our travels and for their adjustment to stateside living. They have donewell and we thank the Lord. We appreciatethe part you have all played in encouraging usand them.

So, we will be working in Michigan for thenext 2 or 3 years and then will trust God toshow us His will for our future service. Wewant to take this opportunity to thank eachone of you for your prayers, letters, gift packages, love, and financial support for the past10 years. You have been a great encouragement to us and we know God will continue touse you for the advancement of His kingdomworldwide. We won't be publishing any morenewsletters for a while, but will try to keep youposted periodically as to our plans. If youwould like to keep in touch with the work PBTis doing in Papua New Guinea, please write toour home office and ask to be put on their mailing list and on all our PNG missionaries' mailing lists. Their address is: PIONEER BIBLETRANSLATORS, PO BOX 381030, DUN-CANVILLE, TX 75138. They have asked Westo help sponsor recruit teams to PNG on ashort term basis, so he may get to returnsooner than we had thought. Please keep intouch and God bless you each one.

There is no way we could adequatelyexpress our gratefulness for the love,concern and hard work given by ourforwarding agents during the last 10years. God has blessed us abundantlyfor these good friends. We thank Himfor them. Thank you, LARRY andDOTTIE TANKSLEY!

Before you move, please send ihe mailing label with a copy of your new address loMISSION SERVICES ASSOCIATION, PO Bo* 2427, Knoxville, TN 37901-2427.

NEW ADDRESS:

Wes and Alta Beasley5366 Boardman River Rd. S.W.South Boardman, MI 49680Phone: 616-^69-3289

Mission ServicesPO Box 2427Knoxville,TN 37901-2427

ADDRESS CORRECTION REQUESTED

Non Profil Org.379S0-9998

U.S. Postage PaidKnoxville, TN

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