DRUMBEATNews of Jim and Cindy Davis with Pioneer BibleTranslators.

Volume I Number I August, 1997Bringing the Word to Life

Life in Dallas ... It's Hot!! 1This is it! This is our first issue of our

newsletter, "Drumbeat." We are keeping the name ofthe newsletter we used in Zambia, and hope to keep youupdated on all our goings on. Right now we are stillgetting settled in, "even after being here for six weeks.Now that we have caught our breath, let us take youbackover the past 6 weeks andget you caughtup.

the kids are in school. Thai is one of the neat thingsabout the neighborhood, all of the kids that ours havebeen able to meet and play with. Our next doorneighbor, Jeff and Paula Reed, are also with PBT andhave 4 boys, so that thrilled Michael and David. Kerenhas also made many friends here, and that has been atreat for her. We have become close to the Reeds and

we look forward to working with them in the future.

Speaking of kids...Two of the more frequent questions we are asked

arc, "How arc the kids doing?" or "Howare they adjustingto life at public school?" I must admit, I (Jim) wasworried, concerned, fretting, etc. over how they wouldhandle the transition, both to the new environment, and tolife at school. It didn't matter to me that they were inSod's hands, or that we have continually lifted them andthe new situations up in prayer daily,I was still worried.Boy docs Sod ever answer prayer) You'd have thunk I wouldhave learnt that by now. The kids are doing great andloving schooland all their new friends. Thankyoufor yourprayers, and don't let up ...we all still need you to pray forthem and us as we are here.

National Bible Translation Sunday

Sunday, September 28, is National Bible TranslationSunday. PBT is commemorating that day by sending outspecialbookmarks to our churches throughout the country toremind people to PRAY for the translation efforts going onaround the world. There are 4 different designs, representingthe 4 countries where PBT has work going on. These are:Papua New Guinea, Equatorial Guinea, Guinea, and Tanzania.Just so you would not miss out on having some ofthesebookmarks, I took the libertyofordering several for oursupporting churches. You will probably wonder who did theart work for these bookmarks. I'll give you 3 guesses as towho this talented person might be. I just happen to know theartist personally. Please remember to pray on Sunday,September28th, for all ofour missionaries involved in thisgreat work.

Life at S.I.L. 1As most ofyou know, we have moved to

Dallas to undergo training at the Summer Institute ofLinguistics in order to prepare us for our work withPioneer Bible Translators. So far it has been an

intensive, yet rewarding learning experience. We havestudied such topics as Phonetics, Language in Society(learning how language affects culture, values etc),medicinal practices for the missionary, etc. Right nowwe are in the midst of our main training course, theManagement Development Orientation course orMDOC. It is training us to be good administrators onthe field. We are really enjoying this, as it is geared toour planned type of service. Pray for us as we go backto being "college kids."

Our accommodations have been a real blessingto us, both in location, and in room. We live in a verycomfortable duplex in a quiet little neighborhood rightacross from the main campus. Well, it's quiet when all

In this issue...

Life at S.I.L I

Speaking of kids 1National Bible Translation Sund^ 1Slight Change of Plans 2Support Needs 2Prayer Praises and Needs 2

2 DRUMBEAT

There's a slight change of plansAs we entered into our relationship with PET it

was always with an eye toward going to Papua NewGuinea. We always left the door open to the Lord tochange that, however, and He did. We are currentlyinvestigating work in the Tanzania branch. This excitesus as Cindy and I both relish the thought of going backto Afnca. Please pray for us in this matter, that we willbe sensitive to God's leading and direction in our livesand ftiture plans.

Support Needs

We are grateful to all of you, both churches andindividuals who have pledged to support our workoverseas with PET. It is a joy to know that we are notin this alone, and that, in addition to financial support,you are also praying for us. Right now we are at 2/3'sof our needed support. Our goal is $3200.00 permonth, and we have about $1200.00 to go. Please prayfor us in this regard, and if you as a church, or as anindividual feel led, we would appreciate you helping usmeet our goal. For those of you who are supporting us,we want to say THANK YOU from the bottom of ourhearts. As a reminder to all of you, please make allchecks out to Pioneer Bible Translators, and on aseparate piece of paper, note that it is for Jim and CindyDavis. This should be sent to:

Pioneer Bible Translators

c/o SIL Box 255

- 7500 W. Camp Wisdom RoadDallas, Texas 75236

We would love to hearfrom you personally,and we will answer all letters. I'm not saying howquickly we will, but we will answer. Our address inDallas is:

Jim and Cindy Davis6633 Nyman Dr.Dallas, TX 75236

Our E-mail address is:

j. davis2@juno.com

August, 1997

Prayer Praises and Needs

Praises:

1. Our safe and smooth transition from

Knoxville to Dallas.

2. Michael, David, and Keren adjusting welland making new friends.3. Finding good fiiends in Jeff and Paula Reed,co-workers with PET.

4. Our faithful supporting churches and friends.5. God's sustenance as we study and learn moreof what we will be doing with PET.

Petitions:

1. Dean and Judy Davis, and Tom and DebbieSmith, in the aftermath of arson on their homes.(Some of you may not have heard that an arsonist tried to set fire to Mom and Dad's home, aswell as the Smith's. Both work and live at John

son Bible College. No one was hurt as all weregone, but many goods were destroyed.)2. My grandfather, Jim Mitchell, who is recuperating from heart surgery.3. God's direction as we explore the possibilities of work in Tanzania.

4. Jeff and Paula Reed, as they also continue toraise support and prepare for work in Tanzania.5. Our own support needs. We are in need ofabout $1200 per month.

Pioneer Bible TranslatorsBringing the Word to Life

DRUMBEATNew of Jim and Cindy Davis with Pioneer Bible I Volume I Number II November, 1997Translators. I Bringing the Word to Life

Slowly But Surely...Greetings once again from the fair city of

Dallas. Right now 1am sure that you are recuperatingfrom the bountiful Thanksgiving spread that all ofyousurely enjoyed. We are blessed indeed to have a Fatherwho cares-for our every need,-who heMs-our-eveiyprayer, and who gave us a Savior who still lives today!

Things here are slowly but surely comingtogether. We are so excited to be nearer to our plannedSeptember departure date for Tanzania. We arehalfway through our training here in Dallas, and look tobe back in Knoxville in June to live until we leave for

the field. During our time there we will continue toraise needed support, and hopefully visit some of oursupporting churches. We will be available for someVBS weeks, so if you would like for us to share duringthat time, it is not too early to be making those plans.

Part of our training here at Dallas with PioneerBible Translators entails reaching "Member-in-Training" status. This we have successfully done. Nowwe are no longer recruits, but actual members of diePBT team. We are now free to start making our travelarrangements, get on a vaccination cycle (we all are justas excited as we can be about that), and other thingsthat will help us get to the field. We praise God for thisbig step.

Tanzania

As many of you know, I (Jim) spent a great deal ofmy childhood in Zambia. Although my family neverlived there, we did pass through Tanzania a few timeson our way to Rift Valley Academy, where I went toschool (and where I met Cindy). Cindy, however, didlive in Tanzania, and has fond memories of thatbeautiful country. We both are as excited as anteaters

In this issue^.

Tanzania 1

Life in D^as 2

He Shall Gather the Lambs 2

Prayer Requests and Praises. * 2

at a termite convention over the prospect of being backin Africa.

We plan to live in the city of Dodoma, which islocated right in the center of Tanzania. Many ofyouhave-asked-what-we will-be doing. Mueh-of-our-time—will be in support work and administration. Paperwork,visas, logistics, supplies, and the like will be a part ofour duties. But I also look forward to working with thechurches there, and establishing new churches, trainingleaders for those churches and helping them to becomeself sufficient.

Before any of this can take place, however, wewill undergo language training for Swahili. Cindy stillremembers quite a bit from her time there, but I mustadmit, I do not. We also we be going through "KenyaSafari" which is a training camp for families justarriving on the field. This is an three month orientationprogram that the Summer Institute of Linguisticsorganization in Kenya has designed to helpmissionaries and their families make a smooth

transition to life in Africa. It involves several weeks of

camping in different areas and time spent living in aAfiican village. Although Cindy and I have hadexperience doing these kinds of things, it has beenmany years and we could defmitely use a refreshercourse. Something that we sometimes lose sight of isthe fact that this will be an entirely new experience forour children. This course will go a long way towardsintroducing them to and preparing them for life inTanzania. Please make this a matter of prayer.Because this training program is in such demand, thewaiting list is long and we are not guaranteed a place (itis offered only once a year). We are attempting to getour names on the list at this time. Also, all of the livingexpenses for that period must be paid up front, so thefunds for this program will need to be raised as part ofour start-up costs. We will include the figures in afuture newsletter once we have the information.

2 DRUMBEAT

Life in Dallas

This time in Dallas has been a unique experience.Due to the major transition this has been for all of uswith regard to roles, lifestyle, and location, we feel wehave been navigating white water rapids. The holidayshave provided a reprieve fiom the pressure and madeavailable a time to look back over the semester and

reflect on what has been gained so far.The classes have greatly broadened our under

standing of the complexchallenges facing translatorsaround the world. Our management course (MDOC)has provided numerous tools for promoting unityamong mission teams and bringing out the best in thosewith whom we serve. Our time of internship has givenus a deeper understanding of the "mission" thatmotivates Pioneer Bible Translators. We are gainingan inside look at how the organization operates, not tomention the vast array of services the InternationalService Center offers Recruits, Members, and themission efforts of churches and colleges around thecountry.

We look forward with great anticipation to nextsemester. Our training will includea course called"Perspectives On World Missions" which will providean up to dateoverview on what is goingon around theworld with regard to missions. The efforts and methodsof mission groups around the worldwill be surveyedalong with an analysis of what is workingand what isnot. We will also be involved in an evangelism coursewith an emphasis on reaching Muslims. Thiswill bevery relevant to our ministry in Tanzania. Due to thehistoiy of ArabTnfluence along the East Afhcaircdast, asubstantial percentage of the populationin Tanzania isMuslim.

"He Shall Gather the Lambs..."

From time to time we requested that you pray withus for our children. As 1 look back over the months, theanswers to our prayers are keenly evident. We prayedfor Christian teachers and each of our children were

blessed with wonderful teachers who have felt

comfortable sharing their faith with us due to the natureof our work and training. Jim and I have tremendousrespect and appreciation for each of the teachers theLord provided and our children love them to death. Wewere concerned about Michael making the transition

November, 1997

from home schooling to Intermediate school with acluster of four teachers and classrooms. He was

placed in the only cluster with just two teachers andhas excelled in all areas even beyond what we hopedand prayed for. He recently had a dream come true.Ever since a field trip to the Johnson Bible Collegescience lab, he has wanted a pet tarantula (Thank youSteve Smith.) Well, a classmate of ours who knows ofMichael's love for critters caught one at his workplaceand brought it to us. Michael has enjoyed having oneof his very own. Since it is winter and they normallyhibernate during this time, we have had to make a fewtrips to the pet store to purchase crickets for thespider's food. Unfortunately, "Fang" escaped recentlyand we are unsure of his whereabouts.

David has also adjusted well to his fourth gradeclass and has developed a close bond with his teacher.We often "bump" into his teacher around town andthey always greet each other with an enthusiastic hug.We are particularly proud of David's achievement thismonth. He is the Acton Aztec Student of the month

for his class. This honor is bestowed on students who

excel in both grades and conduct.Keren took off to class the first day of school and

has not looked back. She misses her teacher and

friends on school holidays. Although I taught Kerenkindergarten at home last year, she had to take it againbecause of her late birthday. Consequently, she is notlearning a great deal of new material, but she is havinga blast. Keren experienced a landmark event thisweekend—she lost her first tooth and is very proud ofthe fact.

Thank you so much for your prayer support and-please continue to remember-our children.in-ynur.prayers throughout the next year as they will continueto face upheaval, uncertainty, and new experiences.

Prayer Kecjue^and/PraC&e^1. Continued prayer for the kids adjustment.2. That the Lord would provide the remaining

monthly support we need. ($1000.00 per month)3. Money for start up costs and air tickets. We

will providea detailed list of all needs in our nextnewsletter.

4. Praise for needs being met while here in Dallas.5. Praise for finding a good church home while

here - Arlington Christian Church.6. Continued prayer and praise for PBT in light of

recent growth and outreach.