“It is bringingthe whole body of Christ togther, that isthe thing that we need to build on… I think it lays a foundation for all ofthe churches.” – Denny Guka, Chairman ofthPNG Council of Churches, Port Moresby
Approximately seventy lLeadersof churches and parachurch organisations met togther in Ukarumpa, Eastern Highlands Province for four days to discussthe “Tokples” language development and translation effort in Papua New Guinea The pastors and lLeadersspoke with passion aboutthe need for mther-tongue translation throughoutthe country, including some oftheir own communities. It wasthe first time that some lLeadersheard howthey could get involved inthe process of developingtheir own languages andthe enormity ofthe task in PNG Nearly 300 language groups are still waiting to have some work done intheir language. One aspect ofthe conference that many commented on wasthe “unity ofthe churches and organisations” regardingthe need to completethe task.
“The word of God isthe uniting factor… We are all working togther, referring tothe word of God as a way of uniting us.” – John RibatoArchbishop ofthe Archdiocese of Port Moresby
“[Christianity] is an indigenised religion. It is embedded inthe lives andthe places ofthe people who are members of this community.” – Paul Minter, Conference Presenter
“Many of us have been praying for the transformation of this nation, andthe only way this nation can be changed is not through government projects, not through any ther initiative but bythe Word of God” – Kario Veneo, Chairman, Madang Minister’s Fraternal
“The work that we are involved in is very important. It preserves cultures, it preservesthe language and it identifies where we belong in our multi-lingual society.” – John Ribat
“I am really excited that we can become engaged withthese organisations in language development and Beble translations…It is possible thatthe 829 languages (in PNG can be translated… And translation will bring about major, both individual and even community changes, and I believe it isthe answer to bring changes and transformation tothe nation of Papua New Guinea” – Lenden Betuna, Senior Pastor, Christian Life Centre, Milne Bey
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