Language Learning Challenges

When a person attempts to communicate a concept from one language to another language there is a potential for errors to occur. For example, the following sign was posted in a Norwegian cocktail lounge for their English speaking customers:

Ladies are requested not to have children in the bar.

In Norwegian the phrase "to have children" has nothing to do with giving birth. It is a perfectly legitimate way of telling ladies to keep their children out of the bar. But in English that phrase has another meaning.
Missionaries are face with these types of communication problems when trying to translate God's Word into another language.

A former student wrote, "The goal is to make sure that the meaning of God's communication with man stays the same, despite the fact that each missionary will be working in a language that is not their own, possibly an unwritten one. Every language has a way to communicate meaning, but the forms are so very different."
He gave this example. "In English, if we begin a story with a character named Joseph, then the hearer knows that unless otherwise specified, every time Joseph is mentioned, it is the same person."

But in some languages, every time a proper name is mentioned, it means that there is a new character being introduced. If you didn't understand this, you could tell your audience the story of Joseph and find out when you were finished, that they understood very little of what you had told them, because they were unable to keep track of how many Josephs there were in the story.

God certainly did a good job when He confused the languages. Who would have ever thought that in some languages when a proper name is mentioned it means that person is a new character in the story.
Not only is it important for the missionary overseas to communicate correctly, the same is true for us here at home. Please pray for me to be clear in communicating as I teach phonetics and other classes related to language and culture.

We currently have only nine first semester students. This is the smallest class I have ever seen here. We really need God's wisdom in how to present lessons that were designed for larger groups. Your prayers are much appreciated.

Bob

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  Hold Tight to Jesus

 

It appears almost impossible that those who have been redeemed by the blood of the dying Lamb and loved with an everlasting love by the eternal Son of God could forget that gracious Savior; but if startling to the ear, sadly it is too apparent to the eye to allow us to deny the crime. Some other love steals away your heart, and you are unmindful of Him upon whom your affection ought to be set. Some earthly business engrosses your attention when you ought to be fixed steadily upon the cross. It is the incessant turmoil of the world, the constant attraction of earthly things that takes the soul away from Christ. While memory works to preserve a poisonous weed, it allows the rose of Sharon (Christ) to wither. Let us charge ourselves to tie a heavenly forget-me-not around our hearts for Jesus our Beloved, and whatever else we let slip, let us hold tight to Him. — Charles Spurgeon

Hope: Confident Expectation

An old hymn says, "My hope is built on nothing less than Jesus blood and righteousness." But what exactly is hope? Sometimes I say, "I sure hope it does not rain today." That might be considered a "hope-so" version of hope. In contrast, some synonyms for hope are "confidence" or "expectation." To me, confidence or expectation goes beyond a mere "hope-so" mentality.

Recently I read a prayer letter from one of my missionary friends in Papua New Guinea. I was struck by the hope expressed by a tribal believer named Paska. My friend wrote:

Today I was cleaning out the shed when one of our Bible teachers came by. After chatting with Paska for a few minutes, I asked him if there was anything I could do for him. He pulled a picture out of his basket. It was a picture of his oldest daughter who had passed away when she was fourteen years old. "Here's a picture of my daughter. You said you wanted to see it sometime." I looked at the picture and wasn't sure what to say. I felt sad. "Do you ever think about her?" I asked. "Yes, and I feel sad," he responded. "Did she know the Good News?" I asked. "Yes," he said, "She trusted in Christ's work on the cross for her sins before she died," he told me. "So, someday I can meet her?" I said. He got a big smile and said, "Yes, we will see her again." Hope. The believer's confident expectation of our future together with Christ. Today, in spite of the pain and sadness Paska still feels for the loss of his daughter, he is confident that he will see her again. He has hope, and it is built up and rooted in the shed blood of our Lord Jesus Christ!

I consider it a privilege to have had a part in helping to train those missionaries who brought the good news of Jesus Christ to Paska and his people.

I am reminded that it took a team of people to bring the message of the gospel to this tribe in Papua New Guinea. And it takes a team of people to help train missionary candidates as they prepare to take the good news to those who have never heard. I am so thankful for all those who are part of my partnership team. Without the prayers and support of God's people I could not function here in this ministry.

Bob

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"The law demands strength from one who has none, and curses him if he cannot display it. The gospel gives strength to one who has none, and blesses him in the exhibition of it."

by C. H. Mackintosh

Missionary Training for Effective Church Planting

Instructors and students talk about the practical skills and spiritual preparation needed for effective cross-cultural ministry among unreached people groups.

Because of Calvary,

Bob Nyberg

Giving Thanks

After Aaron Luse finished teaching evangelistic lessons to 3 groups of Patpatar people in Papua New Guinea, several shared their new found faith with the rest of the group. One old man spoke up saying:

This teaching through God's Talk has led me to praise. It has led me to God's Son. God made Adam and Eve in the garden and restricted them from the fruit. When they sinned a new road was needed to get to God. A new road was needed and God promised it, but it wasn't completed then. That road is this that we believe in the death and resurrection of Jesus. We believe and know that we are not good. I am not a righteous man. But if we know this and believe in Him, God will make us new again.

Another new believer said:

When you wake up in the morning, you can look out on the ocean and see dolphins jumping in the water. That is like the joy that I have. I have joy jumping up and down because of the teaching from God's Word. It is clear to me and the truth has replaced what I used to believe.

At this time of the year I am reminded that we have much to give thanks for. I am very thankful for all those who pray for my ministry. Your prayers on my behalf are much appreciated.

Bob

 

Andrew Murray on "Humility"

"Humility is perfect quietness of heart. It is to have no trouble. It is never to be fretted or irritated or sore or disappointed. It is to expect nothing, to wonder at nothing that is done to me. It is to be at rest when nobody praises me and when I am blamed or despised. It is to have a blessed home in the Lord, where I can go in and shut the door and kneel to my Father in secret, and am at peace as in the deep sea of calmness when all around and above is trouble."

A Church is Born in PNG

Only a few years ago the Busers and Chens were sitting in a phonetics class here at the Missionary Training Center. Now they are working with the Biem people of Papua New Guinea. They recently finished teaching a series of chronological Bible lessons culminating with the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus. Brandon Buser wrote:

We began today's lesson by acting out the crucifixion. From there we taught: Why did Jesus have to die? What did that mean for us? Why had God the Father forsaken Him? What did He mean "it is finished"? What did the torn curtain mean? How in the world did the thief get saved? From there we acted out the resurrection and then taught on the significance of it. Finally the ascension and some more teaching.

Obviously the reactions were as varied as the individuals that were in attendance… Here are some of the things that a few of the folks said:

"Brandon, it's so clear now. I used to go to church, give money, and do good. All those things I thought would make me clean in God's eyes. But when I slept at night, truly I had no idea where I would go when I die. But now I know! Brandon, I'm not scared of dying anymore."

Another fella just kept saying "Really?! Really!?" Everyone beside the guy kept looking at him like he was nuts, but he was just beside himself with amazement at what Jesus had completed on his behalf.

One friend said, "I've been listening to the whole teaching and I understand this. I believe this. I know Jesus ONLY has straightened my sin pay. Now I understand this and the first thing I'm going to do is tell my family. They need to hear this."

Another said, "We've talked about it already. We're going to be going to the next islands to share this talk (15 miles – open ocean). We'll row in our canoes if we have to. They need to hear. They don't understand this talk at all. None of us did. But us, we need to get this talk to others now."

Wayne Chen also wrote:

A young guy sat next to me, with a biggest smile on his face. He didn't say anything so I asked him, "what's on your mind?" He said, "Wayne, I had a big question yesterday. Why didn't God the Father help Jesus on the cross? I thought about it all night and I didn't know.

But after today's lesson, I don't have any more questions. I got it. I understand it. I am just going to sit here and be happy." He smiled on.

And one young Biem man said, "I know I should thank God for you guys but I want to thank your families for bringing God's talk here." Then we told him that, there are literally thousands of people praying for you guys to understand God's talk all over the world. He then said, "Ok, then you go and tell them, ALL OF THEM, THANK YOU. God's talk has come to our island. THANK THEM for praying and sending you guys here." This young man, along with a few others, began to discuss how they need to take this talk to other islands and even different language groups in Papua New Guinea.

This young Biem believer reminds me that it takes a team to plant a church. Brandon and Wayne needed someone in Missouri to teach them phonetics. And I could not teach phonetics without a partnership team supporting and praying for my ministry.

I am truly thankful for all those who have partnered with me through their prayers and through their financial support.

Bob

Thanks for Packing My Chute!

Charles Plumb was a U.S. Navy jet pilot in Vietnam. After 75 combat missions, his plane was destroyed by a surface-to-air missile. Plumb ejected and parachuted into enemy hands. He was captured and spent 6 years in a communist Vietnamese prison. He survived the ordeal and now lectures on lessons learned from that experience. 

One day, when Plumb and his wife were sitting in a restaurant, a man at another table came up and said, "You're Plumb! You flew jet fighters in Vietnam from the aircraft carrier Kitty Hawk. You were shot down!" "How in the world did you know that?" asked Plumb. "I packed your parachute," the man replied. Plumb gasped in surprise and gratitude. The man pumped his hand and said, "I guess it worked!" Plumb assured him, "It sure did. If your chute hadn't worked, I wouldn't be here today."

Plumb couldn't sleep that night, thinking about that man. Plumb says, "I kept wondering what he might have looked like in a Navy uniform: a white hat, a bib in the back, and bell-bottom trousers. I wonder how many times I might have seen him and not even said 'Good morning, how are you?' or anything because, you see, I was a fighter pilot and he was just a sailor."

Plumb thought of the many hours the sailor had spent on a long wooden table in the bowels of the ship, carefully weaving the shrouds and folding the silks of each chute, holding in his hands each time the fate of someone he didn't know. Now, Plumb asks his audience, "Who's packing your parachute?" Everyone has someone who provides what they need to make it through each day.

In reading this story a couple of things stood out to me.

Before Plumb was shot down his attitude of self-importance demonstrated in thoughts such as: "I was a fighter pilot and he was just a sailor."

Often we put overseas missionaries on pedestals and discount the role that we have in their lives. We might reason:

"I'm just a fellow in Missouri who teaches missionaries phonetics. My role is insignificant!"

"I'm just a church member who prays for missionaries. My role is insignificant!"

"I'm just a blue-collar worker who supports a missionaries financially. My role is insignificant!"

After Plumb was shot down he realized that this insignificant sailor was "holding in his hands the fate of someone he didn't know." That really put things into perspective.

It has been said that a chain is only as strong as its weakest link. There are many links to the chain of reaching unreached people groups. And there are no insignificant links.

   

God has a team of people who are packing my parachute every day through their prayers and their financial gifts to my ministry. I am so thankful for each and every one who take the time to pack my chute.

I would be blessed if you would consider being a part of that team packing my parachute. To learn more, please click here or send me an email.

Because of Calvary,

Bob Nyberg

Reach Tribes! Transform Lives!

Muluk said, "Listening to God's Word is so wonderful. My liver (aka heart) is just full. It just feels so good."

A new semester is just beginning here at the NTM Missionary Training Center. Please pray for us as we train the next generation of missionaries to reach tribes and transform lives.

Bob