Isles of the Sea Cluster of Pacific islands

God’s Word for the languages of the Pacific islands will give deepen their relationship with God!

The steps of the godly are directed by the LORD. He delights in every detail of their lives. Though they stumble, they will not fall, for the LORD holds them by the hand. (Psalm 37:23-24, NLT)

In the scattered Pacific islands, Christianity is a way of life for many people. This project will help churches — some 100 years old — finally access God’s Word in the language each people group speaks. Project personnel, working with local Christian leaders, will help the church translate remaining Scripture needs in the mother tongue with a focus on local needs. Today, most of the churches use Scripture in a second or foreign language, so potential for misunderstanding is high. Many simply replaced the rules for appeasing animistic spirits with new ones to pacify the missionaries’ God.

As part of Wycliffe’s Last Languages Campaign, the project will begin work in all the remaining Polynesian languages that still have translation needs and want to invest in translation. Some groups want to translate the four Gospels while others will complete the entire Bible. Local churches, several Wycliffe organizations and the Christian Leadership Training College in PNG are partnering with The Seed Company in this project. This cluster initially involves 11 languages.

  • The Carolinian translation team is putting finishing touches on their NT so it can be published this month. The Woleai team has Mark and John in second draft, and Matthew, Luke and Acts in first draft! Praise God for the soon publication of the Carolinian NT!
  • The Satawai team has team checked Mark and has begun translating the other Gospels, drafting Matthew so far. The consultant check of the OT in the Kapingama¬rangi language is in full swing even while the revi¬sion of the NT is ongoing. Five OT books have been consultant checked in the Nukuoro language and the entire NT except for the last two chapters of Romans have been reviewed! Thank God for all their progress!
  • The new Mwoakilloa translation project has started up, ap¬proved by three local churches! Pray for their preparations and praise God for this new one.
  • Nukuria translators are making progress. Their leader is assessing the need for BGAN and laptop equipment for this project as they work on two of the Gospels. Nukumanu, a Polynesian Outlier Cluster Language in PNG, translator Edmond is correcting and village testing the NT, nearing the point of typesetting. Give God praise!
  • Nico hopes to go to the Solomon Islands and try to get the Tikopia translation up and running again. Typesetting of the NT in Paicî is now in progress, Hallelujah! Next step is printing. Pray about a setback in typesetting due to the death of the facilitator’s father. Pray that Nico’s trip to the Solomon Islands is prosperous and that the Tikopia work gets up and running again.
  • Thank God that work on the Children’s Bible in the Cemuhî language was com¬pleted, so the focus has shifted back to working on the NT. Praise God the Niuafo’ou translators now use Paratext and have the four Gospels and Acts ready for publication.
  • Half of the Psalms has been translated into the Pa’umotu lan¬guage! The project leaders hope to visit the island where Rapa’Iti is spoken in 2012. No activities are planned for the rest of 2011. Pray for the Pingelap, Mokilese and Polowat language communities as they’re discussing among themselves whether or not to start a Bible translation. Nico’s move to Guam in October may facilitate this discussion.

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