I think often of Jesus, crowds of people always underfoot. Some of them had heard of his exploits and were genuinely curious as to whether or not he might be the promised Messiah. Others, like the scribes and the Pharisees, were threatened by Him. They engaged with Him, not to learn or to change, but to try to trick Him into doing something that they could use to accuse or destroy Him. Then there were the others, who were just looking for the kind of help they thought He could give.
The people that surrounded Jesus in those days are not unlike most people today. People deal with sickness, death, rejection, wonder. Most people experience a curious, elusive hunger—what some call the “God-shaped hole in the human heart.”
I’ve sat at the conference table in Madang, Papua New Guinea the last few months, surrounded by such people. Ezekiel (the leader of the Somau Garia translation team) was once a violent man, using brutality to bend people to his will. Others were bandits, lying in wait alongside the Ramu Highway, waiting for buses to rob. Some were drunkards and wife-beaters. Two were known as murderers.
At some point, however, each of them became insatiably hungry for something more, something real, something life-giving. That hunger brings us together around our overarching need for grace, mercy, and deliverance from sin. Though we desire relief from the symptoms of our disobedience, the Lord deals with the cause.
Into our desperation for grace and life and deliverance came Jesus, washing our sins away and giving us the Holy Spirit to comfort and guide and transform us into His likeness. It is that transformation that drives us as a team and fills us with a desire to see others changed by the powerful word of God. It is why we translate the New Testament into the Somau Garia language.
Though we have been working on translation since 2001, we have seen the most progress the last few years. In 2024 we brought 13 books (1039 verses or 13% of the NT) through the process to make them ready for publication. Already in 2025 we have checked and prepared an additional 1071 verses (more than all of last year). Lord willing, by the end of this year, we will have prepared a total of 2383 verses or an additional 30% of the New Testament for publication. Finally, in 2026 we are asking the Lord to make it possible for us to prepare the final 1700 verses, or 21% of the New Testament.
As we translate, literacy workers use the translated Scriptures to teach people to read and write their heart language. Those learning to read the Scriptures are being transformed by it. Evangelists are preaching it. Teachers are teaching it. God is raising up a generation of people who will be his witnesses.
Christ’s Church of Oronogo has walked alongside us in this ministry for three decades, praying, resourcing, and encouraging. Thank you! It matters!
Todd & Angela Owen
Todd and Angela Owen serve with Pioneer Bible Translators in Papua New Guinea. Since the late 90s they’ve worked with and discipled the Garia people to translate the New Testament into their own language. Todd and the translation team are pressing on toward completing the New Testament translation, expecting to finish in 2027, with hopes—if the Lord wills—for a dedication sometime in 2028.
