The Mfes Beasley Family

Members

(in-training)
of

PIONEER
BIBLE

TRANSLATORS
Box 628

Lincoln, Illinois 62656

Sponsored by

SOUTHWEST CHKTSTIAN CHURCH

Jackson, Mississippi

nB 2 2 ^919

January-February 1979
Dear Friends,

We trust you had a wonderful ahd enriching Christinas season.

We

enjoyed a few days with Alta's sister and family at Artesia Christian

College in New Mexico and then spentj the New Year's week-end with Wes*
family and our Christian friends in iackson, Mississippi. We always
enjoy our time there and it's hard to leave again.

We apologize for

not sending Christmas cards or letters but the last few weeks of the
semester were such that assignments|and finals took priority. We
thought of you and appreciate Che cards and letters we received. We

finished the "notoriously trying" second semester with our heads spinning
but grateful to God for seeing us through again. We are now in our third
and final semester of linguistic training and are looking forward to some
very profitable classes. We are both taking Principles of Literacy and
Principles of Translation, and Wes has an additional class in Cultural
Anthropology. The literacy class teaches us the principles involved in
the introduction of literacy to pre-literate societies. The translation
course prepares us for the actual problems we will encounter in transfering the Word of God from the Greek to the tribal language with which

we will work.

The Anthropology couii'se provides an insight into the teay

different tribal groups perceive the world and respond to basic needs.

Already we are enjoying these classe^ which make us even more anxious to

be on the field and get down to the Ireal task.

Jonathan and Adam are also busy with their studies at school and are

learning lots of new things.

We ar^ still living in our rented house

in Cedar Hill and praise God for providing for all our needs.
We attended the board meeting of Pioneer Bible Translators in St, Louis,

Missouri in November where we were interviewed and a_c(^pted^^^^of^cially as members-in-training.

DaYid.Pryor, our field direfEBf in Papiia New

Guinea was at this meeting whicli helped make it a very rewarding time

for us as he answered a multitude of| questions and put us at ease about

many things. We appreciated getting to know him and look forward to
working with him and his family in Papua New Guinea.

any of you have asked what some of

will be a^we.prepare to

go to -P-a^pua 1^5? Guinea. We are enclosing as a separate insert in this

newsle't^F'a list which we hope will give you some idea. Many of these
things are not necessities, some are;.
with none of

Since we will be in a remote area

the "modern conveniences" such as TV, baseball games^ etc.

to occupy any free time we might find we would like to have some of the
things on the list to fill this time* We are not asking for any of these

things because we know God will provide what we need as He always does

but simply provide this list as a gyide for you who have asked. We thank
God daily for you who continually keep us in your prayers and let God use

Iyou to accomplish this task of givii^^ His Word to a people who have never
heard.

THE BEASLEYS IN BIBLE TRANSLATION

FINANCIAL NEEDS

(These items and figures, are esj:lmates based on recom

mendations received^from"Pioneer Bible Translators Field

Director, David Pryor, now working in Papua New Guinea

and reflect durr^nt needs for translator families of our
size and the present trend in dollar-devaluation and Kinainflation. As such these figures are subject to revision
depending on our village location and the condition of the
dollar in the next few years)
Monthly Support Needs (salary and expenses) .oo, $1300.00

Needs for cash on hand for travel to PNG

and for establishing work in PNG:

Travel to Papua New Guinea (Nov., 1979) o..o.ooo $4500=00

Survey Expenses

(Dec., 1979)

o . o .

500.00

Bush House construction (fall, 1980) .. o.o

,
Bush House furnishings (fall, 1980) . . . o o . . . a o
Generator or solar cells (fall, 1980) . o o
Government specified transceiver (fall, 1980) .....o

8000.00
2400 =00
1200.00
2000.00

Boat and motors

. o... o

(fall, 1980)

. . . . . . o 52200^00

**EITHER

Four-wh.drive vehicle (fall, 1980)9700.00

** Our mode of transportation will depend on our actual tribal

location.

Please join with us in prayer and preparation =,

THE BEASLEYS IN BiBLE TRANSLATION

FINANCIA L STATEMENT
List of Contributors:

Antioch (Hickory, MS)

Antrim (Mancelona, MI)
Excelsior (Kalkaska, MI)
Lake - 1st & 3rd gro (Lake, MS)
Southwest (Jackson, MS)

Davis
Duckworth

McCool
Owens

Wilson
anonymous

RECEIPTS (12/77 - 11/78):

Cash Offerings
From Churches

0000000

...eoo.ooo..o..oo

$ 146o18
5464o70

From Individuals

2537.00

Sub-Total

8147088

$814788
5.85

Interest from beink

Sub-Total

8153o73

Funds placed in Savings Account

-2540.80**

Sub-Total

5612o93

DISBURSEMENTS (12/77 - 11/78):

Summer iQgjLLtute of Linguistics tuition, boarding, childcare, etCo $3345.
University of Texas - tuition
T45.00
Check printing charge
3.25
Bank Service Charge . , o . o o o o
Prayerletter mailing, stamps
Slides duplicated

1776

Sub-Total ....000...0..0000.

$4050.74

3.00

36o00

BALANCE ON mND - checking 11/78

-4050o74

$1562.19

**Beasley Mission Fund Savings Account

(for future travel to Papua Nei^ Guinea and for housing,
equipment, and supplies necessj^y for working in PNG.)

BALANCE ON HAND - savings 11/1/78

$2540.80

In future newsletters we will try to give you an insight into what our

life in the village will be like, and how our task will unfold once we
arrive. If you have any questions about this work, our preparation, our
needs or about us personally please write us. We always enjoy hearing
from you and feel this is vour _war3i; too as you share with us in prayer,
financial needs and' encouragement. We thank God for you.

After a long day of working on the

vernacular translation of the New

Testament, a

translator and his native

translation helper rose from their crude"

I table and gazed out the front door of the

work room. Both men were quiet and pen
sive as they surveyed the village scene
which lay before them: the people returning
from their gardens, the children playing near the
porch, and in the distance, the village cemetery.
.
Finally, the native translation helper, a recently converted

Christian, broke the- silence. "Brother", he asked, "have you had this
good news for a long time?" "Yes", the translator replied, "I've had
this wonderful message all my life. My earliest memory is of my father
reading to me from God's Word, teaching me of God's great love." "Did
your father have this good news all his life?" "Yes". "And your grand

father?"

"Yes.

In fact, my people have had God's Word in their language

for four-hundred years." The native translation helper fell silent and
looked thoughtfully out toward the village cemetery where both his father
and grandfather were buried. As the translator followed his helper's

gaze, the uaspol^n question became painfully clear: If you have had this

Good News for s6^!ong, why has it taken so long for you to bring it to

us?

More than 3000 pre-literate language groups are without the Good News
of Jesus Christ in their own language. Too many generations of these
people have already died without a saving knowledge of Jesus ChristBrothers and Sisters, let us dedicate our energies and submit our wills
to God so that in the power of the Lord, we can bring the life-saving
message of Jesus to those who have not yet heard.

The translation helpers's question, "Why so long?", is painful and sad

but not so sad and n^t so painful as the question which will be asked

HirougBout all eternity by those who are dying without ever hearing the
name of Jesus:
*

did you not come at all?"

*

**

********

"...and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count,
from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the
throne and in front of the Lamb..."

Revelation 7:9

PBT now has three translation families and one support family on the field
in Papua New Guinea.

Dayid..Pryor is the field director and is now located

in a village with his i^fe7 Sharran, and two children, and has begun the
language analysis of the^iri people.

John and Bonita Pryor with their

son, Jesse are located in the village of Samban. Dan and Rosiland Wilcox
along with their infant daughter, Beth, have chosen a location with'the^"

Ayome people.

Ron andLisa Augsberger, with their four children, live

in the city of * ' Madang

and fill the very important role of "support

personnel". This, means that they take care of all the mail, foVd and
medical supplies and emergency needs of the translators who live in re
mote areas where travel is difficult. The Augsbergers went to FNG without
sufficient financial support in response to an immediate need for a

'support" family on the field. Their monthly financial support has not

increased sufficiently and they are working under very difficult circum
stances as a result. The work, the Augsbergers are performing is very
essential if translators are going to stay in their villages and is es
pecially necessary with.^thre^e fore translator families (including us)
arriving in FNG within,the'next^ yeajPlease be very much in prayer for

this urgent need. If God leads you to join in providing regular support
for them or if you know of a church group who could provide this need,

please contact their forwarding agent, Owen Clark, 2000 Lexington Place.
Bedford, Texas 76021. If you would like to be placed on the mailing lists
of other PBT families and with the home office please write us and we will
send addresses.

Forwarding Agents:

Beasleys:

M/M Larry Tanksley

%SIL

112

7500 W.
Dallas,

Stone

Cove

Clinton, Ms,

39056

Please make checks payable to:

Camp Wisdom Rd.

Texas 75211

SOUTHWEST
CHRISTIAN CHURCH
BEASLEY MISSION FUND

CHRISTIAN CHURCH
P.

0.

Box

Jackson,

10716

Miss.

39209

Research Dept.
Mission Services Assoc
Box 177

Kempton, IN 46049

, "7'. l-i

March-April
Dear Friends,

After a busy week of literacy projects and translation term papers,

we are in the middle of a very v;elcome Spring break visiting with our
Christian family in Jackson, Mississippi,
We are using this time to
unwind from our studies, to catch up on correspondence, and to bring
you up to date through our newsletters.

have kept

the four of us

School activities and studies

quite bi^y but we

have taken time

out for

some much-needed trips to the denti^st.

We are trying to get an early
start on all the things that need to be done before leaving for Papua
New Guinea,
and dental work was at the top of the list.
Alta, Jona
than and Adam are- "all fixed up" or a while and Wes is nexto . Adam

wanted to borrow one of Jonathan's teeth to put under his pillow,

since he hasn't started losing his yet, and wanted to get in on the

"rewards".

Adam had a birthday Majrch 20 and can whistle and do lots

of things that the magical age of five provides.

Jonathan seems to be

growing up fast and was proud to "babysit" his little brother in the
other room while Mom and Dad were immersed in typing term papers.They
are good boys and will be a great help to their Mom and Dad in the
village.
After this week we will return to Dallas where we will have

three more weeks of classes.

Jonajthan won't get out of

school until

the end of May so we plan to use those few weeks to return our borrow
ed furniture, well what we have accumulated in the house that we don't

need and move back

in the ILC dormitory

for our summer classeso

We

will attend the Pioneer Linguistic Institute at Lincoln, Illinois the

last week of May. The week immediately following V/es will be the mis

sionary speaker for

Hidden Haven Bible Camp near Newton,

Mississippi

and Alta and the boys will be the rrissionary speakers for DVBS at Sou
thwest Christian Church.

In this newsletter
know our plans.

we are giving a tentative schedule

We will be speaking to several

ready in our schedule.

so you will

churches who are al

If you would like to have us come and present

to your congregation the work of [Bible translation in remote tribes

please contact us or our forwarding agents.
We have some time in the
Pall (September - November) and wou!Id be happy to present this work to
you.

We continually

thank God for your friendship

prayers and financial help.

and support

through

Please keep us in your prayers as we fin

ish our schooling and begin the finlal stages of our preparationso
In Christian love.

Vt-

LUt'> :u\li QjJx'i

^
swamplands of the Sepik River in Papua New
Guinea native tribespeople are waiting for the arrival
i" their village of God's message,,
Marilyn LaszlOr

nsSmm
M i'

translator j tells of an experience which illustrates their desire to know God^s words o While
!l\
i conducting a language survey in a remote area
^ where no translation had been done the survey
i\
surprised to see a building which was
faWliBiW
S ^ exact duplicate of a building in the village
//fScflWHB RptBLB where Marilyn was finishing her translation.. The
i/-'m
believers in Marilyn"s village had erected their
ilC^
building as a place to worship Godo When the

surprised survey team inquired about this un

usual building, the villagers replied,"On a trad
ing trip downriver we entered a village and on a hill in the center of

the settlement

we saw a building

that in the building

learned of God's ways for themo

learn His ways

like this one.

The people told us

they heard God's words in their own language and

We also want to hear God's words and

so we have built this

building to be ready

for Gods

messengerso"

This village still waits for God's word#

We pray that more workers

will enter into the ministry of Bible translation.

Please join us in

prayer to the Lord of the harvest that He will send more laborerso

0-V ij .iliuti tjo out lOttli

PRAYER

"The. hiVLVQAt

liiL

..saidk 55-12

REQUESTS

plzntiiut but the. woAkeJu cuie.

Ki>k thz LoH.d oK

the. hoAve^t, tkvizioH.Q., to 6cnd out LVoAkeM Into ku koAve^t {^leZdJ*

M--,T
. not have the Scriptures in their own tongue, because9:$7;3S
Millions
do
no one

has bothered to learn their language and translate God^s Word,

Pray

that God will raise up more translators so every tribe may be reached^

Continued good health for PBT families already in Papua New Guinea,

A safe trip for William and Robin Butler, new PBT translators who
leave for PNG on May 7o

Adam's hearing problems to be resolved (he will be tested at a special

hearing clinic soon)o
Travel and allocation funds

Praise God for seeing us through our schooling thus far.

Tl

OO

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TENTATIVE

SC^DULE

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May 11

a
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O Oo
>< H

May IB, 1$ >20

}- o

May 27-Jline

re

Spring semester ends

Faith Promise Rally,
Southwest Christian Church
2

J 7Ki

H j-l

m
2:
~H
to
..

cn C/D
H

June

Wes -

3-8

=c
PS
o

0
3

Qi

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-"J 3

Southwest Christian Church

June 11-^ug. 3

Dallas

Move back to Mississippi

Speaking to churches in Ind
iana & Michigan and visit
ing with Alta's family

Septembe|r

Jonathan and Adam s t a r t

school in Jackson area

SpeaJcing to churches in
Mississippi, Georgia, and
other areas;
packing and
making final arrangements

Sept.-Dec

H-

jn
CO H
fD

Oi

< (D
H- 'O
O
ft
(D

)C

Greek studies a t ILC in

August 4r9
August 10-29

H'

W rt
p. O

Hidden Haven Bible

Camp, Newton, Miss,

Alta and boys - DVBS at
O

tS
r+ H

Pioneer Linguistics Insti

tute, Lincoln, Illinois

for travel to PNG

Leave for Papua New Guinea

December

0\
o

December il979~

March 1^80

Ui

Orientation to Papua New

Guinea and the work of

Pioneer Bible Translators

in that area; assist in

support work and language
surveys; language study in
Pidgin English
March-July

July-Sept:ember

South Pacific Field Training

Course (Jungle Survival
training)
Final allocation surveys;
move to our village to be

'X)

ro

C-i

c= 0

fu

gin linguistic analysis of

vernacular language and

n
H-

TT

rt-

in

-o

3= -O Ml

Ul

build village house

0
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H-

CO rt

I
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o

CO

cr>

CO

\Q
0

Pt(La6z

ahe.ck6 payable, to:

SOUTHWEST CHRISTIAN CHURCH
BEASLEY MISSION FUND

71

The Wes Beasley Family

Meinbers

PIONEER
BIBLE
Box 828

Lincoln, Hlinois 62656

^ Sponsored by

W SOUTHWEST CHRISTIAN CHURCH

14' Jackson, Mississippi

May-June 1979

Dear Friend,

We greet you again from Dallas ajnd trust you are happy and well We
are once again "settled" into the

^ormitory on the International Ling-

uistic Center campus (as much as jne can settle for eight weeks). In
May Jonathan and Adam stayed with grandparents in Mississippi while
Mom and Dad attended the Pioneer Linguistic Institute and PBT board
meeting

in Lincoln, Illinois.

WB were thrilled

at all the

new re-

emits who are considering work wijth Pioneer Bible Translators.

For
those of you who do not know, th B Pioneer Linguistic Institute is a
one-week meeting held each Spring pn one of our Bible College Campuses
for the purpose of instructing an ^ interesting Bible College students
throughout the world.
We attende 31 advanced classes and helped in instructing

the phonetic lah sessio:ils

for the

new students.

We also

attended the board meeting and weijcie accepted as full members of PBT.
We ask for your prayers that we Vill fulfill all the e:<pectations
placed upon us to complete this g .t and awesome task.
We're grateful for the faith these men have
us and are humbled to be considered worthy of this calling.

Dnmediately after this meeting Ui Illinois we hurried back to Miss

issippi where Alta and the boys prjesented the missionary lessons for
Vacation Bible School at Southwe sft Christian Church.
There was a
great "bunch of kids" and perhaps ajven some prospective Bible Transla
tors!
Wes was the missionary spe tor and recreational director for
the teen camp at Hidden Haven and ifLso had a great week.

thankful to share with our Missist|ippi brothers and

they are a great part of our ministjcy.
Wes is now deep in the study of preek Discourse.

x^at i t takes

most of his time,

passports and visas,

1

making lists

We're always

sisters and feel

He's enjoying it

AjLta is doing the paperwork for our

^d purchasing needed supplies for

the field and catching

up
on corre: spondence.
.
-

Next month we will begin

our shots ^d medical exams. Adam
Adam had successful surgery on June 15th

ui which his tonsils and adenoids |were removed and tubes were placed
^-n his ears. He is recuperating iwell and we pray this will correct
hxs hearing problem. We will havfe him tested again in two months to
determine whether or not he still has a hearing loss.

Please be in

prayer for him. Of course this nie^iis no swimming for him this strnmer.
Jonathan is taking swimming lessoA^. with the Red Cross and enjoying
^ ^

It.

'

'

l' I

AAiAaMb

^rl I ili f_T

*9

Adam splashes in the little pbol while Mom helps instruct. They

are both enjoya^g new friends her^ on the ILC csaapus and are good at

adjusting to so many moves. We thank you again for continuing to sup

God bless each one of you.

port us with your prayers and finances.

Love through Jesus,

Wes, Alta, Jonathan
and Adam

OUR SCHEDULE:

We plan to be back in Mississippi after the first of September and

have several speaking dates open from that time through November.
If
you would like

to leam more about the work of Bible Translation for

remote tribes worldwide we would be happy to be of service to you.

You may write to us at our Dallas address or to our forwarding agents
in Mississippi.

PACKING TIME

We appreciate so very

much those of you who have

t^en on special projects to help provide us with certain itfems we

will need on the field. If you need further information on certain
needs, please write us.

We plan to have our goods ready for overseas

shipment by^ mid-October so you will need to have these items sent to

our forwarding agents in Clinton by that time.

Thank you for all your

help.
A SPECIAL THANKS:

All of our supporters are special to us but we want to mention some

new partoers with us.

The EXCELSIOR CHURCH OF CHRIST in Kalkaska Co-

mty, Michigan has joined us with regular monthly support. Alta's

folks worship with these wonderful people. We thank you friends at

Excelsior.

Mark and Elsa Huntley with whom Alta worked in Chile have

also joined us in this vital way of sharing financially and with their
payers. We also want to express our thanks to the Antioch Christian

Church of Newton, Miss., Southwest Christian Church in Jackson, Miss.,

and Hidden Haven Bible Camp for your special DVBS and camp offerings
and projects on our behalf*

God bless you all 11

I
9

tJ to

-rt

H
H
H
H* to

WHAT IP JOHN 3:16 READ:

Pl

cn

God so loved the world. He decided to

3 Son;
but when He said to His Son,
lis Son said,
"I don't feel a burden
"Go",
for
th B lost;
besides I am established and
"For

fi

send Hi

I
I sS'gs;
o

CJ

VO
o

U1

n:
73

have re sponsibilities

<r Co
-H

and commitments to at-

tend to

l>^

(T

OR, WHAP IF..

S
o

=t:

Before

the Son had

earth,

He had said,

someone

[to

l e f t Heaven

to come

"I see a real

to

need for

go and I am willing to go,

but I

haven't been called."

OR, WHAT IF...

When Chlrrist was to be bom in a stable.

He
had saijd, "I hate bugs; besides I have aller
gies that can be affected by such an environ

2 P H- p.

J X w

>0

f+ H

H-

(+

H-

8
S ^^ S
13
3

I
ii:^
a>
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vo

ment ."

cn
(D

3H-TJS

OR, WHAf

S
CD t^

When J<;^eph and Mary

in

IF...

to Egyp t,

g'

were conamanded

Jesus had said,

to flee

"You can't expect

my parejftts to take me into a foreign countiry,

0]

and language;

culture,

o
o

sick.

^Think of the

besides I

might get

concern i t would

cause

them."

by John Cross

from BROWN GOLD

PLEASE JOIN WITH US IN PRAYER;

for

that sh

surge^

a
cz o

(D

(U
9

(+

01

cotJ
5
o

2
0

p
>

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for smo 6th

H
0

-X3 Ml

i- O

s
CO

00

port ($355) will be supplied before we leave

for thd field in December.

3=* p

cr> H
mvQ

expedition of passports and visas.

that thi^ remainder of our needed monthly sup

H-

O ^ {+

U1

forwarding agent, Dottie Tanksley

will recover quickly from recent

/^/

SEP 1 4 1979

fa*

Beasley^ Backlog
Field Address:

Forwarding Agents:

Hes fi Alta Beasley

% Pioneer Bible Translators
P.

fill

0.

Box 178

Hadang, Papua Hew Guinea

VOL. J NO. 4

PRAISE THE MRD!

e finished
our linguistic and Greek studies
on August 3rd,
we packed our

things in a U-Haul in Dallas, un

loaded them for storage in Jackson

and began a busy month of travel

and speaking engagements The en

gine of our car caught fire just

^ we were ready to leave Jackson
but the Lord worked things out
Our Christian brother

Bob Phebus loaned us a car so we

were able to continue our speaking

tour as scheduled. The Tanksleys
worked with our insurance company

and the garage and had the car

waiting for us when we returned

from our trip.

we praise God for

our wonderful Christian friends.

We were priviledged to take
part in the Daily Vacation Bible

^ool of the

First Christian

Church of Dyersburg, Tn.,

a wonderful time of

with the Reeds

^ere.

112 Stone Cove

Clintcn, Ha. 390S6

Phone:

(601)924-0299

JUL/-AL/GUSr ?979

We're finished!

smoothly.

Larry t Dottie TanJuley

and had

fellowship

and the Christians

We're still praising God

for the enthusiasm of this group

of Christians and their willing

ness to help. As their project
for the week, they took on the
task of providing enough funds to
bi^ the solar cell packet we will
need in our tribal village in
Papua New Guinea. This will en

able us to have some energy in

our village home which will prove

invaluable in oxir translation worko

Their offering was $605 which al
most completely pays for the solar
cells.
Thank you,
Christian

friends in I^ersburg.
Jonathan and Adam re-discovered

the thrill of running and playing

on

the

farm

again as we visited

the Paynes in Remington, Indiana

and Alta's folks in Michigan.
We
soaked in the refreshing

coolness

of the northland knowing that, by

this^ time next year, we will be
longing for a cool breeze. We
visited several churches in Michi
gan,

two

of which suppoirt us in

this work, and the church at Fow

ler, Indiana. It's always a thrill
to share with fellow Christians the
need of

providing God's Word in

every "tongue".

We

and

are

the

back

in Jackson now

bc^s

school.

are

Jonathan

settled

in

is in second

grade at Florence Elementary and

Adam is in Kindergarten, We are
bi:^ing and collecting
the re
mainder of our supplies and plan
to have our overseas shipment
rea<^ the end of Septembero
We
thank

each

shared

by

of

you

who

collecting

have

supplies

for us.
Our crate will be sent
the
first
of
October and

out

then

we

will

be visiting with

churches in the southern

states

until our departure to Papua New

Guinea.

Our

visas

are in the

hands of the PNG Consulate

in

New York and we ask for your

prayers that their handling will
go smoothly. Thank you for your
prayers and love.

lungleLiving: Our Needs

As Bible translators in Papua
New Guinea we will live

in dir^

ect contact with the people we

serve.
These tribespeople live

in

remote areas which are quite

different from the USA.

move into the

Papuan

When we

jungle to

live and work, we will need ade

quate housing,
vehicle, some

cation

with

an

appropriate

means of communi

our

support team,

and adequate monthly funds for

family and mission
es^enseso
Based on information

from

neer Bible Translators in

New Guinea,

Pio

Papua

we have been able to

assess our needs in each of these

areas.

HOUSING;
The tribespeople of New
G\ilnea build houses which shelter

THE WES BEASLEY FAMILY -

PIONEER BIBLE TRANSLATORS

FINANCIAL STATEMENT

Balance brought forward

Receipts (11/78 -

11/78

$4,102.99

9/79):

Oiurches
$4,18500
Individuals
333o00
Cash offerings
801.26
Other Sources (bank interest,
385.03
scholarships, etc.)
$5,704o29

+5,704o29

Disbursements (11/78 - 9/79):

Schooling
Supplies (equipment for
the field)

425.03
835.20

Prayer letter (printing and

mailing)

190.92

Travel
Gifts to PBT

350.00
93.97

Relocation to PNG (passport

fees, physicals, bond in
surance, mailings books to
-uPNG, etc.)

844o82

$2,739o94

total

-2,739.94

n$7,067.34

(9/79)

Your regular financial si5)port is deeply appreciated. With this

assurance of regular support, we are able to look forward to a

fruitful term of service in Papua New Guinea as Bible Translators^

THE WES BEASLEY FAMILY - PIOl^;ER

BIBLE TRANSLATION

FINl^CIAL NEED;)S

These items and figures are estima^s based on recommendations re

ceived from Pioneer Bible Translators! Field Director, David Pryor,
now working in Papua New Guinea and reflect current needs for trans
lator families of our size and the present trend in dollar-devaluation and Kina-inflation. As such, these figxires are subject to re

vision depending on our village location and the ccmdition of the

dollar in the next few years*

Monthly Sii^port Needs (Overseas and Stateside):

Overseas service link;

$ 535.00

Overseas Living link:

Stateside mission e:<p.
Total Monthly needs

160.00

805.00

We still lack approximately

$500 in monthly support.

$1500,00

One-time expenses;
SIL schooling...PAID, PTLl
Travel to PNG..oSAVED, PTLl

$5,000.00 (paid)
4,500.00 (on hand)
Resettlement in PNG...SAVED, PTL! |
500.00 (on hand)
500.00 (on hand)
Jungle Camp, extra e:^enses..oSAVED PTL!
Survey Eaqpenses...SAVED,PTL!
500o00 (on hand)
Solar cell packet...SPECIAL GIFT,PT: .!
655o00 (on hand)
Vehicle:

boat (or)
4-wheel. drive

Radio (government-specified model)

Bush house and furnishings

4,000o00 (needed)
10,000.00 (needed)
2,200.00 (needed)
10,000.00 (needed)

See article on Jiangle Living in the current issue of our newsletter

for further explanation of these needs.

Please join with us in prayer and prep^ation and praise God with
us for meeting our needs thus far.

them but which do not last

will

build

simple

We

for the Who/e Famiiy...

house following a

pattern

but

using

more

God's UlHinahim:

World Evangeliftm

durable materials
The PBT'ers
in PNG advise us that we will
need around ten tho\isand dollars

for materials,

construction, and

furnishings for

jungleo

ing o\ir
house,

our

home in the

During the time

MUtionory Cenvntinj

preced

Otfelm 16-19. 197? il Mm. UKatA

allocation in our jungle

we

will

live in

rental

housing in the city of Madang,

TRANSPORTATION:

In the provinces

of Madang and the East Sepik,

there are several language groups
with whom we could live and trans
late.
Some groups live in areas

which can only be reached by boat;

some can be reached by fourwheel
drive vehicle; some live in ter

rain so rugged that they can only

be reached by heliocoptero
We
will choose a location where we
can work effectively;
transpor

tation needs will

certainly be a

factor in our decision, A rivergoing boat with two motors costs

around $3,500; a four-wheel drive

vehicle costs around

$10,000;
heliocopter rental time is very
expensive.

COMMUNICATION;

Since

remote

we

will

live

in

location, we

will

need a radio to COTnnunicate

with the support team who brings

our mail, supplies, etc,
and
with a doctor in emergencies
I f there is. a

radio vd-thin

kilometers of our home,

the

ten

PNG

government says we must shareo If

not, we must purchase the govern
ment-specified radio which
cos is
$2200o

Nowl^HB

MONTHLY FUNDS;

TSie work of Bible

translation i s multi-faceted

complex

requiring time,

and

money,

and energy.
Papua New Guinea is
an expensive place to liveo Over
seas ej^enses will amount to ap
proximately $1300 per montho
We
will

also

monthly

have

expenses

about

for

$200

of

stateside

mission and personal needs.

The
Lord is already providing about
70%
of
our
monthly si^jport
through diurches and individuals
like you.
PTL!
The Lord will provide accord
ing to His will and
through the
generosity of His
people,
our
friends.
We provide this infor
mation

for

those

who

are

our

partners
in prayers and support.
If you would like more
details,
please write to us in care of
Larry Tanksley,
our forwarding
agent.
If you would like to con
tribute toward one of these areas

send your

tax-deductible

made

to Southwest Christian

Church
with a

out

(our

sponsoring

check

church)

note on the memo linejPBT-

PNG, House or Vehicle or Radio or

Monthly Support, to
Larry Tanks-

1' /, Pioneer Bible Translators,

112 Stone Cove, Clinton,Mso 39056.

In the old days before the Gospel

What Would

came

Gutenberg Say?

the

Guinea

One of the

greatest German
Christians of
the 15th Cen

Kanite

people

frequently

of New

fought bitter

battles between villageso

A bat

tle was stopped

strong

leader

would

when

stand

between the

tury was )ohann

Gutenberg.

opposing forces and call for them

to put down their spears
Then

father of mod

one

side

and

the

em printing.
Over 500 years

leaf

ago he wrote:

shrub) o

tonget
A

(victory

crossed

line,

called "yoia,^ woiild be made be

"God suffers
because of the

tween the two groij^s and an era

of peace would begin o
Now translators Joy McCarthy and
Gwen Gibson are giving the Kanite

great mul
titudes whom
His sacred
Word cannot

would bring sugar cane

other

Johann Qutenberg

reach. Religious truth is captive in a

people the New Testament in their

small number of manuscript books

own language o

which guard the treasures. Let us break

the seal which holds the holy things,
give wings to that truth that.. .it may fly
to every soul bom into the world."

ites are thrilled at

the Kan-

the thought

that Jesus is the strong

stands

man who

in the middle between God

and sinners,

DOC

Already

making peace by the

bl<^ of His cross (Ei)h,2:13,14) o

ChuJLcJi pejspte, don*t^o to

Rnxjwi^g this,

because thztf ojul peA^ccX:,

the phrase "yofa

- a crossed tree" heis -spe

cial meaning for the Kanites.

but to meet tkz OWE who

SOUTHutfESr CHRISTIAN CHURCH

Nonprofit Org
U.S, POSTAGE

P. O. Box 10716

Jackson, Miss. 39209

PAID

Jackson, MS
Permit No, 458

WRWARVim AGENTS:

M/M Larry Tanksley

112 Stx>ne Cove

Clinton, Ms, 39056

Sdi
Mi s
Box

Iforial Dept.
ion Se vices Assoc.

Kemp ton, lUD [j.60i|.9

(fi /

NCy 1 9 1979

Beasley's Backlog
Fiiild Addresj:

Wcs
t

Forwarding Agents:

s Alta 3easley

Larry Dottie Tanksley

Pioneer Bible Translators

P. 0.

112 Stone Cove

Box 178

Clinton, Ms. 39056

MadAng, Papua Hew Guinea

VOLo

NO.,

Phones

(601)924-0299

SEPTEMBER-OCTOBER 1979

ANOTHER MAJOR TASK COMPLETED!

the PNG

Our

requested that we be in the coun

try on, or before, December 22ndo

their

crates

way

to

are

packed and on

Papua New Guinea!

This

Consulate

changed

and they have

our plans a little

What a job i t was - putting small

since

items into larger ones which,

til after Christmaso So, our new

travel date
is now December 10,
1979, We will be leaving Jackson

in

turn, were placed into larger

ones.
We tried to use every
possible inch of space since we
are being charged by cubic feet
of space.
After shopping and

gathering needed items and making

lists

of needs for our Christian

friends who wanted to help, sort

ing and packing, we finally came
to the point of exhaustion in
which we decided,
"if we don*t
have it we will just do without

it!"

We are

so grateful to all

our brothers and sisters at South

west Christian Church who shopped

for us and donated so many val
uable things.
We also thank our
Christian friends at the
Antioch
Christian Church and the New Tes

tament

Christian

Church,

plus

many individuals who also contri

buted to our physical needs while

we are in New Guinea^
We hav'

received our visas from

we had decided to wait un

on that day and plan to arrive in

Papua New Guinea on December 17th

with a few days lay-over in Hono

lulu

with

friendSo

The

David

Pryors in PNG have invited us to

spend Christmas with
them
for

which we are grateful^

you

relatives

and

(So, all

friends

can

stop worrying about our first

Christmas in PNG).
We will be
well taken care of.

Besides many travels throughout

the southern states for speaking
engagements these past two months

we were priviledged to attend the

National Missionary Convention in
El Paso, Texaso This was a great
blessing to us as we were reuni
ted with many old friendso
The
messages
and
reports
from the

various

mission

and encouraged us^

fields inspired
Now our days

are

filled

with

all

the

last

respondence courses and this will

minute

details of dental and eye

take a

exams,

repairs

also

around our place

on Hickory Hill Cove to keep it

in rimning order while we're gone
correspondence, shopping for the
rest of our clothes
(have you
ever tried to buy Summer clothes
in the Winter?), and Christmas
gifts, etco
We plan to be in

Dallas

for the PBT board meeting

later in November and then make a

quick trip to Michigan

to

visit

Altars folks before we leaveo

We

ask for your prayers during these

last hectic weekso Thank you for
being our partners in this adven
ture and for your prayers and
loveo We appreciate youo

lot of her time

We will

spend the two months before

Jungle Camp learning Pidgin Eng

lish and getting acquainted with
PNG cultureo
We hope to make
some

siarveys

during

that

time

with the intent of making the de

cision as to

which tribe we will

eventually work witho We ask for

your prayers for God's guidance

in this very important decisiono

We also hope to be of help to the
Ron Augsburger family as they la
bor in Madang keeping the trans

lator families in the bush sup

plied with necessary food, medi
cine,

and

miscellaneous

needso

This will give us a good taste of

what a support family does in the
event

we ever have to f i l l in on

that task.

I t doesn't sound like

^-we'H^have time to get too

hbme=

sick, does it?

In March we will travel to Wycliffe's Jungle Camp

location
where

AFTER ARRIVAL IN PNG, V7HAT?

Many of you have asked about
our activities after we arrive in
Papua New Guinea^ As we mentioned,

we

will spend Christmas with the

Pryors and probably visit thej

other

PBT

families

rest of December;,

during

thd

Arrangementd

have
been
made for us to rent c
house
a
few
miles
from Madanc

v/here we will probably live until

we go to Jungle Camp in Marc'^
In January Alta will begin teach
ing the
hy means of the cor

we

will

live

for

four

months receiving
specialized
training in Papua New Guinea cul
ture, survival in the jungle in
case of emergencies, minor medi

cal training and many other prac

tical thingso
After jungle camp
we hope to begin building our
jungle house

in the tribal vill- .

age we have chosen and move in as

soon as possible
This should be
around July-August of 1980 and
you

are

all

welcome to come to

iJew Guinea to help us buiJd our

junqic iioiue and furnishings
and
move in.
vou.

We

vA^uld

lova to have

UPDATE ON OUR NEEDS

Our airline tickets are paid for

and

we

have funds

in the bank to

pay for the shipping of our crates

and our initial "settling-in" in
New Guinea.

were able to

PRAISE THE LORD!

We

save a great deal on

our airline tickets by traveling

only on certain days and by using
a new routing by Air
Niugeni
through Honolulu.
We present the following
needs
for your prayer and considerations
1.
$440 additional pledged mon
thly support.
2. $2200 (within the next year)
for a

3. $10,000 (by July of 1980) to

build our jungle house and fur
nishings .
4. $3500 for a boat and two mo
tors or $10,000 for a four-wheel

drive

vehicle

(by July of 1980).

Our transportation needs will de

pend on our tribal location which

we do not yet know.

if you have
any questions concerning
these
needs please write us.

radio transceiver.

Lot the htgf) prcimos of God bt- id tfitur rvculh. and a

two-edged sword in tfitur hci.mi

hC^ALM i4^-6

OUR PRAYER NEEDS:

an

additional

$440

per month

pledged support
safe

travels

to the remainder

of our speaking engagements

safe travel to PNG in December

for our crates to arrive safely

in PNG before Jungle Camp in
March, 1980

the PBT board meeting in Dallas

November 19-21

PRAISE TO GOD for providing for

us

so

abundantly

Christian friends

and for our

MAILING TIPS!

rom

When we are liv ing

t ii-

MAJLBOa,, X
o

> *

LETTERS:

forward

to

stateso

Here

Send only by air mail,

each h ounces

in Papua New Guinea we will look

eceiving letters from you here in the
are some tips on mailing to PNG;
Regular air mail letters are 31

for

Cheapest rate is obtained by purchasing "Mr Grams" for

22<: from the Post Office,

directly to us in PNGo

NOTE:

No

checks

or

money should be sent

Send all contributions to our forwarding agent,

Larry Tanksley, whose address a^ears elsewhere on this newslettero

He will transfer

the funds we need each month by the proper procedure

to us in PNG,

PACKAGES:

1 Material goods (suct^ as gifts for special occasions) can

be sent to us as long as their jcjontents' value doesn't exceed $30o00

per package.

Packages sent by suiciface mail are the cheapest. However,

they take 3 to 6 months to arrive

in Papua New ^uineao

Packages- sent

by air-mail usually arrive in 8 to 10 dayso "However, they are very

expensive to sendo
It could cost] $10 to air-mail a gifto
2o The outside of the package muJSt be labeled:
"Contents non-commer-

cial value, unsolicited gifto"

3o

Take wrappers, price tags, etCo off all packaged goods.

4 The number of pieces in the plaickage must correspond to the number

on the package contents label.

phis

label is obtained from the Post

"0#fe!:ee, ^l3 nilija UUL cun>--"gtae-Q"Hgrr'at the~Pc}st Offleeaifd also lis ts

the value of the goods
|
(Please note our field address iaind our forwarding agent's address on
the front of this newsletter..

Pllease let us hear from youo)

Return Address:

SOUTHWEST CHRISTIM CHURCH

P.

U.So

Oo Box 10716

Jackson, Miss.

Nonprofit Orgo 1

39209

POSTAGE
PAID

Jackson, MS

i Permit NOo 458,

FOmARVING AGENTS:
M/M Larry Tanksley
112 Stone Cove

Clinton, Ms.

39056

Editorial Dept.
Mission Service Assoc
Box 177

Kempton, Jnd 460^9

'm 2': irsD

Beasley^ Backlog
Field Address:

Wes & Alta Beasley

% Pioneer Bible Translators
P.

O. Box 178

Madang, Papua New Guinea

N0^__6

November/December 1979
GREETING FROM PAPUA NEW GUINEA!

At long last we bring you greetings from Papua New Guinea!

We had

a good trip over with a very nice break in Hawaii where we were priviledged to meet with the Christians of the Pearl Harbor Memorial
Christian Church. Those four days were a welcome rest from our last
busy weeks in the States. We were also able to do some shopping for
summer clothes which we could not get at home. We spent two days at a
guest house in Port Moresby, PNG and then came on to Madang where
PBT's "headquarters" is located. We stayed with William and Robin
Butler in the translation house and immediately began our immersion
into PNG culture as we shopped with them, visited other missionaries

and tuned our ears in to New Guinea Pidgin.

We spent only four days

hours northwest of Madang over rough roads.

This is the language

in Madang before coming out to the village of Bunapas which is about 5

group with which the David Pryor family is working as translators. We

are staying in a mission house which belongs to the Australian Church

of Oirist mission. It is on the outskirts of the village so we are in

a village situation

allocation

like we will encounter when we move to our own

The only other "white-skins" here are the Pryors who are

about five minutes walk away from uso

We have attended the modest

Christmas presentation in the little meeting place and spent Christmas

Day with the Pryors, It is so good to have them here to help orient
us into Papua New Guinea and the work of Bible Translators, The boys
are having fun playing around the house after they finish their daily
chores (everyone has to help since these rustic conditions make for
more work all around) o

They are trying to learn Pidgin from th'^ nat

ional children who really like them and try to help them. It is very
quiet out here and /hen you really think about it, very lonely^ It
has just hit us how far away we are from home.

Please pray for us as

we become accustomed to this climate, the people and our new home^ We
thank you for all the special prayers for us as we traveled and for

your love in continuing to pray for us.

We have been pleasantly sur-

(Continued from front page)

prised at a couple of things.

Although i t is hot and humid here i t is

not as bad as we had anticipated ^d although there are lots of mosquitos they are not as bad as we had expected.
We praise God for
these things!
During the next few days we will be getting the boys

correspondence courses ready to belgin teaching them the 2nd of January.

This is supposed to be our news

fcr November and December but we have

only told you about our trip and all rival.

We thoroughly enjoyed vis

iting with everyone before we left! and thank you for all your love and

gifts.

We had a short but sweet ylisit with Alta's folks in Michigan

and Adam even got the snow he prayed for.

there because of it.

We almost didn't get out of

In our nexd newsletter we will give you an idea

of what our lifestyle is living hdre in the village.

V7e will probably

be back in

Madang by then prepari^ g for jungle camp which begins in

Please pray for us every 4ayl
We love you all and thank you

March.

for your Christian love.

ASSIGNMENT:

PAPUA NEW GUINEA

The Land and Climate -

This fiercie

ly rugged, 1500 mile long island is

a land of extremes.
The north i^ divided from the south by the mass
ive mountain range of the Central! Highlands whose peaks tower above
15,000 feet, whose knife-like ridges are divided by deep jungle rav^
ines carrying racing streams- swollen by the constant tropic rainso
North and south of the Central Hiichlands, you will find the vast and
muddy river

estuaries.

Here and

along the coast

are darker

areas

where beautiful flowers bloom amicst rotting vegetation with mosqui^

VV

Ua.tLJL.iV

tos and leeches sharing the compan^

of gorgeous birds of paradiseo

The coastal lowlands are typically hot and humid with temperatures
ranging from 70-90 degrees through^ the year with a high humidity read
ing. In contrast, the highlands and inland valleys are cool and stim
ulating with temperatures rangingj in the 60-70's during the day and
falling into the 50's some nights.

Rainfall varies over the whole of

Papua New Guinea from 30 to over 3C 0

inches yearly. In Port Moresby on

the south coast, they have had nq rain in weeks; here in Madang, we
have had rain every night.
The weather is similar in many ways to a
rainy

Mississippi summer.

Papu^ New Guinea

is an

interesting

and

beautiful country with surprising jcfontrasts in both geography and cli

mate .

The People and the Government New Guinea,

On the 178,000 square miles of Papua

the most surprising contrasts are encountered in the div

ersity of the people. A visit to j;i,st a few places will provide glimp
ses of people in every stage of development, from the stone age to the

present.

You can see highlands t;i:|ibesmen adorned with parrot wings.

green beetle shells,

Many of

and the gorgeous plumes of the bird of paradise.

the people wear bones through the nostrils and

colorful arm

bands are worn on the upper arms. In the cities, modern dress is pre
dominate with shirt, shorts, and knee-socks being the three piece suit
of tropical Papua New Guineao

The island of New Guinea

with an Indonesian province,

New Guinea received
run on a

divided down

Irian Jaya, on the west.

its independence from Australiao

parliamentary system of government similar to

Commonwealth nations.

duced its

is politically

the

middle

in 1975 Papua
The country is
other British

After Independence Day, Papua New Guinea intro

own monetary systemo

At the present time (Dec. '79),

one

Kina is purchased of $1.40 US or each US dollar is worth 71 Toea.

One

Kina (KEY-NA)
purchase have
the USAo

equals 100 Toea (TOY-YA)o

Since most of the goods we
to be imported, the prices are higher then you pay in

Whenever possible, we purchase local productso

The people of Papua New Guinea have tremendous linguistic diversity

with more then 700 distinct languageso
This diversity presents a big
challenge to government leaders striving to establish a imited countryo
Within this context, we are worJcing to give one of these groups the
Word of God in its own languageo
Please pray for us and for the peo
ple of Papua New Guinea with whom we will workd

OUR SCHEDULE:

December *79 - July '80

Deco 16 Arrived in Port Moresby, capital of Papua New Guinea, and

stayed two dayso

DeCo 18 Arrived in Madang, PNG for five days with the Butlers.
DeCo 23 Jan. 17 Reside at Bunapas mission station for orientation
to our work as Pioneer Bible Translators in PNGo

DeCo 25 Spend Christmas day with the David Pryor Family.

Jano 18-27

Return to Madang for the annual Pioneer Bible Trans

lators conference to discuss the work in Papi.^.a New Guinea^

March - July Attend the South Pacific Field Training Course (train
ing in jungle living and survival techniques)a
NOTE: Correction - The bulletin inserts we distributed contained
a
typographical error in our field address^
Our correct field address

is - Pioneer Bible Translators, Box 178, Madang, Papua New Guineao

Please write us directly at this address; we'd love to hear from youl

BEASLEY BCEDS* NEWS

We like Papua New Guinea. Theri^ are palm trees hereo Flcwers are

here too.

Pretty flowers!

Thei^e are coconuts that fall down into

the sea. We make boats and canoes out of them and let them float out
in the sea.
We went swimming in ithe New Guinea Sea (Madang Harbor,
wb)o We made rafts out of logs anc, floated on them
We put flowers
over our ears.
The kids
here don t
wear any clothes when they go

swimming (not Jonathan and Adam, nc way!)

Bye, bye from Adam

Bye, bye from Jonathan, too.

PRAYER REQUESTS: Praises and Peti|tions

Praise the Lord for;

1. a safe trip from Jackson, MS to Madang, Papua New Guinea

2. the good health our family jis enjoyingo

3. providing housing for our family upon our arrival in Madang,
4. our wonderful salvation an<

yours which comes through our Lord

Jesus Christ!

Petition the Lord on behalf of the Beasley family for;

1. continued guidance in our labors in His Kingdom.
2. continued good health.

3. the provision of $250 additional monthly support for our family

still lacking.

4. the provision of funds for J vehicle, housing, and a radioo

peace, patience, and wisdom during our initial period of orien-

tation to Papua New Guinea.

Retum Address;

SOUTHWEST CHRISTUM CHURCH

P.

Oo

Nonprofit Orgo

Box 10716

Jackson, Miss.

U.So

39209

POSTAGE
PAID

Jackson, MS
Permit NOo

FORWARPIWG AGENTS:
M/M Larry Tanksley
112 Stone Cove

Clinton, Ms.

39056

Edlto rlMl Dept*

Hissipn Services AssoCe

Box 177
Kemptor

IN

458