Beasleys' Backlog

of news from

Papua New Guinea

Forwarding Agents:
Larry & Dottle Tanksley

Field Address:

Wes & Alta Beasley

c/o Pioneer Bible Translators

112 Stone Cove

P.O. Box 997

Clinton, MS 39056

Madang, Papua New Guinea

Phone (601) 924-0299

Vol. V, No. 1

January/February/March 1982

"Catch the Spaghetti Sauce!"

(or "Life in a Bush House")

by Aita

Living in a bush house is different, to say the least! Our "little grass shack" isn't in Haw/aii but is on the no
less beautiful island of Manus in the Admiralty Archipelago. I briefly described our house in our last

newsletter but then had not yet discovered all the joys and surprises of daily existence in it. Preparing
meals is a challenging chore with the kitchen table being the center of attention. It serves as cupboard

for all the dishes (withaclothcovering them when not in use), mixing center, countertop, typing desk; set
up two dishpans and it becomes the dishwashing center: and at sked time set up the radio and it
becomes the communications center. We also sit around it to eat (after everything is cleared away, that
is.)

The refrigerator (a blessing) sets beside the table, so is handy if I have forgotten to put the catsup on the
table. I can open it and get it out without leaving my seat (which isasmall three-gallon cooler Wes gets
a portable Captain's chair and the boys sit on a bench). The floor is a series of all lengths, widths and
thicknesses of boards and scrap lumber laid over round poles.-So, when you walk you just bounce along
and sometimes stub a toe or two. All this bouncing has its effect on the refrigerator too. If you have just
filled the ice trays the water splashes out and immediately freezes the tray to the bottom of the freezer
compartment. I can't complain though because we are thankful to have ice and cold drinks. We have
tried several times to level the cookstove but it is hopeless as the whole floor moves and bounces when
you walk on it. As I'm cooking I sometimes have to hold the pans on the stove so they won't slide off.

Sometimes I try hooking clothespins to the racks to keep the pans from sliding off. The other night I had
a pan full of spaghetti sauce cooking and turned my back for a few seconds. Well, you guessed it! I heard
it sliding but couldn't catch it in time. It landed right side up but splashed all over everything: the stove,
the refrigerator, the floor, the cooler (where we store our cereal), me and the cat. Wes was working on the
front porch and wondered what this strange cat was doing running out of our house. It was only our
white cat with spaghetti sauce all over it. I retrieved the meat balls but made a fresh batch of sauce, and
bathed the cat.

Cleaning the house is easy. I just keep sweeping the dirt across the boards and it eventually falls
through. But, so does everything else: kitchen knives, pencils, pot scrubbers, soap and soap dish, etc. Of
course it was easy to clean up the spaghetti sauce. I just poured water over everything and it all washed
through. That made the neighborhood chickens and dogs happy. The kitchen window comes in real
handy. We lean out it to brush our teeth, I empty my dishwater out it, and we can smell what our
neighbors are cooking through it. When the wind is blowing it isn't so handy. Then it blows out the
burners on my cook stove.

Our drinking water comes from a stream back in thewoods. The village women carry our containers and^
fill them for us. Our bathing and dishwashing water comes from a small well in front of our house on the'
beach. We heat our water for bathing; carry it out to our shower room, pour it into another bucket with a
nozzle in it. haul it up on the rope, turn the nozzle to open and we have a nice salty shower. We have to

time it right or the bucket will becorrii^ empty at the exact time we have just lathered our hair and have
shampoo in our eyes. The actual shcjwer room is made of palm-leaf walls, about five feet tall, then open

to the roofwhich is an old piece of tin.'^nda piece of plasticforthe door. Whereelse can youshowerand
look at the stars at the same time?

The house has three windows which are completely open with no glass or screen. We have very few

mosquitos here for which we are thankful. These open windows come in handy when the cat wants out at

night. Shecomes and goesat will, biit sodosome ofthevillage catswhen they want tocheck ourcat's
food bowl.

Since there are no closets in a bush house we had to improvise. Our clothes hang on a clothesline in the
bedroom which also serves as our towel rack. Our other things are stored in pocket bags hanging on the

walls. Since the walls on the insidejof the house are only six feettall and there is no ceiling, only the

rafters and roof, the boys like topreterfd the rafters aretheir "jungle-jim". Also the cathas easy access to

all the geckos (small lizards), spiders and other bugs that live with us and hide in the thatch.
Though it's rustic we enjoy our little h ouse. We just pretend we're on an extended camping trip to the
beach. We're thankful that one of the village families was willing to move in with relatives so we could

have a place to stay while our own hb use is

being built. God has blessed us with people who love and

take care of us.

We are all well and happy and thankjVou foryourlove and prayers. Please pray that our housebuilding

goes fast so we can concentrate fullyjon the work we came to do. "Here Iam, Ihave come To do your

will, O my God, is mydesire: yourlav/ijswithinmyheart." Psalm 40:7-8. Please prayfor us that God's law
will soon be within the hearts of all tl^e Kurti speakers on Manus Island ~ in their own language.

COMPUTER LINGMISTICS
Manual manipulation of a dictionary [of 2000 or more words is no simple matter. Nevertheless, PBT
linguists now do this and similar routine jobs regularly ~ a long, tedious, boring, but necessary part of
their linguistic analyses. Another way exists, though, to do the same tasks in a small fraction of the time:
use the PBT Computer.

This summer, the Papua New Guineia Branch of Pioneer Bible Translators will be buying a computer

system to assist the translators injjheir work. The computer will be an invaluable asset in the

construction of dictionaries and concordances and in the preparation of texts for publication. The

computer system which we are purchiising will cost approximately $6000 and will be utilized by all the

PBT members intheirlinguistic and translation programs. We would like your help in purchasing this

equipment. (More specific information about this project may be obtained by writing the Pioneer Bible

Translators Office at P.O. Box 828, l|.i|ncoln, IL 62656.)

ANOTHER TEMPORARY JOB

by Wes

Living in Papua New Guinea, I have discovered by experience that the task of Bible translation is best
accomplished by a team of committed people using their individual gifts in different roles. It quickly
became apparent also that each member of the team would have to respond to needs by sometimes

working outside his usual role. Alta ai^d Ihave seen these two facts in our own ministry with PBT as we
work in linguistics/translation (our; normal role) and as we served temporarily as buyer/shipper,

carpenter, elementary school teacher, jetc. So. it is no surprise that Iam now looking forward toserving
in yet another temporary job.
The Pioneer Bible Translators team

et in Madang this January and elected me to serve as Branch

Director for two years starting Janufeil of 1983. I appreciate their expression of confidence and am

praying that God will equip me for th^ task. Please pray with me.

The Branch Director is responsible for leading the team and making sure that progress is continuous
toward our goal of reaching the minority groups of Papua New Guinea with God's Word in their
languages. He is also the group's spokesman in relations with the PNG government and with other
mission groups. One of his main duties is serving the members of PBT/PNG and enabling them to do
their own special work for the Lord within the context of the PBT team.
In mid-December of this year, we will leave the village on Manus Island to go to Madang to begin
briefings with John Pryor, the current Branch Director. Then, from January 1983 through March, I will
begin work as Director. Our first furlough begins in April, 1983 and will extend to April or July, 1984
(depending on school schedules). After we return to PNG, I will serve the remainder of 1984 and then
return to Sou village. While we live in Madang and serve as Director we will not be totally out of touch
with the Kurti people. We plan to make several visits to maintain contact and to continue our linguistic
analysis.

HOUSEBUILDING PROGRESS REPORT:

After our buying trip to Lae, we had most of the milled Iumber and manufacturedgoods which we want to
utilize in the house. However, transportation of goods is no simple matter here in Papua New Guinea.
First, it was shipped to Manus on the medium-sized cargo ship and unloaded in Lorengau. Then, it was
loaded on an even smaller boat for three trips to Sou. Finally, the village canoes made scores of trips to
the deeper water where all the goods were transferred from boat to canoe. We thank the Lord that
nothing was lost in the process.
A satisfactory

has been cleared and leveled. A man from a

will be coming soon to

saw. We
(window
the posts

our posts
on

frames,
are

Our house floor-plan will help you visualize

what our house will be like. It will be raised

6Vj feet above ground to catch the seabreezes better and will have a beautiful

view of the ocean from the front porch.

God knows best what our true schedule will

be, but we hope to be finished by mid-April.

Pray for us.

ScAUs

I'

^^3j||||n[Ba^9|En

CHANGE OF ADDRESS:
Please note that our Post Office box number in Madang is changed from 178 to 997. This is a group box
and was changed to a larger one to accommodate more letters. By the way, PBTwill keep Box 178 for a
time, so don't worry if you just mailed us a letter at the old box yesterday.

PRAYER REQUESTS
Pray that Steve and Rhonda Hayward will arrive safely this July and be able to attend field training on
schedule.

Pray that more men and women will respond to the challenge to become translators and support
personnel with Pioneer Bible Translators.

Pray that funds for the PBT computer system will be raised quickly.
Praise the Lord for the good relationships we enjoy with the people in Sou.

The 1981 Stateside/PNG Financial Report is

available upon request to the forwarding agents.

Beasleys' Backlog
of news from

Papua New Guinea

Vol. V, No. 2

April/May/June 1982

Housebuilding Update!
Our posts are set in concrete, our floor is laid, the stud walls are up, the corrugated roofing is nailed on,
and the cabinets are almost finished... but we still have not installed the plumbing, the septic system, or
the electrical wiring. The floor still needs to be sanded and varnished. The front and back steps are still in
the planning stage. In other words, we have not moved into our new house yet.
In March, April, and the first half of May, the progress was painfully slow. The men made trips to the
bush to cut and haul the best lumber for our posts, bearers, joists, and studs, beams, etc. but they also
had to go to the bush to find food and cultivate their gardens. We quickly became aware that in a culture
with very little division of labor, just living (finding food and everyday items) takes most of the available
time. The delays were disappointing and discouraging, but we just leaned a bit more on the Lord and

trusted that even this delay is in His plans for us. Your prayers and letters during that time really helped
us and we want to sincerely thank you for your "love in action".

Since the middle of Maythe pace of the work has accelerated significantly. (1 credit this specifically to
God's answering your intercessory prayers on our behalf.) All the timber from the jungle has been cut
and brought to the village. The only material lacking is the wall covering which we will make with
bamboo. In the past, the delays usually occurred when the men had to cut the timber in the bush. Now
that that stage is completed, our house building should progress steadily. I
have given up making guesses at when we will finish the house, but we are
praying that we can move into the house in October.

Alta and I want to thank Roger Ouarton, David Parrish, and John Pryor
(PBT co-workers) for their help on our house. It was definitely a "shot-inthe-arm, morale-booster" to have these friends come and help.

Currently we aretaking a break in Madang. Although we did not like to

leave Sou before the house was finished, we recognized the wisdom now of

taking a short vacation. Living in a bush house for five months while
teaching our boys, doing language learning, and building our new house
put a lot of stress on the whole family.
Please continue to pray for us as we work to complete our house. We are

looking forward to being able to devote more time to language learning and
analysis.

ll'/

Jjjl

ij

From Alta
Atthis writing, we are stili in our 'ji^ttle grass hut" in Sou village. Our western waysand timeschedules

have received a great shock. Ouri living conditions are about the same as when Iwrote before (the
refrigerator and stove are stili not Ieyi9l) except for our bathing situation. We are having less rain now so

the shallow well in front of oUr hous^ does not have much water in it and it is dirty most of the time. So,
every evening after our radio sked wnh PBT Madang at 4:30, we hike over the hill and back into the woods
about aquarter of amile where we ha^e anice, cool and refreshing shower under asmall waterfall. This

isalso theplace where thevillage ladies dotheir laundry (and ours) and where most ofthevillagers take

their baths. Sometimes there is a lipe waiting but. when we come, they insist that we go first.

I have been learning to cook morW with coconuts as the ladies here do. I have not learned how to

scrape the dry coconut out of the st^^ll yet but hope to when Iget my own special scraper. Whenever I
need some coconut I just ask one of my neighbors to prepare some for me and she does it gladly. They
are happywhen 1try to cook usingth^ localfoods. Someofthe different waysIuse coconut are inbread,
cookies, and granola. SometimesII pour water over the grated coconut and squeeze it through

thoroughly as the village ladies do. This liquid has all the rich oil and semi-sweet taste of the coconut and

is used in place of water to cook with a variety of vegetables. The ladies always use this to cook their
sweet potatoes, yams, greens, and pumpkins. It gives them a delicious flavor. Another favorite of ours Is

to cut up cooking bananas and cook|tnem in the "coconut grease" (as it is called here) which makes a
delicious sweet soup.

I have not spent as much time as I Would like with the village ladies, learning their different skills, as
schooling for the boys and homemalcing take most of my time. However, any day now.they will begin
weaving the bamboo walls for our house and I hope to learn .that skill and help them. Most of them are

already busily making new grass ski^ and other colorful decorations which they will wear atthe big
house-warming party they are planning.

We have all been well these past fevy months for which we thank God. Weare very anxious to finish the

house and get settled in. Thank you fflr ajlyour prayerson our behalf. Thank youalso foryourletters,

cards,TaPrthday gifts, financial gifts, apd. most ofall. forTSackfrig us in this work.

Postscript - July 28. 1982

Shortly after Iwrote the above article ^heend of May, I began to experience some disturbing physical
symptoms which grew worse each day.' We had planned to stay in the villagewithout a break untilour

house was finished. After five months, ^e finally admitted that this was impossible and that we needed a
break. Icame into Madang the first we^^ ofJuly and spent two days in thehospital for tests. Wes and the
boys came a week later after preparing the house and our things to be left. Wehave ailenjoyed the rest in

Madang and the fellowship with our PB|T{co-workers and otherfriends. Iam on the trend now and we are
now back toteaching theboys' classes ^nd preparing toreturn tothe village August 8th. We apologize
for this newsletter being so late and tha^k you for your love and patience with usand for your prayers.
iI

Love, Alta

PBT Computer On l^s Way

In our last "Backlog" we asked for your help to buy the PBT Computer System. Thanks to your help
(along with other PBT partners), the computer system has been ordered and is on its way to Papua New

Guinea. We thank you for your prayers land praise the Lord.
Our resident computer expert, Jan Mejsjsersmith. has provided the following information on the PBT
computer system.
I

MORE INFORMATION ON THE PBT COMPUTER

The computer system for the PBT/PNQ Branch is manufactured by the Digital Equipment Corporation
(DEC). It is the latest generation of "minicomputer" and will meet ourneeds, with minor expansions, for
the next 8-10 years. Only a few years ago, this same computing power would havecost 3 to Stimes as
much. The total cost of the system is ab -ut $26,000 which includes all of the equipment, programs,
shipping costs, and import duty. Of this amount, we have raised about $17,000. Most of the system has
been shipped by the time you read this. We still need $8,000 to cover two pieces of equipment we have
not ordered, import duty, and two programs which we need to operate the system to its fullest
capabilities.

The following paragraphs offer a description of the configuration of the new computer system. Some
technical data is provided in parentheses.
The "brains" of the computer (LSI -11/23 with Memory Management Unit, Floating Point Instruction
Set and 256 Kbytes RAM) are installed in a Video Terminal Unit (VT103 BA) which is like a typewriter with
a TV screen. Also inside the video terminal are several devices for communicating with the printers and
the other terminals (6 serial posts), two magnetic tape units (Dual TU 58), and other components which
'glue' it all together (Disk Drive Controller Board, Multifunction Module/Clock, Advanced Video Option,
Bootstrap ROM, Backplane, Bus). Attached to the Video Terminal Unit are two Disk Drives (RL 02/20
Megabyte) which are used to store information. Also attached are three printers (0/ ITOH 8510, NEC
5510. ANADEX DP 9500) and a second 'dumb'video terminal unit (TVI 920C). This unit has no'brains'
but shares the brains in the 'smart' one. Other items in the system which for lack of space will not be
explained here include the following: Operating System RT 11 V 4.0 with TSX Multi-user Overlay:
Programming Languages ~ OMSI PASCAL V 1.2, DEC BASIC, MACRO - 11.
The two items of equipment which we have not yet ordered are both associated specifically with our

translation work. We would like to get to them as soon as possible. One is to allow us to put non-English
characters on the screen of the video terminal unit (Advanced Graphics Option with Programmable
Character Set). This device will allow us to work directly with phonetic and other 'non-Roman'
alphabets. The other device is for making all types of drawings and 'flash-cards' for our literacy work
(Houston Instruments Flat Bed Plotter). It will allow the instructor to quickly produce material for
classes. It tco allows working in non-Roman alphabets.
The system is designed to assist the translators in a wide range of tasks and to meet the growing needs
of the PNG branch for the next ten years.

"Do not be anxious about anything, but in every

thing, by praise and petition, with thanksgiving,
present your requests to God. And the peace of
God, which transcends all understanding, will
guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus."

Phillpplans 4:6, 7

-3s

- r^

>2^

Praise And Prayer

Pray for David and Alice Parrish and Amanda and Debbie. The Parrlshes have made a decision to work

with the Gamel/Kabuk language on the RamuRiver. Praisethe Lord that another PNG group has been
entered.

Praise the Lord! Steve and Rhonda Hayward (new PBT translation team) will arrive In Madang In
August. Visas and alriine tickets are already In hand.

Pray forour PBT members on furlough In the United States. TheAugsburgers planto return Septem
ber 26. The Wllcoxes should be back this fall. The Butlers plan to return in November.

Praise the Lord! The PBTcomputer system has been purchased and Ison itswayto PNG. Praythat it
arrives safely.

Pray for Sharran Pryor. She has experienced some problems with ear Infections.

Pray for Judy Glaze who Is back In the USA for additional training in computer technology. Also
remember Roger Quarton who has returned to the USA to look for a partner.

Praise the Lord for progress in our housebuilding. Pray that our house can be completed soon.
Pray for Alta. She has been feeling "below par" for a few weeks.

We praise God for the many assurances we haveseen of Hispresence with us. God Isour strength and
we depend on Him.

g 9 ' 5 2
2

a.

. a

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* Ii

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CJmsUnM Gieduuji Jiom TUw Guum

December 1982

Dear Friends,

Without the hoUday decorations, television specials, days off from work and school, hectic busdng of presents, big meals,
family reunions, Christmas cantatas, etc., Christmas appears little different from any other time of the year in Papua New
Guinea. Sure, we miss some of those Christmas events but the lack of "extras" has its advantages. It helps us to focus on the
one element of this season which makes it unique. "Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!" (Jn. 1:29)
The devout man Simeon had waited long for the appearance of God's Christ. When Simeon saw Jesus and then took the
child in his arms, he was not concerned or even aware of those around him because he knew through the Spirit that he was
looking at the promised Messiah. During this season, let us all set apart a time when we can acknowledge our Saviour Jesus

Christ, express our love for Him, and I know that we will praise God as Simeon did, "For my eyes have seen your salvation."
(Lk. 2:30)

GOOD NEWS! We praise God for enabling us to finish our house to the point where we can move in! We have completed the
office, the guest bedroom, the kitchen, the pantry, and the bathroom. There is still much to be done butjustbeing in the house
will speed up the work tremendously. We thank God for this special Christmas gift. And thank you for your prayers.
DON'T BLAME THE POSTAL SERVICE, your last two BACKLOGS aren't lost. Since our housebiulding prognresshas been
so slow, we did not writeourJuly-Aug-SeptorOct-Nov-Dec BACKLOGS. Please acceptour apologies for not writing. However,
we continued to thank God for you and I know you do not forget us.

GOSPEL RECORDING INC. AND WORLD VISION INTERNATIONAL IN SOU - Our ministry in Manus is somewhat

specialized in that we have chosen to spread the Gospel by means of a strategy centered around the Bibletranslation process.

Consequently, we arealways seeking creative ways tomeettheneeds oftheKurti people which go beyond ourmain th^t. We
invited Deb Marcusse and Pam Whitley of Gospel Recordings, Inc. to come to Sou and produce a Bible background cassette in

the Kurti language. The cassette (with accompanying flip-chart pictures) will help to increase the general Bible knowledge
throughout the Kurti language areas. Also in November, Graeme Smith and William Honegili ofWorldVision visited Sou to
inform us that our application for community development funds had been approved. In the next year, the Sou people will
receive funds to install a dependable fresh water supply in the village, to buy a work boat to carry goods to town, to send some of
their brighter young peopleto technical school to learn useful and appropriate skills, to buy improved hybrid cocoaplants, to

obtain breeder pigs, andtoaccomplish other worthwhile goals with^ theircommunity. We will give youfurther news ofthese
projects in later letters.

MERRY CHRISTMAS FROM US TO YOU! God has been kind to us this year. We believe that many ofHis blessings have

come because of your regular intercessory prayers on our behalf. We feel a strong bond oflove and partnership with you in our
Bible translation ministry. Thank you. From our family to yours, we send our love and warm greetings in this Christmas
season. God be with you in the new year.

Yours in Christ,

Wes, Alta, Jonathan, and Adam Beasley

P.O. Box 997

Madang, Papua New Guinea

Thanks Partners!

You can't carry much with just a piece of string. The women of PNG take a piece of string and weave it together to make a
bilum, (Bee-loom; a woven string bag), which can carry heavy 1< )ads. Our work is Uke that - alone we can't carry much ofa load

or burden, but when we are woven together with the rest of jtlie body ofChrist, wecan carry a big load. Your prayers and

support, combined with our efforts here, are being used to bri^ gthe Word ofGod to some ofthe Bibleless people ofthe world.

PRAISE AND PRAYER

Praise the Lord for so many answered prayers

during our initial stay in Siou. The Lord's

answer was truly a "full meksure, pressed

down and running over".
Praise the Lord! Judy Glaze hris allocated in Fulamu

village in the Bau language] group near Madang.

Praise the Lord Again! Roger, (^uarton has announced

his decision to allocate in l^e Azao language
group on the Ramu River in! the Madang Province.

^h^Messersmith and Parrish 'families both completed

Field Training successfullyj ind are now

into their respective jobs. [
Please Pray for Steve and Rhciida Hayward who have
arrived and for the Mike an i Eunice Herchenroeder

family who will be coming in 1984.

Mission Services
PO Box 2427

Knoxville, TN 37901

Non Profit Org.

U.S. Postage
PAID

Knoxvitle, TN
37901

ADDRESS CORRECTION REQUESTED

Permit *374