Usarufa literacy and translation program begins
The Usarufa (oo suh ROO fuh) people celebrated the completion of their New Testament in 1981. But today, many children are not learning to read their language, and many adults cannot read either. In fact, the Usarufa language itself is threatened as many children grow up speaking mostly Tok Pisin.
Enter James Warebu.
James is an Usarufa Christian who wants his people to draw closer to God. He doesn’t want their language to die. So James has worked to build a literacy and Bible translation program among the Usarufa people. He wants to teach his people how to read their language. He wants to revise the New Testament, and he wants to begin translating the Old Testament into Usarufa.
Yesterday was a special event: the inauguration of the literacy and translation program.
The Journey There
Two things concerned us about the drive to Usarufa land: the condition of the road we’d take and the actions of the people we’d encounter on the way. James said that too much rain could make the road impassable. And before, people (not Usarufa people) have stopped him on the road, dumping and scattering his printed materials and giving him other trouble.
Apparently the rain had not been too heavy. The road itself was passable. As for the people, we encountered three blockades where residents wanted money to let us pass. Five kina (less than $2) got all three vehicles past the first stop, where an elderly man had stuck a slender stick, topped with white paper, in the middle of the road.
The second blockade was on a bridge, and a group of people wanted 120 kina (about $40) to let us pass. After several minutes of negotiation, James got the price down to K50. I think he convinced the third blockader to let us pass for free.
After the blockades, we arrived at a scary-looking bridge.
The big truck that preceded our caravan snapped some of the bridge’s flimsy boards. We all got out of our trucks, and our drivers had to keep their wheels aligned with the long supporting beams — not easy on such a rough surface.
We encountered several mudholes like this one. In other spots, the road was very steep and rocky. But it wasn’t too bad, all things considered. We never even had to get out and push!
Bumps or no, the mountain roads offer spectacular vistas of a beautiful country. Orange orchids bloomed freely along the road, and I saw a dark pink species too.
Children shouted and waved as we passed.
Usarufa Country
About 1800 Usarufa people make their homes in the mountains north of Okapa.
I don’t think I’d mind a backyard view like this.
Men, women, and children had all come together for the special events of the day. What wonderful faces!
I couldn’t figure out why several of the older men and women held carved and painted arrows. All became clear later: The arrows were gifts for us whiteskins.
The Usarufa Literacy Project
James Warebu wants his people to cherish and study their language. He wants them to read and follow God’s Word. His passion initiated a project to promote Usarufa literacy, to revise the Usarufa New Testament, and to begin Old Testament translation.
A ribbon-cutting ceremony signified the opening of the Usarufa Literacy Project. The man who did the honors had worked with the Wycliffe members who started Usarufa Bible translation in the 1960s.
On this site, the people will build a literacy resource center, named in honor of a Wycliffe member who worked among them years ago but has since been killed in a plane crash. Organizations like Save the Children are partnering with James and the Usarufa people in their literacy project.
Usarufa New Testaments and other materials were on display. If people cannot read, the books do them little good. That’s why James and others began their literacy program.
Highlands Hospitality
By the time the ribbon cutting ended, lunch was nearly ready. For special events, highlanders dig pits and slowcook huge meals of meat, fruits, and vegetables. The event is called a mumu. Yesterday, they’d roasted corn, pumpkin, bananas, kaukau (sweet potatoes), taro (a large, starchy root), kumu (assorted greens), chickens, and sausages.
Safely Home
As we finished lunch and made our goodbyes, clouds gathered and thunder rumbled. We didn’t want to get trapped by heavy rains, so we made as hurried a departure as we could. Before we went, the people presented us with two heaps of food: enormous avocados, bananas, sugar cane, kumu, kaukau, green onions, and pineapples.
The Usarufa people were concerned for our safety on the way home, so they sent some young men with us in case there was trouble. Apparently, they were concerned that the people blockading the bridge might try to take some of our belongings since they hadn’t gotten all the money they asked for.
We took the usual precautions, like removing memory cards from digital cameras, and prayed silently as we traveled. We made it back across the flimsy bridge, and when we arrived at the blockade, the crowd had dwindled to three people who didn’t even get up as we passed. Praise the Lord!
We thought everything was over but the bouncing, but that wasn’t quite true. I was in the front seat of the second vehicle, and our Papua New Guinean escorts rode in the back of the lead truck. A bit farther down the road, I noticed the men motioning frantically to hurry. About the same time, our driver saw the third vehicle squeezing close behind him.
Diane, in the backseat, looked behind us and shouted, “Go sixty!” Then, “Everybody duck.”
So I ducked, and prayed.
In a few moments, we were clear of the danger, and though I knew what had happened, I pieced together a fuller account as I heard different people’s accounts.
We had been ambushed by at least eight raskols (the pidgin term for criminals — often highway robbers) armed with firearms and machetes. They did not manage to get on the road in front of us, though they got quite close to our third vehicle and ran alongside it for awhile. Mercifully, the stretch of road was smooth enough that we could drive fast and leave them behind.
Nearly as we can tell, a vehicle going the opposite direction created a moment of confusion, and the raskols were not quite ready when we passed. “Isn’t that just like God?” said Carle. “Send confusion into their ranks!”
The event shook me up a bit, but I feel more thankfulness than fear, and I feel more sadness than anger.
Those raskols are the reason I am in this country. We are here because we hope that people will read and understand God’s Word and that His Spirit will change their hearts. We are here because people need Jesus.
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Comments
Comment from Greg Pauls
Time: November 7, 2007, 11:31 pm
I found your site on a google search. My dad, Nick Pauls, and I are going to PNG right after Christmas for about a month. My mom and dad were in PNG for the last half of 2007 and connected with James. We have taken the story of what is happening in their language group and many people here in Canada are praying. We are going back to be a support to James, and Doris as well as Savini and others working on the literacy project. We are also going to gather stories (write, record and take pictures) and revisit my home away from home (I also grew up in PNG living in Ukarumpa between 76 – 84). It has been 18 years since my last visit.
Pisin bilong mi bruk liklik…
mi hamamas mi pinim yu
Greg
Comment from Corey Adams
Time: March 31, 2006, 9:42 pm
Wow David. That is quite the adventure. I think I will link your post to my blog. I love the statement you made “Those raskols are the reason I am in this country. We are here because we hope that people will read and understand God’s Word and that His Spirit will change their hearts. We are here because people need Jesus.” Boy I am looking forward to going back to PNG. I am down in Harrisburg, PA for the ABWE Student Missions Forum, and boy I wish I could join Wycliffe now and head back over there, but I will wait on God’s timing. “Better to be one step behind of God then to be one step ahead of him” as Dr. Snyder at college would say. The adventure sounded wonderful. What part of PNG are they in? EHP, Madang, Morobe or none of the above? Well keep up the good work, and when is the piece going to be in the Post Courier?
Brata bilong yu long Jisas Krais,
Corey