(Repost from 7/20/08)
I wanted to post some more info about what it takes to get a Bible translated into a language that may or may not have a written form. I think I am going to focus on the people that assist tranlation teams in ways indirectly related to the work of Bible translation. That is, after all, the type of work we intend to do.
First of all Ukarumpa is the name of the town where we will live. It is a town, complete with the PNG forms of a grocery store and market, police station, print shop, auto mechanic, cabinet shop, schools, health care, etc. It is the home of The Organization in PNG. I included this aerial photo of Ukarumpa to give a bit of perspective. It's not a huge place, but it is significant enough.
The translators come and go often from the village in which they work. They come back for supplies, health care, education, special events, vacation, whatever. Whatever they need in their remote corner of PNG, they get supplied by people and shops that Ukarumpa has or has access to. So if John Q Translator needs a new battery for his laptop he goes to the IT guy who lives in Ukarumpa. If he needs a fuel filter for his 4x4, the shop guy has it (or can order it), and can install it for him. If he works in a village that requires access by air, someone has to fly the plane from Ukarumpa to the village and back. Someone also has to fix the plane, fuel the plane, buy the fuel for the plane, go get the fuel for the plane, and plan the routes for the plane.
My point is this: These folks who are working out in the remote villages could do this without us support people, but it would be ridiculously difficult and time-consuming. Considering the number of languages in PNG (over 800), and therefore the number of translation projects going on (about 190), it makes all the sense in the world to have a large and capable support network in place.
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