by Deb Marcusse
When Pam and I arrived in the Madang Province of Papua New Guinea (PNG) in January of 1981, the small village of Chungribu was just a dozen grass huts along the Ramu River. Of the two or three mission houses along the nearby airstrip, only one was in use. The only way out was by air or river. No roads, no shops, no electricity (except their house generator), no hot running water. Many mosquitoes, snakes, and hand-sized spiders. Oh, and swamp frogs… who only stopped their chorus for an earthquake.
Sunday service was held on a village hut’s open verandah, attended by maybe half a dozen women, some babies or small children, and one or two old men. Two lady missionaries from Australia ran the service, including preaching, as there simply were no able Christian men in the Rao language at that time. Diana and Fay were translating the New Testament into Rao, as well as all their church and village responsibilities.
We recorded Bible stories and messages in Rao, and Diana used them a lot. For the next year or two she also sent us to other Madang and Sepik province mission stations to record in many other languages.
After that we traveled all around the country for about the next three years. One more time before leaving the country in 1985, we visited Chungribu. Fay and her team had just completed the New Testament in Rao, and there was revival going on in the language group. The community had built a new church in time for the New Testament dedication ceremonies. The place was alive with joyful people preparing kaikai (food) for the celebration and wearing their best to each church service, with big smiles decorating every face.
We gave all praise and honor to God for motivating, enabling, and blessing the use of GRN materials in this otherwise-overlooked area of the world.