NEW GUINEA

NEWS
Forwarding Agents
Mr. and Mrs. Dale Dunlap
Route 1(), Rhea Road
Knoxville, TN 37920
Missionaries:

John and Bonita Pryor

P.O. Box 997

Madang, Papua New Guinea

Jesse, Bonita, John, Joshua Pryor

February 1984

Volume 8

Number 1

GREETINGS FROM SAMBAN!

We trust that all of you had a very enjoyable

decisions that we have to make from time to

holiday time and the new year has begun with

many positive signs of blessings and peace.
1983 brought many changes for us but we are
able to see God's leading in our ministry in
Papua New Guinea. Although the move back
to Samban in April was difficult and the

time. It will soon be three years since we have

obstacles were numerous we settled in very

well. Our goal is to become fluent in the Botin

seen our families and friends back home.

However, after much deliberation, prayer,

and consultation with our administrators and

other trusted advisors, we have set our minds

to this course. We ask you again "to be" in
prayer for us as we extend this term. Also,
remember

our

families

who have been

language during these next few months. We

know it won't be easy but we realize more and

contemplating our return in 1984.

more that it's the only way we can complete

the job we came here to do.
As we move closer to our goal(s), we realize

making some minor changes and one major

As we close the records on 1983, we are

addition to our house. On the minor side, we

installed linoleum in the kitchen/dining/

that the devil is just as determined to impede

our progress or halt the work entirely. Please
be in fervent prayer for us. Pray that we will
not be deceived by his lies and that our faith
will remain strong as we trust Him who "is
able to do exceeding abundantly beyond all

sitting area.

that we ask or think."

David Harmer,Australian Church ofChrist

missionary, built the septic and holding tank.
William Butler, PBT missionary, brought the
tank sections up the Ramu River, across the
Keram and down the Keram,then up the creek

Moreover, we have concluded that fluency in

Botin is the rock foundation to all of our work.

It is imperative that we achieve fluency before

time rolls around for our furlough. This would
mean that upon our return to Samban we
would have very little reviewing to do and
thus could go full-throttle with the translation
work. In terms of our plans, this means that
we will probably extend this term for a few
more months.
This has been

one

of those

difficult

Also, I finally got Bonita's

kitchen cabinet doors finished and hung. The

one major addition is an indoor toilet. We

were blessed with a great deal ofassistance on
this project. We praise the Lord for providing
the needed funds for this project.

to Samban. William and I assembled the

tanks, set them and ran the line to them.

He helped me install the indoor facilities as
well. Since the mosquitos have returned,this
addition of the indoor facilities is really
appreciated by all of us.
We thoroughly enjoyed a side benefit that

accrued from all of this work. William's wife

language, especially in areas that go outside

and son (Robin and Tyler) stayed with us

while he brought the equipment around by
boat. Robin helped out by making a table

of the usual realm of daily conversations. Of

course, a very significant benefit derived from

cloth,new stool covers and napkins to match

the new cabinet doors. They look sharp!

all of this is that the people have begun to see a

little more clearly what our actual purpose

with the people. Several of them have joined

for being here is all about.

We're looking forward to the use of some
new equipmentin the near future. We expect it

us in meeting weekly in a Bible memorization

class. When we get together it is to quote and

cassette recorder, camera and power pack

We have added another feature to our work

to be a tremendous asset to our work. A video

comment on a previously-assigned passage of

Scripture.
They have the option of

have been ordered. We hope it will be arriving

memorizing in Botin, Pidgin, or English.

able to get it into the country duty-free. Hope

This class is an outgrowth of our conviction of

fully, you will be able to see some of the uses

and productions made by the equipment when

the importance of having the Word in our

before too long. Please pray that we will be

heart, for defense and meditation purposes.

We felt a need to assist the people here toward

we get back on furlough.

a more structured attitude towards this aspect

dependency upon you. Thank you for loving

of the Christian walk.

the Lord enough to care about us and the

people in Samban. We covet your prayers and
appreciate more than words can tell your

Although we are beginning slowly this new

challenge has met with excellent response.
The people are extremely enthusiastic about
it. Illiterates can also enjoy this participation
and usually are the best memorizers. It also

We

are

constantly

reminded

of

our

faithful financial support. Please let us know

how we can better pray for you. God bless you
all.

helps us by getting more insights to the

Everyone likes to help John harvest his peanuts.

Floyd Clark and John sharing in Bible study.

JESSE AND JOSHUA'S

CORNER
Hey,I'm in first grade now. And I can read!
I'd rather be outside playing soccer with the
kids, but sometimes school is fun. And guess

what--my guinea pig had three little ones.

They're neat. And you know what else I like to
do? Poppa put a pillow in a bag, so I can

pretend I'm Rocky and punch it. He said he

was tired of me punching him. I don't have

real gloves so I put on Poppa's socks and

pretend. Time for a workout. See ya, Jesse.
Say, do you know what bologna is? Poppa
and Momma say that that's what I'm full of.
I don't know what it is. Mom made me some

long "trousies" so I don't get bites on my legs

any more. And now we get to sleep in a
"natnat" house. I sure do like Tyler--'cos I'm

bigger than he is. I can kick soccer just as

good as Jesse and I can run fast too, but

sometimes I don't try very good and he beats
me. But I can kick just as good as I want to.
See ya, Joshua.

Joshua really enjoys opening gifts.

Jesse's school time. Joshua and two of Jesse's friends want to learn too.

SHARING IFJ THE WORD

Mukok and I were working together on I
John 4:4 one evening, in preparation for our

memory class. We were discussing what was

the Botin equivalent to "greater is he thatis in
you." In Botin this is expressed by the

English term "defeats," i.e., if someone is

greater than you, he has won over you, or
defeated you. After we had decided upon that,
he started a story. I thought(it was late and I

was tired),"Oh no, not now, I'm too sleepy."

As his story progressed, he related how that
before the Spirit of God came, all the people
were subject to the various bush spirits. He
began naming people in the village who
actually had "had" bush spirits. That is, the
spirit would speak to the people through these
individuals. All the people he named were
now Christians. But, he said, when the Spirit
of God came. He drove out, "defeated," all

those spirits. Now the people who have God's

Spirit are no longer troubled by the bush
spirits. What a thrilling story; and what a
blessed truth. Here is the Botin of I John 4:4

(with an English translation) Nusawe God

dan be nuwe. (You are God's children). Nuga
an bin gaak ponsatiel lep lol leklup. (You
have defeated the liars of the earth). Masil

konyim miba nun noy lin mep,(But the Spirit

that is in your stomach[heart])miba bin gaak
lol lin konyim paak luklup mep.(He has really
defeated the spirit that belongs to the people of
the earth). Just for fun, here is a literal
translation to show you how different Botin is
from English. "You all God his child you(pi).
You (pi) ground from liars men defeated. But

Spirit He your(pi)stomach is. He ground men

their spirit really defeat is."

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NEW GUINEA
NEWS
Forwarding Agents
Mr. and Mrs. Dale Dunlap
Route Hi. Rhea Road
Knoxville. TN ;)792()
Missionaries:

John and Bonita Pryor

P.O. iiox 997

Madang. Papua New Guinea

Jesse, Bonita, John, Joshua Pryor

October 1984

Volume 8

Number 2

Greetings from PNG

Greetings from Papua New Guinea! 1984
really seems to have zoomed by,especially the

One of PBT's board members, Georges

have communicated with you all so please

Carillet, from the States, came over to attend

the meeting. While he was here he led in a
very meaningful marriage enrichment

accept our apology. We thought it was high

seminar. We took advantage of the few days

time we sent some news your way.

In

in Madang to do some repairs and cleanup

summary, we'll go all the way back to

work on the residence that PBT recently

purchased.
Our next move turned out to be one we had

summer months. It has been a while since we

January and identify a few high spots to get

caught up.

We had our annual meeting in Madang in

not expected to make. Months before, we had

January. The best part about the annual

meeting was that my brother Dave and his
family stayed with us, so we got to visit a lot
with them during the meeting. Of course, we

received information about a two week

also conducted some very necessary business.

language learning course to be held in Wewak.

The course would be sponsored by Fuller

School of World Mission, and led by Tom and

Betty Brewster, who are among the top in this
field in the world.

We had dismissed the

possibility of going because we had thought

that it would probably be at an inconvenient
time. Also, we looked into it and got word that
there was no housing available. Later, we got
word that there had been a cancellation and

there was now space. So we flew to Wewak for

this important study. Since Bonita was still

not quite 100% physically, we decided that I

would take the course, and she would resume

teaching Jesse and rest in the afternoons,and

I would share what I was learning in the

evenings with her. It turned out to be a very

intensive two weeks. Like most innovators,

the Brewsters had some new and, to me,

unusual opinions on some peripheral subjects.

Once we got past these and got into the real
meat of the two week course,I really began to

get a lot of benefit from it. We metfour hours

every morning and spent the afternoons outin

in their language. Since Christianity was

various areas around Wewak working with

have been plugged into it in regard to

the language groups there. Evenings, after

the boys got to bed, I would go over the
morning lectures with Bonita. There was a

anything "religious". Also, they have begun

to think about spiritual concepts in Botin that
previously had always been expressed in
Pidgin. It has helped the folks here to gain a

little time, on the weekends, for some

relaxation. Wewak has a terrific beach which

the boys and mom and pop were able to take

advantage of.

introduced to them in the trade language,they

better understanding of why weare here. And

it has been a thrill for us to get a taste of the
work that lies ahead. But best of all, the folks

We returned to Samban the second week of

are getting God's word in their hearts. It is

March. We were very eager to incorporate the

really encouraging to see some of the older

new technics we had learned from the course.

ladies who are illiterate work with Bonita

We also felt that some of the insights gained

night after night at memorizing the verses.

would help us in our attitude toward language

learning. So,I selected two language helpers

and we began to facilitate the learning cycle

method oflanguage learning. Also, we began

incorporating Total Physical Response drills.

We have been into this type effort for six
months now and have seen much progress

(PTL), and have seen changes in the people's

attitudes toward us. Now, the people rarely

speak to us in the trade language because they

expect us to converse with them in Botin. And
our tongues are getting "lighter"too. In Botin
a heavy tongue means speaking with an
accent. We still have a long way to go but we
are encouraged with our progress.

Bonitu and Rona (Viilafje Chiefs wife) working on

memory verses.

Since making the decision to stay an extra

year this term, the Lord seems to have
confirmed it in a variety of ways. First, we

have been progressing in our language

learning. Also, we have felt at peace about
ourselves even though we still miss our

families a great deal. And besides all this,the

Lord has sent little bits of America to us as a

substitute. The first of June, Dr. Sam Reed

spent about a week with us. He had been up at

Ukarumpa helping William Butler teach a
course to National Translators but he wanted
John crossing bridge in one ofthe villages,as lie has been
going around reciting his text, practicing Botin with
people.

Besides our language learning, we have

continued with our Bible memory class. We

are using various verses and only doing one a

week. However, it has really proved to be a

great blessing for us all. For one, the folks

here are seeing that God's word can be spoken

to get a grassroots level view of PNG before

going home. So he came to visit Samban.

At the end of June we were visited by the
Rostvit Twins, who were making a tour of
PBT allocations here in PNG. They were quite
an encouragement to the local people with

their singing and their testimonies. We had

sent them some recorded Botin songs;so when

they started singing them, our folks just

couldn't get over it. They had only been here a

few days and could already sing in Botin.
Even Jesse remarked later that they sure

knew a lot of Pidgin for only being in the

country a short time. Jesse got to be a real
special helper to the twins. They were at
Yemen, at the ACCM's Girl's Bible School,
and were scheduled to come around here by

water,a six hour trip. Jesse wanted to go with

Michael and Mukok to pick them up;so we let
him. He stayed with Mukok while at Yemen

having another baby. As of this writing,

Bonita is still in Goroka and we boys are

flying into Madang for a brief break and later

an Advisory Committee meeting. We will be
meeting Bonita in Madang; that's plan A
anyway. When we return to Samban we are
scheduled to bring another intern with usfor a
month's stay. So you see, even though we
didn't go to America this year, we have some
little bits of the good old USA coming our way.

Each has brought us his own unique part of

and provided any interpretation that the girls

our homeland and it has really been a lift for

needed. We thought he was a big boy for doing

that. However, I can see already that it is

us.

Now, to the question that so many are

going to be hard on mom and pop to settle in to

our boys' teen years when they have been

States?" We will probably be considering two

raised on such adventures as these.

options: (1) Return in May, 1985 in order to

asking, "When are we coming back to the

Right after the twins left, we were hit by a

assist in the PBT/PLI; (2) Return in late

blitz ofsomething. Whether it was malaria,or

a virus, we all got it at once;a first(and I hope
last)for us. The boys popped back pretty fast
after a couple of days. Bonita managed to

June/early July and attend NACC to be held

in Anaheim,California in July. At this point,

somehow keep up enough strength to feed us

straighten themselves out for a few months

and also deliver a retained placenta from the

lady across the street. If you want more
details, write to Bonita. I got going again

yet.

after about four or five days.

Later on in July, we received another guest

from the States, Eleanor Daniel,a PBT Board
Member. Besides wanting to familiarize
herself with the field, she also brought along
some achievement tests to help us know how

our plans are just not firm because there are a

lot of factors involved that will probably not

Please don't think that our lack of

communication has meant that we have not

been thinking about you all. So many times

we are lifted by the many pleasant memories
we have of each of you. We are so grateful for
your continued prayer support and your great
concern for our ministry here. We pray that
God will continue to bless you.

the boys are getting along with their

education. Well, Joshua will really just start

pre-school next month but he is right where he

should be according to the scale. Jesse did

very well and we are very proud ofhim. And it

was a big encouragement to his mom/teacher.
We had a very good time getting to know
Eleanor.

On the day Eleanor left we received another

group of visitors: Rondal Smith (PBT's vicepresident), his daughter Andria, and his niece
Karen Wilhoit.

While Rondal visited with

Bonita and me the girls held a mini-VBS for

the boys. It was a very big event for them and
we are grateful to Rondal's wife Jan for
thinking of the kids over here and helping to
get the whole thing organized. Karen
remained for a week after Rondal and Andria

left for other parts as part of her internship

program. When that week ended she and

Bonita left for Goroka; Karen to rendevous
with the Smiths and Bonita to help out with

Tyler Butler while his mom concentrated on

Sharing in the Word

Because of the space taken up by
the news, we do not have enough
room to comment on a portion of the
word. These scriptures have meantso
much to us lately and we share them
with you in hopes that you will look
them up and meditate on them and
share with us the meaning that you
have received from this portion of
God's word.
Philippians .'}:7-ll;
Hebrews 12:1-13; Isaiah 25:3,4

The Boys' Corner

Hey, guess what? I've lost eight
baby teeth and have gotten four new
permanent ones. And I had my first
filling at the dentist and I didn't even
cry. And now I'm in the second grade
-- my break just wasn't long enough.
Anyway, I'll write more next time.
See ya,
Jesse

I'm really a big boy now because

I'm in preschool --1 go to school with
Jesse. And my dog Daisy had four
puppies, but Papa says we have to

I'

vJ
^

give them all away. I like school, but

Jesse doesn't.

See ya,
Joshua

Mission Services

PO Box 2427
Knoxviile, TN 37901
ADDRESS CORRECTION REQUESTED

Jesso and Joshua in canou at Wewak Bfuch.