Bill & Donna Answer Your Questions

There are three questions people keep asking us, so here are the answers all in one place!

1. Did the Typhoon Affect  The Palawanos?

The answer to that question is "No, the Palawanos were not affected. That area was too far to the south."

But this has been a sad and sobering week with the news of Typhoon Haiyan (Yolanda)'s destructive rampage across the Philippines. The pictures and news are beyond heartbreaking. We know people in other regions who were affected. Some are still not accounted for. See the map here to get an idea of the various locations and the distances involved. We also know a Filipino pastor's family on the island of Panay (middle of the map, just below the red line) whose home and church were damaged. Our partner Lynn Bright's parents and siblings were on an island just north of the red line--safe, but affected.

Path of Typhoon Haiyan (Yolanda) and Affected Areas

2. What is the Status of the Palawano Translation?

We sent the Print Proof copy back to the Philippines. It arrived, but... it looks like it was thrown under the wheels of the DHL truck (see the photo). The pages of the book are all broken apart and some of the pages look like they were run over a few times in a wet street! We're working that out with DHL as far as the poor service after the (exorbitant!) shipping costs. But meanwhile, we're thankful that Bill listed all the errors in a document which the printers are using now to make all the needed corrections.

DHL. Our Motto: "Ya want the insurance with that, right?"

So we're waiting to hear when the printer will send us the follow-up proof. Once all the errors have been corrected, the book can go to printing.

3. When Are We Traveling to the Philippines?

We (still) don't know. Once we learn the projected completion date of the printing, we can make plans to travel to Palawan for dedication services and distribution. We are praying that might be sometime in February or March. After that, we would return to the USA and travel around the country to celebrate this exciting milestone with our supporters and to praise God together for what he has done!


Meanwhile, we're staying busy with some speaking opportunities. Our time at the International Congress on Language Learning in Colorado was amazing. It was an encouraging time and we had some really profitable and helpful times of interaction there. Recently, Bill has been invited to teach some seminars on language learning. He had the pulpit for one Sunday of our church's Missions Conference. We will be volunteer poll workers for San Diego's mayoral election. It looks like Donna might have jury duty. And then, of course, there's those awesome grandkids...


Praise the Lord with us…
- for the great time at the ICLL
- for this refreshing season with family and friends
- for good health

Please pray with us…
- that the errors in the New Testament would be quickly taken care of
- for those thousands of Filipinos who have lost their homes and loved ones
- that God would lead us to others who might partner with us in reaching the unreached


Reaching Palawanos (and the world!) together with you,

- Bill and Donna

Quick Update from Bill & Donna

Flipping pages...

Thank you for praying. So far, Donna has caught 30 errors in the Palawano New Testament proof copy:

• 20 crooked pages
• 4 blurred or smudged pages
• 1 missing page, and
• 4 sets of pages in reverse order (e.g. pg. 116 coming after pg. 117)

So we're going to give it a few more really careful checks before sending it back to the printers.

We assume (but aren't sure) that they have to correct the mistakes and send us another copy to approve before actual printing begins.


ICLL…
Bill continues to work on his workshop presentations, and to communicate with the other members of the steering committee as they finalize ICLL plans.

Bill will be sharing about the "Top Ten Mistakes Language Learners Make (And How To Avoid Them!)" and a session about the need for learners to focus on language, culture and relationships (not just language). He may also be involved in some panel discussions, plus all the networking and brainstorming over meals.

67 attendees from 30 different mission agencies and schools have signed up for the ICLL. Each of these is involved in helping many missionaries to communicate the gospel clearly in another language. We're excited about the potential the ICLL has to speed up the work of reaching the unreached.


Praise the Lord with us…
- that we're finding the errors in the Palawano New Testament!
- for provision for nearly all the cost of attending ICLL
- for opportunities to share about our ministry in local churches

Please pray with us…
- that we would find all the rest of the errors in the proof copy
- for Bill's sessions at the ICLL to be clear and helpful
- that we would be a blessing to those around us

Reaching Palawanos (and the world!) together with you,

- Bill and Donna

We Heard A Van Stop Outside...

Knock, Knock.

Who's There?

DHL.

DHL who?

Well, DHL the document delivery service who arrived today with a very important package:


THE PROOF OF THE PALAWANO NEW TESTAMENT IS HERE!


We are thrilled to announce that it is in our hands here in San Diego. Praise the Lord with us.

And at first glance, it looks awesome. Of course, it needs a second glance. And a third. And... lots of very thorough checking. Way more than just glances. But we're excited to get started.

The book is quite a bit thicker than the final NT will be, since the proof didn't use the high-quality, thin Bible paper. Our job now in these next few weeks is to check for pages out of order, wrong page numbering, chapters or verses in the wrong order, inconsistent ink, etc.

Bill is busy getting ready for the ICLL (International Congress on Language Learning), which is coming up in a few short weeks. So Donna will be looking at the NT first while he fine-tunes his presentations and Powerpoints for the workshop. Then he'll take his turn.

Please pray that we find any and all errors that need to be corrected. We need good eyes and a high level of concentration to check over 1000 pages several times each.

NT Dedications and Distribution...
Once the proof is back at the printers in Manila and they give us an estimated finish date, we will be able to plan and schedule all of this. So once again: Stay Tuned!


ICLL…
God continues to provide for the remaining ICLL costs. We only need about $600 to cover everything.

Praise the Lord with us…
- that the mock-up of the Palawano New Testament is HERE!
- for provision for much of the cost of attending ICLL

Please pray with us…
- that we would find any and all errors in the in the proof copy
- for God's provision of the remaining ~$600 needed for attending the ICLL
- that we would be a blessing to those around us

Reaching Palawanos (and the world!) together with you,

- Bill and Donna

Bill Donna Davis

September 2013 Update

It's COMING...
Rejoice with us!

Yesterday we learned that the Bible Society has delivered the "print proof copy" of the Palawano New Testament to the SIL/Wycliffe office in Manila. We're so excited.

This copy will be sent to us in the coming week, and we will have to get busy combing through it for typos, mistakes, pages out of order, etc. Once all the issues are resolved, it goes to print.


ICLL…
We asked for prayer concerning the upcoming ICLL (International Congress on Language Learning) in Colorado Springs in early October, and the Lord has answered.

God has provided several generous gifts and we were able to register and purchase tickets to Colorado. We have what we need for basic registration and travel. Continue to pray with us that God would provide the additional costs involved in attending the conference (approx $800). We know he is able!


NT Dedications and Distribution...
We are closer than ever, but once again, all we can say at this point is: Stay Tuned!


Praise the Lord with us…
- that the mock-up of the Palawano New Testament is on its way
- for provision for much of the cost of attending ICLL

Pray with us…
- that there would be minimal errors (or none!) in the proof copy
- for God's provision of the remaining costs of attending the ICLL
- that we would be a blessing to those around us

Reaching Palawanos (and the world!) together with you,

- Bill and Donna

Bill Donna Davis

August 2013 Update

We're waiting...
For now, that's all we can say when people ask us about the Palawano New Testament. The files for the translation have been at PBS (the Philippine Bible Society) for two months already. PBS will assign the NT to a print shop in Manila. We're waiting for the printer to send us a mock-up copy of the printed NT so we can check for any errors in set-up and page orientation, etc. Once that mock-up gets here, we will have several weeks of full-time, intensive proofreading and checking to do. In the meantime, we wait.

While we wait…
One of the projects Bill has been working on in this interim is to prepare several sessions to present at the ICLL (International Congress on Language Learning) in Colorado Springs in early October.

The ICLL happens every three years. It's an important conference for those who help missionaries learn language. Missionary consultants, language coaches, teachers, program directors and others from all over the world come to ICLL network, to be encouraged, to learn, to share ideas, and to return home better able to turn new missionaries into skilled communicators who can effectively disciple and plant churches cross-culturally.

Bill has been serving on the steering committee of the ICLL since 2001, and he has enjoyed and appreciated the many like-minded language learning facilitators he has met and worked with. After his first ICLL in 2001, he and others working in Asia started a recurring conference for helping language learners in Asia.

Right now we are checking into travel options for the ICLL. It seems like it might be cheaper to fly there than to drive at today's gasoline prices, not to mention saving time and eliminating four hotel overnights going and coming while on the road. Whether we fly or travel by land, we're asking God to provide what we need for travel and registration expenses for the conference.

We appreciate each one of you who partner with us in prayer, and we'll keep you updated during this time of waiting for the New Testament to be printed. Once we have an approximate date for printing, we can being preliminary planning for dedication services and distribution teams on Palawan.

Pray with us…
- that we would would quickly receive the mock-up of the Palawano New Testament
        so that we can review it and initiate actual printing as soon as possible.
- that there would be minimal errors (or none!)
- for God's provision of the travel and registration costs for the ICLL.
- that we would be a blessing to those around us.

Reaching Palawanos—and the world—together with you,

-Bill and Donna

Waiting for Printing

Bill Donna Davis

June 2013 Update

TRANSLATION UPDATE
The translation is done! And the audio recording is completed. So now we are waiting for the Palawano New Testaments to be printed in Manila. Once the books are printed, we’ll be taking a trip or two to the Philippines to check the books for quality, to host dedication services, and to launch distribution.

We won’t know the dates for that until we hear from the printers. So please pray and stay tuned.

MEANWHILE
We’re enjoying this time with our kids, grandkids, family, friends and supporters. God is refreshing us after the intense final months of translation and recording.

In May, we were blessed to host Gracia Burnham here in San Diego. She spoke in our church and at a missions training program called Radius in Tijuana. We also showed her around beautiful San Diego: La Jolla, Mount Soledad, and the famous Hotel Del Coronado.

Not long after Gracia’s visit, Bill was invited to spend a couple days at Radius, speaking to their students about language learning. We were excited to have even a small part in training these young people who are headed out into the unreached areas of the world to share Christ!

We’ve also had opportunities to teach Bible studies and to share at missions conferences and visit some of our supporting churches. Coming up in October, Bill will be helping to lead an inter-mission language learning conference in Colorado.

On a personal note, spending time with our daughters, and getting to know our two delightful grandchildren and being a part of their lives has been the highlight of these past couple months.



PLEASE PRAY WITH US
- Refreshment and good health
- Opportunities to share about this ministry
- Reconnection with supporters & friends
- Prompt, accurate printing of Palawano NT
- Provision for Oct travel & workshop costs

We appreciate everyone’s prayers, support and encouragement as we anticipate the printing of the Palawano New Testament!

Reaching Palawanos with you,

- Bill and Donna Bill and Donna Davis

At the Stroke of Midnight...

...WE FINISHED!!
Praise and thanks to the Lord for how he answered all who prayed. He gave strength and endurance, and the final days of the Palawano New Testament recording project went smoothly, beyond our wildest imagination!

Luke still has some technical editing to do, and he needs to save each chapter as a separate file so they can be loaded on the players.

But we are done with recording, listening and re-recording!


PICKING UP SPEED
We put in some long days of proof listening Monday through Wednesday and made great progress. Thursday morning, we re-recording about 20 mistakes found in Matthew through Acts 10.

Then...

THE CLOUDS PARTED
From Acts 10 through Revelation we found NO MORE CORRECTIONS that needed to be recorded. Yes, that's 3,900 verses without a single mistake to redo. This is huge. It's almost unbelievable, Luke says. It was, in fact, a huge answer to prayer.

• Susing our reader was on fire and those final books went faster (nearly 4 verses per minute).
• In the first level of checking we must have caught all of the few errors.

Bill and Luke decided to do an all-nighter, if necessary, on Thursday to get the final proof listening through Revelation done. Then, we could record all the corrections on Friday morning, leaving some time to insert those into the audio files, and to check and recheck them.

So they finished Revelation 22:21 at the stroke of midnight, but there were no corrections to deal with on Friday.

So all that was left was a few high-fives, and some grateful prayers of thanksgiving...

..oh yeah, and lots of packing up to fly to Manila on Saturday and on to the USA on Sunday.


SO JUST IN TIME
Thanks to all who prayed, and to the Lord for his help.

We head back to San Diego. Luke and Kristen go there, also, then return to Mozambique in a couple of weeks. We're so thankful for their help in this project, and it's been fun getting to know them over the past six weeks.

Stay tuned and we'll let you know when the New Testament printing is done and the audio players are ready to distribute.


PLEASE PRAY WITH US:

• and thank the Lord for his grace and help
• safe travel for Susing and his family
• safe travel for us and for Luke and Kristen
• for fast and QUALITY printing of the Palawano New Testament

Thank you for your part in this ministry!

Reaching Palawanos together with you,

-Bill and Donna


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Prayer Needed for Final Recording

HOME STRETCH...ed
We're about to begin the final week of recording the audio version of the Palawano New Testament and we really need your prayers.

Yes, it's the Home Stretch, and we are being stretched, as well!

The whole NT has been recorded from Matthew to Revelation and the initial checking and corrections (rerecording short passages) has been completed. Praise the Lord for this! We're thankful for this milestone, good progress, and the great team God has sent to help with this project.

RUNNING OUT OF TIME?
Now we are doing the final edit which involves listening to the entire NT once again, checking for any errors that may have slipped through, deleting unnatural pauses, etc.

The challenge we face is that it takes about 2 hours to do the final edit on each hour of recorded material, and there don't seem to be enough hours in the week to get it done.

The Palawano New Testament is significantly longer than the normal 18-hour New Testaments Luke and Kristen have been recording in Africa. In hindsight, we see that we should have budgeted a few extra weeks to get the Palawano project done, but we didn't realize this until it was too late.

So we have about 50 hours of listening and checking to get done... all in the next 5 days, plus rerecording any errors we might find.

WHY IS OUR TRANSLATION LONG?
It's mostly a language issue. For example, to track dialogue, Palawano adds "he said" to each sentence of recorded speech (that's about 4,000 times in the New Testament!)

Also, narrative discourse adds what is called head-tail links like this:

So Jesus went to Galilee.

When he got to Galilee, he entered the synagogue.

When he had entered there, he began to teach....

Those connections seem repetitious and unnecessary to us, but they are how Palawano tracks people and events throughout a story. Without them, the reader or listener would be lost. And you can imagine how those extra sentences would add up, time-wise, as Susing reads all the gospels and Acts!

SO PLEASE KEEP PRAYING
So as we enter this final week, we ask you to pray with us that the project can be completed--done, and done well!

Please pray:

• for stamina as we listen through long hours of checking
• for any remaining mistakes to be found
• that we can finish within the time remaining before we all fly back to the USA on March 24.

Thank you for your part in this ministry!

Reaching Palawanos together with you,

-Bill and Donna


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HOME STRETCH...ed
We're about to begin the final week of recording the audio version of the Palawano New Testament and we really need your prayers.

Yes, it's the Home Stretch, and we are being stretched, as well!

The whole NT has been recorded from Matthew to Revelation and the initial checking and corrections (rerecording short passages) has been completed. Praise the Lord for this! We're thankful for this milestone, good progress, and the great team God has sent to help with this project.

RUNNING OUT OF TIME?
Now we are doing the final edit which involves listening to the entire NT once again, checking for any errors that may have slipped through, deleting unnatural pauses, etc.

The challenge we face is that it takes about 2 hours to do the final edit on each hour of recorded material, and there don't seem to be enough hours in the week to get it done.

The Palawano New Testament is significantly longer than the normal 18-hour New Testaments Luke and Kristen have been recording in Africa. In hindsight, we see that we should have budgeted a few extra weeks to get the Palawano project done, but we didn't realize this until it was too late.

So we have about 50 hours of listening and checking to get done... all in the next 5 days, plus rerecording any errors we might find.

WHY IS OUR TRANSLATION LONG?
It's mostly a language issue. For example, to track dialogue, Palawano adds "he said" to each sentence of recorded speech (that's about 4,000 times in the New Testament!)

Also, narrative discourse adds what is called head-tail links like this:

So Jesus went to Galilee.

When he got to Galilee, he entered the synagogue.

When he had entered there, he began to teach....

Those connections seem repetitious and unnecessary to us, but they are how Palawano tracks people and events throughout a story. Without them, the reader or listener would be lost. And you can imagine how those extra sentences would add up, time-wise, as Susing reads all the gospels and Acts!

SO PLEASE KEEP PRAYING
So as we enter this final week, we ask you to pray with us that the project can be completed--done, and done well!

Please pray:

• for stamina as we listen through long hours of checking
• for any remaining mistakes to be found
• that we can finish within the time remaining before we all fly back to the USA on March 24.

Thank you for your part in this ministry!

Reaching Palawanos together with you,

-Bill and Donna


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Recording the Palawano Audio Bible

ONE... TWO... READ!
We've been working on the recording of the audio version of the Palawano New Testament for about two and a half weeks, now. Whew! Praise the Lord for good progress and for health and stamina. This job requires a lot of concentration, day after day.

Bill and Terry on the rooftop of the hotel (yes, the view is amazing)

This past week, we also hosted a video team from California who are documenting what is involved in getting the Word of God into another language and published in printed and audio formats.

We were even able to film the steps of the printing process, from stacks of 700-pound rolls of Bible paper to printing plates, to printing machines, assembly, sewing, binding, trimming... quite a interesting field trip. We felt a lot of emotion to think that our translation will soon undergo this process and be available for the Palawanos.

RECORDING: EACH ONE DOES THEIR PART
We are working with several Palawanos, Luke and Kristen Rider of Cross Connection Outreach, and a volunteer from one of our churches in San Diego.

Susing is our reader and reads the Palawano New Testament into the mic hour after hour.

Luke and Kristen

Luke monitors the computer which is recording the audio, and Bill follows the text on another computer to make sure each word of each verse is read correctly.

After that, Donna and Giyang listen to each section, checking for any errors which might have slipped through. Susing, Luke and Bill then have to rerecord each of those.

Terry edits to audio to strip out background noise and unwanted silent spaces, etc., and he splices the rerecorded parts into the main audio file. Kristen will help with rerecording and editing when Terry flies home to return to his job in San Diego.

SAY IT AGAIN... AND AGAIN
Susing is very patient. If he stumbles over a word, we have to ask him to repeat the verse (or sentence). If someone hits a hammer upstairs... repeat. If an airline flight goes over the hotel (the whole city is in the flight path)... repeat. If Susing gets too far from the mic, or too close... repeat.

A recording studio not unlike Abbey Road

Susing remains cheerful throughout it all. In his interview for the video he explained, "It's hard, yes. But it's worth it to see God's Word completed and done well, so that people can listen to it and come to know Christ."

TECHNOLOGICAL MASHUP
Our equipment is a combination of high tech (Macs, sound mixers, top-of-the-line microphone, cables and software) and a jerry-rigged "sound studio" made of mattresses and duct tape. Please note, however, that these mattresses are not just any old cloth-covered cushion. Some of them are the world-renowned, sound-enhancing, echo-diminishing Hello Kitty mattresses (available in pink).

The Uniquely-Acoustic Hello Kitty Mattresses

KEEP PRAYING
Although we have to do retakes because of intermittent noise, we are making good progress. We're over halfway through the NT. The hotel staff remain friendly and helpful. We thank the Lord for this, and realize that your prayers are a big part of this effort.

Please pray that:

• the relationship with the hotel owners and staff will continue to be smooth
• we will be able to have a relatively soundproof recording situation
• stamina, health and clear thinking for each member of the team

Thank you for your part in this ministry!

Reaching Palawanos together with you,

-Bill and Donna


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Prayer Needed!

THE RECORDING BEGINS... ALMOST
Today we were shopping around in Puerto to find what we needed to build our "sound booth" for recording the Palawano New Testament audio version.

While jet-lagged and busy with all that, we were hit with two situations that remind us we are in a battle. Our enemy does NOT want the Palawanos to have the Word of God in their language in any format. At the same time, we are reminded that God is sovereign and nothing takes him by surprise or presents any difficulty to him!

DISTRACTING HEARTACHE
First, as soon as our Palawano helpers arrived in the city, they received a text informing them that their nephew's wife had committed suicide. On top of the heartbreaking sadness of this situation, we know it will be weighing on their hearts and and could be a distraction as we work on the recording.

UNSETTLING CHANGES
Not long after learning about the suicide, we went to the hotel where we had booked rooms to do the recording and were faced with some potential concerns. The friendly manager who had given us such a good deal on the rooms and was bending over backwards to accommodate us in the recording venture is no longer with the hotel. So we will be dealing with the owners whom we have not met. Some loud music was playing throughout the hotel (which would be picked up by our microphones) and so we needed to ask them to please turn it down (for the next 6 weeks), and we also wanted to ask for extra foam mattresses to soundproof the room, and we weren't sure how cooperative the owners might be.

GOD IS FAITHFUL
After leaving the hotel, we were able to find some foam mattresses that would do the job, and before we even finished typing this update, we learned that the a staff member at the hotel (who is a believer!) had come up with some additional mattresses for us. Just what we needed to finish the job!

Please pray that:

• the relationship with the hotel owners and staff will continue to be smooth
• we will be able to  have a relatively soundproof recording situation
• that God will comfort the family in the loss of the suicide
• our helpers here will not be adversely affected by the whole situation

Thank you for your part in this ministry!

Reaching Palawanos together with you,

-Bill and Donna


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Update on Palawano Translation

2012 has certainly been the most exciting year in our 30+ years of service in the Philippines. We are so thankful that the translation of the Palawano New Testament was completed.

WHAT'S THE CURRENT STATUS?

The translation is now at the Philippine Bible Society for printing, and we are waiting for the final mock-up copy to proofread before it goes to press.

Please pray that:

• the proof copy will be done quickly
• it will the correctly formatted and error-free
• the NT can be printed with minimal delay

During the months of Nov-Jan we have enjoyed time with our family, celebrating the holidays and a multitude of family birthdays. And our most precious hours have been spent with our grandkids Max (almost 3) and Myri (22 months).

WHAT'S NEXT? THE NEW TESTAMENT IN AUDIO...

Many of the Palawanos cannot read. And those who can read, often prefer to listen.

So, in addition to 2,500 copies printed copies of God's Word, we will produce an audio version of the entire Palawano New Testament. Rechargeable audio Bible players will be distributed throughout the tribe. Let us know if you would like to sponsor one of these players!

We will fly from Los Angeles on Feb 6th and head back to Palawan for about 7 weeks to do the recording. We will stay at NTM's Guest House in Puerto Princesa. And we have rented quiet hotel rooms to use as a recording "studio." A team from the USA is coming over to handle the technical aspects of recording. Susing will be our Palawano "voice." And Donna and I will work with several other Palawanos to double- and triple-check the recording for accuracy. It will be a intense process to get that much material recorded error-free. Please pray with us through this project!

Another team is coming over to Palawan for about a week to shoot video, to produce a documentary of "The Making Of The Palawano New Testament." We admit we're reluctantly non-photogenic. They are planning to illustrate the benefits of people groups having the Scriptures in their heart language.

Please pray with us for:

• health and endurance for all of us
• quick and accurate recording
• logistics of the two-day trip into the tribe

Stay tuned… we'll keep you posted during the recording trip.

Meanwhile, we are thankful that in between all the holidays and family events, we got fairly well settled for our Home Assignment (furlough) here in San Diego. The Lord has provided a car and much of the furniture that we need. We will finish getting set up when we return to the US in late March.

Thank you for your part in this ministry!

Reaching Palawanos together with you,

-Bill and Donna


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