Imagine if you did not have God’s Word, the Bible in your language. Imagine if all you had to rely upon for your spiritual nourishment was a few scattered Scripture portions and Bibles in other languages you could not read very well. Thanks to the hard work and dedication of the Pular Bible translation team and the blessing and favor of the Lord, the Pular translation of the New Testament has finally been completed and published. Distribution and sale in Guinea has begun.

On March 7, we had the privilege of attending the dedication ceremony of the Pular New Testament. With the publication of the New Testament in Pular, the Fulbe people now have access to God’s very Word in the language that is closest to their heart. It was a day of celebration for Fulbe believers and missionaries alike.

The work is far from complete, however. Work continues on the translation of the Old Testament. Work is also ongoing converting the New Testament from the Latin alphabet to the Arabic alphabet (Pular can be written with either Latin or Arabic letters) for publication. Many Fulbe only read the Arabic letters. Please be in prayer for these important projects.

Georgia arrived in Guinea very early Tuesday morning, February 26. At the airport we were able to see her deboard the plane and walk across the tarmac to the airport terminal. She was one of the first people off the plane so we expected her to get through customs and pick up her luggage quickly. She had very detailed airport instructions and knew exactly what to expect once inside. We went around to the exit ramp to wait for her. Billie held her welcome sign and we waited… and we waited some more.

As time passed we knew something must have come up. Was someone hassling her for a bribe? Was she stuck at the customs table? Had her luggage not shown up? Nearly the last person out of the terminal, we spotted her pulling only her carry-on bag behind her. Both of her checked pieces of luggage did not arrive.

In fact, her luggage did not show up for another four days. She borrowed Billie’s clothing and made due with what she had in her carry-on pieces. Georgia’s first week in Guinea turned her into a real Pioneer!

Finally, the morning we were to leave Conakry for Labe, she and David went to the airport at 3 am to look for it one last time. The airport security officer wouldn’t let David go in with Georgia, so she had to brave the French speakers on her own. Getting past locked doors, money demanding customs agents and into the luggage area were the first hurdles. Once inside she spotted her bags and had to swipe them away from a would be thief before the lady could take off with them.

Back past the money demanding customs agents and the aggressive porters, she triumphantly came pulling her bags behind her. Then her fanny pack burst open and her passport and glasses went flying. She was bale to retrieve her passport, but she lost her reading glasses. In fact, she lost two of her three pairs of reading glasses in Conakry within 6 hours! What an eventful first week on the mission field!

We’re so glad that Georgia’s bags arrived with all contents in tact and not a day too late. She’s doing really well adjusting to life and ministry in Guinea and is taking off with her French. She has already set up her home, been to the market, planned a vegetable garden, planted flowers around the house and met many other missionaries in Guinea.

Pray for Georgia as she lives and serves with us her first term.