Answers to Prayer and Return to PNG

Feb 8, 20213 min read

In December, two hurdles loomed large, keeping the Doyles from being able to return to their work with Bible translation in Papua New Guinea. One was a need for about $1500 more in monthly pledges of ministry support, and the other was the cancellation of the only flight into PNG as of January.

But neither of these needs was too big for God!

In January, the final pledges of support came in, some from churches, others from individuals wanting to increase their monthly support, and some from new donors. So many of you have responded generously, allowing the Doyle family to be cleared for return!

Also in January, a flight opened up for late February into PNG through the World Food Programme. We are happy to report that the Doyles are scheduled to be on it, traveling from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, to their final destination on February 24!

In the meantime, their lives are a flurry of activity. As the Doyles wrote in their newsletter in early January:

“International moving is always a bit of a whirlwind, so there are dozens of ‘little things’ that actually take a lot of energy and time that need to happen in the next several weeks. Thankfully our PNG paperwork is all in order, but we’re faced with a number of new challenges for planning transiting of other countries, tricky medical test timing, and wrapping up a year and a half of life here for another four years there. Please keep us and our rapidly-growing to-do list in your prayers.”

Ask a Missionary: Larry Doyle

Are you returning to your administrative position in PNG?

I am planning to focus full-time on the Solos [Bible translation] program. There is a possibility that I will have some involvement with helping other programs in Bougainville, but I hope to keep all my involvement focused in that direction, and not on administration.

I will need to do a good bit of linguistics work and language learning . . . so those things are likely to take considerable time and effort for quite some time, alongside ongoing translation activities.

The Solos people live in Buka Island in the Bougainville region. Will you and your family be building a house in Buka, or where will you live?

Village housing might be a need in the future, but it is likely to be unavailable in the near term as an option. The mix of COVID restrictions and the [Bougainville] independence process makes the strategy going forward quite uncertain, so investing in a house there may not be wise at the moment.

For the past few months I have been considering and praying about some alternate strategies, but will need to discuss those more fully with the leadership in Ukarumpa before I commit to anything. . . .

In any case, our immediate plans are to base in Ukarumpa [on the mainland] and work out a way to effectively engage with the translation efforts on Buka Island.

How can we help pray for the translation efforts in Bougainville?

There are about a dozen Bible translation efforts ongoing in the Bougainville region, including the Solos program that we’re involved with. Many of them have had extreme difficulties over the past few years, and this past year with limited travel has only made things tougher. Pray for these men and women as they strive to get God’s Word into their own languages.