Betty concludes her letter with this item from life at the Wycliffe Aiyura Base: “ Simmy is a Gadsup boy who works here at the Base. The other night he dreamed that he was at the door of heaven, and inside he could see the Three Aunties, but the doorkeeper wouldn’t let him in! How we pray that the Lord will use this dream to convince him of his need for salva tion! “ And this brings us to the Three Aunties. They are Auntie Doris, Auntie Elsie, and Auntie Olive - three sisters who have lived all their lives in Melbourne, Australia. They are 54, 55, and 57. In October they sold their pretty little home in Mel bourne, boarded a Chinese ship, the Soochow, and headed for Wyc- liffe’s Base here. That trip was a story in itself, as the Soochow kept breaking down, and once for almost 24 hours they were helplessly drifting toward a famous reef that has wrecked many a ship. Anyway, they are here to have a children’s home for the Wycliffe translators. If ever I saw God’s love manifest in lives, it is thus in the Three Aunties! Their love for and faith in the Lord are implicit. Just a few months before they were to leave for New Guinea, Auntie Elsie went blind. She never waivered in her determination to come and serve the Lord here. She said, ‘I intended to come anyway,’ — but they all prayed, and after several days of total blind ness, she received her sight back from the Lord. She says, ‘Don’t tell me the Lord doesn’t work miracles! As I see these children’s faces, t h e s e d e a r natives, the flowers and mountains and skies here, I remember that once I was blind, but now I can see!’ . . . Pray for these dear Aunties . . . Ask the Lord to keep them from growing old, so that New Guinea’s natives might receive the Word sooner (be cause they will release, through their service in taking care of the children of translators, those who will go out to the tribes). “ ‘And the people . . . followed Him . . . Then came the twelve and said unto Him, Send the multitude away . . . But He said unto them, Give ye them to eat.’ Luke 9. “ Love in Christ, Betty Adams” Earl Adams was graduated from Biola in 1947 with a Th.B. while his wife Betty (Rosenbaum) Adams was grad uated from the Bible Institute of Los Angeles in 1946. During his time of training at BIOLA, Mr. Adams was student body president. Mrs. Adams worked with the Navigators.
asking the Director if they can’t have a couple come learn their language and live among them! How can we share this burden, and make young folks see that there are joys deeper than a nice home in the homeland? . . . “ That night we stayed with Kath leen Barker and Darlene Bee. Kathy and Bee were at Mexico Jungle Camp a couple of years ago. They have been in their tribe here several months, and are completely happy and so well adjusted. The people adore them and the girls have a sincere, God-given love for these Usurufa people. They have what they call a ‘people room’ right on the front of their house. This has a dutch door into their big room which serves as kitchen-dining-living room. From early morning until bed time, the top half of that door is open. The people-keep a fire going on the floor of the ‘people room’ and they love to watch the girls as they go about their work during the day. During each meal, the top of the door is closed so the girls can enjoy their meal and have some much-needed privacy. No one peeks when the door is shut, and if they do, they are repri manded by the rest of the natives. Two little girls help Kathy and Bee with the chores, mainly so that the translators can learn the language from them. . . That night an old lady was brought in (to the people room). Her husband, angry because she had killed their pig to have a feast before their son left for two years, hit her with a stick breaking both bones in her forearm. Kathy sent for the doctor who happened to be in the village visiting that night, and he put the arm in a sling. The next day we passed the entire party on the road — the old lady walking the several-day walk into Kainantu hospital, and the old man accompanying the native police boy to Kainantu for justice to be dealt out. “ Ruth and I feel sure we know how the queen of England must feel now. We waved and smiled those two days until our faces felt stiff! Everyone in that area knows of Wycliffe Bible Translators, and as soon as they heard that old jeep, they would leave their fields and villages and race for the road. Hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of them peered into the jeep as we rolled along . . . They would race along beside and behind the jeep, trying to touch our outstretched hands . . . They are so boisterous and ‘untamed’ that if you didn’t know they were your friends, you could really have a ‘bad moment.’ Instead of clothes to keep warm, they wear pig grease and ashes . . . Their hands are caked with grease and grime, and every touch leaves a smudge.”
PREPARING PIONEERS FOR NEW GU INEA (concluded) ily. Betty didn’t seem to appreciate my question one day when I asked in all seriousness, as the house shook, ‘Is that you or an earthquake?’ Earth quakes are common here. The kunai grass covers mountains and valleys alike, growing as high as fifteen feet. It’s not an unusual experience to lit erally trip over a blade of grass! “We have the jeep parked across the river about three miles from here. When the rivers are low, we can drive most of the way to the patrol post. One day last week we tried to -make the trip and found one river about waist deep and very swift. The chan nel was only 40 feet wide, so we hailed a nearby gravel truck to tow us across. The current was so swift that it pushed the jeep off the crossing mats, '(steel plates used on airstrips hère during the war). Before we could get it out about 1 Ÿ2 hours later, it was com pletely submerged except for the roof. Later we fellows went over and spent three days completely overhauling the jeep. It was a good class in Mechan ics.” At the conclusion of the Training Camp, Ray and Ruth Nicholson, American members of Wycliffe who had also been serving on the staff, took Earl and Betty on a two-day visit to four tribes where Wycliffe trans lators had been allocated. In her letter of December 4, Betty relates experi ences of the trip. “ Advance Base came to a peaceful and happy end. All of us were tired, but grateful for no serious illnesses or accidents. We had one final bout with a death adder before we left — just enough to remind all of us again that ‘faithful is He that calleth you’ ! . . . “Ray and Ruth Nicholson took us on a two-day trip so we could visit four tribal locations of Wycliffe. What a time we had! Ruth had felt concerned about their Forei tribe all during Jun gle Camp . . . Well, this trip surely reassured them! I shall never forget one old, old couple that lives right by Nicholsons’ tribe house. And I do mean they were old! Each in turn just took Ruth in their arms, laid their withered faces on her breast and just went ‘Weh, weh, weh, weh!’ (their surprise exclamation — like our ‘well, well, well, well!) And then they did the same to Ray . . . It cuts deep to realize how they love the missionaries, yet still their souls are unsaved, their language not fully learned. Pray! . . . If only we knew how to make this open door real to young folks at home! Wycliffe could use hundreds of new recruits here — and almost immedi ately. The chiefs keep coming here
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THE K IN G 'S BUSINESS
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