Missionaries Barrie and Cherri Williamson and two Lauje co-workers -- Melki and Atriis -- just finished 11 full days of checking several books of the Lauje New Testament in Indonesia.
Melki and Atriis took turns reading out loud each day while Barrie and Cherri listened and followed along on the computer. The goal was to read through Paul's letters but the team got much further than expected. They read 19 of the 27 books of the New Testament.
The two Lauje men were so excited and encouraged they didn't want to stop, even to take time for shopping or fun. At one point Barrie had to put his foot down and say they had to have a break.
After finishing most of Paul's letters, Melki and Atriis happily agreed to do the Gospel of Mark.
While checking the Gospel of Mark, Melki turned to Barrie and said, "I just love these stories."
"Once we completed Mark, I was ready to quit," Barrie wrote, "but they said, 'Now we should do Romans!'"
"It was simply thrilling to see these guys not just reading, but interacting with the message of each book as well. Nothing brings more satisfaction to a translator than that."
During their time together the team was able to catch some spelling errors and make some other corrections.
As the two men return to their home, they will meet with the village leaders and then begin organizing people to read the Scriptures and give feedback.
The next time the team meets, their first goal will be to check two books that were translated a long time ago -- John and Revelation. Since the remaining eight books to be checked are longer, Barrie anticipates it taking a few more sessions to finish the New Testament.
Please pray that the Scriptures will be well received by other Laujes and that God's Word will encourage and strengthen the believers.
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