Chapter 18
Persevering under Trial
In the 41 years since the Steinkraus family died, a large number of Bible translation projects in Papua
New Guinea have both been started and finished. Of the language communities noted in this book:
The Waffa people received the New Testament in 1975 (Joyce Hotz and Mary Stringer).
The Duna people received the New Testament in 1976 (Dennis and Nancy Cochrane and Glenda
Giles of the Plymouth Brethren mission agency, CMML - Christian Missions in Many Lands).
The Halia people received the New Testament in 1978 (Jerry and Jan Allen).
The Biangai people received the New Testament in 1985 (Ray and Marge Dubert).
The Faiwol people received the New Testament in 1995. (Frank and Charlotte Mecklenburg).
The Tifalmin people received the New Testament in 1998 (Walt and Vonnie Steinkraus, Al and
Susan Boush).
In all, about 200 languages, or roughly 22 percent of all the 869 languages in Papua New Guinea
have a completed New Testament. This represents more than 2 million people who now have access
to God’s Word in a language they know and understand! Work continues in 125-plus languages of
Papua New Guinea today by Wycliffe Bible Translators and other mission agencies. At least 300
languages remain to be translated in Papua New Guinea alone and almost 2,000 worldwide!
The flower gardens and many memories of the Steinkrauses are fading. Yet their life and testimony
lives on with a prayer that others may know, as Walt and Vonnie did, that Christ is calling them to a
distant shore and they will dedicate themselves to finishing the task of translating God’s Word for all
the languages of the world. A small grave yard on a hill at Ukarumpa testifies to the lives that have
been given for the sake of the Gospel. No work is more satisfying and not many jobs have as great
an eternally impact. Few demand so much!
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