About | Past
Childhood
When five years old, I got two types of polio: one that paralyzed my arm, leg, and trunk muscles; and another type that damaged involuntary things like breathing, swallowing, and other unseen functions.
My parents' example of giving to missionaries - including meat we raised, reading missionaries biographies, and God's still voice in my heart led me to choose a missionary career. You can read about how this all came about in my upcoming memoir!
Time as a Missionary
Korupun, Papua (formerly Irian Jaya) Indonesia
I served on the Indonesian half of the island of New Guinea; the eastern half (NOT the independent western half, the nation of Papua New Guinea). I worked at about 6000 feet elevation in the rugged Eastern Highlands of Papua, Indonesia, among the tribe who lives there, the highly intelligent, fiery, assertive Kimyal tribe.
While there, my main assignment was linguistics. That is, learning without lessons (there were none) the Kimyal language, analyzing its sound system, devising an alphabet that fit, and writing a description of Kimyal grammar and discourse structure. The aim of all that was Scripture translation, also my job. But I also did an armful of other things along the way - even "nurse" until one joined the team.
Korupun, Papua, Indonesia
(about 20 min. north of Oksibil, by plane)
