2012-05-15 Cooper PNG InfoBites. US Passport and Papua New Guinea Visa I was able to obtain my new US passport in April -‐ good until 2 April 2022. (I think this about my fifth passport since I first started traveling back and forth to Papua New Guinea way back when I was a grantee at the East-West Centre - University of Hawaii back in 1968).
As of yesterday I just received my "lapun" (old timer) visa which is good until May 2015. The PNG government granted these "special exemptions" to about a half dozen of us who have worked for many years in their country under SIL and who are at their retirement age or older (64 or older). Because I am now in this old timer, or lapun, status with the PNG government, this means I do not have to keep requesting a clearance for a particular work permit, nor have to take all of the physical exams, police & HIV/AIDS clearances, etc. And, my visa came thru in record time!
Also as of May 15th, I've made arrangements for my next round of airline reservations, which should extend from 16 August to 15 November, a three month trip this time, because of planning for the dedication of the Buhutu Gospel of Mark on 16 September 2012. PTL! it looks like it was the right time for major savings on tickets -‐ much less than the last trip!
Good news about our COMBO classroom/dormitory building at Alotau
PTL! On May 7th, VITAL Module 22 began in our new classroom dormitory facility, which had been under construction since early 2011.
Tour of unfinished classroom - Feb 2012
VITAL Module 22 in session - May 2012
Those of you who've read our earlier Cooper InfoBites newsletters know that for the past two years many of our classes and all of our meals have been outdoors either under the carport, or on the back veranda of the bigger house on our centre, so the completion of this building is a pretty special event! In part because of the decline of the US dollar against the Kina some funds are still needed to finish paying for this facility which was built thru the assistance of Wycliffe Associates. Lord willing, the Buhutu team and I will join up with other VITAL teams in this COMBO classroom/dormitory/dining hall for Module 23 in October -‐ as we, and certain other teams attend just TWO modules per year, not all three of them.
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Stopping to Smell the Lilacs!
On Mother's Day, in the afternoon, Mary and I went across the Columbia River to the Washington side with Maureen and her family and visited both the Hulda Klager Lilac Gardens in Woodland, Washington, and also the Cedar Creek Grist Mill about 10 miles out in the country from there. This historic grist mill has been carefully restored and the "millers" ground our flour as we watched, and each person took home about a 2-‐3 lb bag of hand-‐ground flour (ground by the power of a waterwheel that is, which turned the various belts to power the grindstone.) Our bags of flour were 'warm to the touch' when they handed them to us, because of the heat generated in the grinding process. This is whole-wheat, brown flour, suitable for making bread or pancakes.
Mary & Russ at the Hulda Klager Lilac Gardens
The restored (and operational) 1800's Cedar Creek Grist Mill. Our son-in-law Jason is by the car (right).
Back in the States, Russ has been working on getting caught up with Patrick Sadileutu's hundreds of Old Testament verses. Right now he's working on Isaiya [Isaiah] passages. Thanks to special funds from friends designated for equipment, Mary has been able to replace her 'ancient' laptop, but has also had to replace much of the software because of the old software being "outdated." She will also be able to do ParaText files on the newer system, which means each of us can work at the same time on preparing different books of the Bible.
And Meanwhile: Back in Papua New Guinea
Lord willing the Buhutu Steering Committee are working with Dumodi Wolaka, and finalizing plans for the Buhutu Mark Dedication in September. Our special prayer request for them is that 1) they will make good progress on these plans, 2) Many people from every church will sign up to purchase their copies of Wasa Loholohona Maleko ya Uli (the Good News that Mark Wrote) and 3) that when things change and don't work out as first visualized the planning committee members will not get discouraged, but simply adapt to the changes and go on with their planning.
God bless, Russ & Mary
US address for personal correspondence: Russ & Mary Cooper 2800 SE 1st Street, Apt 64 Gresham, Oregon 97080 USA Phone: 503-491-8915 Email: < Russ_Cooper@sil.org>
Wycliffe USA Office for financial support: Wycliffe Bible Translators P.O. Box 628200 Orlando, Florida 32864-8200 USA
Please visit us on Facebook also. 2012-05-15 Cooper PNG InfoBites
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