Poking holes in the darkness

From back cover: How does a New Jersey girl, raised within sight of the New York skyline, make the vast transition to life among Stone Age people in New Guinea? Not easily! ... and not without faith. Jaki and Jim Parlier accepted the challenge of bringing God's Word to the Managalasi tribe in the jungles of new Guinea as members of Wycliffe Bible Translators. Beginning by creating an alphabet, Jim plunged into the translation of the Bible. Meanwhile, Jaki had to get used to a new name (hers had an undesirable meaning in the Managalasi language), housekeeping jungle style, working on vocabulary with her new neighbors, and becoming familiar with their way of life. She was soon creating basic primers and teaching her friends to read so that many were ready to read the Scriptures soon after Jim translated them. Twenty years of living together turned these strangers from vastly different worlds into "family" who had shared joys and sorrows. It was with aching hearts, Jim and Jaki realized they had finished their work with the Managalasis. Who gained more from these experiences? The answer is that God was at work both in the people of this remote jungle group and in jaki's heart. They received the new Testament in their own language believing it fully, and Jaki had reached across the chasm that separated them and found human hearts which she could understand and love.