Jan. 2023

Dear Friends,

Pineapple is neither a pine nor an apple, but classified in the bromeliad family of plants. Likewise, the rose apple or bell apple has no close relationship to either roses or apples but has been grouped with some other fruiting trees in the myrtle family. The tree flowers prolifically with deep pink blossoms more than once a year and often the ground beneath the tree becomes carpeted with layer of pink of fallen flower parts. Sandy and I sampled some rose apples from a tree in Wewak and couldn’t stop enjoying them. The fruits were soft and juicy similar to a ripe pear with a slight rose flavor. We marvel at God’s creation with such an amazing variety of fruits growing in different climates around the world.

親愛的朋友們：

鳳梨(英文pineapple 直譯為”松蘋果”)既不是松也不是蘋果，而是被歸類 為 鳳梨科植物。同樣，蓮霧(英文roseapple玫瑰蘋果或bellfruit鈴鐺蘋果)與玫瑰或蘋果沒有密切關係，但與桃金娘家族中的其他一些果樹歸為一類。樹上每年不止一次開出深粉紅色的花朵，樹下的地面經常鋪滿一層粉紅色的落花碎片。 Sandy和我在威瓦克的一棵樹上摘了一些蓮霧來吃，一吃就停不下來了。果實柔軟多汁，類似於成熟的梨，帶有淡淡的玫瑰味。我們驚歎於上帝的創造，在世界各地的不同氣候中生長著如此多的水果。

Back in the garden of Eden, Adam’s initial tasks were to tend the garden which included fruit trees, and also to name all the animals. The names he gave may have been based on some characteristic unique to each animal. Perhaps that big almost hairless animal with two tusks and a long nose used for eating, could be called ‘ivory teeth’ or ‘pipe nose’. Elsewhere in the Bible, we read the names given for places or individuals and these names often have a meaning which is missed in translation. Abraham means “The Father of Many Nations”, Joshua “God is Salvation” and Bethel “House of God” are just a few examples. 回到伊甸園，亞當最初的任務是照看園子裡有果樹，並給所有的動物命名。他給出的名字可能是基於每種動物特有的一些特徵 。 也許在幾乎無毛的大動物身上，有兩根長牙和一個長鼻子用來吃東西，可以稱為“象牙”或“管鼻”。 在聖經的其他地方，我們讀到 地名或個人的名字，這些名字經過翻譯之後，原本的意涵可能被遺漏了。 “亞伯拉罕”的意思是「多國之父」， “約書亞”是「神就是救恩」，而 “伯特利”是「神的家」，這些只是其中幾個例子。

mportantly to this day we continue to name people, places and things. Most of the privately owned small and large busses in PNG have a name prominently painted on the front and back, of which some are rather unique. A sampling of the bus names Ketchup, Grace, Bloom, Lightning Express, Star, Exdust (that’s how they spelled it), and Blessed (Gen.12:3). However, the name of one bus, Patient, provokes some thoughts. Am I patient? 直到今天，給人、地點和事物命名仍是一件很重要的事情。 新幾內亞的大多數私人擁有的小型和大型公共汽車的正面和背面都醒目地標註著一個名字，其中一些相當獨特。 有巴士名稱為番茄醬、恩典、開花、閃電快車、星星、出埃及和蒙福（創12：3）。 然而，有一輛公共汽車的名字是「耐心」，這提醒我：我有耐心嗎？

We at Pacific Island Ministries look forward and are trusting the Lord for this year’s upcoming training programs, and the various guest coming to participate in them during the first four months. January is still the “summer” or long break for primary and elementary schools and other mission programs. More begins to happen in February. Sandy has a second level sewing class for some local women scheduled for the last week of January. After that in early February, PIM teachers gather for their annual Inservice course. Once again, Anne Thomas comes from her training work in Southeast Asia to have some more input with the PIM teachers. Another visitor from SIL will be over to the Sepik in mid-February to show six PIM teachers and other teachers a software educational program for teaching beginning level English using a smartphone or computer.我們太島事工期待著並相信主保守今年即將展開的培訓計劃，以及在頭四個月來參與這些培訓事工的客座宣教士夥伴。一月仍然是中小學和其他宣教事工的 “暑假” 或 “長假”。在二月份會有更多事工展開。 桑迪計劃在一月的最後一周為一些當地婦女開設第二級縫紉課程。之後，在 2 月初，PIM 教師聚集在一起接受他們的年度在職課程。安妮·湯瑪斯（Anne Thomas）再次從東南亞的培訓工作中過來，給 PIM老師們更多的技能培訓。 來自SIL的另一位客座宣教士夥伴將於2月中旬來到希比克流域，向六名PIM教師和其他單位的教師展示一個教育用電腦軟體，可用於使用智慧手機或計算機教授初級英語。

Travel in PNG can have its challenges on land by deteriorated roads, holdups, pickpockets on crowded city streets, or unruly groups of young men. If by air, travel can be impacted by lack of fuel, weather or other operational difficulties. In Ambunti there is a grass airstrip without proper maintence by those contracted for the work, so it close to being shut down. With all that it is planned for PIM it is important for the airstrip to remain open.然而，在新幾內亞往來旅行可能會遇到種種陸路中挑戰：道路惡化、擁擠的城市街道上的扒手，或結黨作亂的年輕人們檔在馬路中間向來往的車輛挑釁。如果乘飛機，旅行可能會受到缺乏燃料、天氣或其他運營困難的影響。在安布恩提，有一個草皮飛機跑道，然而承包維護跑道工作的人卻沒有進行適當的維護，因此飛機跑道瀕0臨被關閉的命運。然而，飛機跑道必須保持開放，PIM計劃中的所有事工才得以如期進行。

But now thus says the Lord, he who created you, O Jacob, he who formed you, O Israel: “Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine. Isaiah 43:1

雅各啊，創造你的耶和華，以色列啊，造成你的那位，現在如此說：你不要害怕！因為我救贖了你。我曾提你的名召你，你是屬我的。

Thank you, Douglas Heidema

感謝您

道格拉斯．海德瑪