- GRETEL LAPTHORNE IN INDONESIA
- TIM & SHARON LITHGOW - WYCLIFFE BIBLE TRANSLATORS IN PNG
- SHANE & ILDIKO MURPHY IN ROMANIA
GRETEL LAPTHORNE-KITU IN INDONESIA
Gretel lived in East Java for four year. She was teaching English in a Language School and was learning the language and culture of the Madurese people.
In September 2006 Gretel attended a Leadership Conference run by Youth With A Mission in Bali.
There she met Jhoni Kitu. Jhoni had helped pioneer the YWAM work in West Kalimantan. A romance quickly blossomed and on 30 July 2007 Gretel and Jhoni will now be working in West Kalimantan based in the city of Singkawang. There are many Madurese settlers around Singkawang and Gretel hopes to be able to reach out and minister these people.
Gretel and Jhoni and now baby Joel (born December 2008) praise God that they now have purchased their own home. It will be very handy for accommodating visiting outreach teams.
TIM & SHARON LITHGOW - WYCLIFFE BIBLE TRANSLATORS IN PNG, also known as Summer Institute of Linguistics (SIL)
Tim & Sharon Lithgow serving in PNG with Summer Instituet of Linguistics (SIL). Ath the Branch Conference in March 2009, Tim was elected as Director of the PNG Branch of SIL for a 2 year term. He, along with the team of Associate Directors, is responsible for all of SIL’s bible translation work and supporting services and infrastructure. The Associate Directors mainly run the day to day operations of the branch, while a larger part of Tim’s role as Director, is the relationships with the PNG government departments and agencies and other bible translation partner organisations.
Sharon Continues her finance supervision of a number of departments: Autoshop, Industrial, as well as contributing to some branch wide finance procedural developments.
Since 1956, SIL and its major partner, the Bible Translation Association of PNG, have completed 171 New Testaments, and are working in about 175 languages. What the branch is wrestling with is the enormous challenge of there being over 300 languages in PNG still with no scirptures in them.
Currently language programs come in all shapes and sizes, from where an expatriate couple do most of the translation work because of low education levels and geographic isolation, to multi-language programs where SIL is primarily training PNGns who are doing the translation work.
At any one time, the SIL Branch has in country 188 language personnel, 202 support staff and 247 permanent national employees, yet many language programs are languishing and some support services are limited because of a lack of personnel.
Matthew 9:38 “Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.”
SHANE & ILDIKO MURPHY IN ROMANIA
Shane & Ildiko serve in Romania where they have established a church in the village of Huedin. This year has seen a renewing of the church and an exciting time of reaching out to the community in which they 
live. One project is to build better family relationships through family camps. This has had positive feedback.
Their church in Huedin Transylvania has grown as people they have led to Christ over the past decade are now operating in positions of leadership and bringing in new people with new needs to be met.
On a personal note, Shane and Ildiko praise God for the provision of a new car, a 2003 Opel Zafira, a family in the church agreed to sell their car to Shane and Ildiko and to allow them time to pay off the $5000 that they owe for the car.
Romania’s entry into the European Union has greatly reduced the red tape and cost of visas for Shane and Ildiko. The previous fees of $300 each year have gone and Shane, as the spouse of a Romanian citizen, now has a 5 year visa for free.
Rangeville’s support for this mission in Romania is greatly appreciated.