What a year it has been! The Lord has blessed and protected and gone before me every step of the way! I am so thankful that the King of Kings came from heaven as a baby and lived and died to save me from my sins. Hallelujah, what a Savior.

Many of you have “travelled” with me from the time I started Bible School in 1994 to the time I arrived in Papua New Guinea several years later! Looking back on the journey, I have seen the Lord’s faithfulness over and over again and I’m so thankful for His incredible grace.

THE MENGEN MINISTRY

In 2001, my co-worker Keri and I joined a couple of families who were working with the Mengen people, deep in the jungles of Papua New Guinea. At that time, the Mengen language was unwritten and the local people lived in spiritual darkness, without knowledge of their sin and need of a Savior.

After a couple of years of language study, our team began to write Bible lessons and translate various portions of Scripture in preparation for teaching the Mengen people for the very first time. It was with great joy we saw the Mengen church planted in 2004 with a handful of believers and since that time we have seen 250+ people place their trust in Christ through the ministry of the Mengen church and their outreaches.

Along with the Bible teaching, we have also invested many years into translating the Scripture into the Mengen language. It has been truly amazing to see God’s Word become real to the Mengen people and to see their hunger and desire to read and study the Bible and teach their children.

THIS IS THE YEAR!!

2019 will be a very exciting year for our team and for the Mengen people. In January I will be returning to Papua New Guinea to complete the final 4 books of the New Testament. The translation ‘check’ will take about 3.5 weeks and when I return to Canada in April, the Mengen New Testament will be ready to be formatted and sent off to the printers!!

Lord willing the Mengen people will have the complete New Testament in their own language by the end of 2019.

Several people have asked if I will continue on and translate the Old Testament once the NT is complete. The short answer is that the books of Genesis and Exodus have already been translated as well as other portions of the OT. It will be up to my co-workers if they choose to continue on with other translation work, but our main focus has been finishing the NT. Because of my illness, I am unable to remain overseas for extended periods of time. When I return from my trip to PNG, I will be looking for a new ministry or job here in Canada.

I would appreciate your prayers for me as I return to PNG for 3 months.

  • Pray that I would be able to accomplish the work laid out for me.
  • Pray also that I would remain well and healthy. Multiple Sclerosis is greatly aggravated by stress, so please pray that the Lord would give me peace and that the work would progress smoothly.
  • Pray also for the Mengen men who will be assisting with the final checking of Hebrews, Matthew, Luke and Revelation.
    Pray for focus and good health for them. It will be an intense 4 weeks as we check 2657 verses in total!!
  • Pray that I would know the Lord’s will in regards to future ministry once the Mengen New Testament is completed.

Thank you so very much for your faithful prayers and financial support!

Have a Merry Christmas as you celebrate the birth of the King.

Becky Preheim

If you wish to contribute financially towards the cost of the Mengen New Testament printing, let me know and I can give you the details. You can also go to this link online: https://ethnos.ca/projects/mengen-new-testament/