2012-05-15 Cooper PNG InfoBites reprinted 5/15/12 Page 1 of 2

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.      

2012-05-15 Cooper PNG InfoBites reprinted 5/15/12 Page 2 of 2

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

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