Adam & Julie Martin
Adam & Julie have worked in PNG since June 2005, and we made our homes with the Akolet people in November 2006. The Akolet number a little over 2,000 and are a coastal tribe. They have never before heard the Gospel of Christ or the truths of Scripture in their language. Our goal is to plant a thriving New Testament church among them. This will require chronological Bible teaching from Genesis to Revelation, translating the New Testament and many portions of the Old Testament into Akolet, and teaching literacy so that they can read and write in their language, understanding the truths of God's Word for themselves. We anticipate this will take 10-15 years total.
Our more immediate goals are: 1) to finish our formal study of the Akolet language and culture. Our hope is to complete our final check in early 2010. 2) to hold the first literacy class. This, Lord willing, may also be before the summer of 2010. Our primers are written and we are getting other materials ready for this to happen. 3) Translate several key Old Testament passages which will be an integral part of our chronological Bible teaching program. Translation is currently underway in Genesis, and over the next 12-15 months we hope to complete all the necessary portions for the first round of Bible teaching. We are incredibly blessed to work alongside Ryan and Nicki Coleman, and their children Joseph and Sydney.
The greatest joy of our work is in being a part of making Revelation 5:9 a reality. Every tribe, every tongue, every people, every nation will be before the throne of God one day, worshipping Him for all eternity. But for the Akolet people and hundreds of other people groups in the world today, there is no way for them to hear the truth. Someday soon, that will change for the Akolet, and we can think of no greater way to spend our lives. Our greatest hope would be that other ordinary people like us would join in the work of reaching the remaining unreached tribes of the world with the precious Gospel of Jesus Christ. It doesn't take superheroes, it takes willing people who step out in faith to impact eternity.
Our website (www.martinpng.com) is frequently updated with news, photos and prayer requests. We hope you'll check it out!