Since Myra Noel is now Myra Johnson, my blog is now on our new website. You can find our site at www.SafariForSouls.com. You can find my posts under Myra’s Musings at www.safariforsouls.com/myra. There will be no new posts on this site. I will keep it open to help folks find me, but I won’t be updating it any more. I hope to see you on our new site!

Because all I am is His,
Myra Noel Johnson

Last night I finished the first go-through on the Tagalog/English New Testament! This project has taken too long, but it’s finally coming together. Migraines, sickness, trouble with files between me and the translator, and overwhelming busyness has made it a longer process than usual. Last night I finished Revelation and put all the files on a drive to mail to the Philippines. There seems to be a problem with the emailed files arriving corrupted. Satan has not liked this project, and has fought in so many ways.

I had never typeset a red-letter edition of the English Bible, so while working on this diglot (two languages, side-by-side), I’ve been adding red-letter to the English. I will be out of town for a week. When I return, I will begin the process of checking the red-letter with my Cambridge Bible to make sure I didn’t miss any doing it as I went. I will also go through it again to look for layout issues. As the proof-readers in the Philippines finish a book, they will send me any edits to be made. It’s a long process, but so worth it!

The Xhosa Bible is coming along too. There are several ladies typing it and the New Testament is nearing completion. John and Romans have been sent to Africa for proofing and editing. When those books are complete, they will send the text files back to me for typesetting, then they’ll go back to Africa for proofing again. They typing process is tedious because the original was very old and the type wasn’t clear in many places. I am so grateful for those who give of their time to get it typed for us.

I am so thankful for everyone who prays for these projects. After many struggles with the Tagalog, I asked my Sunday School Class and some friends to pray with me that the obstacles would be overcome so I could finish it. Within a couple of weeks, progress was being made and I finished the first stage of it just weeks later. Prayer partners make all the difference!

“A man’s heart deviseth his way: but the LORD directeth his steps.” Proverbs 16:9

When I first came to Bangkok, the original plan was for me to stay a month, with the option of extending my stay if needed. I called American Airlines to make sure my ticket could be extended and she said I could pay a fee and extend without any trouble. A couple of days ago, Tom asked me to check again on my ticket and on getting a new visa. When I called the American Airlines office in Bangkok, they said my ticket was a 30-day ticket only, no possibility of extending. To make a long story short, the agent in BKK was right and the first lady I talked to in the States was wrong. I cannot change my ticket. I can loose the last half of my ticket and buy a one-way ticket home if I want, but the $1,200 prices we have found so far make that not a good plan.

Of course, the first reaction is frustration. With a little better information at the start of this trip, I could have planned differently. However, God knew all along that my ticket would be for 30 days only and He was not taken by surprise at all. It is all in His hands and I will trust Him with it. Mine and Krinny’s ‘theme song’ through these past 10+ years remains the same, “My Lord knows the way through the wilderness. All I have to do is follow…”

Armed with all the pertinent information, Tom, Krinny, Noah and I met a couple of nights ago to discuss whether it was necessary for me to stay or not. For now, the plan is to go home on the 25th, as planned. I spent a few hours yesterday teaching Noah what he will need to know of PageMaker to continue this project on his own. Today we will cover a couple of other things that will help him finish up a project in preparation for printing.  With this training, I will not need to be here to help with the end of the project, so no extra plane ticket will need to be bought.  If Noah runs into a problem and needs help, we should be able to sort it out with Bro. Tom helping him or via phone, email, or Instant Message with me. Maybe not what we hoped for, but workable.

So, things have not worked out as we thought. I will not be extending my stay, I will not get to see the completion of this New Testament, I will not get to go on the trip to the border that the others will take, but I will get to accomplish what I came to do. My part of the work is nearly finished and one more person is equipped to carry on with the work in their part of the world.  When all is said and done, God has accomplished His will and all is well.

Besides the completion of my portion of the work, I am hoping to get a bit of dental work done this week. This afternoon I have an appointment with a dentist to see what is needed. I have a tooth (or two) that I really must get dealt with soon. I should get it done while I am here where it is affordable. Just an added blessing tacked onto this trip.

Have I mentioned that God is good?

It has been a hard week, but it has been good too. The hard was from the three migraines I had this week, yes, three, and the day and a half of stomach misery. Two days with a migraine I was able to stay functional (somewhat), but the third one knocked me off my feet for the better part of a day. The stomach trouble came on Saturday and Sunday. In spite of that, God got the victory and the work is moving forward.

I could go into the details of the work this week, but I would bore you and myself. I spent one day trying to learn more about this Unicode font thing and just about had a brain seizure. I sometimes wish I were vastly more intelligent than I am. Oh, well. I guess God knew that if He made me smarter I would be tempted to take the glory for things He does through me. With things are they are, He has to get the glory because I am once again in over my head. You have no idea how many times I’ve stopped this past week to remind the Lord that I have no clue what I am doing and I need Him to sort it out for me…and He does.

In spite of my lack of brain function, we have made progress. The decision was made that the Unicode font is not ready to be used to typeset the Bible we’re working on (or we’re not ready to use it), so we have returned to the old font, program, etc. It is not the path we wanted to take, and the other will have to be dealt with in the future, but to get this New Testament to the printer in time, we are doing it this way for now. I am thankful for clear direction on which way to go.

I have finalized the template, with Noah’s help. He (being the one to speak and read the language) let me know what worked and what didn’t as I put it together. Next I put the text of the New Testament he brought with him in the template and formatting styles have been applied. Now Noah has to go through and work on spacing, line breaks, etc. This part can only be done by someone who reads the language.

While he is doing that, I have helped Bro. Tom update their projects page on their website. (http://www.gaudetfamily.org/Projects.html) After that, I started researching the Unicode. That was what made my migraine return Friday, so I better take it easy on my brain and scatter that learning in between work.

I also need to work on the French John/Romans and a new website in the times I’m not needed for this Bible project. The ‘heavy lifting’ must be done by Noah for now. My help is only needed occasionally while he works through the spacing, line breaks, etc. This may give me time to get some of these Unicode/program issues figured out.

I do ask you to pray for me and for the rest of the Team here. The work that is being done now is for countries that Satan has held in bondage for many years. He is not about to let this work go forward unchallenged. A man from Nepal arrives tonight to put finishing touches on a Nepalese project, in addition to the other work being done in many languages. Many of us here have been sick. Some are not sleeping well and have trouble making it through the day. The battle is great, but we stand secure in the assurance that “greater is He that is in me than he that is in the world.” Without you standing behind us in prayer, we could not go forward in this work.

Tomorrow starts another week and I am excited to see what victories God gives and what work He accomplishes. Thank you all for praying.

The house is quiet, with only the sound of the air conditioner, computer keyboards clicking, and the turtle bumping around in his tank. It has been a long week and a long day, but it has been good.

At this point, it looks like we have made no progress in the work I came to do, but that isn’t really true. I have read that someone once asked Thomas Edison how it felt to have failed 1,000 times to make a light bulb. Thomas Edison said, “I haven’t failed, I have found 1,000 ways not to make a light bulb.” Of course, we know that Mr. Edison eventually found that one way to make a light bulb. Whether that story is true or not, it illustrates what is happening here. We have not failed here, we have found a dozen ways not to typeset the Bible we have come here to typeset. I am confident that Almighty God (who’s Word it is) will sort out all the font issues, program problems, and other obstacles that lie in our way and show us that one way we should typeset this Bible. Please pray that God would show us a more perfect way to do this work that is so important and so close to His heart.

Bro. Jeffry Evans has accomplished amazing things with the computers and server here. We are so thankful to God for sending him and his wife, Sarah, to sort things out. Few things are more frustrating than trying to accomplish your given work while the computers fail, crash, lock up, and just give up. God even supplies computer techs. We are also thankful for their church sacrificing to send them over here. They had to extend their trip a few days to get everything accomplished, but we are hopeful that it will all be sorted out when they leave Wednesday night.

Yesterday we took  Sarah to Jatujat Market. This is a weekend market, so Saturday was her last chance to go. I also wanted to go back, but did not want to wait until it got hotter (it will get hotter while I am here), so we gals headed there yesterday morning. We had a good time and found the gifts we went looking for. By the time we were ready to leave at 10:30 am, it was already brutally hot. I was so thankful for my coconut to drink on the way home!

After we got back from the market and had lunch, we all loaded up in the van (except Mrs. Krinny, who wasn’t feeling well) and Bro. Tom drove us to Ayutthaya. We wanted Jeffry and Sarah to be able to see more of Thailand than just the office, church, and the mall. It was really hot, but we enjoyed our afternoon. When we returned home, the men went off to their various work. Sarah joined us and we practiced for a special we were to sing in church today. Our practice session stretched on and on as we sang many of our favorite hymns. It was a sweet time of fellowship with each other and the Lord. Our God is good.

Tomorrow begins a new work week. I am thankful for this day of preaching, singing, and fellowship before we start back to work. I cannot imagine beginning each work weak without having the refreshing of Sunday services to prepare me for the week ahead. Both sermons today were encouragements and challenges. God knows just what we need.

Please pray for the work here. There are many obstacles still before us. Pray that God removes them, or shows us a way around them, so we can finish this work He has given us to do. It cannot be done without the prayers of God’s people.

Until next time,
Myra

It is almost 8:00 in the morning. Everyone is stirring, making breakfast, and getting ready for the day. I am wishing for a nap. I’ve been up since 4:00. However, all is not lost. Do you know how much you can accomplish when the house is quiet and there are no interruptions?

I worked on the French John Romans that I am typesetting, answered several email, read my Bible, installed Burmese fonts on my computer so I could test them in different programs, and did some research on the fonts. All-in-all, a productive 4 hours. We’ll see how productive I am in the office at 4:00 this afternoon. If it’s like yesterday, my head will feel like someone has replaced my brains with cotton batting, my eyes will feel like they’re covered in sandpaper, and my balance will be off, causing me to weave in the wind whenever I stand. Not very graceful, to say the least…

After 3 years of working in the States, I am back in Bangkok with the rest of the Team…at least for a month. The Lord has blessed, having me work in the States, but it’s good to be back for a bit.

The trip here was long and brutal – as always. I arrived with aching muscles and weary beyond words, but safe and sound. Tom, Krinny, and Pookie were waiting for me when I got through immigrations and customs. It was great to see them.

By the time we got home, I ate (when I finally fell asleep on the last flight, they served dinner and I missed it), and got ready for bed, it was about 2:00 AM. It was after 2:30 when I finally went to sleep and only 4:45 AM when I woke again. I have slept very little in the last two days and it is catching up with me.

I went to the office this morning, but by noon the headache I woke up with had grown up into a migraine. I retired to the house with migraine medicine and ice packs on my head. After a couple of hours sleep, it has eased somewhat, but not gone away. I hope I’m in better shape tomorrow. I may have to redo all the research I did this morning. I’m not sure my brain was working well enough to remember or use any of it.

Anne made me breakfast this morning and Carolyn shared her coffee with me (bless them both!) Then I had BBQ chicken, sticky rice, and noodle soup for lunch. Yay! I felt like I had come home when I started eating that. It was wonderful!!! Now for some garlic pork, papaya salad…the list could go on and on. I can’t wait to have all my favorite Thai foods again.

These first days are being spent getting things ready for the project at hand. Computer issues, software tests, font issues all have to be dealt with first. Have to get the foundation right before you start building.

Great news, a couple are coming to help with the IT problems here in the office. YAY!!! Everyone cheered when we got the message they were coming. They leave Thursday. There is already a whiteboard with a list of computer issues that need to be dealt with.

Well, given the amount of sleep I’ve had in the last 48 hours and the pain in my head, I doubt this post makes a lot of sense. However, I wanted to post now while I had time. Who knows how much time I will have later. Thanks to all who prayed for my trip. Even though it was long and wearing, it went smoothly. I will try to keep you posted.

Myra

Greetings from Alaska! I am writing from Kenai, Alaska. (Photos to follow.) I arrived on Saturday and have fully enjoyed my time with my family.

Today was the offical start of the Missions Conference at Immanuel Baptist Church. It began with chapel with the school students at 11 am. Tonight I learned I was to present the ministry God has given me. I believe the Lord allowed me to learn of it so late in order that I wouldn’t over-think things and get in the way of what He wanted said. I had to rely completely on Him for the words to say.

The preacher tonight challenged the church family, asking for one or two people to covenant to intercede for those of us who had presented our ministries tonight. Not one, but three, ladies came and knelt around me, standing with me in this ministry. My heart was full as I felt them around me, praying for me and with me. After church, others let me know they were praying for me and would continue to do so.  I was reminded of the verses in Psalm 68:

11) The Lord gave the word: great was the company of those that published it.
12) Kings of armies did flee apace: and she that tarried at home divided the spoil.
Psalms 68:11-12

I am grateful for this time with Immanuel. I still feel at home when I walk through the doors, just as if I still lived here. I thank God for this church who has stood behind me faithfully for 10 years.

It is late, so I will go get some rest. I just had to write of God’s blessings.

Well, so much for blogging helping me with my terrible communication skills. I haven’t written anything since my first post. Krinny is my role model. She is so faithful to keep her blog up-to-date. I love her writing style. After you read hers, you will think mine is boring beyond measure, but we can’t all be great writers. At least you’ll get to keep up with what I am doing.

It has been crazy around here for weeks. Life just seems to get busier and busier.I went to bed to read about 8:00 last night and was asleep by 9:00. I slept until 9:00 this morning, waking up only once…and I didn’t even feel lazy. I was making up for only getting one hour of sleep the night before.

I have missionary friends, Pene & Robyn Faafouina, staying with me while home on furlough. We were updating their ministry presentation, prayer cards, display board, etc. before they left for their next meeting. If I were better and faster at this video editing stuff, I wouldn’t have had to stay up so late. Alas, I am slow and not too good at it, but with the help of Sarah, we finally finished it. I got to sleep late and visit with Carolyn Chambers for a few hours this morning. It has been lovely.

Carolyn is here for a couple more weeks. She is going to work with the Gaudets, but has come here first for some training in the software she will need to use there. I love her already and have so enjoyed her company. She has been resting up from the hectic month of packing, closing up house, and getting ready to travel. Even though she needs to rest up, she has jumped right in, helping with cooking and cleaning up so Robyn and I could get everything finished before they had to leave.

My house is quiet for the moment. The Faafouina family left yesterday afternoon for several weeks. They will be in several churches before returning here. I half expect to hear Cameron’s little voice saying, “Oh, wow.” behind me. He likes to come in and see what is on my computer screen. If all my programs are closed or minimized, he likes the butterfly I have as my wallpaper. He points and says, “Oooohh.” If I was working on their video, he liked to see all the photos. He was very happy when he saw familiar faces of people they had left back in Samoa. The quiet is good after the hectic schedule, but I miss him (and his parents) already.

Monday morning Carolyn and I will start working on her training. When I am not working with her, I hope to get my video done. I need to put together a ministry video before I leave for Alaska on November 1st, but that’s a story for another day.