Ian & Marietta Flaws

We joined Wycliffe NZ in 1984, and after completing linguistic, Bible translation and field training and teaching at the training courses, we moved to New Caledonia in 1990. We lived for five years with a village family in the Paicî language area on the New Caledonian mainland, learning the language and local customs and taking part in village and church life. We worked for many years with two groups of Paicî speakers to translate the New Testament, which was finally dedicated in 2012.

From 2008, we were also involved in the New Testament translation project of Cemuhi, a neighbouring language. The Cemuhi New Testament was completed in 2018.

From 2015 to 2019, a series of Bible Storytelling workshops were run in New Caledonia, and we had the privilege of participating in two of them. Speakers from around a dozen of New Caledonia's 28 Kanak languages attended, and we saw how powerful it was for people to hear and tell God stories in their own language.

Under the supervision of the University of Waikato, Ian is working on a descriptive write-up of the Paicî language. Marietta is working remotely from NZ with a group of New Caledonian Hmwaveke speakers who attended the Bible Storytelling workshops and decided they also wanted a written translation.

“May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in Him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.” Romans 15:13