We Call Him “Tokter Mikky"
April 29, 2024
A missionary family takes THRU the BIBLE to a Micronesian people group
We were recently thrilled to connect with Alisha Barkman, who told us how her missionary family is using THRU the BIBLE to serve the Chuuk people. Here’s her story:
I grew up in Chuuk, Micronesia. My family, Baptist missionaries, are still there and I continue to work as a translator for our Chuukese mission work from my home in Wyoming.
My father, Jody Colson, became a missionary to Hawaii in 1991 as a result of Dr. McGee's burden for the Hawaiian people. While in Oahu, he met the Chuukese people. Their islands lie about 4,000 miles west of Hawaii (coordinates:7°25′N 151°47′E). He began making short mission trips there, and we moved there as a family in 1997. According to Wikipedia, about 46,000 people speak Chuukese (likely a very low estimate), which has hardly any similarities to the other languages of Micronesia.
We started an FM radio station in the islands of Chuuk about 15 years ago, and it has become one of our most effective ministries. My sister interpreted many of Dr. McGee's Sunday Sermons that air on our station. My brother also interpreted your Questions & Answers program for many years. Dr. McGee is lovingly known as “Tokter Mikky” all over the islands.
When we translated and printed the Chuukese New Testament, we included Dr. McGee’s Notes and Outlines for each book as they appear in Thru the Bible’s blue Bible. Many have told us how much they learned from this guide in their personal Bible study. We’ve also created Sunday School lessons and other resources from Thru the Bible content. All are self published, printed, and distributed at our own expense. We just want to bring Dr. McGee's clear, in-depth teaching to the people of Chuuk.
We are also translating Thru the Bible’s commentaries into Chuukese. It all came about because an older man, Minoru, asked me to explain a particular verse in Ecclesiastes. Minoru had been a pirate in his younger years, a very bad man. He was born again about 15 years ago and has been a faithful member of our church ever since. Upon finishing the lessons on Ecclesiastes, he gave his testimony and said these lessons have helped him have full assurance of his salvation. He knows that when he dies he will be in heaven with Jesus. Praise the Lord!
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Our folks with our first printing of the Chuukese New Testament
We praise God for the creative, fruitful stewardship of THRU the BIBLE’s content that the Colson and Barkman families are doing to bring God’s whole Word to the Chuukese people of Micronesia. Pray for them as they continue to translate and proclaim God’s Word in the middle of the Pacific Ocean.