James and Karen Ashley

James and Karen Ashley work with the Sa'a translation in the Solomon Islands (part of Papua New Guinea) for Wycliffe Bible Translators (WBT).

Children: Kent, Philip and Susan

James and Karen serve with WBT translating God's Word for the Sa'a (pronounced sah-ah) people in the Solomon Islands. James and Karen have been working in the Solomons under WBT since August of 1986. There are approximately 420,000 people in the Solomons living on 6 major islands (and many smaller ones) and speaking around 65 different languages. Though the Solomons are located in the South Pacific, only a few of the people are Polynesian, and most of them are generally short and dark, looking more like Africans. Most of the people live out in rural settings in houses made of bamboo and palm leaf. Nearly everyone practices subsistence agriculture as there are few paying jobs outside of the capital city and several small towns.

The large majority of Solomon Islanders (although many only infrequently) and thus claim to be Christians. However, the faith of many of them is only a surface veneer covering over an animistic worldview; few actually have a personal relationship with Christ. Though missionaries first contacted the Islands over 140 years ago, spiritual growth has been hampered by the lack of understandable Scriptures in the many local languages.

The Ashleys work among the Sa'a people on the island of Small Malaita. Sa'a Village (pop. 500) is an 18 hour trip by small ship from Honiara, the capital, which is on the island of Guadalcanal of WW II fame. In the village (comprised of about 60 houses, a school, a clinic, a church [church of Melanesia, a sort of Anglican] and a community hut, all strung out over a half-mile stretch of dirt road near a river), there are no phones, no electricity, no TVs, and no cars. Running water at a neighborhood tap is only a recent development. The village clinic is staffed by one LPN who is responsible for the health care needs of 15 more villages in the area.

The Solomon Islands is a member of the British Commonwealth having been given its independence in 1978. The usually peaceful, "Happy Isles" began to feel inter-island tensions in 1998 which eventually led to sporadic fighting between the islands of Guadalcanal and Malaita. In June 2000 the Malaitans overthrew the national government and began all out war on the people of Guadalcanal. Most foreigners, including all the Wycliffe personnel, left the country at that time. While a peace agreement was signed in October, the situation is still very fragile, with many weapons in the hands of young rebels with a macho attitude. The economy is in shambles and enforcement of law and order is tenuous at best as the bankrupt government struggles to maintain even a semblance of basic services like water and power in the capital. Rebuilding will be a very long process because foreign investors are reluctant to put their personnel and money at risk.

With the peace agreement, there are some signs that the situation has improved a bit, and in early January two of the Wycliffe families re-entered the country. They will be evaluating the situation further and, hopefully, preparing for others to also return in the coming months. At the height of the tension the Ashleys moved to the Wycliffe center in neighboring Papua New Guinea. There they worked on checking of their translations. Since returning to South Malatia, that work has continued.

Their son, Philip, graduated from high school in Papua New Guinea and now attends attends Harding University in Searcy, Arkansas. Daughter Susan, is in the same high school in Papua New Guinea.

Wycliffe Bible Translators, http://www.wycliffe.org/

Karen is a P.K., daughter of Hall and Alice Crowder. Her father pastors in Gallatin, TN. After attending Southeast Christian College, Karen moved to Bryan College where she pursued a major in math, a burden for missions, and an M.K. named James Ashley. They were married in 1980.

Graduating from Bryan as a Bible and math major, James began working at Provident Life Insurance Company and preparing for a future in missions. As James and Karen attended linguistics workshops they saw their math abilities brought to bear in the critical work of linguistic analysis.

Their sons Kent and Philip made them a family of four when they first joined Wycliffe Bible Translators in 1985. Their daughter, Susan, was born in 1988.

Their home in the States is in Phoenix, AZ.