NTM - New Tribes Mission | Planting Tribal Churches

To say things have been a little crazy the past few weeks would be an understatement.  It was so great to have Savannah come back into the dorm to join Jen & Scarlett.  She was in and out for the first week becaue her mom was here for meetings.  Now Savannah’s mom has gone back to the islands area of PNG where their tribal work is.

Sweet Sisters

◄ Back

Next ►

Picture 1 of 7

We have been working hard that last few weeks sorting all of our belongings and getting ready for a yard sale.  The sale went really well and this will help towards replacing some items when we are back in the states.  We still have a lot of larger things to sell that will have to wait until right before we leave; (lamps, T.V., keyboard, kitchen items, matresses, etc.)  We also have a large list of cleaning requirements to work through before we can leave the house.  Hopefully we will have a lot of help our last few days here to finsish these things.

This week has provided a bit of rest as I underwent minor surgery at the medical clinic here.  I have had to rest for the last few days.  Katie is hanging in there and trying to stay off her feet as much as possible but also fighting a cold.  The dorm girls have been a big help while I am not able:)

Jen & Scarlett are playing soccer.  They’ve had more conditioning than they would like too:)  The guys are playing basketball.  Both teams have there first “scrimmage” games this week.  In a few more weeks they will start with sports tournaments.

I will be speaking in High School Chapel next Wednesday and then in March I will be doing a “Youth Ministry Workshop” for a high school career day.  I am excited for these opportunities to inspire other young people into ministry.  Last night we I had a great bible study with my high school guys small group.  We have been working through 2 Timothy & Titus about what it means to be a leader!  I love it.

God is faithful!   We have all of our appointments lined up for when we get back to the states.  God has provided funds for some of our future needs through a number of generous gifts and we say thank you.  We give Him all the praise and thank you for each of your support as we follow Him.

If you stood on our front porch and looked inside on any given night what might you see?  Uncle Jon, Aunt Katie, Jen, & Scarlett playing an intense game of Dutch Blitz until bedtime.  Jen reading a bible story to Benjamin before He is ready to be tucked in.

Dorm Sisters

Scarlett reading a story with our 4 kids climbing all over her.  A whole family singing praise songs and sharing a devotional together.   Fun music playing while everyone helps by washing dishes, wiping the table, putting away food, and sweeping the floor.  Jen, Scarlet, and friends working on a homework project or watching a movie together.  Everyone drooling over a fresh plate of homemade cookies, and then the best part…eating them!

Evening Chores

When we first looked at the prospect of having a small dorm it was hard to embrace.  We believed the Lord brought us here to be Dorm Parents and we wanted to have the greatest impact possible.  Logically, we thought that greater impact would come through having more dorm kid’s in our home.  God always knows best!  Katie and I couldn’t have imagined being this close to Jen and Scarlett.  There is a mutual respect and trust shared between us that makes parenting a joy.  We truly feel like a family together and we have been so blessed by how Jen & Scarlett have sought to be involved in our lives.  We enjoyed when all (8 of us) went down to the softball field together and played a game, and appreciated when Jen and Scarlett watched and played with our kids while we attended a school staff meeting.

Who Says Dishes Aren't Fun

God has given us many opportunities both in an outside the dorm!  We know this is the great impact we were hoping for.  Check out our album of First Term 2012 pictures.

     There are many unique things about the Mission Center where we live!  First of all, there are around 250 people (70 family units) living here.  Imagine now that many of them have come at different times throughout the year and may go on furlough in 2 to 4 years depending on their circumstances.  There is a lot of turnover of personnell.  This center is the main location for all NTM operations in PNG.  There are many different ministries the missoinaries are involved in like: supply buyers, teachers, dorm parents, maintenance workers, lanaguage teachers, field leadership, administration, finances, store, shipping, medical, tech department, aviation, and more!  Not only that but many of these people are not just from the U.S. but from places like Germany, Ireland, Australia, Canada, and more.  There are also many nationals that live within a large radius of our location that work here as work merri’s, store clerks, maintenance, security, lawn-care, finances, mail room, and more.  This is a diverse culture, a whole new world and community right outside our front door to build relationships with.  While many people will come and go our unity is found in our purpose to help the gospel brought to the unreached.

     How do we go shopping?  There is a store (Open only Monday & Thursday) here on the center where we can buy many things that are difficult to find in PNG.

PMV (Public Motor Vehicle)

These items are imported and are rather expensive like cereal ($8-10 per box) (olive oil $20).  Things we would buy here (baking supplies, toiletries, laundry supplies, packaged items).  However, a can of Coke is only 80 cents and I have found Mountain Dew in town for 78 cents.  There is a small market held just outside the gate.   Many of the locals bring their fresh fruit & produce to sell to us on Mondays & Thursdays.  This food is quite in-expensive but slightly more than you would pay at the large Market in Goroka. 

     A trip to Goroka is exciting!  We can rent a vehicle from here to take in (I know have my license) or we can ride a (PMV-Public Motor Vehicle).  Granted this is one of the top ten most dangerous roads in the world.  Many people walk along the road and drivers zoom by and around.  In town there are 3 decent grocery stores with similar prices and selection compared to our store.  There is a hardware and appliance store.  There is a large open market as well as people selling things on every street.  It is always very busy and crowded in Goroka.  The open market is huge (nationals ride in to town to sell the things they’ve grown in their gardens) and prices are cheap for examples: medium tomatoes 25 cents, medium pinapples 1 dollar, huge bunch of bananas 75 cents.  In general all the fruit is delicous and full of flavor compared to the same found in the states.

Goroka Market

     Their are many settlements (ghettos) of different language groups throughout town which make it a highly aggressive area.  There are certain things you have to be watchful and careful about like where you walk, park, how you carry possessions, and never leaving things unattended.  It is highly recommended that you go with someone else and that women never go to town by themselves.  As we learn the language and have been to Goroka 3 times it is becoming more comfortable.  Even though there are “rascals” around, the people in general are very friendly and kind especially to “white-skins”.  They would give you their best seat, give your kids free food to try, smile at you, etc! 

I hope this gives you a good picture of our “New World”

Last Airplane Ride

As we climbed off the plane in Port Moresby we realized we were missing one carry-on.  The flight attendant helped us find it but by that time instead of being in the front we were now last in a long line to go through custums with only 1 1/2 Hours till our next flight.  Amazingly, a man came up to us and led us past everyone else to the front and quickly checked our passports and passed us through.  Next we had to get all of our luggage and pile it on two carts and head to the next line.  Again, a man moved us around the line and helped us pass everything through the scan maqchine and then onlyt peeked at a couple of our food items and passed us through.  No fees, no questions, no digging.  We were told later!  Wow, how did you make it through with jerkey and peperoni packages (that doesn’t usually happen.

After leaving the security area we were met by the New Tribes government rep who helped us check in our many bags again for the domestic flight.  Amazingly we only had to pay about $100 in overwieght charges (In Chicago a kind lady helped us shuffle our wiegth and passed many of our luggage at 5lbs. over with no extra charge (could charge $200 per bag)  As we hurried out of the international terminal onto the street three things overwhelmed us.  The heat and humidity after leaving Michigan winter behind, the beauty of the landscape like Hawaii, and the crowd of very different looking people all around us.  Finally we were able to get into the Domestic Terminal where we had to go through security again and we actually had a few minutes to sit down and buy some water which a kind Swiss Missionary helped us do. 

The final leg of the journey was beutiful as we flew accross jungle, swamps, and winding rivers.  After being in the clowds we finally descended into Goroka surrouned by lush green mountains and valleys.  The airplane landed and we stepped of onto the pavement.  We walked towards what looked like a aluminum sided barn (the airport) and then stood by a table outside where they set everyones luggage.  On the other side of the fence were many people staring but amongst them were some frineds we had already met in the states.  What a comfort!  They helped us load along with a national and we climbed into a very different type o van.  our kids were concerned about no car seats:)  Not only that but we drove on the wrong side (according to our culture) of the road and constantly had to swerve around local people.

A view from the Highlands Region supply center

Finally arriving at the supply center for the Highlands Region (5,000ft.) we were introduced to our new home.  You can see the mountains (about 2 miles away) rise up to 9,000ft.  Geckos are on the screen windows catching bugs, flowers are in bloom, and the temperature is hot but not humid.  We were feeling exhausted but had to push through the afternoon and try to go to bed close to the new time.  It took about 4 days for us to get on the new schedule and now it feels normal.

“Our God is a ever-present help in times of trouble”