Above, our friend Nate with some of the people of the Pal village.

As with most missionaries in the tropics, there are always the dangers of various diseases.  Nate, our friend in Pal, encountered a not-so-friendly mosquito who shared dengue fever with him.  Now the challenge he faced was not just seeking to understand the people who lived near him, but to face chills and fever in a location that is only accessible by a helicopter.  Thankfully, New Tribes Mission provides a great support team that can help meet those needs.  Nate wrote the following regarding the support team:  We’d also like to take a minute to publicly acknowledge the support personnel who were there for us in the emergency. From the mission doctor who took 2 am phone calls, to the pilot, supply and maintenance guys who dropped everything to get the helicopter ready for us, to the many folks who took turns to stay with me in the critical hours or to watch our kids so Elizabeth could. We are so very thankful for the great team here in PNG, truly we would not be able to be here without them.  Sometimes serving on the support side of the mission work does not seem very exciting, but we are thankful that we can be part of the team that cares for needs like Nate described above.  In 6 weeks we will be returning to our remote location in the mountains of Papua New Guinea.  Thank you for making it possible for us to be there to help expand the reach of the gospel to places like Pal.

One of our challenges in returning to PNG is in leaving our oldest, Nathan, here in the states as he continues to pursue his college studies.  He was fortunate to get a job at a YMCA camp for this coming summer.  We are thankful for how God continues to meet his needs as he takes this next step of faith.

We are so thankful for each of you – the support personnel of our team!  We couldn’t serve in PNG without you!

John Piper (“Don’t Waste Your Life”) describes glorifying God as being something like a telescope.   If we truly glorify God we are helping others to see Someone who is so vast and beyond our understanding by drawing them closer to a small part of Him – much like a telescope helps us to marvel at the beautiful mysteries in the vast galaxies around us.   I’ve been very convicted lately that my life does not emulate that telescope nearly like it should.  Too often I seek people to look at me rather than simply being a mirror to reflect the One who is so much greater.  Piper shares, “God created us to live with a single passion to joyfully display his supreme excellence in all the spheres of life.  The wasted life is the life without this passion.  God calls us to pray and think and dream and plan and work not to be made much of, but to make much of Him in every part of our lives.”  I am praying that God will work in me what is necessary to be a better “telescope” or “mirror” to glorify Him.  I hope you will be able to see Him make that difference in me in these coming months and years – or maybe I should say I hope you will be seeing “less” of me in these coming months and years and more of Him.  May many come to know Him more fully.  What a joy there is in that!

A question we’ve been asked a lot lately is “Do you miss the warm weather in Papua New Guinea?”  As our teeth chatter and our toes about fall off we remark on how pretty the snow can be and how nice it is that our food can stay in the trunk of the car all day and not spoil and who needs an extra freezer when you can put things outside the back door – but, yes, we do miss the warm temperatures of the tropics!  I don’t remember when I’ve anticipated spring so much!  Of course part of that is in looking forward to everything coming back to life!  We are already starting to see some of the bulbs around our rental house starting to push out of the ground.  We have no idea what might be in the flower beds.  It is rather fun!

Some dear friends sent us the book “Radical” by David Platt for Dawn and I to read together.   We would highly recommend it.  What a fresh insight into how we should be seeking God in our modern times.  To give you a small glimpse, I wanted to give you a little excerpt that really speaks to us.

“I get fliers on my desk every day advertising entire conferences built around creatuve communication, first-rate facilities, innovative programs, and entrepreneurial leadership in the church.  We Christians are living out the American dream in the context of our communities of faith.  We have convinced ourselves that if we can position our resources and organize our strategies, then in church as in every other spehere of life, we can accomplish anything we set our minds to.  But what is strangely lacking in the picture of performances, personalities, programs, and professionals is desperation for the power of God.  God’s power is at best an add-on to our strategies.  I am frightened by the reality that the church I lead can carry on most of our activities smoothly, efficiently, even successfully, never realizing that the Holy Spirit of God is virtually absent from the picture.  We can so easily deceive ourselves, mistaking the presence of physcial bodies in a crowd for the existence of spiritual life in a community.”  (-Platt, p. 50)

On Our Knees

• We would ask that you pray for the power of God to work in and through us.  We are so thankful for several opportunities to share about how God has worked in and through our lives as we’ve served with New Tribes.  As we share in these upcoming meetings, we would be so grateful for your prayers that the only thing that would be remembered by our visits is the power of God – how He is accomplishing things that ONLY HE can accomplish.  We marvel at all that He does.  Pray that we could help others marvel at all that He does as well!
• Please continue to pray that God would work through the course Dawn is taking on Educational Consulting to provide her with many new helps for the homeschooling families overseas as they continue to seek to educate their children from their homes.
• Please pray for direction for Patrick as he soon transitions from his interim role at our local church.  Pray that God would direct the use of each day.  He is considering the possibility of doing some substitute teaching.  Pray that he could be used to direct students and staff from our community  to God’s love for them.

Upcoming Church visits:
Huntington Area MOPS – Tuesday morning, Feb. 14
First Presbyterian Church of Rome, Georgia – mission emphasis dinner on Feb. 25 and 3 services on Sunday morning, Feb. 26
Union Chapel Church of Bryant, Indiana – March missions emphasis – Sunday evening, March 11
First Baptist Church of Huntington, Indiana – Sunday morning, March 18

Serving at our local church this last year has given me some sense of a “desperation for the power of God”.   If I could go in and teach how to factor a polynomial or simplify a square root, I would feel pretty comfortable, but God has asked me to be His tool to lead others to know Him – to gain a hunger and thirst for all that He is and the life He desires to bring to us.   Most days I start by admitting, “God, I don’t know how to do this.  You’ve got to do it through me.”   How can we communicate the marvel of God’s love and grace for people to even have a brief glimpse of that reality?   We pray you know that desperation for the power of God – a desperation for only what He can give.   The American dream may be nice, but God’s way is soooo much better!

We are very thankful for the encouragement and support you have shown us to continue in serving overseas.  This week we were able to finalize our tickets to return to Papua New Guinea.  It looks like we will be leaving in early July to start our next term of service with the families there.  At this point it looks like Patrick will continue to teach some math classes while also providing leadership with MK education.  Dawn will probably continue her work with the many homeschooling families while Timothy and Elizabeth will attend the school there.  It will be hard to leave Nathan behind to attend college, but we have been so blessed by family and friends who are “adopting” him while we are gone.  We know we are all in good hands – the same hands that have led us for many years!
 

We have so much appreciated our home church and the way they have reached out to us this year.  It has been a pleasure to be able to serve on staff for this part of the year.  Last week Timothy, Elizabeth and I were able to attend a student retreat with others in the youth group.  These are opportunities that Timothy and Elizabeth have not had.  We are so thankful for these experiences for them.  The church will soon be bringing in a full-time minister for the student and family ministry, so my time serving on staff will soon be over.   The last few months, though out of my normal area of service, have been a great experience.  We continue to look forward to serving alongside the ministerial staff for our last few months here in the US.

Dangerous hikes are worth it when sharing the gospel.

Above is a picture of one of the parents of students I had in Papua New Guinea.  He writes, “Sliding down the slick path, I tried to be more careful with my footing. My afternoon commute consisted of an hour of vertical hiking down one mountain, crossing a log bridge that straddles a raging river, and up the next mountain. However, my thoughts were on the response of a Kuman man I had just been with and not on the treacherous footing. Matias’s words came back to me, “I don’t know why you would hike so far just to come and talk with a nobody like me. But praise God He sent you for now I am trusting that Christ paid for my sins and has given me eternal life!” Needless to say, I had a new spring in my step.”

Christmas can be a season of hope.  It is a season of Hope for this Kuman man and for many others in Papua New Guinea because so many here make it possible for that Hope to come to them.  We are glad to be a part of that!

We have enjoyed the opportunity to share Christmas with family this year.   Many of our nieces and nephews were born while we were away or were very young when we left.  It is fun to share this year with them – to get to know them a little and to make memories with them for this Christmas.  Being away the last four years seems to make us appreciate the time we can have with family that much more.  Thank you for your faithful prayers for our family- the support and encouragement.  We sincerely wish you all a very wonderful Christmas this year, celebrating the Hope we have all been given!

We are so thankful for our opportunity to be with our US friends and our families this year.  We are thankful that our oldest son is able to attend university this year and that all of our children are doing well in school.  We are thankful for the ready availability of grocery stores, of power that rarely goes off, of hot water 24 hours a day, of wonderful roads to drive upon, for great Christian music available on the radio and so much more. 

We are definitely thankful for each of you and your commitment to be a part of the team that makes it possible for us to help expand the reach of the gospel in Papua New Guinea.

Challenge from a Tribal Brother

Here, Gumentige consults with missionary, Philip Moore, about Bible lessons.

Five years ago, when we were preparing to return to PNG, we often shared about a local tribal group and the work that God had been doing among that people group.  One of the first believers from that people group was a man who had helped with the translation named Gumentige.  I remember reading that his name meant “the light has dawned” and that seemed so fitting for this first believer in this far away place.  

Since that time, Gumentige has become one of the Bible teachers for this village – as well as an evangelist to other villages.  The Housleys, missionaries to this tribe, shared part of one of Gumentige’s sermons recently.

“When Gumentige first stood up to preach, he asked the question, “What are the two most important things that we have to know about God’s character?” Bill and I looked at each other.  What was he going to say?  This was NOT part of the lesson.  

There are so many facets of God’s character – what would he say were the two most important? The kids had just done their question and answer time so we thought maybe he was thinking about those characteristics that they had just talked about – God is everywhere.  God exists in his own power.

But, no.  That is not what the Holy Spirit was leading Gumentige to exhort us with this morning.  He waited.  People guessed at what he was going for.  Several guessed according to the children’s Q&A.  One man said, “God alone existed before all things and owns all things.  Everything is under his rule.”  So true!  But, still not what Gumentige was looking for.  

Finally, our women’s leader Ngauintam answered, “Ngote ane aku ongabesen.” Gumentige responded with “YES!  That is the first thing we must know about God’s character.  He is holy.  He hates sin.  He cannot co-exist with sin. He is holy in and of himself.”  

What is the second thing we must know about God?  Several more guesses and then Gumentige answered them saying, “The other thing we must know about God is that he is gracious.  He loves us one-sidedly with nothing expected in return.” He went on to talk about how sometimes he hears people saying in regards to their unholy living, “Well, God is gracious.  He forgives us.”  

He said that while this is true, it shows a lack of understanding about the first characteristic, the holiness of God.  He is first and foremost holy and that if you don’t understand that, then you can’t really understand and love the fact that God loves us one-sidedly with nothing in return and that your thinking will be crooked when you think about your sin and about God.”

Such eloquent words and thoughts from someone who lives in a rustic tribal village in the heart of the jungles of Papua New Guinea.  If it weren’t for the body of Christ supporting missionaries to serve in these hard-to-reach locations, Gumentige would never have had this understanding to share with so many others.  Praise God!  What amazing things HE still accomplishes in so many places around this world!

Salt and Light

A recent Sunday School lesson reminded us that we are the salt and light of the earth.  While living in PNG we once had bread delivered from the nearby bakery that had been made without the small amount of salt that is usually included in bread.  You would be amazed at how much different bread tastes without the salt to make a difference in it!  

We are so thankful for the “salt” in our community – the many who share the love of Christ as they walk each day in this society.  What a blessing that we can work together to bring that “salt” to other regions in this world as well.  Thank you for providing that “flavor” to many!

It has been some time since we were able to experience this time of year.  God is quite an artist!   Along with the beautiful leaves we enjoyed the local high school football game this last Friday with the youth from our church.  Even football is such a big change after four years without it.  (Overseas the favorite sports are rugby and cricket – quite a bit different from the American football.)

Patrick at training workshop.

Above, Patrick looks through material at the cognitive testing workshop he attended in Maine in late September.  We are so thankful that he was able to obtain this training to better meet the needs of students at the school in Papua New Guinea.  Thank you to all of you who helped make that possible.

New Believers in Siar
The biggest news recently has been the sharing of the gospel in Siar.  Thank you for your continued prayers for this work.  Below are a few excerpts from the recent updates from that region.

Jon was emotional from the beginning which is not normal for him or any Siar for that matter.  He started by telling the people that he wanted to share with them what God had done for him.  He said that he could share a lot but he wanted to clearly state three main things.  He started by explaining how he used to call himself a pastor and teacher of God’s Word, but he never understand the true God.  He shared how God’s Word in the creation account revealed to Jon the true God who is perfect, all-powerful, and the creator of all things.  He was just amazed at encountering the one true God through His Word.  Jon’s second point was that God’s Word showed him that no matter what he thought about himself, the truth of the matter was that he was a sinner separated from God and the punishment for his sins was ready for him to bear.  Finally he culminated his talk by touching the promise of God that started back in the Garden of Eden and found its fulfillment in the person of Christ and His work on Jon’s behalf.  The previous day as we taught on the death of Christ, we nailed large nails into a cross that we had made and had laid on the ground in the teaching house.  Jon referenced that cross and shared that as he heard the sound of the hammer hitting the nails, he knew that the death on the cross was meant for him and he deserved it but Christ took his place and suffered his punishment for his sin.  He said he firmly believed it, and was confident that God bought him back and that he was now in God’s clan forever.  Jon’s talk ended with a challenge to the others as he said, “You guys, this is the truth – the only truth.  And this is the time for us to decide whether we will believe this or not!  All other issues, ideas, paths to God, are all lies.  But you all need to decide what you will do with this gospel; this was for you and you must decide!”

There were testimonies from several others from the tribal group.  What a blessing to hear of God’s work in their lives!!  Thank you for playing a part in that work.  Your prayers do impact lives even on the other side of the globe!

Over the past few months Dawn and I have really appreciated the writings of Watchman Nee, a 20th century believer from south Asia with a fantastic gift for communicating practical application from the scripture.  Recently I read, “God never asks us to do anything we can do.  He asks us to live a life which we can never live and to do a work which we can never do.  Yet, by His grace, we are living it and doing it.  The life we live is the life of Christ lived in the power of God, and the work we do is the work of Christ carried on through us by His Spirit whom we obey.  Self is the only obstruction to that life and to that work.  May we each one pray from our hearts:  ‘O Lord, deal with me!’” We cannot do this work, but God can and will do His work through each of us as we let Him deal with us and yield to His control.  We are learning every day how much more we need to have the self-obstruction get out of the way to let Him accomplish His work.

Patrick working with youth from our church.

We are very thankful for the provision God has made for us for this year.  In August I began serving as the interim minister to students and their families at our home church while we are on home assignment.   We have enjoyed this opportunity to invest in the lives of these families.  We are also thankful for the supplement to the support we have been receiving.  We are hoping to save up most of the support received this year to purchase supplies and tickets for traveling back to Papua New Guinea in July 2012.  Thank you to all of you who continue to help meet those needs.  We will continue to seek to be good stewards of all that God provides.

Truth Hitting Like Crashing Waves

People of Siar hearing the teaching.

This summer the people of Siar have been hearing the gospel message for the first time.  The missionaries to Siar describe the teaching as hitting the people like relentless crashing waves against the seashore.  During this phase of the teaching the people are learning about man’s position before God and our inability to meet the standard to be right before Him.  Yelita, a member of the Siar, stated that “the teaching was so heavy that after the teaching I felt like I worked all day in the garden.  I just went down to the river to wash up.”  God’s word is hard hitting and wants to expose us to who He is and who we are in light of His perfect character and nature.  When we are examined by His perfect standard, it should always be a sobering experience.  We are nothing compared to Him.  The waves of God’s truth are pounding away in the lives of the Siar, but the calm of the Gospel of Jesus Christ is coming.

Challenging students to a commitment to Christ as school starts.

We are so thankful for the opportunities we have had to share about God’s work in Papua New Guinea.  We pray that God may call some to come and help with the many needs or to continue to be a part of a team like ours to expand the reach of the gospel.  As we’ve shared with different groups we have often watched the short video about Lucas and what God did in his life when the gospel came to Dinanagat, a village in the highlands of Papua New Guinea.  At one point in the video Lucas shares how he and others were traveling over mountains and rivers to a nearby village in order to share the gospel with them.  Though it was difficult, Lucas shared, “He’s done so much for me.  I’m honored to show my love for Him by serving Him this way.”  Lucas’ simple faith and love for others challenges me.  God has done so much for me.  I, too, am honored to show my love for Him by serving in any way we can.

While Timothy has been starting school his brother has been anticipating college for the first time.  The students are slowly starting to move in to the university.  Nathan has been able to see his dorm room and meet the leaders in his hall.  This coming week he will officially move in and begin this next step in his journey.  It is hard to believe that he soon won’t be spending most of his time with us.  We are thankful that he will be nearby for this year.  He has even committed to serving in our home church.  We are thankful to see how God is directing his steps.

One of the hopes we had for our time on furlough was for Patrick to be able to attend a course or workshop that would give him training in helping to provide testing for students with learning needs.  Currently Numonohi Christian Academy only has one therapist who has these credentials.  With Patrick’s other background, a workshop or course would be enough to enable him to begin to provide this service as well.  A wonderful blessing this last week was to find a workshop that will be available in this coming month for Patrick to attend.  We are still working out the details, but we are so thankful for this answer to prayers for this needed service for the school overseas.  We would appreciate your prayers for Patrick as he prepares for this course and puts together all of the travel arrangements.

Attention to Details

We have always appreciated the value that New Tribes Mission places on the careful translation of the scriptures.  The translators not only spend enormous amounts of time to work with the people to find the best way to communicate each message, but they also have each passage checked by an outside evaluator to verify their work.  Unfortunately, having enough translation checking consultants has been very difficult in recent times.  By the time a consultant is available, many tribal groups will have several books of the Bible ready to be checked.  This means long days and a lot of hard work for these translation consultants.

The missionaries in one tribal group were recently having the books of Romans and Ephesians checked.  Part of this process requires for some of the national believers to be available to provide responses to what is read.  As they sat around during a break in this process the missionaries marveled at the talk they were hearing from the village believers.  Before these men were Christians, they couldn’t complain enough about their wives.  Now, as they sat at lunch, they were outdoing each other bragging on their wives and talking about how thankful they are for all they do in the gardens and house and with the children so that they can do work in literacy, translation, and Bible teaching.  They were comparing their relationships before the gospel and now and giving thanks to the ONE who brought this NEW LIFE to them.  Hallelujah!  What a Savior!

Friday, July 1
We made our first trip to Huntington, Indiana after our 4 years away.   We were offered a rental home from Huntington University, where I formerly taught.  The home is so nice – right next to the campus which is convenient to most things in the small town of Huntington.  We didn’t stay long, but were able to note the 3 bedrooms, 2 baths (such a luxury after 5 people and one bath in PNG!), family room, living room, dining room, kitchen, garage, and nice deck in the back yard!  Dawn had stayed with her parents while we saw the house so we “blew it” by not remembering the colors of all the rooms (oops!), but we were so thankful to finally have a place that would be “home” for us for the year.  We wondered how we would furnish the place.  We had bedroom furniture and a small stack of boxes in a dusty barn.  How would God meet this next step in the journey?

Monday, July 4 (Happy US Independence Day – and Moving Day!)
We were able to obtain a Uhaul for this day, so we took advantage of the holiday to move our furnishings from their stored locations to our new home.  Along the way we were given some nice surprises – a large TV, washer, dryer, and a nice chair that had been sharing storage space with our boxes!  What a blessing!  When we arrived in Huntington we quickly unloaded our cargo and contacted the pastor of our church.  He and his family were waiting to help us with furnishings the church had prepared for us.  What a wonderful group of people!  After a few more trips our house had beds and bedding for almost everyone, a dining room table and chairs, a sleeper sofa, and various other pieces of furniture that would make our house a home.   We didn’t unpack much that evening but took to the beds we were so grateful for.

Tuesday, July 5 and following
The university faculty and staff shared our “wish list” and went to work providing nice things for our new home.  A  few days later – we have a home that isn’t too different from what we experienced before we left!  How could that happen so quickly!?  It can only be God and His wonderful, generous children.  We are so thankful for the gracious welcome we have received here.  And there’s more…

That Sunday I met with a committee from our home church.  They have been seeking a second staff person.  Part way through their process they felt led to contact me to see if I would be interested in serving at the church for the year while they seek a full-time person.    God seemed to confirm this direction for us in several ways.  It had always been our desire to be able to serve at our church, but we had always thought that would be as lay people.   We will seek further confirmation from more of the church body in the next few weeks.  How amazing that God would give us the desires of our hearts for this time back in the states – and all this in one week!!  Friends always tell us, “Just trust!  God will provide.”  They were right!  Oh, we of little faith!!

Ministry in Papua New Guinea Continues – Snow and Pilots?

While we adjust to life in the USA, those dear to us in Papua New Guinea continue in their regular ministries.  We regularly worked with those serving with the aviation program.  (In fact, most of our neighbors at our support center were with NTMA – New Tribes Mission Aviation.)  The story below tells a little about what they face on a regular basis!

This time of the year in Simbari is the worst time for flying in and out of the tribe and that was proven this month. We’ve had more rain and fog (which the people here call “snow”) and mud this month than we’ve had in quite a few years. This is also the time in which a team from my co-workers’ church planned to come and visit us, doing some work and spending time with the Simbari people. The day of their flight dawned but the rain and fog that had already been a part of our lives for weeks continued to rule the day and there was no window of opportunity for the plane to come in. The next day dawned and we prayed for a break in the weather. Still nothing. On the third day there were some breaks in the clouds and the plane landed safely with the first load of passengers and left to pick up the second load. As we kept a close eye on the clouds and gave weather reports on the radio, we wondered, would the second plane make it in? An hour later we heard the sound of the plane as it flew overhead looking for a hole in the clouds. Just as the pilot was about to give up and return to town, he found a hole. I saw the plane briefly behind the clouds, then it disappeared. The clouds were quickly descending, making the airstrip approach more and more difficult. Suddenly the plane appeared from among the clouds again and I gasped as it disappeared between the clouds and the mountain, then reappeared, banked steeply, and dove towards the airstrip for a dramatic landing. By this time, both us and the Simbari people were cheering, both at the pilot’s skill and also the relief of finally having the church team arrive safely. After the wild ride, I think the passengers were glad to be on the ground again, too. �  I praise the Lord for the excellent missionary pilots that He has brought here to New Guinea.

We, too, are thankful for the wonderful missionary pilots and the many others who make work in places like Simbari possible.

As we began serving with New Tribes, God gave us this verse – Each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others, faithfully administering God’s grace in its various forms.  (1 Peter 4:10).  God definitely gave Peter the correct description for how God’s faithful ones serve Him – “administering God’s grace”.  Many have administered God’s grace to us in these last few weeks.  We hear of pilots in Papua New Guinea risking their lives in the mountains and clouds to help the missionaries – administering God’s grace.  That is the privilege He provides to each of us on a daily basis – to administer His grace.  I pray you will know the joy that follows from being His agent of grace today!