On the support raising front, we are currently at 75% of our needed support! Between our home church raising our support level and multiple individuals partnering with us God has abundantly supplied in the past month.

We are currently in Michigan seeing Ryan’s family to spend some time with them before we leave for New Guinea and to say our goodbyes here as well. It is a bittersweet time. We are hoping to spend some good time with everyone while we are here as it will be several years before we can see them again.

We will also be sharing at a few churches here that have played a big part in Ryan’s life over the years, most of whom were the main supporters of his mom and dad while they were overseas. It is good to check back with old friends and for Amy to continue to meet these people. We are excited to see who will be a part of what God is doing through us during this time.

On a timeline note, our New Guinea work permits are in and it will be a matter of a few weeks before we will have our visas! As we are getting everything set to go we are praying through when to head out. As hard as this summer was we are leaning towards mid Jaunary being our departure time. We will be having more conversations with the leadership at our home church and at NTM as we set this in hard mud.

On a needs note, this summer has been a hard one for us both. We are really tired and there are some things in our hearts that really need to be resolved before we leave. Ryan’s last construction job ended up costing us significantly. To finish it we went several thousand dollars in debt. At the time we thought this was going to be paid back at the end of the job. We have since found out this is not the case. This needs to be paid off before we leave for New Guinea. To top off the cake as we were getting ready to leave for Michigan the transmission went out in our car. It is going to cost $2300 to fix it. Through our church and a couple of individuals we currently have $1800 of that. We are thankful for God bringing people around us to help carry the load. Thank you all!

Our plan was to be full time fundraising and preparing after this trip. With the debt being what it is we are praying through how to revise that plan and take care of it as quickly as possible. This could dramatically effect our ability to leave in that next year. Amy’s work has given her a leave of absence to keep her around as long as possible and that has given us some additional income. We are praying through what it will look like beyond that.

We are tired and our hearts are heavy after this last summer. A good kind of heavy but heavy still. God has definitely provided more than we could think or imagine as far as our needs are concerned. He has brought much in for support and for tools and such we would like to take to New Guinea with us. At every turn in regards to going to New Guinea we have seen his hand. We have also heard constantly a resounding yes that this is the right direction. In all of it we are tired and excited for some time to rest in the Lord and seek Him above all else.

Please pray that this time in Michigan would be restful and that God would heal our hearts.

Please pray we would have a good time with Ryan’s family and that the memories would be sweet.

Please pray that God would bring more people along side of us making this ministry a reality.

Please pray God would multiply what we have in such a way that our debts would be paid quickly and in full.

Please pray we would hear from God clearly on what the next steps should look like.

Please pray God would speak through us while we are here, both as Ryan preaches in churches and as we share with individuals.

Pray for more to be stirred to go to reach those who have never heard.

Thank you for reading this and praying with us. The fact that we are not alone in all of this helps make the journey more bearable. God is good and we are excited to see what He will do in everything!

Please pray for peace and joy in all of this no matter what the Lord does. Through a friend at The Village, Ryan was able to get into a new Melanoma Oncologist at Baylor even though he wasn’t the one who had done the prior work. We are grateful and much more confident of this staff’s ability to treat all of this well. Thanks for being our family in this and lifting it up to our Father in heaven. We will update all of you as soon as we know anything.

Psalm 3:3 But thou, O LORD, art a shield for me; my glory, and the lifter up of mine head.

In addition to our monthly support, we are raising funds for things like the sawmill pictured above and a tractor. These will be used to build missionary homes well and cost effectively. There have been many donations already, although much is still needed, so please email or call us for details. If we all join together in this it will be a simple and amazing thing that speaks of God’s greatness.

We are steadily moving forward in our support raising (we’re at 55%) and in gaining work permits in PNG. In the past few months, we traveled to Houston and Austin to meet with some of you. Each of those trips was very encouraging–both financially and spiritually.

We are excited to be transitioning to full-time support raising. Ryan will finish his last construction project this week and begin focusing on support raising and getting tools and such ready to ship. Amy will complete her time at Parkland mid August, before we leave for a month of visiting family and support raising in Michigan. Thank you for helping get us to this point! Ryan will make a quick trip to Michigan to speak at Bethany Chapel in Three Rivers on Sunday, the 3rd, and will touch base with a few other churches about the opportunity for support. It will be good to reconnect with many people who played a big part in his parent’s time as missionaries, and we are hopeful they will partner with us as well.

Ryan’s work is nearing completion in South Dallas. The past few months have felt like an uphill battle in this area as there have been numerous setbacks–like stolen tools. We trust that the Lord is at work in them, but would you join us in praying for this project’s completion and peace for the many parties involved? We eagerly await the day when that home will be able to be used for ministry purposes in a very needy neighborhood.

In anticipation for packing to head overseas we have moved out of South Dallas to live with Amy’s parents. This is bittersweet as we are grateful to have a place to live and yet miss our friends and neighbors who had become very dear to us. It has been good to be a part of a growing community and we’re thankful for others moving into the neighborhood to continue to minister there.

We will be traveling to Michigan in August to raise support and visit Ryan’s family. And, we’re bringing back a truckload of tools we were able to purchase at a phenomenal price earlier this year. Thanks for your prayers and concern for Christina, Ryan’s younger sister, who was diagnosed with cancer in January. The surgeons were confidant they were able to remove all of the cancer and she will not be needing chemo or radiation at this time.

We found some warehouse space in Dallas for the large tools that had to be moved at the last minute. A craigslist contact turned out to be a retired missionary pilot who was happy to help us out! Thanks for your prayers. Ryan will begin preparing all of the equipment and tools for shipping to PNG. With parts and supplies so hard to get in PNG, we are rebuilding the donated equipment before it is shipped so it will last for many years to come.

In November we traveled to Florida for a training session at New Tribes Mission USA headquarters. Even the people that sit behind a desk and crunch numbers all day are just as passionate as the tribal church planter/translator about seeing the gospel go out to the unreached. A special part of the trip was getting to spend an evening with a missionary couple that had taught us at Interface when we were in PNG last year. Also, some friends from our church gave us a 3 day cruise to the Bahamas after our training session!

Mid-January, Ryan finished his semester of teaching biology, PE and health at Cornerstone Crossroads Academy near our home in South Dallas, but will continue his construction business until we are ready to head out. It was a bittersweet ending–sad to leave the relationships with the students, but glad to have good closure there and be able to put more time into support raising and preparing for PNG. We are also thankful for the man the Lord brought to finish the year teaching science. He will be an asset to CCA. Amy continues to work at Parkland.

We traveled to Michigan and Indiana over the holidays to visit Ryan’s family and do a little support raising. Just recently we found out that Ryan’s younger sister Christina has stage III ovarian cancer. She is having surgery the morning of Feb. 3rd to remove the cancer. After that the doctors will have a better idea of what treatment will look like. Pray for Christina and her 2 boys, Aidan (6) and Decklin (4).

In addition to raising our monthly support we are also raising funds for a couple special projects. One is for a new building to store these tools in PNG. The one already in PNG is barely standing due to an earthquake a few years ago. Another is a for a tractor to mow with and to move logs and such. We also have a list of smaller equipment for the work there.

Many people have been helping us with the items on our list to take with us. Since October, we have been able to purchase more tools to take to PNG that will decrease the cost of building missionary homes there, and we are still looking for more things on the list. Also, we have been given warehouse space to store these tools until it is time to load a shipping container. Mark you calendar for April 1, 2 and 3. We’re going to have a large yard sale and will be asking for you to donate items.

We were planning on making it to New Guinea in May but Amy’s younger brother Stephen is getting married in July. Because of that along with the support level, we have decided to leave for PNG in August. This will give us time to raise our needed support and Lord willing the donations for the projects as well.

6 million people. 865+ languages. A few large towns exist, but the country is mostly rural. Think tropical paradise without any of the conveniences of modern life… like roads, paved airports, Home Depots, Walmarts, clean hospitals and adequate schools. Men hunt and women grow gardens for food. Most people’s lives are governed by trying to please the spirits.

2. How are there so many languages spoken there? Are you sure those aren’t dialects?

Cannibalism? Difficult terrain to pass? We can only speculate. No, they aren’t dialects. We do know that these people truly understand and are able to live out the gospel when it is taught to them in their heart language.

3. How many language groups are still untouched by the gospel?

318 language groups that number > 1500 people– after a 4 year survey by NTM, Wycliffe and others

4. Why are you going there?

The Lord has given us each a heart for those people who have never had a chance to hear the gospel. We said “we’re available”. Ro. 10:14-15 How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching? And how are they to preach unless they are sent? …Ro. 15:20 and thus I make it my ambition to preach the gospel, not where Christ has already been named, lest I build on someone else’s foundation…

5. If you two are busy doing nursing and construction, how will people there hear the gospel?

Because of the lack of infrastructure in PNG, it takes a lot of people to reach the unreached. About 1/3 of the NTM missionaries there are in support roles similar to ours–pilots, teachers, supply buyers, mechanics, government reps and more. The support workers make it possible for families to live and stay in the tribes by building and helping to maintain their homes, educating their children, flying them and staple foods in and out, fixing their broken bones, immunizing their kids, etc. The other 2/3 are solely church planting. Let’s say that the Smith’s, the Doe’s & the Jones live among the “livebythesea” tribe. They are the ones who know how to speak”livebythesea” and who know how to communicate the gospel to these people in a way that is meaningful to them. They are the ones who will teach in their heart language, disciple believers and help establish church elders because they live there and know them.

6. Why is a nurse who cares primarily for the missionaries necessary?

The medical care in PNG has declined so much in the past 30 years that it is no longer safe to receive care there. There is a high risk of infection from reused needles and open wards. The hospital may not have the medicine you need in stock. Adequate immunizations for children are not available. The closest, consistent, and safe medical care is in Australia. This is why NTM has 2 physicians and several nurses that care for the missionaries living in the tribes. Only when surgery or hospitalization is necessary will missionaries have fly to Australia to receive care. A nurse practitioner and Amy will care for 139 families scattered throughout 42 language groups.

7. Why is it necessary to have a full time missionary who knows how to build stuff and how to fix stuff in PNG?

Church planters and linguists need logistical and man power help to fix stuff and build stuff. To build a cost-effective home in PNG, you cut down the wood, let it dry, mill it, then build with it. You also have to coordinate buying other supplies from Australia that are not consistently available in PNG. Missionary homes are built with conveniences like running water and solar electricity because it helps facilitate church planting and allows the missionaries in the tribes to do more than just survive. Translation goes faster with computer software!