NTM - New Tribes Mission | Planting Tribal Churches

It’s a hot day today in PNG and we can’t believe we’re already ten days into the new year! Today we visited a family that lives right on the beach. While Tiffany visited with the ladies and learned lots of culture and language the boys played in the ocean while Anna and I watched from the shade (the guys weren’t home for me to visit with). This was the first time Noah and Micah had been able to play in the PNG ocean! They loved it!

Our language is coming along and we hope to finish the first of four stages the end of January. Thank you for your ongoing prayers as we continue to adjust to living here. We need them more than ever as we desire to live wholly dependent on the Lord!

Here are some things that are coming up for us.

- The end of January we hope to finish the first of four stages of learning Tok Pisin (PNG trade language)

- January 20-23 we help another team move into a new tribe (very exciting!!)

- January 29-February 5 we continue our orientation with a trip to the NTM PNG home office in the highlands.

- February 22 we move into a tribe for two months for “bush orientation”. We will be living with and learning from the missionaries who are working with this group. There is a young church there that is already involved in multiple outreaches to neighboring villages! It is a very exciting work and we are thrilled to be able to spend some time with them, be discipled by them, and see the work that God is doing there!

Today has been an example of a “crazy” day! First thing this morning Micah and I headed off to town with two other guys from the center for a few groceries, household items, and produce from the market. It was supposed to be “quick” trip to town (meaning we’d be back by lunch) but, as I am learning to expect, many unforeseen delays occurred along the way, including our car getting backed into.

After many hours in the melting hot sun, we made it back home with our goods and food for the next week (and even a Christmas present or two!) with a little time to spare before it was time for me to take the family to a local village I’ve been visiting. I had set up a time to bring the family and so we put on our sunscreen, bug spray, hats and sandals and headed off to the village. The boys love the fact that we have to wade across a small river to get there.

After a couple hours and a very nice visit (and some more language and culture learned!) we headed back home to feed the hungry munchkins. While the boys got a shower, I whipped up some grilled cheese sandwiches and frozen fruit smoothies (a great quick dinner we learned from some friends here) and we sat our weary bodies down to dine! Ahhh!

By now it was nearly bed time so we had our bedtime story (after which Micah walked up to Tiffany and lost his dinner on the floor! Poor guy. He’s not sick so we think he just got a little too worn out today and had a little too much smoothie. He’s fine now.) and to bed they went.

It’s now past 10:30 and Tiffany and I just finished cutting up fruit from the market today (to freeze for another dinner of smoothies), cooking and baking for dinner tomorrow (we’re having a new family over for dinner), making baby food for Anna (from a pumpkin/squash we got at the market), washing piles of dishes, and trying to review some of the language we learned today. There are a few baskets full of laundry staring at us but I think they will wait till tomorrow!

During the midst of our busy night we were reminded very vividly of the reason we are here. Through the pouring rain outside we could hear someone hollering from the village near our house. We learned shortly after that it was a man from the village who said he needed help because his son was dying. It was a stark reminder for us of the reality of life and death. There is no insulation from it here as we are accustomed to at home. We hold the key to their eternal hope and yet we are not able to communicate Christ to them. We are praying for able bodies and minds to learn quickly the Pigin language and culture and for compassionate hearts as we live Christ’s love to them.