We serve an amazing and loving Lord who cares about the things that concern His children!! Many of you have been praying for us about the decision regarding joining a tribal team that we have been investigating over this past year. Thank you, thank you, thank you!! We have seen the Lord clearly answer those prayers!! But not exactly in the way that we (and maybe some of you) expected.
As we approached our most recent meetings with the team, we were asking the Lord (among other things) to give us encouragement and peace about moving ahead. He did exactly the opposite. Without going into a lot of detail, in the days following our first meeting, the Lord was showing us that His answer was “no”. We then began praying that the Lord would confirm that this was His will by having the other two couples come to us thinking the same thing. When we met again, we were all in agreement that it would not be wise to move ahead with us joining this team!
So, on one hand, we are disappointed that we will have to wait longer to get into a tribal work, but on the other hand, we are rejoicing for yet more evidence that our Father hears and answers when we cry out to Him for wisdom and direction. We may not know right now what tribe He wants us to work in, but we know that if the Lord said “no” to this opportunity, then He must have something better in store for us. And in the meantime, the Lord is using us here on our NTM center to help support those missionaries who are already working in tribal locations.
Thank you again for praying with us regarding this decision. We are humbled, encouraged and blessed to have such a great support team who faithfully prays for us and the work the Lord is doing here in Papua New Guinea. Please rejoice with us that the Lord has answered and also continue to pray with us as we seek the Lord and take steps toward finding a team and tribe in which to work. Proverbs 3:5-6 says “Trust in the LORD with all your heart and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight.” The Lord has been faithful to direct our path up until now. We know He will continue to show us what He has in store for us!