This will post many days after our American Thanksgiving holiday, but we still wanted to share some things for which we are thankful. It wouldn’t take us much time to come up with a pretty long list.
If you are reading this post and you pray for us, give financially to our ministry or encourage us by communicating with us, then we are thankful for YOU! Our means of communication out here in the jungle are pretty limited. We can update our blog and, as long as email is working properly, we can send and receive emails. Sometimes we feel our remoteness more than others. It is such a blessing to know that there is a great team of people behind us as we serve the Lord in the Amdu tribe. So, even if you don’t hear from us as often as before, please know that we are thankful for you!
More reasons for thanksgiving:
– The love and faithfulness of our Savior – Our 4 boys – Luke, Titus, Caleb and Micah – Our family back home who love and miss us – Great teammates in the Hatton and Parry families – Pilots who are able to fly in our supplies (and fly us out if necessary) – Deepening relationships with our Amdu neighbors – A growing understanding of this tribal language – The wonderful support network of other missionaries who work behind the scenes to enable us to focus on our work in the tribe – Excellent NTM consultants who give us advice and guidance in the areas of language, culture, church planting, team dynamics and much more
The list could go on, as the Lord has blessed us in so many ways.
There is one final thing that doesn’t fit well on a list and deserves some space of its own. When we first arrived in PNG, we lived in a different area of the country where NTM has a support center. During our time there, we got to know the citizen workers and many people in the surrounding community. Recently, some good friends of ours (fellow NTM missionaries) have been teaching this group through the chronological Bible teaching. This is the same material that we use to present the gospel in the tribal language. We are praising the Lord that several people so far have given clear testimony of salvation!! It is so amazing to know that our friends are now fellow believers! Praise the Lord with us for these who have gotten saved, but please also pray that there would be many more!
Psalm 100:4-5 Enter his gates with thanksgiving; go into his courts with praise. Give thanks to him and praise his name. For the Lord is good. His unfailing love continues forever, and his faithfulness continues to each generation.