Christmas in the tropics is still something that we’re getting used to. It’s mainly the weather that is so different – but we have still enjoyed so many of the “normal” Christmas experiences this year like our recent Christmas Cookie decorating bonanza! And of course, with or without snow, and with or without loved ones Christmas remains a celebration of Jesus – the God who saves and Emmanuel – the God who is with us. It is a challenge even here in Papua New Guinea to lift our gaze above material things that would distract us. We pray that you enjoy a Christ centered Christmas this year. Pray the same thing for us!
We’re super glad to be back in our own home after several days out-of-town to see our mission Doctor about Tiernan’s tummy. After a round of antibiotics we were given the “all clear” to come home and on Monday morning we boarded our mission plane and took one of the last flights home before things shut down for the holidays. Tiernan has been making progress with less bloating. One of the things we’re doing is keeping him off any dairy products for the next two to three weeks. It seems to have been making a difference. Apparently after a bad infection the gut can be damaged rendering it temporarily lactose intolerant. So far Tiernan has been doing great with the new diet restrictions.
When Benjamin traveled home last month to visit with his Dad who is battling a rare case of cancer of the liver, he was able to share a report in several of our supporting churches about what the Lord is preparing us for this coming year. For those of you who didn’t get a chance to hear from Benjamin we’d like to take this opportunity to introduce you to David and Robyn Parry and Bart and Emily Allen.
One vital piece to the success of our tribal church planting venture is a solid church planting team – a team of dedicated, like minded, highly motivated, mature in the Lord missionaries who are willing to sacrifice what is necessary to bring the Gospel message to people who would otherwise never hear the goodnews of the Lord Jesus Christ. In the Parry’s and Allen’s we believe that we have found this vital piece. Over the past few months we have been talking and visiting with each other discussing the exciting potential of joining in this ministry together. So far the Lord has confirmed what all our hearts have been feeling and that is a confidence that our gifts, strengths, weaknesses and personalities combine to form a strong church planting team.
From January 10th – 19th our three families will be meeting together to discuss, and finalize this decision about establishing a church planting team together. We have a compiled list of questions from many experienced church planting teams that will aid us in our discussions. Real honesty and humility are required between us in all of our upcoming discussions. In a very real way we are going to be laying the foundations of a future church as we make commitments to one another to be unified in the Spirit and in ministry together here in PNG! We’re depending on you to pray with us during this vital time. We are hopeful that after January 19 we’ll be able to begin looking to the Lord as a team for a tribal location to begin ministry in! What a way to start 2012 – we couldn’t be more excited.
Thank you for the part you all play in making this a reality for us and for faithfully giving each month and praying us on. Please continue to pray for Benjamin’s Dad, James and Tiernan. These two are heavy on our minds and often in our prayers. Thank you for joining us in praying for their good health. We are so thankful for how the Lord has used each one of you in a special way to bring us through our first year in Papua New Guinea in such an abundant way!