Hello again, from the far side of the world! We’re excited to be back in Papua New Guinea and want to thank you for praying for us during our travels. We made all our connections with all of our bags and did it with pretty good attitudes too. Our kids really enjoy traveling so that is a great blessing. They were complimented by more than one boarder agent, for being well behaved and good at following instructions. We praise the Lord for how eager they are to participate in what God has for our family in PNG!
Within days of our arrival in PNG we had to make preparations for Benjamin to make a visit to one of our tribal works here in the Sepik. Along with Dave and Bart, our coworkers, Benjamin went to the Siawi tribe to assist missionary Linda Krieg as she said goodbye to the people she has ministered to for the last 20+ years translating the Bible into the Siawi language. Her job is finished now, so our men went into Siawi to help with her transition out of the tribe. After Linda left, the guys did some community work with the Siawi’s to set them up with solar charging stations. These charging stations provide the people with a way to recharge their battery powered lights and radios and such. It was a privilege to be a blessing to the Siawi’s in this way!
During the evenings the men spent time with the church leaders, praying together and talking about the things of the Lord. These leaders are now facing life without missionaries. They are facing life “alone” but are not really alone. They are so thankful to God for leaving His Holy Spirit with them! They are thankful that they have God’s Word and trust the Lord for the wisdom to lead the church on to maturity!
Being in Siawi was a great reality check for our team. We got a glimpse of what our own future might look like, as we watched Linda step into the plane for the last time. As we fellowshipped with the church leaders we were able to see what the end looks like from the beginning. What a huge motivator this has been for our whole team. To see a team finish well just as we are getting ready to start ourselves!! God, may we be faithful to complete what we have the privilege of starting!!
This week we are flat out preparing for yet another trip into the bush. This time Benjamin, Bart and Dave are heading into the tribe that will be our future home and place of ministry. They are planning a ten day visit which will involve a week of mountain hiking. Benjamin has been into this tribe before with coworker Tony Sutton on an assessment trip. Now he gets to go back as part of the missionary team! Awesome!!
They will visit three new villages that Benjamin hasn’t been into yet. The main objective is to confirm that the people are still eager to have missionaries come and live with them. We also hope to establish a time and date for an official “handshake moment” where our NTM leaders will put our three families “into the hands of the tribal people” to begin our ministry with them. Pray for Benjamin, Dave and Bart as they are away. Pray for their safety as they hike. Pray that they will have another excellent connection with the people and that they will be able to set up an official meeting between local leaders and NTM leaders. Pray for Missy, Robyn and Emily as they stay home and provide for the kids. Pray that they will be able to maintain a good routine while the Dads are gone.
We are so excited that you, our partners and prayer supporters, are behind us in this endeavor. At the starting point of this race we are running we take incredible encouragement from the fact that we have so many people holding us up to the Father in prayer. Thank you for supporting us.