The day has come. We are moved out of the tribe and settled into a house on one of our mission’s centers. Eight long years crawled slowly by while living and working in the Pal tribe, but now it seems as though those years sped by in a flash. There were struggles, hardships, and many bumps in the road, but now we have reached the scenic overlook and can see the beautiful work that God has accomplished all along the way. He took His Word to an unreached people group, called hundreds out of darkness and by His grace saved them. He is raising up leaders among those people and using them to take His gospel to every last man, woman, and child in the Pal language group. He also has grown us, teaching us His love, grace, and peace through the journey. He taught us love when we were in conflict with our teammates. He taught us peace in medical uncertainty. And He constantly showed us His grace amidst our failings.
We are moved out of the tribe, but the work is far from done. From the center where we are living, we will continue to translate the entire New Testament into the Pal language, develop Bible lessons and put curriculum together, and support and grow the literacy program. Also, Chris will take periodic trips into the tribe to continue training and equipping the group of Pal Bible teachers. Those trips will be an opportunity to check in with them, encourage them, and involve them in the Bible translation process.
Pray for us as we adjust to a new setting and new routine. Also pray that our mission’s school will be able to start this fall so our kids home-school days can come to an end. Our oldest will be entering high school and is more than ready to leave his home-schooling days far behind. Pray for our coworkers, Axel and Sandra Fachner, who are still living in the tribe and dealing with all the day-to-day difficulties that arise there.