Change of Ministry Letter from Darryl and Becky Jordan

Dear Faithful Loved Ones,

It is with mixed emotions we write this letter. Oh, how we thank the Lord we have you standing behind us in prayer, encouraging correspondence and faithful support! As the Body of Christ we have labored together with you to reach the Wusuraambya people for Jesus. Thank-you for laboring with us the past eleven years as we have lived and served in Papua New Guinea.

This year both of our partners have moved out of the tribe for varying reasons, so we have been left alone for many weeks at a time. Andrew Goud returns from time to time to work on the translation but much of the time he is working on the translation from the Highlands center. Considering that our leadership has seen us as the “glue that held our team together” (mainly because of our spiritual maturity and leadership abilities), now that we no longer have a team in Wusuraambya we have felt the Lord moving us on to a different ministry of encouragement and service to tribal missionaries.

The field of the Philippines has been looking for a consistent, dedicated couple to oversee their guest house on the island of Palawan for quite some time, now. We have been aware of this opening for a long while and with both of us having a background in business and our love for serving God’s servants; we started asking God if we were the ones He desired to use to fill this position.

The Philippine field leadership and our own leadership, here in Papua New Guinea, are excited with us for us to go serve in this capacity! Our partners have given us their blessing, too, and though our hearts are heavy with the thoughts of saying good-bye to our many PNG friends and missionary friends our hearts are also full of joy at the knowledge that God has many new friends on our horizon, whom we can bless and be blessed by.

The ministry we are going into will be a multi-faceted ministry. The field leadership of the Philippines wrote, “the ministry in Puerto is a multifaceted ministry including, buying, shipping, communication, bookkeeper, guest house manager, property management, employee personnel manager, short term teams, community liaison (including other missions, local Christians and businesses, and sometimes government officials)”. We will need your prayers as we embark on this journey with our Savior, for His sake and His glory!

Though we are due a one year home assignment in January, we plan to take a 3 month short leave to visit our mothers and children over the holidays. We have been asked to arrive in the Philippines in January, so we can overlap with the couple who agreed to fill in on a temporary basis, so they can train us.

We are very excited to go to the Philippines because we want to be used of the Lord to bless the tribal missionaries as they reach out with the Gospel of Jesus Christ to their individual villagers. Having been tribal missionaries for ten years, here in PNG, has helped us to appreciate the vital link between the tribal supply person and the missionaries who are dependent on him/her for necessary items. Also, we have learned throughout the years the importance of the role of the Guest House manager when we come out of the bush for conferences and breaks. It is a ministry of encouragement and blessing to those who are often tired and weary. A ministry of encouraging them to keep their eyes on Jesus – and that it WILL be worth it all, some sweet day!

In June, when we said good-bye to our son and his family, in the Philippines, it was very heart wrenching. How do you tell a 9 year old granddaughter that it is God’s will for us to live in different countries? God has now opened the door for us to work on the same island and we look forward to the opportunity of being just a few hours away from their village so we can see them several times a year, Lord willing. We have desired to be near our children and grandchildren and the Lord has granted us the desire of our hearts. We thank Him!

This ministry is an extension of the role that we have had in PNG…only the location changes. In PNG, we lived in the jungle to reach tribal people with the Gospel and we had a support team in town enabling us to continue laboring in the bush. In the Philippines, we plan to be part of the support role for the bush missionaries who are ministering to the tribal people in their bush locations.

We thank the Lord for your faithfulness to us and the ministry the Lord has blessed us with through our years here in Papua New Guinea. We look forward to being your co-laborers in the Philippines! There is never a dull moment when one embarks on a journey with God. We are excited to see what the Lord has for us, and for you, as we continue to work together until the last tribe, tongue and nation has heard of the hope they have in Christ. Please pray for us as we pack up our home in the jungle and say good-bye to our dear Wusuraambyan friends! We appreciate you!

Grateful to be your co-workers,

Darryl and Becky Jordan