John Ogg’s Injury and Recovery
As most of you know we arrived in the USA for home assignment in July and right after landing we received the news that David’s father had fallen and broken his neck at the C-2 vertebrae. Much of our time during the first few months home was spent in and out of hospitals. Most of the doctors didn’t expect him to recover however God had other plans. He has been out of the hospital for months now and can walk without a cane. His broken vertebrae is healing well and he is spending more and more time without his neck brace. Thanks to all who prayed for him. Here are a couple video links: http://vimeo.com/187733738 and our daughter Rachel’s music video: https://youtu.be/CCvDeat0KNI
Home Assignment
We were originally planning on returning to PNG in January but we asked for a short extension so we could be around a little longer to help David’s parents while his dad recovers. Also with an extension, our son, Jason wouldn’t need to transfer schools in the middle of the school year. We were granted an extension until June and will be working on drafting Old Testament Bible portions that are still needed for the Simbari church. Right now David is working on the draft of the final chapters of the book of Genesis. We are also catching up on much needed dental work and taking opportunities to share about the work of NTM. For example last weekend we had the opportunity to share about tribal church planting with almost 1000 campers up at Hume Lake Christian Camp. We have purchased our return tickets and will be arriving in PNG in the middle of June 2017.
Simbari Update
One of our missionary co-workers arranged for a Simbari believer, Raymond, to call us a few weeks ago. It was great to connect with him and hear how things are going back in PNG. He was one of the two main speakers at a recent inter-tribal Bible conference which was very encouraging to all who attended. He said the Simbari churches are doing well and there are some new believers and some of the existing believers are growing stronger in their faith. Of course, there are some who aren’t growing so please keep praying for the Simbari church.
Family News
Our daughter, Esther, and her husband Tim (who also grew up in PNG) are living in Salem, Oregon. They have found a good church there and have just recently bought an old fixer-upper house. Tim works as a pharmacy technician and Esther is a secretary for a Christian-owned construction company.
Our son, Simon, has been on staff up at Hume Lake Christian Camp since last March. In his spare time he is preparing to take one of the California teacher credential exams that he needs to pass before he can continue his teacher training. He has a girlfriend, Chandler, who also works at Hume, and is a pastor’s daughter. He hopes to resume his student teaching and graduate program soon.
Our daughter, Rachel, has completed her 2-year Associate in Biblical Studies from NTBI. She has been living and working in our hometown of Santa Clarita for 1 ½ years and has enjoyed getting plugged into ministries in our home churches. She hopes to attend NTM’s Missionary Training Center (MTC) this coming Fall and continue her training to become a tribal church planter. She has been living with us during home assignment and works at Hobby Lobby in Santa Clarita.
Our youngest, Jason, is in 10th grade at Saugus High School where David graduated from back in 1982. He has been enjoying the experience and has had many opportunities to share his faith and lead some to Christ. In October he was interviewed for the school news channel (Click to see video of Jason Ogg interview). He was accepted into a church worship leading internship program so he has been enjoying learning more and helping out wherever he is needed. He has also been learning to drive! He and his friends from PNG produced a little album with original music last year and here is the link if you’d like to hear it: https://soundcloud.com/jasonogg/sets/the-daniel-project