Translation
For the last few months we have been working on Bible lessons for the Simbari church. Many Bible lessons have been in the hands of the Simbaris for a long time but other lessons for books more recently translated are still in development. We have been working on 1-3 John and 1 Peter. Most of the work on these has been completed now and are ready for our next trip over to PNG for some in-person checking before we print them. We are currently working on Jude and 2 Peter. (We are still waiting to see the fuel shortage situation in PNG improve before we make our next trip.)
We recently talked to David’s translation helper and he let us know that he has completed the recording procedure on some Old Testament drafts which we completed a while ago. These include the 2nd half of Genesis draft and the Ruth draft. The 2nd half of Genesis draft has been waiting since 2017 but other more pressing things needed done first. Now that the recording procedure is done we will transcribe the recordings and we can use them for continuing to work through those additional Old Testament resources.
By the way if you haven’t seen the mini-documentary about the Simbari Bible Dedication we hope you can take a few minutes to watch it. From Flicker To Flame Mini-Documentary
Hospitality
This spring we have had the joy of hosting some friends and coworkers. There were several weeks of back and forth to the airport and of having missionaries and their families stay in our guest rooms. We look forward to hosting more traveling missionaries in June. We know how it is to travel as a missionary family so we are happy to have the opportunity to bless others with food and lodging.
Mobilization
We have the opportunity to help represent our organization at the upcoming Global Medical Missions Alliance (https://www.gmma7.org/) If you are interested in medical missions we would love to chat with you about how you can help in bringing the Gospel to unreached people. Click here for more info (https://www.ntmpng.org/medical/)
We will also be helping meet Interface participants as they come through Los Angeles on their way to PNG. Interface is a five or six week college-level missions course in Papua New Guinea or Brazil that is an excellent way to see missions up close and learn more about ministering cross-culturally. (https://ethnos360.org/short-term-trips/interface/) After completion of the program some extended internship options are available for those interested in aviation, medical, IT, etc. (https://ethnos360.org/short-term-trips/interface/field-support-internship)
Spring Vacation
We got to go camping in Zion National Park last month with David’s family. David’s sister reserved two campsites in the park and David’s parents reserved a hotel room just outside the park for a few days. We enjoyed some beautiful sights and took several hikes. We hoped to hike “The Narrows” but it was closed so we will have to save that for another time. We also drove over to Bryce Canyon National Park one of the days.
Global Outreach (GO) Team
Shari was recently given the opportunity to join a small team from our home church traveling to South Asia (sensitive location) in October to come alongside some of our friends in their ministry with children. She will be teaching a VBS program to pre-primary kids, as well as helping with the music and games for the older children, teaching a workshop and devotionals, and also possibly sharing with women at a marriage conference. These GO teams have been such an encouragement to us and the Simbari church in PNG for so many years, so it is a joy and privilege to participate in spreading encouragement to our friends serving the Lord in South Asia. If you would like to hear more details about this trip, please feel free to write her a note.