Travels This Semester
We trust that all of you have been doing well. It has been an interesting Spring so far. Up to this point, our travels have takes us to Ohio, Indiana, Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas & Missouri. We still have to travel to Wyoming, Oklahoma, Missouri, Wisconsin, Chicago, Pennsylvania, Michigan, Kansas, Florida & Alaska. As you can imagine, the cars have put on a lot of miles but there have been some good results.
Travels Through Life
I (Doug) just had my 62nd birthday so I am now officially eligible for Social Security but I sure don’t feel like it. I am so excited to talk to college kids, young folks, young married couples, families and Perspectives classes about the opportunities the Lord has in ministering to tribal people around the world. It is thrilling to share with them thinking that one day, some of them will be coming back from the field sharing their stories with me. It is worth investing in their lives.
Our family is doing fine. Leah is still managing an On the Border Restaurant, Daniel and Jane are raising our granddaughter to be a mature Christian. Daniel is working at a heavy equipment company and Jane works a bit at their home church. Joel changed jobs a few months ago. He is a showroom manager at a local company that happens to be the second largest in the U.S. Katie works as a pharmacy tech. We are very proud to have them as our children.
Travels Through Papua New Guinea
Just recently, I was in my basement going through some barrels where we store “stuff” and I came across several thousand film slides from the time that we became believers in 1978 until digital came into being. I started scanning some of those and there were some from a hike the family and I went on in Papua New Guinea. We went in to visit some friends, the McIlwains, and it was a two day hike over the mountains of PNG. As I started looking at them, my admiration for my wife just kept increasing. Cheryl will tell you that she is the most non-adventurous woman there is. She doesn’t care for camping or fishing or anything that is rougher than a Holiday Inn and yet here she is, hiking for two days over the mountains. Let me tell you how this hike went.
We started out by hiking along a riverbed for a couple of hours and then started up a trail which was almost so steep that you had to put your hand against the hill. We went up like this for three hours and then we had to come down the other side for another three hours. Then we spent the night in a hut along a river bank. The next morning, we waded across a mountain river to a bank on the other side that went up for about 25 feet. It had sticks stuck in the side of the bank that were used like a ladder to get up to the other side. Then we hiked up another three hours and down another several hours. The men had to carry Cheryl for the last hour of the hike. Now if you think this was amazing, I am going to let you in on another little secret: She was 40 years old with three children at this time.
She hadn’t trained for this, she just did it. My admiration for her soared and then I thought about how she used to travel to our island for a couple of hours on the ocean. She couldn’t swim and so she would tough it out until we arrived at where we were heading. The things that she did for Christ just continue to amaze me. She says she can’t believe that she did all those things. Her testimony is, “If I can do it, anybody can!” Anyway, my testimony is; “Thanks, Cheryl. The Lord will not forget your work and labor of love.” – Heb. 6:10
Traveling Mercies
Please pray for us as we travel down the road. We are starting to get to the point where we need to start thinking about another vehicle. I have put a lot of miles on one of them and so things will start to go out. I don’t mind it when I am home but it can be downright unhandy while traveling.
Thanks for all you do for us. We do appreciate your prayers and fellowship. A special thanks to those who support and provide housing when we are out on the road. It is a privilege to work with you and also for those who read these letters and pray for us. We will never know how much your prayers have affected the lives of those we meet and give their lives to reach tribal people. I will end with a couple of quotes from Robert Moffatt, missionary to Africa in the 1800’s.
“In the vast plain to the north, I have sometimes seen, in the morning sun, the smoke of a thousand villages where no missionary has ever been.”
“We have all eternity to celebrate our victories, but only one short hour before sunset in which to win them.”
Thankful that we are on His Team,
Doug & Cheryl