Don’t Throw Away The Miyako!

Hello family and friends we have had quite a number of life changes and we wanted to send this update out to you and we hope that you are blessed also by the report of what the Lord is doing on this side of the world.

First of all we are so blessed to have been able to purchase a vehicle. It has been just the right vehicle for our family and it is exactly what we need to be able to traverse the terrain of the “back roads” here. There is no longer a flight program here in our region and we will be doing all of our travelling by road. This vehicle is a gift from the Lord and it is the perfect vehicle for a family travelling around with little kids.

We were able to finish up the teaching with our friend Ryann finishing with the resurrection of Christ. Sadly, he has admitted that he does not believe that Jesus is God and he does not wish to continue being taught. Although this was a heavy thing to hear, it also brought us a sense of peace that our time in town was coming to a close and we were ready to move interior. We want to thank you guys for praying for Ryann. Hopefully, he will continue to have interaction with other believers who may use him as a language helper in the future.

We Moved!

We have officially moved interior into a village that is considered an old work. There is a thriving church that we will be connecting with for the time being. From here, we will continue to visit and build relationships in the Village that we are calling LK. We have really been accepted well into this village and so far have enjoyed the village life over town life. Of course there have been many challenges for us already as we are all adjusting to living in a new and unfamiliar place. We have been put into the position of needing to trust in Him for the strength that is needed to get through each day.

We have been blessed to be able to move into a medical building no longer being used by the village. Behind the house there is a beautiful river inlet that the kids can play in. The river here is full of life, the locals use it to shower, wash dishes, laundry and even clean their motorcycles. Thankfully, we are upriver from most everyone in the village.

One thing I noted to Cherie is how living here feels a lot like camping but instead we are trying to make this place our home. It has surprised me how difficult the heat has been for us with few reliable ways to find relief from it as well as all of the critters that live around here and invade the house. The availability of food has been difficult as well, as most people grow food in their gardens and raise animals or hunt for meat. We do have electricity but it is only for 6 hours a day and it is has been unstable. This has been hard to adjust to so far. However, it is awesome to think that this insignificant suffering that we are feeling is something to be joyful about. We praise the Lord that we have been given the privilege of serving Him in this remote location.

Funeral Trip

Just a couple weeks ago Eric was able to travel into LK with a team of local Elders from various villages. We were able to attend a funeral of a very prominent lady from the village there and I was a bit shocked with several of the customs that I witnessed while I was there. I received great insight from the elders that went with me who explained how in their villages these customs were no longer done for those who became believers. This was encouraging to think that the Lord could use us one day to bring the truth of His Word and the freedom that that would bring into this dark place.

For Now

We foresee living in this village for six months to a year as we begin to set up our location in LK. We are planning to travel out to this village as a family in a couple of days. We will hopefully be able to meet the people in charge there and receive permission to move there. If things go smoothly we may even be able to discuss potential property locations for us to rent or build there. So for now, we will continue to live here and learn through all of what it means to “live interior.”

We want to say thank you to everyone who has partnered with us on this journey of serving the Lord here in Asia Pacific.

Please pray for our family as we just made this transition into a new place, for us parents to have the patience to work with our kids and the wisdom to lead them well, always pointing them to Jesus.

Please pray for the Lord to go before us and be merciful to the people of LK for their hearts to be softened in order to receive the teaching of the Word of God.

The Miyako

So what’s a Miyako? Well, Miyako is a brand name of an electronics company commonly sold here, and we pulled out of the trash a strip of cardboard that was leftover from the packaging and are using it as a fan. Because it is so hot here, we have been using this precious Miyako as the perfect tool for keeping Chloe asleep during her naps. One can often hear the question in our house now: “Have you seen the Miyako?”