Remembering this weekends’ events many years ago is hard to comprehend and let sink in… but we know that God sent his Son to die for our sins. And then He rose again so that we can be His children, that’s just an amazing act. We can’t really fully understand how much love, mercy and grace God has given His Children. But we can continue to live and walk with God every day. Then He continues to reveal to us what his love, mercy and grace means to our daily lives.
Jacob has been busy reworking our gutter system at the guesthouse. This is a great necessity as there is so much water everywhere during rainy season here! He is enjoying that. He also took a trip to Port Moresby’s NTM Centre in the capital of PNG, where he helped build a retaining wall to keep floods away. He also prepared the ground for a replacement pool going in at the guesthouse there. It is a very hot climate, and a small pool will be a great encouragement for missionaries, and their kids! He was also working on some ideas to prevent the occasional flooding of the center and other basic maintenance.
Jacob has also been training our citizen workers on the basics of power tools here at the NTM centre. In North America our culture is very focused on being productive and getting things done. But in a culture where people and relationships are more important than results, we need to challenge our preconceptions. Is completing lots of work with power tools and being focused on the job what really matters? Maybe not, the average person doesn’t even have electricity in their house, so getting a lot of work done with noisy power tools may not always be the way to go. sometimes it makes more sense to go at a slower pace so we can get to know the people and learn about them, their life and build friendships. As a missionary it can sometimes be difficult to make these balance results and relationships. But in a Ladies Bible study Beth attends, there were some great words of wisdom that stood out to her from Galatians:
Galatians 5:18 “Why don’t you choose to be led by the Spirit and so escape the erratic compulsions of a law-dominated existence?”
Galatians 5:22-24 “But what happens when we live God’s way? He brings gifts into our lives, much the same way that fruit appears in an orchard – things like affection for others, exuberance about life, serenity. We develop a willingness to stick with things, a sense of compassion in the heart, and a conviction that a basic holiness permeates things and people. We find ourselves involved in loyal commitments, not needing to force our way in life, able to marshal and direct our energies wisely.”
So, if the job needs to be done as fast as possible then so be it. For instance, if Beth finds out at 2:30 pm that 10 more people are coming for supper at 6:00 pm, things may get busy and time suddenly becomes very important. However, if only a few people are coming for supper and we have a day to prepare then she can spend the time training the citizen ladies to run the guest house and teach them things like how to write emails, the payroll system, airport run schedules as well as planning a menu and food ordering. We also get to learn from them, and enjoy things like amazing cooked bananas. And we also learn that sometimes, we all just need to slow down and enjoy working on a project together or sit down and pray for different situations that we are all facing in our lives. There is a lot to be done! But God is able to guide and teach us through it.
God is able to make our lives bear fruit no matter what situation we find ourselves in. Compassion, affection, exuberance about life, these are things that can be communicated no matter where we are at in life. Thank you for praying for us as we serve here in the guesthouse and around PNG working on projects. It is very cool to watch and see how God works when we don’t have a clue what to do in a certain situation. We have no choice but to pray, wait and trust that God has the best thing in mind. Having peace in these situations is an amazing thing. Please pray that God would give us peace as we wait on him when situations come up suddenly and we don’t know what to do next. And then it is amazing to watch God use so many people and circumstances to make the situation progress into exactly how He things is best for everyone in the situation. And we can trust that what He has allowed is what is best.
After two and a half weeks off of school, Jonathan and Naomi headed back to school last week! They are now on their final term of the school year! We are so thankful that they are enjoying school and doing well academically! Naomi is learning how to read and Jonathan is learning how to write book reports! We didn’t have very much going on this past school break, so we were thankful for some slower days and the kids enjoyed playing for many hours with their friends! We went to town a couple of days to enjoy lunch out and a swim in the pool. That was a highlight for our kids, especially because a lot of their friends went to swim too! Now that school is back in session, the guesthouse is also getting busier and looks like it will stay that way until the end of the school year as people gear up for graduation!
This summer we will be returning home to see friends, family and take care of some medical appointments for Naomi and Beth. We would appreciate your prayers as Beth continues to teach the ladies to run the guesthouse while we are gone for four weeks this summer. There is a lot to be done but we don’t need to freak out! God is the one who brings the fruit from our lives as He leads us by His Spirit (Gal. 5) .
Please pray for our trip as we head home on June 18 and arrive in Boston on June 20! We are excited to see some friends and family while we are home! We really wish we could stop in to see everyone, but we only have just under 4 weeks at home. So, we need to stay close to home and concentrate on medical appointments. Please pray that Naomi has another clear MRI this time so that she doesn’t need another one! Beth also needs an MRI or mammogram due to high risk of breast cancer; she has been advised to have a scan every 6 months. Please pray for good results for this as well.
Praises!
- Good health for our family!
- Jonathan and Naomi are enjoying school and in their final term of this school year, kindergarten and 4th grade.
- God’s provision for the finances for a portion of our flights home this summer.
- Good change of pace and rest for us during this school break.
- Beth’s sister, Sarah, is doing well after a lot of medical issues.
- Wisdom and safety for Jacob’s work trip to Port Moresby in February.
- Ability to help many missionaries as they come and go from the guesthouse with meals and accommodations.
- Help out missionaries as they translation scripture and check scripture as well as rest from teaching.
- Jonathan and Susan Kopf in the Hewa work finished their translation checking of the New Testament after 20 years of work!
- Appointments scheduled for Naomi’s MRI and Neurologist.
Prayer requests:
- We are short in the medical clinic! Please pray God will send another doctor to our clinic! Sometimes we are without a doctor! Watch this to find out more: We Wouldn’t be Here
- We need teachers at Numonohi Christian Academy! Are you a teacher or do you know a teacher? Check out this video! NCA Promotion (1:00)
- Wisdom and safety as Jacob works on varies projects around the NTM centre and the Guesthouse.
- Ability to communicate clearly and safety, as Jacob trains citizen workers in the joinery, using various power tools.
- Balance of guesthouse ministry, home life of homework and spending time with family.
- Ability us to train our citizen workers in the guesthouse, Fiona, Georgie & Rumbi, to learn all they need to run the guesthouse while we are gone this summer.
- Provision of the rest of the finances needed for our short trip home this summer.
- Provision of the rest of the finances needed for Jonathan’s treatment to correct his jaw.
- Beth’s Canadian Permanent Residency card would arrive in the mail soon.
- Finances to become 100% supported… we are in need of $300/month which is only 12 people giving $25 a month or 6 people giving $50 a month.
- That we would remember that God holds everything together including us! And He is working all around us.
- Rest in God as we enjoy being parents!
- God would continue to raise up more missionaries to come to the PNG and bring the Gospel to those who have never heard it their own heart language.
- More laborers to minister to the Bena people.
- A God who loves us so much He continues to guide us in our steps day by day and moment by moment.
- A God who sent His Son to die for our sins and rose him up so that we could have abundant daily life and REST in Him.
- God’s continued provision for our needs moment by moment!
