Well its been a while since I’ve written and for good reason. We’ve been going non stop for months. As many of you know we finished the Advanced Tech Specialist course in May. The course was extremely beneficial and I learned many skills that will prove invaluable in the remote tribal locations of Papua New Guinea where we will serve. For example who knew one could weld with a couple car batteries and set of jumper cables! Or, that one could make a soldering pencil out of the core of a D cell battery! We performed many experiments like these and even took part in training the next class of missionaries in their missionary technology class. We focused heavily on Solar power, Gas appliances, building, and water collection and purification.
After completing the Advanced Tech Specialist internship in Missouri, our family split up. I traveled to the Upper peninsula of Michigan for a three week practical building skills course While Melody and her Mom packed up the girls and took to the interstates visiting family and friends in Tennessee and Virginia while en-route to their final destination of Norfolk, VA. During my time with the “Yupers” in Michigan I learned the skills necessary to build with logs and rough cut lumber, not unlike what tribal missionaries will be using to build their homes in the remote rain forests of Papua New Guinea! Using only hand tools (No Power tools allowed), such as a cross cut saw, level, Plum bob and hand drill my Co-workers Jeff and Crystal Allen and I spent three weeks constructing an 8 x 8 addition on a partially completed mock missionary house under the supervision and keen eye of our mentor Norm Chenier. Among the many skills learned, we made stairs, shelving and countertops, the front door and several windows. Norm Chenier tirelessly shared his secrets and a tricks of the trade to ensure we were well equipped to tackle most any building task we may run across. The re-occuring message that resonated throughout the course was “Measuring, Leveling and Squaring accurately.” By sticking to those three fundamental rules at end of three weeks we were able to step back and admire our handy work and be confident that you could put a level on any surface of that structure and it was going to be LEVEL!
After finishing up in Michigan I packed up all my tools, jumped in the car and sped towards Virginia eager to be re-united with my family. We had a fantastic reunion and thanked the Lord for all that was accomplished and for the safe passage He granted us as we traversed the highways and cities of the country. I look back and am amazed at all the Lord has done for our family in the 7 short years we’ve been endeavoring to follow him on this journey. I’m reminded of the phrase coined by NTM founder Paul Fleming “God + Nothing.” That is a phrase I understand well now after all the training and preparation we’ve had focused on bringing the light of the Gospel to an unknowing people group. The simple truth is that the Task is impossible…with out God. But with God all things are possible. All we can do is offer ourselves as a vessel to carry his word to those who haven’t heard. Its impossible to feel sufficient for a task such as this, but I rest in the fact that all through history God uses ordinary people to do extraordinary things. That is our hope, that we would be useable and willing to be used to accomplish Gods work. Until next time.