As many of you know, the world is in chaos at the moment, which gives all of us the opportunity to serve Jesus by faith leaning on him for our security and comfort. I encourage you all to read Mathew 6:25-34 where Jesus is speaking on Anxiety. It has been a great help these past weeks to know that we are valued and prized possessions of The Lord of Creation.
On that note, I need to inform you that we have been given the opportunity to jump on a repatriation flight back to the states, organized by the US State Department. However, after much prayer and consideration, we don’t feel the Lord is leading us to take advantage of this flight at the moment. There’s so much work to be done here and we don’t feel at peace about leaving at this time. So, we’ve decided to stay and see how the Lord provides for us here in PNG. In addition, we would like to let you all know we have lost some significant support in the past 30 days. Along with this, the tickets we purchased for our original departure date at the end of May have been cancelled, are non-refundable, and have little to no chance of being re-booked, due to travel restrictions in our destination locations. We would ask that you pray with us regarding our finances, that we would trust the Lord to provide through whoever or whatever means He chooses to help us stay here and continue supporting our missionaries still out in the tribal locations. Now, more than ever, we feel the urgency of getting the Gospel to the tribes of PNG. If you already support us, thank you for your years of faithfulness in partnership, your friendship is dear to us.
The Lord is still doing marvelous things here in PNG and is about his business, so don’t be discouraged. Two of the tribes where Josh has been able to go in to help are, or will be within this week, hearing the Good News preached for the 1st time! God is always in control and is using the current crisis for his purposes.
Our children are keenly aware of current events and are watching how we will react. So I challenge each of us, to use this opportunity to model Christ and to walk by faith, not by sight as an example for our children. Don’t squander the chance to shine and to be salt and light to the lost, demonstrating the hope we enjoy because of our Savior, Jesus Christ. Please pray for all the missionaries you know who are enduring these times far from home, and for the courage to continue on in these uncertain times. One thing we can be certain of is that God is on the Throne and Jesus is at his right hand.
Here’s a statement from our leadership here in PNG.
“NTM PNG is aware that the U.S. Embassy, in conjunction with the U.S. Department of State, has arranged a repatriation flight for U.S. citizens who wish to depart Papua New Guinea. NTM PNG members have the freedom to participate in such a repatriation flight and have been advised to consider taking advantage of this opportunity.
NTM PNG will continue to maintain core church development functions with those members who remain in PNG.
Thank you for your prayers as we walk through this together.”
Peace and Affection,
Josh, Mel, Sarah, Morgan & Hannah
2 Timothy 1:7 – God, you have not given us a spirit of fear. You have given us a spirit of power, love, and sound thinking. – so help us use this for YOUR Glory!