When are we going to Papua New Guinea? Where is our monthly support level at? How much money do we need for our initial costs of going?
Lots of news to share this month!
New Tribes has only two intake times for new missionaries to come to Papua New Guinea- these times are in July or in January. This is because our first six months will be spent learning the national language, Melanesian Pidgin, and we do this on a campus at the same time as all the other new NTM missionaries. As many of you know, our original goal was to move to Papua New Guinea this July. However, we didn’t quite meet that goal, the main reason being that we are not yet 100% funded for our monthly support. So, our new target date for leaving is this January (2017). We are trusting the Lord to bring this about and are feeling very confident we will leave in January. However, there are some things that need to happen for this to come about. These are the things you can pray about, and if you are able, give towards.
#1- We are 82% funded for our monthly support! Wahoo! This means we only need $1,482 more in monthly support. Pray for more people to join our financial team. If you would like to join our financial team, you can do so at NTM.org/Matt_Long/give, and set up your giving as “recurring monthly,” or contact us for an EFT form.
#2- We had a lot of people come to our coffee house event. Thank you to all who came! We felt very supported and loved. It was a good reminder that we are not alone in this. Through that event and additional gifts, we now have almost $3,000 in our startup fund! We need about $9,000 more to cover our initial costs of plane tickets, immunizations, etc., and about $40,000 to cover the cost of building our house in the jungle. Yes, it’s a lot, but nothing for the Lord, who called us to this and continues to provide. Please pray for His continual provision in this. If you would like to give toward our startup fund, you can also do so at NTM.org/Matt_Long/give, and write “startup fund” in the “directions for finance office” section.
#3- Lots of practical preparations. Please pray that we can get all our paperwork done and that our visas would get approved quickly. Please pray for our boys as they have to get a lot of immunizations, that they would have no bad reactions to any of them. Please pray for all of our doctors and dentists appointments coming up, that all would go smoothly, and that God would give us wisdom in it all. Please pray for God’s wisdom and provision as we figure out what we need to buy and bring to Papua New Guinea.
#4- Our hearts. 8 months may seem like a long time to you, but to us it feels like it is very rapidly approaching. Please pray that God would encourage our hearts and help us to look forward to what He has for us, rather than dwelling on who and what we will miss when we move. Pray that He prepares us spiritually for this next step.
Till all know,
Matt, Karissa, Ty, and Wyck Long
Please Pray:
– That our boys would do well with their immunizations
– That God would give us peace and joy
Praise God:
– God provided $3,000 toward our startup fund!
– We are 82% funded for our monthly support!
Matt completed his THIRD half marathon this month!