 Supporting Tribal Church Planting in Papua New Guinea |
| “In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now.” -Phil.1:4-5 A couple of months ago I shared with you that it is really hard to go back to PNG. Although that is true, we are so thankful that we get to. We are thankful for your prayers and financial support that are enabling us to go back. We are thankful for the health and provision that God has given to our family to be able to go back. So, I just thought I would share with you some reasons why I am thankful that we get to return to PNG. First, God has directed us to the perfect fit of a ministry for our family. We came to PNG because of our heart to be a part of bringing God’s Word to those who have never heard about Him before. Our plan was to do that through church planting, but He redirected us to be a part of it through support work. What we are most passionate about is evangelism, but what we love to do day in and day out is discipleship. We are now in a position where we can support the work of the Gospel going out through loving and caring for God’s people. Second, our kids love PNG. They love the friends that they have and the freedom that they have to run around and play with them. They love the school that they get to go to, and I love that they are getting a quality Christian education. They love our cats- almost as much as I do :). I love that they get to see God at work around the world. Third, we get to work with some incredible people. We’ve gotten to build relationships with people who are also dedicated to bringing Jesus’ name to the lost. We’ve had the privilege of walking through joys and trials with people. We’ve gotten to have a front row seat to what God is doing in the lives of others. We’ve gotten to encourage, challenge, comfort, and help people. Fourth, I love teaching junior high students. I’m convinced they are God’s quirkiest creation, and their silliness, energy, and passion is a joy to witness. I’m thankful that I can help other missionaries to do their jobs, knowing that their kids’ education is being well taken care of. I’m thankful that I can teach the future leaders of God’s church in PNG, the children of PNG citizens. Fifth, we recently found out that we get to go back into member care. We are hopeful that we can “warn those who are idle and disruptive, encourage the disheartened, help the weak, [and] be patient with everyone” (1 Thess. 5:14). We are now in full swing of preparing to go back. Please pray for us to be ready- emotionally, spiritually, and physically. We have been having appointments, ordering things we need to take with us, trying to see people, starting to pack, getting our house in order, and finishing up paperwork. It is a busy, stressful, and emotional time. However, we are so thankful. It is a privilege to serve the Lord in this way, and we don’t take it for granted. Till all know, Matt, Karissa, Ty, and Wyck |
 Trying to get in some family time Praise God: – We got our visas! – We bought our plane tickets! – We were not able to renew our licenses, but think we have a plan for renewing them remotely – We are excited to serve in member care when we return  5 shots apiece for us at the travel clinic!  Trying to get in last visits with friends Please Pray: – that Wyck will make good progress on his orthodontics before we leave – for us as we try to coordinate many details for leaving – for some friends of ours who are grieving – that God would be drawing a loved one to Himself |
Urgent Support Needs! Usually here I highlight tribal works that we are supporting, but this month I wanted to share with you the great need our organization has for support workers. As you know, support workers are essential for the work to continue, and right now we have a huge need for more support workers. Missionary Summer Zimmer writes, “we have reached the lowest number of support missionaries serving with NTM PNG since 2013. We currently have forty-five fewer people covering all of our support centers and roles than we had five years ago. This summer, in July of 2026, there are scheduled to be fewer people serving at our headquarters than there were in 2020 when our seventy of our missionaries left the country at one time due to Covid. In order to meet the needs of our church planting teams and the unreached people of Papua New Guinea who still so desperately need the gospel, we need your help to fill some of these gaps. Many of the roles require professional skills that you, or people you know, may be currently using in your home country. Please consider spending 1-4 years through Ethnos360’s Associate program using those skills to benefit the church planting efforts in Papua New Guinea.” Specifically we need a doctor, a dentist, dental hygienists, teachers, accountants, business managers, administrators, and IT personnel. Please pray for these needs, share these needs, and consider joining us! |