 Supporting Tribal Church Planting in Papua New Guinea |
| “Not to us, O LORD, not to us, but to your name goes all the glory for your unfailing love and faithfulness… Our God is in the heavens, and he does as he wishes.” -Psalm 115:1&3 “O sori, sistem em i daun!” (Oh, sorry, the system is down!) It’s the phrase that started off our trying to get e-SIMS so that our phones could work in PNG. When we landed in the capital city, we tried to go to a phone company’s stand in the airport, but were told the system was down. Not to worry- our flight was cancelled, so we got an opportunity to try again the next day… but the system was again down. Therefore, after we got to the area we live in, we tried going to the phone store in town, but we were told the employee who could help us with that wasn’t working that day. Oh well, we’d try coming back next week. When we went back, we were told he was gone for lunch, so we did some errands and came back, and then we were told he was gone for the day. Then we tried talking to another employee, who told us that they actually don’t do e-SIMS. Then a security guard told us that we needed to go to the office to get someone who could help us. So, we went to the office, but no one was there, so the security guard said he could help us get them set up. We went through the process to get things set up and were told we would receive an email with a QR code to activate it. Ok, great! Well, the QR code never came. We tried calling customer service, emailing employees, and texting someone who could supposedly help us. All of this was to no avail, but we eventually ended up going to town and getting things set up with another company. What a hassle. What a colossal waste of time! We were here to start doing ministry, and instead we were spending hours trying to get our phones set up. It’s easy to wonder what God’s intentions are when things seem incredibly inefficient, and this doesn’t extend only to things like setting up phone numbers. God chooses to spread His Word through broken people- people who can be slow to learn language, people who get sick and have to go home, people who fight with each other and sin and cause all kinds of problems. He calls us to invest in people who end up falling away. He calls us to witness to people who will never believe. He calls us to care for missionaries who still end up leaving. Yes, we are here to do a great work. We are here to bring God’s Word to people who have never heard it. But, God keeps sending us reminders that efficiency is not God’s number one goal. If it were, He certainly wouldn’t have chosen humans to be a part of His work. While we are working, I think that God wants us to remember that we are here not just to accomplish a task, but to bring Him glory. When Jesus was asked what the most important commandment was, He responded, “You must love the LORD your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind… A second is equally important: Love your neighbor as yourself.” (Matt.22:37-39). Love isn’t efficient. It isn’t easy. There are no guarantees that our efforts will yield fruit. Yet, that’s what we are here for. We’re here to love God more, and love people well. We are glad to be back in PNG. We are so thankful for the ministry God has given us in caring for people through doing Member Care. Our transition back has gone well. The first day we arrived, our kids were already running around with their friends. Karissa started teaching four days after we returned, which was a whirlwind, but it is going really well. We are feeling pretty settled, and it has been great re-connecting with people. Thank you so much for your prayers for us as we continue to transition. Till all know, Matt, Karissa, Ty, and Wyck |
 Our friends helped us set up our trampoline Praise God: – Karissa’s mom had her surgery and it went well – Our 3 lost bags were found – We did get our phones set up – Our transition overall is going well – We have already jumped in to meeting with people for the purpose of caring for them, and that has been great Please Pray: – for God to be guiding and bringing about His will – for Karissa’a mom as she heals and then starts radiation – for us as leaving our families is always hard – for humility, patience, and unity – for our family as allergies have flared up since returning |
What are we supporting? This month’s tribal focus: Pray for the Hewa church. This is one of the locations where missionaries are no longer living, but a church has been established and is functioning on its own. One believer shares their testimony, “We saw all the good things of the ground that you brought–but we didn’t see the most important thing–God’s Word… I was… drinking beer, smoking marijuana, I killed people… all while I should have been listening to God’s WORD. But then you left and the Good News was gone. We were left alone because we drove you away–and then we became like children wallowing in our own mess with no idea about how to escape. I realized we were stuck, unable to get the things we really needed–hope, salvation, God’s Word. Then you told Faimbat to carry the truth back to us and we finally listened and we understood…I am telling you I am sorry for ignoring you the first time. I ignored you and the Good News and I nearly destroyed myself.” |