 Supporting Tribal Church Planting in Papua New Guinea |
| “The eyes of the LORD are everywhere, keeping watch on the wicked and the good.” -Prov.15:3 I currently have 155 open tabs in my web browser on my phone. My theory is that you fall into one of two types of people- either you’re saying “same,” or the thought of that gives you a heart attack. I don’t really intend to have that many open tabs- sometimes I open one and truly want to come back to it, but sometimes it’s just easier to click on a new one than to figure out if I’m done with the previous one. Other times I need to be able to switch between that recipe I found, the Wordle game page, and the definition I was looking up for teaching. I think that’s a fitting analogy for our life in missions in general, but especially for this past month. We are constantly switching between our lives in the States, our lives here, our member care role, my teaching role, Matt’s role on the child safety team, ministering to people at the center we live at, ministering to people in other areas of the country, etc. It’s great to be able to have all those tabs open, but like my phone, when they are all invisibly running in the background, it can have effects that we don’t necessarily realize (like stress or not knowing what to focus on). Unlike my phone, we can’t just shut those tabs; we need to make sure that we are paying attention to each one and doing what we can to make sure that we are tending to anything we are ignoring. I’m thankful that God’s eyes are on it all, for when I miss something, He does not. This month has been great, but also crazy. First, we went out to the eastern area of PNG for a week to spend time with tribal missionaries who were out for a conference. We were able to talk with all of the missionaries and have a deep conversation with almost all of them, talking about life and hearing how they are really doing. Many of these missionaries are ministering all alone in their remote locations, and all of them are dealing with the ups and downs that come with ministry. We made good connections and plans to continue caring for them. After a busy week filled with deep conversations, we came back spiritually and emotionally full, and mentally and physically exhausted. Then, it was back to Lapilo life. I (Karissa) started planning for my next term of teaching, and I also spent two full days cooking to make meals to send in for one of the eastern area missionary’s build trips. Then Matt left for a two week trip to Malaysia for a conference that he attended for his role on our organization’s child safety team. Karissa held down the fort, teaching, parenting, and caring for our members here at Lapilo through being a part of meetings, helping people process grief, and having conversations over coffee. Whew, what a month. Thanks for supporting us as we support those bringing the gospel to unreached people. What a privilege. Till all know, Matt, Karissa, Ty, and Wyck |
 We were able to lead a session about burnout Praise God: – For a wonderfully beneficial time and good connections in the eastern area – For safety for Matt and the rest of the family while he was gone – For good training received and relationships built at Matt’s conference – It cost us $1900 to go to the eastern area conference, and the day we bought our tickets, we received a gift from a supporting church for $1900!  My 155 open tabs  Making meals Please Pray:- For wisdom and unity as we make ministry plans – For good communication and love to abound in our organization – For the child safety team as they revise our organization’s policies – For more support missionaries, as we have many less then we need |
What are we supporting? This month’s tribal focus: Pray for the eastern area missionaries. For organizational purposes, NTM has divided up PNG into 3 regions- eastern, central, and western. The eastern region, which includes the islands of New Ireland and New Britain, was one of the first areas to have missionaries. Because of this, there are many exciting things happening in terms of existing PNG churches now working to reach other areas, with missionaries being able to serve in a partnering and assisting role. They also have some unique challenges, with many missionaries being the only expatriates left in their tribe, which can be lonely. As we listened to missionaries’ reports, we heard many of the same things over and over- God is working, yet church leaders are falling back into sin, people are struggling, traumatic events are happening, and missionaries need support and encouragement. Praise God for building His church in PNG, and using PNG citizens to reach others. Ask God to help churches to stay strong walking in the Lord, and missionaries to stay strong depending on Him. |
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