{"id":544,"date":"2023-11-05T00:22:44","date_gmt":"2023-11-05T05:22:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.ethnos360.org\/matt-long\/?p=544"},"modified":"2023-11-05T00:22:46","modified_gmt":"2023-11-05T05:22:46","slug":"too-big-a-battle","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.ethnos360.org\/matt-long\/2023\/11\/05\/too-big-a-battle\/","title":{"rendered":"Too Big a Battle"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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“This is what the LORD says: Do not be afraid and do not be dismayed at this great horde, for the battle is not yours, but God’s,” 2 Chron. 20:15b
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It was an e-mail that set me off. \u00a0It was a nice enough e-mail, but it left me responding, “I. Cannot. Do. One. More. Thing. \u00a0I’m already failing at everything, and I don’t know why I’m even trying.” \u00a0Do you ever feel like that, or is it just me?

Sometimes I feel like the task before us is too big. \u00a0There are too many struggling missionaries and difficult situations. \u00a0We can never love those around us perfectly, and even if we could, there are still so many people we are missing. \u00a0We so badly want to care well for the missionaries in NTM PNG, but honestly sometimes I really struggle with discouragement.

It is in times like this that I need to remember that this battle is not ours, but the Lord’s. \u00a0Sometimes it feels like missionaries here are laboring in difficult places, ministering to those around them, and others have forgotten to care for them. \u00a0However, God has not forgotten them. \u00a0This is His Work, these are His people, and He has all of this in His hands.

Thank you for your prayers for us. \u00a0Please keep praying for the missionaries here in PNG.

Till all know,
Matt, Karissa, Ty, and Wyck<\/td><\/tr>
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This hole in our yard is a picture of God’s goodness to me. \u00a0There was a mango tree in our yard that I was worried was making Ty’s allergies worse. \u00a0I put in a request to have it removed, but because usually for things to happen here, it takes a lot of time and red tape, I was preparing myself for a battle. \u00a0However, when I got home the next day, it was gone. \u00a0God had already fought my battle.\"\"
I got to teach a fun lesson about relativism versus absolute truth to my class.<\/td><\/tr>
Praise God:
-for a good trip to the Western region
-that God kept Ty healthy while we were there and away from the clinic
-for God’s protection for Wyck when he fell out of a tree there
-for some good connections we had with missionaries at the conference
-the start of the second term of school is going well
-that this work is in His handsPlease Pray:
-for wisdom for us in how to spend our time
-that we can love people around us
-that we can trust God to care for people even when we can’t
-we are desperately in need of high school teachers if we hope to be able to run a full high school next year
-we are in desperate need of a doctor as our only doctor is retiring soon
-for unity within our tribal church planting teams\"\"
What are we supporting? \u00a0This month’s tribal focus: \u00a0Pray for the missionaries in the Western region of PNG. \u00a0This month we had the privilege of being a part of the\u00a0conference for the missionaries in that region. \u00a0We were thankful to connect with missionaries out there that we don’t often get to see. \u00a0Rejoice with us\u00a0over the exciting things God is doing. \u00a0There are new churches that are excitedly learning truth and discipling others. \u00a0There are new teams\u00a0that are forming. \u00a0There are national churches that are meeting together and continuing on the work on their own. \u00a0Pray with us over the difficult situations. \u00a0There are churches that are small, struggling, and apathetic. \u00a0There are believers falling back into sin. \u00a0There are missionaries struggling with\u00a0loneliness and discouragement. \u00a0Pray for the active church planting works in the Western Region.<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u00a0“This is what the LORD says: Do not be afraid and do not be dismayed at this great horde, for the battle is not yours, but God’s,” 2 Chron. 20:15b\u00a0It was an e-mail that set me off. \u00a0It was a nice enough e-mail, but it left me responding, “I. Cannot. Do. One. More. Thing. \u00a0I’m […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1074,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-544","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-uncategorized","7":"entry"},"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ethnos360.org\/matt-long\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/544","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ethnos360.org\/matt-long\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ethnos360.org\/matt-long\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ethnos360.org\/matt-long\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1074"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ethnos360.org\/matt-long\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=544"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ethnos360.org\/matt-long\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/544\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ethnos360.org\/matt-long\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=544"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ethnos360.org\/matt-long\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=544"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ethnos360.org\/matt-long\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=544"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}