We hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving and are looking forward to a special time of celebrating the birth of Christ! We are excited to be able to be in the USA for the holiday season. We are enjoying the cooler weather even though you can’t really call it cold in Texas. It is cold enough for our blood after many years in the Tropics.
We can’t believe we only have one month until we get on the plane to head back to Papua New Guinea (PNG). Our flight leaves early on January 5th. We are trying to get all our buying and packing done before Christmas so we can enjoy the week after Christmas with family. Bethany is looking forward to having her best friend from PNG here the week before Christmas. She is currently living in California and won’t be returning to PNG – so we are thankful Bethany is able to spend one week with her before we head back. Our kids seems to have gotten behind on school the last two weeks with Thanksgiving and time with their cousins – so hopefully we can catch up before we leave for PNG. It seems to be easier to stay on schedule with home schooling in the tribe. There are not as many outside activities to distract our children from school work. ☺
Please be praying for teachers for the New Tribes Mission high school in PNG. There is a desperate need for teachers for the 2011-2012 school year. If you or anyone you know is qualified as a high school teacher and would be willing to spend a year or more overseas teaching, please let us know and we will put you in contact with the right people to get the ball rolling! The school is in a beautiful, mountainous area with spring like temperatures – unlike the hot, humid temperatures we have on our island year round. You would probably be teaching two of our girls! We are very thankful for Numonohi Christian Academy. The two years Kara Linn and Josiah spent there made a huge difference in their ability to readjust to American culture and college life in a dorm.
I wanted to share with you some of the things the tribal people of the Madang region are thankful for this year:
Thankfulness for the fact that God wrote down his Word so that we can still be saved by it to this day.
Thankfulness that under persecution in Rome, Paul still was writing things like the book of Ephesians for people like us.
Thankfulness that Paul had a burden and went to the Gentiles.
That Paul wrote about family and marriage and child training.
Thankfulness that when we receive things now – food, rain, material goods, we know who to thank for them.
Thankfulness for God’s wisdom and that he knows everything. Each new lesson, God knows exactly what to teach our livers.
Thankfulness that in that huge wind storm that we knew that God was in control even when our houses were blowing around. The lady was sleeping with her children and was afraid at first and then just thought, “This is not out of God’s control. This is not evil spirits. This is God and if he wants to take us home right now, he can do it.”
Thankfulness that we are no longer controlled by the evil spirits. We are children of God and He has given us His own Spirit to lead us. He does that by convicting our stomachs when we do wrong and helps us to ask for forgiveness.
Thankfulness for the Spirit who lives inside us. He is really strong. When we sit down and read God’s Word and pray, His Spirit teaches our thinking about who He is.
Let us not become complacent with all we have in Christ! Join with us in rejoicing over God’s free gift of His son Jesus. Jesus is here for you! Thank you for standing with us to reach the Tigak people.