Much Rejoicing!

There is ALWAYS so much to be thankful for! Sometimes we just don’t stop and take time to recognize it all.

Here are a few things that have given us joy this past year, and some things we are looking forward to!

• THANK YOU to each of you who have continued to so faithfully support us, be that through finances, prayer, and/or encouragement/friendship!

• We rejoice that the girls have had so many opportunities to see friends and relatives this year! As I have told some folks this year, no matter what limitations/restrictions are in place right now because of COVID, for us it is still a huge step up from being overseas, as we can finally see people in person! So we rejoice!

• I’m so thankful the girls have been able to participate in Bible studies and youth group through our home churches.

• We are super overjoyed by the ability to watch church services online. We have hoped for this ever since we moved to PNG! While we can’t stream the services in the village because our internet is too slow, we look forward to hopefully taking back files of the church services of many of our supporting churches!

• We’re thankful that we enjoyed several camping trips in the summer and fall, and hope to do a few more in the spring/early summer! This is something we daydream about when we’re sweating in Tigak and wishing for some quiet. 🙂

• I thank the LORD for the opportunity for Naya and Jocie to attend public school this year. No it is not in person, it is online, but it is NOT homeschool. In other words, I am not teaching this year, or grading papers! And more importantly, the girls are having their first opportunity to sit under teachers other than Mom and Dad, and to learn so many valuable life lessons in the process. (And yes… we are THANKFUL for the opportunity to discuss SO many important topics with the girls that they are encountering in our American culture. Our heart is to navigate these things with them while they are under our guidance and care.)

• I (Lisa) am thankful for what I call “uninterrupted office time.” I am an ‘office rat,’ and I thoroughly enjoy using the gifts the Lord has given me in helping with Tigak Bible translation and working on Biblical resources for the Tigak church. I look forward to continuing with these projects throughout the rest of our time in the USA and beyond.

• We were overjoyed last month to connect via video and audio calls with Paska and Litia in PNG, as well as our coworker Ned, to complete the final consultant check on the book of 1 Samuel. The book has now been completed(!), and it was an equal blessing to see their faces and hear their voices.

• We are thankful for the LORD also providing part-time work for Noe while we are in the USA, to help offset the extra costs of travel to visit supporters and friends, as well as medical bills.

• We are so glad that our daughter has been able to receive needed care, and for the progress she continues to make. The LORD is good!

• We are thankful for friends who eagerly gave us Christmas decorations, to bring some smiles and laughter to our home (yes, Partridge family, we definitely include you and those ‘special glasses’ haha!).

• We rejoice as we have had the opportunity to literally look into the eyes of family and dear friends this year, and have in-person conversations! It is a refreshment to our hearts.

• We are thankful that the LORD has opened the door for quite a few missionaries to return to PNG in the last couple months! We look forward to His leading and guidance as we hope to return in July.

• We praise Him for the little things too, things we don’t deserve and could certainly live without, but that He chooses to bless us with anyway! Like the family, neighbors, and friends who have made us amazing meals, been so generous to us in so many ways, and helped us get settled here this year. And for special foods we’ve gotten to enjoy this year (special to us = things we can’t get in Tigak, like cilantro, yummy vegetables, certain cheeses, shrimp that isn’t marked at $80 for 2 pounds haha…).

Clearly this list could go on and on! If you read all of that, hopefully it inspires you to make your own list. 🙂 Please enjoy the photos below, capturing many special moments from our time in the USA so far.

Merry Christmas to you and your loved ones! We celebrate and rejoice that God loved us SO MUCH that He willingly gave His one and only Son, Jesus Christ, so that whoever believes in Him will not perish, but will have everlasting life.

“Glory to God in the highest! And on earth peace to those on whom His favor rests.” ~Luke 2:14