In our last prayer letter, we asked that you pray regarding our financial support. Thank you so much for doing that. With several one-time gifts, anonymous gifts, and even friends who gave to our ministry instead of receiving Christmas presents, we have now seen our monthly support go from 62% to 70%. And once again we have been humbled at the generosity of friends and even strangers.
From time to time we like to take a few lines and explain how our finances are handled. Checks, made out to New Tribes Mission, can be mailed to our mission address (see info on page 2) with a note attached saying it is for us. Or you can go online at www.ntm.org/give to give electronically. NTM will then issue you a tax-deductible receipt. We have access to 100% of our funds. Before the money comes to the field, we have certain things deducted….like medical insurance, retirement and even federal taxes. We are so thankful for our co-workers in the US that handle all these transactions for us.
More To Be Thankful For
While some of you are knee-deep in snow, some of our locals have been chest-deep in water. We are currently in the middle of our rainy season….and it started with a bang!!! We got so much rain that a local river rose 10 feet overnight! Many have had their gardens either swallowed up by the river or completely covered.
Papua New Guinea is a very lush land. Here in the Highlands, their gardens are a literal cornucopia of fresh vegetables. Yet many have had their entire crop destroyed. Most rely on their gardens not only for their basic nutritional needs but also for extra income.
So what are we thankful for? Well, thankfully the rains have clamed down SOME. While the rivers are still very high, the grounds are starting to dry out. Please join us in praying for our local friends and villages here in the Highlands. We are anticipating a very lean time for many and we want to be culturally wise as we offer assistance.
One More Thing To Be Thankful For
When we stop to think about it, we really have so much to be thankful for. Since we have God’s Word in our own language, we can know for sure the wonderful plan of salvation in Jesus Christ. We have a warm, dry place to sleep and plenty of food. We really have so much to be thankful for!
Well one more thing we are super excited and thankful for is a new addition to our family. Come August we will be increasing our family size by two feet. That’s right, we are expecting again! We are so thankful that an early ultrasound shows our little Blueberry waving, flipping and hiccuping for us.
As with Phoebe, we will have to head to the States to have little Blueberry. We need to be back in the US by late June. We are hoping to only be gone from PNG for around 6 months as we are tremendously short-staffed in the hangar.
Please join us in praying for a healthy pregnancy and little Blueberry. We also need a place to stay while in the US. Ideally we would like to locate again in southern MD in a 2-3 bedroom location but we are open to whatever the Lord has for us. And in the next month or so we will need to purchase our tickets home. So you see…lots to be thankful for…and lots to be praying for too!!!