Shuttles, Sling-loads & Sleeping Bags

Remember those busy months we asked prayer for?  Well, thanks for praying!!

Work at the hangar has kept both of us pretty busy.  On top of that Paul was able to help a new tribal team move their supplies into their bush location.  This new tribal work amongst the Pal people of Papua New Guinea is in a very remote location.  The missionaries homes are located on the crest of a mountain range and thus only accessible by helicopter.

So Paul packed his camping gear and flew down to the north coast of PNG in the Madang region.  He spent the next few days loading the missionaries supplies into the helicopter.  Because the helicopter is so expensive to operate, they wanted to make sure they divided the cargo into as few loads as possible.  Our Long Ranger helicopter can carry a maximum of 1,100 lbs so Paul and the crew had to make sure every inch of space was used.  For many of the larger items they used a sling and carried the cargo outside of the helicopter.

On the last days of shuttles, Paul was able to fly in and see where the Lockwood and Claasen families will be living.  Their two homes are situated on the crest of a hill.  There is barely enough space for their houses and a helicopter “pad”.  Please be praying for these two families and their SIX active young boys.

Pray for them in these weeks and months ahead as they adjust to bush living and begin to learn the Pal language and culture.  And please join with us in praying for the eventual salvation of the Pal people!! (Pal is pronounced like Paul so it is easy to remember, at least for us.  :^)

2010 Refreshment

Around this time every year there are meetings held here at our support center.  We all take some time off from our “normal” ministries and enjoy a long weekend filled with teaching sessions, missionary testimonies and of course lots of food and fellowship.

This year we heard from several different PNG bush missionaries in various stages of church planting.  The Lord used this time to reminded us why we are here and to help us see what He is doing around the country.  One couple has just moved into the tribe and were sharing how this time of transition and language learning is going.  At the other end of the “time-line,” we heard from a missionary who has “phased out” of the tribe and is now helping the tribal church as it grows in maturity during short visits.

One session that really touched our hearts was given by Jason Swanson regarding the work the Lord is doing among the Siawi in the Sepik region of PNG.  For many years NTM has struggled to keep missionaries in with the Siawis.  The Gospel was presented about ten years ago and a young church was born, but it seemed like they were taking baby steps towards (and often away) from maturity.  Recently the Lord has begun to stir up the Siawi Believers.  They are hungry for the Word!  What an encouragement it is to see these brothers and sisters use the Bible to correct their actions and culture!!  Please join us in praying for the Swansons and Linda Krieg (who is currently working on the New Testament translation) as they minister amongst the Siawis.

Praises:

• Safety during the Pal shuttles.
• A refreshing time with our NTM-PNG family.
• Our new medical insurance is going to cover Paul’s expensive allergy shots!!!

Prayer Requests:

• Please continue to pray for Paul’s allergies.   Living in the land of perpetual spring sure does reek havoc on an overactive immune system.
• The Pal tribal work — pray for the Lockwood and Claasen families as they begin to learn the Pal language and culture.
• The Siawi tribal work — strength for Linda as she translates the New Testament (currently at about 70% complete) and also for the Swanson family as they continue to share God’s message!