Dear Praying Friends,
Greetings from the beautiful Goroka Valley of PNG!! Yes, we made it and we are once again in the Land of the Unexpected (that is how PNG advertises itself).
Our last weeks in the Faroe Islands were extremely busy with packing a crate and shipping it, packing our suitcases, meetings, Christmas, etc. We also had the privilege of having Philip and then also David come and spend Christmas with us. Good to see them again, and to catch up with how things are going for them.
On the 28th there was a farewell service at the church in Klaksvik in the Faroe Islands, and it was a special time for us. How encouraging to have so many friends in various parts of the world who are concerned for us and who pray for us. We know that our ministry depends on people like you praying for us.
The 29th we flew to Copenhagen, Denmark, and stayed a couple of days at “Kristnastova”, which is a Christian ministry center directed towards Faroese students who have to live in Denmark for further education. Being over the Christmas holidays, there was little activity there and it was an ideal place for us to stay. Benjamin and Wina came to Copenhagen several days before we did, so our whole family was together. What a blessing!! We don’t know when we will all have the privilege to get together again as a family, so this was such a nice way to finish our stay in Europe.
This was also our farewell with Hans for the time being. He returned with David to Nebraska and will finish his high school studies and then take his GED and SAT. He hopes to get a part time job while he finishes this up and then work full time for a while, before going on to college. His interests are particularly in computer graphics. It is strange not to have Hans with us any longer and we miss him, but we are also looking forward to seeing how God will guide him.
The 31st we flew from Copenhagen over Frankfurt and Singapore to Port Moresby, where we arrived early in the morning on January 2nd. Then a few hours later we flew on to Goroka where we were picked up by one of our co-workers and driven to Interface. We were really exhausted, and have spent the first week getting settled, getting over jetlag and beginning to sort through things in storage. Rachel is doing a good job of setting up our home and already we are feeling at home.
Two days after we arrived, the January Interface team arrived after a one day delay in Port Moresby. It is a smaller team than normal, but they are really keen on learning and are enjoying the experience they are gaining in classes and interacting with the local people in culture and language learning (trade language).
Over the next few weeks I will attend as many classes as I can and also spend a lot of time with the director to learn all I can about the Interface programs. Rachel will continue with home schooling, and she also has many opportunities to interact with the students. It is a real privilege to challenge these young people with missions, and whether they themselves go to the mission field or if they, with their knowledge of the mission field, become more involved with missions as a whole, we trust that they stay sensitive to His leading for their lives.
We are so thankful for being able to live in the Faroe Islands all of 2008. It was very nice to live with Dad and care for him. He is now living on his own again, but thankfully my brother, Dennis, and his family live close by and Dad sees them at least once a day. Please pray for Dad and for wisdom in how to best care for him. As he is getting older he is becoming more forgetful. Due to this he recently lost his driver’s license, which of course is a great blow to him. We are thankful that Dad is physically in good shape and takes regular walks.
Please pray for us as we settle in here at ITF, that we will be a blessing to the team here and that we will learn all we need to before Keungs go on furlough. Pray also that we will build good relationships with the local people in the area.
Thanks for your faithful prayers for us.
In Christ,
Peter and Rachel Hansen
Karl, Daniel, Steffan, and Caleb