Many of you may be enjoying the snow and cold already – or maybe you are just enduring it. Here in Florida we have had a few cool days but nothing really bad. Right now it is in the 80’s so doesn’t feel a lot like Christmas time! We are use to this kind of weather after living in the jungle for so long – we always had a hot Christmas.
We wanted to share with you about one of the tribes of Papua New Guinea, the Malaumanda. They are facing a severe food shortage and many are spending much of their time in the bush searching for food.
When the Bagwido believers heard about the food shortage they were excited to be able to help. Many of the Bagwidos have been saved less than a year but are growing in the Lord. This opportunity to show their love and support for another tribe was another step in living out their faith. They sent pumpkins, fish and sago to the Malaumandas.
“This is not something that would naturally happen,” wrote missionary Eric Hedeen. “Chalk it up to the Spirit of God moving in the lives of those who are now His children.”
God used the relatively new believers among the Bagwidos to encourage and build the faith of the Malaumanda believers who are facing a difficult situation.
Please pray for the Bagwidos to continue to grow and to demonstrate their faith through actions. Pray also for the Malaumandas to continue to trust in the Lord in spite of hardship. Pray that this Christmas season many more Bagwidos and Malaumandas will come to know the Savior whose birthday we celebrate.
It is exciting for us to hear stories like this about tribal people trusting the Lord and growing spiritually. That is what our ministry is all about! We want to thank you, again, for having a part in this ministry. Many new tribal believers will be able to celebrate Christmas for the first time this year because Christians are giving sacrificially even though we are all feeling the economic crunch.
As for news about our family: We were excited to have Cody home with us for a 4 week Christmas break. He seemed to enjoy the warmer weather and was glad to have a break from the cold, Wisconsin weather. Heather finished her final exams for this semester at UCF so got a break from studying for a while. Haley, a sophomore, also had a break from school but, of course, it wasn’t near long enough for her! We were hoping that Jason and Tiffany could come for Christmas but they were not able to this year. Jaxon, our grandson, did turn 1 year old this month.…and Phil and I are just getting older!
We wanted to thank you again for your faithful support of our family and ministry. We are very aware of the economic situation in our country and it humbles us even more knowing that those who continue to give to missions are doing it sacrificially, as everyone is hurting. We have been amazed and blessed as we have seen the Lord meet our needs from month to month and even day to day. We have a FAITHFUL God and are excited to be serving Him. Thank you for standing with us as we reach the tribes who still need to hear!
We want to wish you a very MERRY CHRISTMAS and A HAPPY NEW YEAR with your friends and family!
Your Missionaries to the Tribes,
Phil and Jackie
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