An Opportunity to Trust Him More
The last month has been one of those valleys in my ministry, where I had a really hopeful December and had many optimistic goals as I reflected at the beginning of the year, but things have not turned out as I had hoped. I am challenged with remembering that my job is to remain faithful to what God is calling me to, despite the disappointments and discouragements and the disrupted plans. Please pray with me that I would not grow weary and lose heart.
I’ve also been studying James in this season, and it has been challenging for me individually and for us as a group as we wrestle through why we can “Consider it pure joy” whenever we face trials of many kinds . . . When I am disappointed or feeling like my ministry does not produce the fruit I desire, or I’ve been sick and in my house for 9 days, I can consider it joy, because God can be trusted as I persevere through these things. He is faithful to use our trials to grow and mature us, even when it feels pointless. So, pray that I would endure through the challenges and allow God to use this in growing my faith and trust in Him.
While I may not see my plans come to fruition or see the results I want to see,
God is still at work here. I am encouraged by . . .
1. The testimonies of God bringing three new church planting families here after many years of taking the next step. I was able to meet this couple in 2019 when I visited Interface my first year here and they were students. It’s been a joy to welcome 5 new families and 2 new singles to our team to work in support as well.
2. Getting to spend an evening with this cool couple, Mark and Holly Woodard, who served as church planters for many years and also at our headquarters 4 years ago (could it be that long?). They are reps for Ethnos360 in the US, mobilizing the next generation of missionaries. Their report of the interest in missions, as well as their experience with their church plant in M, as the leaders there pray about an outreach to another village, was encouraging.
3. New friends here from Warsaw, Collin and Meghan Chupp. Excited to get to know and spend time with their family.
4. Getting to visit with people from a different area of the country and also visiting from the US. What a blessing to get to connect in person with these ladies that I often pray for the field with over Zoom.
5. The opportunity to put together this video of Mibu believers praying sincerely for their people.
6. Starting a Bible Study through the book of James and having a lot of new participants along with those I’ve been meeting with for a few years now. It’s a larger group, and I need the Lord’s wisdom in how to steer the conversation so we finish and have time to pray together before 9!
7. Welcoming back my friend, Becky, who was gone at training for almost three years. And hosting a dinner with those who have been here less than two months mixed in with one who has served in PNG for 38 years. Such an encouragement to hear her desire to serve the Lord in whatever way she can for as long as she can.
8. Seeing the progress in different tribal groups and writing articles like this one:
Over the last 75 years, New Tribes Mission PNG has helped the people of around 75 language groups learn to read and write in their heart language. A literacy program has most recently been developed for the Kovol people, subsistence farmers living in small hamlets spread among the Adelbert mountains. Their language had never before been written down until the missionary team of the Hansens, Stanleys and Stouses began the process of learning their language and culture in 2020.
The team chose an alphabet relevant to the Kovol language based on linguistic analysis. They then entered around 20,000 words of natural Kovol speech into a literacy software to break the language down into the most frequently used syllables.
Literacy consultants, April Fish and Sharon Mihil, spent two weeks with the team to guide them in developing 4 primers and 4 readers.
The exciting part of the process is that the team had 40+ Kovol people on hand to help them each day of the program’s development. They illustrated stories, helped check to see if the stories communicate, suggested words to use and rejoiced along with the team with each page completed.
Steve Stanley says, “We told them clearly that since this was a 2 week-long effort they didn’t have to attend every day. Seeing people attending every day, there at 8 sharp, is encouraging. People are excited to learn to read. One of our older guys even asked us at the end of a workday if he could borrow a pencil and paper to take home so he could practice drawing. His request certainly made us take note that this might be one of the guys who should be part of the first literacy class in the near future.”