Whenever I have the chance to lead a ladies’ retreat or take the time myself to spend a period of undistracted time reflecting before the Lord, I am amazed at His faithfulness to show up and lead and guide and reveal things to us, ways we can grow closer to Him. He’s there with open arms and a desire to remove our burdens and our loads.
Time and Space
I need a quiet set apart space and time to meet with Him, no cell phone, no distractions, time to pray and listen, lots of nature and fresh air, warm sunshine, no rushing. And maybe I need this more than most, because it seems I forget what He reveals to me too quickly!
I recently went through a Velvet Ashes retreat, with my friend Jamie, called “Known.” It was appropriate as we approach Easter, reflecting on Jesus’s time in the garden of Gethsemane prior to being arrested (Matthew 26:36-46).
In the Garden
Jesus was sorrowful and troubled, grieved, anguished and distressed, his soul crushed with grief. But. He submitted, surrendered to the Father’s will despite the suffering He knew would come. He trusted that His death was what needed to happen. Can I also submit to the things that the Lord allows or doesn’t allow in my life, even when it troubles me or brings me sorrow? Can I trust that that’s what needed to happen for my good (or someone else’s) and His glory?
Grief: A process that helps us recover from loss. In the ladies’ retreats that I run, we talk about grief being something that, when we process it appropriately, will bring growth. Can I allow God to grow me through disappointments and hard things and losses? Please pray that I will.
I’m really excited about the promotional packets I’ve been able to put together to send home with visitors.
Pray that God will use them to expose more people to the need for support workers here and that He’d send more laborers to PNG.
We recently hosted an event to celebrate our 75th Anniversary as a mission in Papua New Guinea. We invited the community and local organizations that we work with to come and hear about what God has done in PNG. We also took the opportunity to explain more about what we do here. Because a lot of our church planting is done out in remote tribal locations, many people are unclear about what exactly it is we do within the country. I thought it was a great morning with many beautiful testimonies shared.
Religion has been around for over a century, but many Nakanai people don’t read or study what the Bible says for themselves or understand what it means. Currently, there is an New Tribes Mission church plant that has been growing and is reaching out past the borders of their own village. Please pray for the church as they seek God’s wisdom for how to meet the needs of the local body, including new believers, as well as how to continue to reach out and bring the good news about Jesus Christ to others, as God opens doors for them.
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