So many valuable lessons to learn!
So as I’ve been considering what to write in this update, and I’ve gone back through the couple of thousand photos I took over the last month, I decided to write a newsletter with lots of little newsletters inside it. This last month was so full, that I can’t just write a normal update about it. I think there were so many good lessons jammed in there, that I haven’t fully been able to process through, comprehend or retain them. You could read one mini-newsletter a day for six days and then rest 🙂
So first off, I’m realizing, that while I haven’t had that steady close friend that I see and spend intentional time with multiple times a week, the Lord has provided several meaningful visitors—people who have lived here in the past who have been a blessing to me. First, my friend LaShawn was here to help out with our Member Care needs! We didn’t get to spend nearly enough time together, but the time we did have was a treasure.
At the same time, April and Sharon were here. I normally see April on a weekly prayer Zoom call, so it’s always nice when they come through in person. They’ve been able to be involved in starting literacy courses for three different tribal groups recently, and that’s pretty exciting. They were also very intentional about having me over and checking in on me.
Right now, Caroline Dion is here. We go way back—to the first weeks I spent in PNG in orientation! She’s always such a sweet gift to spend time with. And now, looking back, I see how the Lord is providing for me in this hard season of loss by bringing back people I treasure, even if it’s just for a short time.
Central Area Conference
I’ve been attending and taking pictures of the Central Area Conference for the past four years. It’s such a blessing to be involved in this time when all the families of the central area of the country serving in remote tribal locations get to come together to be encouraged through teaching and fellowship. I love getting these interactions with them, and I can see how time with these families year after year builds into deeper and more meaningful relationships. It takes time and intentional pursuit and that is what my ministry is about. I want to invest in and connect with them, so that when they need someone that cares, they think to reach out to me.
Beauty in the DrynessÂ
I hosted a ladies’ retreat at Lapilo in between attending the two conferences. I was able to invite three extra people for the first night of the retreat, and that was a blessing. Praying that some day they’ll be able to do the full thing. I was blessed by a few ladies who helped me decorate the house at the last minute. You know you have a good friend when she loads all her plants up in a golf cart and drives them across center and helps you arrange them and other pieces of art to make the place cozy.Â
One of the activities in the retreat is a contemplative walk. You’re meant to pray and ask the Lord what He wants to show you. So, what I saw was that it was super dry and the plants were looking quite wilted and withered. I saw a burned out stump. Roots exposed in dry dirt (Col. 2:7, Ephesians 3:17). To me these things were symbolic of us—the field of NTM PNG. Dry and weary, burned out and withering. But then . . . there were beautiful things too. Pink flowers amidst the dry and pale looking leaves of a tree. A beautifully intricate pink flower.
It’s a few weeks later now, and I had forgotten that the Lord had given me that imagery—that while we are dry and in need of rain, there is still beauty here. God is still at work in mighty ways in the hearts and lives of the people of PNG and in us as missionaries too. Pray that we will look to Jesus Christ, the living water, to renew us and give us hope, so that we do not grow weary and give up. (Galatians 6:9, Hebrews 12:3, 1 Corinthians 15:58)
He Knows, He Sees and He Honors those Who Seek Him
Wow, we just studied part of Luke 1 & 2. Traditionally something we’d read at Christmas time, but this time we studied it to learn more about the character of God. Try it. It will blow your socks off with God’s goodness. There are people like Elizabeth, Mary, Simeon, Anna and the shepherds, who no one else would have noticed, and God blessed them with being involved in the arrival of the Savior of the World.
The angel says to Mary in Luke 1, “Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you.” and v. 30 “Do not be afraid, Mary; you have found favor with God.” For the angel to say that, God must have seen Mary and known her heart, right?
In Luke 2:25 is the story of Simeon . . . “Now there was a man in Jerusalem called Simeon, who was righteous and devout. . . . it had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not die before he had seen the Lord’s Messiah.” And you can read there about how he was moved by the Spirit, just as Mary and Joseph brought baby Jesus into the temple. Again, God saw Simeon and honored him by revealing the Messiah to him.
And Anna in Luke 2:36, was very old and a widow for most of her years but she worshiped, fasted and prayed at the temple day and night. God honored her too, enabling her to see the Savior.
Another thing that is important to me about this passage is how God reassures Mary. The angel tells her not to be afraid, and in Luke 1:39-45 we read about about how reassuring Elizabeth must have been to her in affirming what she had heard from the angel. God didn’t have to do that, but He knew her and saw her and must have known her fears.
Bible Study, Game Nights, Worship Nights and Movie Nights (The Sound of Music, I don’t think I had watched it since I was a kid and I loved it!). So many good things that I might miss if I get too focused on disappointment or loneliness and forget to keep my eyes focused on what is true- He knows, He sees and He honors those who seek Him. He reassures us in our doubts, if we’re seeking to honor Him.
This was a new experience for me. I’ve always wanted to go to the Western Area Conference, but they never had space. I’m so grateful I was able to go, because just like with the Central Area missionaries, it’s a step by step intentionality and being with people that builds relationships.
The message throughout the conference time was about “Grace.” Some of what was shared that stood out to me was that we are not poured out and depleted, even if it feels like it sometimes, we are poured into. There is an abundance of supply. We need to allow Him to extend Himself to others through us. We can stand on the extraordinary power of God to love others and put them before ourselves.
God is not unaware or unkind. The groaning and sufferings that we go through are by design to equip us to see His sufficiency and glory. Jesus is our example. Do not grow weary. The sufficiency of God is enough for enduring.
Going to places like the Western Area, always makes me super appreciative of the place where I normally live. It’s so much cooler!
Good good things
There have been so many little gifts from God this past month. My flight from the capital city to conference was cancelled the day beforehand. Because of this, I could go ahead and schedule an overnight at my favorite hotel instead of feeling stranded. I was able to eat good food, go for a run in a park (I was still running in circles, but they were different circles from the ones I normally run!), swim and sit outside to read. These things are huge for me. I was there less than 24 hours, but it was like a mini-retreat.
Then back where I normally live, after conference, I got invited to go on a hike at a National Park in our area. I have only been there once before, three years ago, and I loved it! This time was no different, except I felt a bit more out of shape.
And then, I had this sweet little girl invite me to learn how to make French Bread with her. My French Bread has always been a little bit too dense and hard. Hers is light and fluffy! I learned a lot from her and can’t wait to try it on my own!
What’s Next . . .
Big project-wise, I’m in the middle of a Missionary Care Discussion group with 5 churches. I have one more Prayer Video I’d like to create for the Iski people. And I’m planning for a Ladies’ Retreat in the Eastern Area in December. I offered this option three years ago at a resort close to our support center in the Eastern Area. I already have five ladies signed up, so now it’s just bringing together the logistics for offering the retreat in a different environment than what I’m used to. I think it will be great.
I have lots of smaller projects like articles to write, videos to update or edit in some way, church newsletters to send out, brochures to update and have printed in Australia, updating a calendar template for 2026, maintaining our social media and starting to collect information for our Annual Report.
Another idea I’ve had lately, from someone’s suggestion, is to start connecting with en-route missionaries who have committed to coming to PNG and who might need a little help locating resources for their partnership development before they get here.
There’s always plenty to do, please pray for the Lord’s guidance in what to take on each day.