The Skinny
Since our last newsletter, we’ve had the opportunity to visit a tribal church! This church was planted in a remote village by our mission about 30 years ago, and they’ve recently been in the process of appointing a few new elders. We were invited to attend the event as well as experience life in a remote location as a family.
In other news, God has provided us with a car recently, making our lives much easier—we have yet to find ourselves missing the cramming of girls and groceries onto our motorcycle in the middle of a rain storm!
Also, next week we are having a conference for all the missionaries and tribal churches located in the two provinces closest to us. Pray for a real encouraging and uniting time for everyone.
For more details, keep reading…
Trip to the “L” Church –
That trip into the village was quite the *adventure*. It took us almost 3 days to get in because the weather didn’t allow for us to fly in on the mission plane. Although previous missionaries had built an airstrip right beside the village, we couldn’t take advantage of it due to the excessive rain making it hazardously muddy. So instead, we embarked on a ferry ride, followed by 8 hours in a car, then a night on the road in a tiny village, then a canoe trip at dawn, followed by a quick truck ride. We’re thankful for the experience but it wasn’t easy. God really helped us and even blessed us with happy girls most of the way (truly miraculous) except for a bout with car-sickness/puke.
Once we finally made it in, we enjoyed tons of good food (amazing fresh fish!) provided by the people. We were able to meet a lot of the church members and leaders and really appreciated getting to be part of the church for a little bit. They were appointing 3 new elders and a handful of deacons to help the church continue to thrive in to the next generation. Then—much to our joy and gratitude—God kept the rain away for the last 3 days of our time which allowed the plane to fly in and pick us up! What a relief the sound of that engine was as it flew overhead.
Please pray for the “L” church, and praise God that in October they are celebrating the completion of their very own translation of the New Testament for the first time ever! It was just finished by the missionaries who used to live there.
New Wheels –
The girls love our new car. Staying dry and having space for stuff sure is nice—and what fun it is to listen to music again while on the road! God used our neighbors to help us find something at a decent price. It really is all about who you know and they were pretty excited to help us out. Moriah lovingly calls it “Debbie Lightning McQueen”.
Regional Conference –
Next week we will be part of hosting a conference for everyone associated with our mission or the churches planted by the mission. Please pray for smooth travels for everyone and a refreshing time together in the Word. Allegra has a major part in planning and running the kids program and Tyler is involved in hosting the adult sessions and events.
Praise
- For a really good time visiting the “L” church; for their new leadership and Bible translation.
- For our car!
- That Tyler’s tooth doesn’t hurt anymore.
Prayer
- For our Conference next week.
- That we would keep learning this language and culture. Next (and hopefully final!) evaluation is in October.
- For God to teach us and prepare us for future min
