Our Year, In Review

Above: Tribal dancers we met at the Goroka Cultural Show in September    

This past year has been a whirlwind of activity, but in all circumstances the LORD has blessed us, especially through the challenges. We returned home with only 60% of our ministry budget and a goal of returning to PNG in July, but must confess that the goal seemed overly ambitious. Since this was our first home assignment, we also experienced some re-entry issues. We had read and been told about this, but experiencing it was something new. On one hand, it was great to see family and friends, and yet, for the first few weeks, the experience was very much akin to our travel to Papua New Guinea in 2014: a mixture of joy, sadness, excitement and stress. And yet, God saw us through that readjustment period and was our source of strength. 

In January, we had the blessing of traveling to Orlando to attend a two week orientation to Wycliffe USA called Equip. The LORD blessed our time at Equip with excellent instructors and classmates who have since become encouraging friends. As we traveled the Eastern seaboard, we were blessed to see family and friends and to share about our Wycliffe ministry with churches and small groups. 

Along the way, God also used His people to bless us; we were given a place to stay rent free and loaned a vehicle, and a week at a house on a lake to relax. We were also blessed to spend encouraging time with a missionary friend, who was briefly in the US while we were home. 

While we worked hard on our preparations to return to PNG, it was God who ultimately provided for us, and that "overly ambitious" goal of returning to PNG in July came to fruition by His grace. This past year has strengthened our faith and we know that whatever lay in store for us in 2017, God will go before us.

The Joy of Giving

Mother Theresa once said, “The most terrible poverty is loneliness, and the feeling of being unloved.” Jesus knew this truth when He summed up the Mosaic law as “Love God and love people”. We have had wonderful opportunities in the past year to spend quality time with many people as we have served in PNG and while on furlough in the US, including family and friends we haven’t seen in many years. God also gave Kathy an additional opportunity, as she traveled back to NY to spend time with her Mom and siblings after her Dad’s death. Our prayer has been that we would love people well, and not just in word but also in deed. We were reminded anew that our mission field is wherever God plants us, and that is true for every Christian who seeks to follow Jesus Christ’s example. He showed us perfect love and perfect obedience by coming to Earth as a child, to save and redeem us from sin and death while upholding God’s righteousness and perfect justice. Jesus is our Emmanuel, “God with us”, and in God’s Word, we see the physical embodiment of God’s characteristics in the life of Christ. Amazing grace and love— what a gift! Please take the time to stop, amidst the hustle and bustle of this special season, and really ponder this gift. It is as wonderful to give as it is to receive and we are deeply grateful to have been the recipients of this love from many of you— thank you. 

“We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you, because we have heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love you have for all God’s people— the faith and love that spring from the hope stored up for you in heaven and about which you have already heard in the true message of the Gospel.” Colossians 1:3-5 

Prayer Points and Answered Prayers in 2016

God has provided for us in amazing ways in 2016, allowing us to return to PNG and continue to serve in our support roles for another three years. He also brought Kathy back to help her family after her father passed away. God provided a substitute for her classes, travel mercy, good health, and the kindness of His people. God is good, all the time, but especially during the difficult times. 

Papua New Guinea shines at the Goroka show...

We were privileged to attend the 60th annual Goroka show, where tribal singers and dancers from many provinces come to perform in traditional costumes and headdresses. It was crowded, visually stunning and quite a sensory overload. Wherever we looked, we saw different tribal costumes and heard different languages as each group sang traditional songs. It was a taste of Revelation 7:9, “After this I looked and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and in front of the Lamb”. But the sobering reality is this: not all of the people we met have access to God’s Word in their heart language yet, and some of the songs and dances we heard reflect warfare, fertility rituals, and animistic beliefs. Romans 10:14 reminds us, “How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them?” Yet, God’s Word promises that people from every tribe will be represented at His throne in the end; please continue to pray for the truth of the Gospel of Jesus Christ   to reach every tribe and language! 

Staff and students at Ukarumpa International School dress up in PNG colors and styles for the 41st Papua New Guinea Independence Day celebration. 

Photo credit: Bob Noble 

 Meeting a tribal dancer at the Goroka Show. 

Photo credit: Kristy Johnson    

Prayer Points

• Papua New Guinea: Pray for God’s grace and wisdom for those serving in government.

• Bible translation: Pray for the Baruga people, as our friends Jim & Joan Farr serve in their village and ready their New Testament for typesetting and printing.

• Our roles in PNG: Praise for Kathy’s successful Term 1 at UIS and for changed lives at Encounter. Praise for progress as Scott mentors his assistants and can work on strategic plans.

• Family needs: Pray for Kathy’s dad Jim, who suffered a stroke. Praise God he is out of the hospital, in rehabilitation, and making progress, but pray he regains his mobility and will be released to go home. Pray for strength for her mom, Lynn, who is his primary caregiver. 

The blessings of a good team

God has blessed our center with a time of relative peace. The number of significant security incidents that my staff and I have had to deal with has decreased and I have had the time to focus on furthering relationships and developing longer term projects. Part of the way God has blessed me is with a great team of people. Prior to leaving for furlough, I was able to hire two assistants and obtain a new manager from our contract security firm. My two assistants, one of which is a Pastor, are local men who help me to navigate the culture. Our contract Security Manager is a Gurkha who has greatly improved the operations of our contract guards. I am quite blessed to have these men on my staff and, more importantly, to count them as friends. 

Scott and his security staff, along with their contract security manager, are serving the community by providing a reasonably safe environment for Bible translators, support staff and their families in Ukarumpa. 

Photo credit: Stephanie Tobiana 

God is working in and through PNG

We recently met a Papua New Guinean man who had returned from Southeast Asia. There, he worked with college students translating Bible stories into their local languages, to minister to the Hindus, Buddhists and Muslims with whom they live. Another PNG family supported by our local church is serving Syrian refugees in Greece. The third man works with Faith Comes by Hearing, and is helping produce and distribute audio copies of the Bible in his “tok ples”, or local language, so that those who are illiterate can still hear the Word of God. And 1,900 Urat people just received the New Testament in their language last week. Praise God, He is certainly working in and through the PNG people! 

Above: Urat dedication, photo credit Susan Frey 

Prayer Points

• Papua New Guinea: Pray for God’s continued guidance and provision in PNG government.

• Bible translation: The Urat New Testament dedication was a success! Pray for the Urat people to be transformed by God’s Word. See more at: https://t.co/7nHKJRu6al

• Our roles in PNG: Praise for our continued health and for strength in our ministries here; pray for wisdom as we serve.

• 2016-2017 school year: We are half way through our first term at Ukarumpa International School and are off to a busy but good start. Please pray for the students (and the teachers and pastors who will lead them) as they prepare for Encounter, a spiritual retreat from September 16-20 held in Goroka. 

It is good to be back in Ukarumpa!

Transitions are challenging, but we are so grateful for how God has provided for our return to PNG, for smooth travels here, and for our housing.  We are unpacked and glad to be serving full time again in our ministry roles. Scott has returned to his position as Security Operations Manager and Kathy is teaching Science for grades 7 and 8, Biology for grade 10, and serving as Science Department head. We appreciate your prayers and your partnership as we dive back in! 

Teaching in "The Land of the Unexpected"

We are glad to be back in “The Land of the Unexpected”, which can be a particularly fun place for a Biology teacher.  Kathy has had the opportunity to check out a big (note the Chapstick for scale) Golden Orb spider brought to school by a student, and she got to visit with a tree kangaroo while in Kainantu, the closest town to Ukarumpa.  What a great place to get to teach science and appreciate the diversity of God’s creation! 

Prayer Points...

• Papua New Guinea: Pray for wisdom, justice, and peace to prevail in the PNG government.

• Bible translation: The Urat New Testament dedication is this weekend; pray that hearts, lives and communities would be transformed by God’s Word.

• Our transition back to PNG: Praise for how God has met our needs for housing and pray for continued health and strength for our ministries here.

• New school term: We began our 2016-2017 school year at Ukarumpa International School on July 20th.  Pray for the students and teachers as we seek to start 

the year well and glorify God.  Pray especially for good health and for our new students starting school at UIS for the first time. 

Praying for transformation in Papua New Guinea…

We were recently reminded of and highly recommend the book, “The Book That Made Your World” by Vishal Mangalwadi, which details the impact of the Bible on western culture. It reminds us of why the disparity is great between PNG and US culture, but also of the hope that resides in the power of the living Word of God to transform hearts, lives, communities and nations. Please pray for redemption and transformation as we help reduce Bible poverty in PNG.

      Above: In Kainantu, a Public Motor Vehicle (PMV)- the main source of public transit

Arrival and First Week

We arrived in Ukarumpa on July 7th.  Friends met us at the airfield and invited us over from lunch and dinner. We've spent the last week getting settled in and are thankful for all of you who prayed us back to Papua New Guinea!

Departure Day!

God has truly blessed and provided for us in ways that we could not have imagined. Today we begin our journey back to the Papua New Guinea, which is sometimes called "The Land of the Unexpected". While we do not fully know what to expect, we take comfort in the fact that nothing surprises God. We look forward to our second term with anticipation. We thank all of you who are praying for us and financially partnering with our Wycliffe Ministry. Will update Facebook when we arrive. Have a great Independence Day and know that you are all in our prayers.

Note: Due to connection issues we moved up our flight arrangements to July 4th.

We Return to Papua New Guinea on July 7th!

We appreciate your continued prayers as we pack, sort, and get ready to fly over three days, a total of 36 hours and 11,000 miles. Our 6 months in the U.S. have been an amazing testimony to God’s love and provision, so we rejoice with our new partnership team as we prepare to return. Thanks to everyone who has blessed us while we’ve been here and helped us prepare to go back! 

Prayer Points:

• Papua New Guinea: Pray for the government leaders and the people of PNG to exercise wisdom, justice, and peace.

• Bible translation: Pray for national and expatriate teams for translation at the training center in Ukarumpa to receive useful tools for their continued work in PNG tribal languages.

• Our travel to PNG: Praise for how God has met our needs for airplane tickets and all of the connecting flights back to Ukarumpa before school begins on July 20th.

•“See you soon”: Pray for us as we say ’goodbye for now’ to friends and family and return to PNG for our next three years of service. Pray we return rested and ready to dive back into our ministry roles! 

Photo Credit: Anders Lund

Portsmouth Christian Academy alumni Gabby Martin and Devin Lund, along with friends and family, blessed us with a Worship Night where we had the opportunity to share about our Wycliffe ministry and spend a beautiful time of worship together. Thanks for the music and fellowship! 

Pray for our U.I.S. graduates...

Ukarumpa International School graduated 20 young men and women last week, all of whom will return to their passport countries and begin either work or college in the fall. Pray for them as they readjust and work through the challenges of reverse culture shock and saying goodbye to their homes, friends, and family in PNG. They have been a blessing to both of us and we will miss seeing them in Ukarumpa! 

Praising God for His provision of a complete partnership Team!

Thank you so much for praying for our partnership team. We have reached 100% of our monthly budget goal, right on our May 30th deadline for returning to PNG. Thank you for enabling us to support Bible translation by returning to Papua New Guinea this July. 


 Your partnership with our Wycliffe ministry is greatly appreciated. Special thanks to those those who have been on our team these last 2 years, as well as to our new teammates. We promise to update you regularly on how God is moving in PNG and is using us to faithfully serve in Security and Teaching there.


You can still become a prayer partner with our Wycliffe ministry- you and your family are a critical part of how God is bringing His Word to the bibleless people! 

Become a Prayer Partner Today!!

Join Our Team Today!!

It gives us great joy to announce that new financial partners have joined our Wycliffe partnership team and the amount needed to complete our monthly ministry budget is now reduced to $257/month. We praise God for this wonderful blessing!

We must have our entire ministry budget pledged by May 30 in order to be released to Papua New Guinea in early July. Once released, we can then purchase airplane tickets and begin to prepare for our return.

If we miss this deadline, it could prevent us from being in Ukarumpa for the start on the new school year on July 20th. The school has asked Kathy to head the Science Department, as well as teach 3 classes and advise the Grade 8's, so they are praying earnestly for us to make this deadline. Scott is also needed to resume his role as Security Manager for PNG as soon as possible.

What you can do:

(1) Pray that the additional $257 will be promised for our monthly budget by May 30. The Lord can do abundantly more than we can think or ask! Pray that God will call the people He desires to be partners with us in reaching this goal. 

(2) Very important! To become a financial partner in our Wycliffe ministry, please let us know immediately by phone at 603-978-8242 or by email at kathy_watson@wycliffe.org so we can inform our supervisor that the financial gap is being closed. Then, use the link below to go to Wycliffe's e- giving website.

Join Our Team Today!!

Thank you so much for considering partnership. Please join us in prayer for our remaining need, and we will keep you informed as God acts on our behalf. 

Progress toward our return to Papua New Guinea...

We are grateful for all of you who have partnered financially with our Wycliffe ministry. We are at 66.8% of our monthly ministry budget! Wycliffe requires us to have partners pledging 100% of our monthly budget before we are released to return to PNG. Our partners are just as integral a part of this ministry as we are. Would you consider joining our team as a financial partner and becoming an active part of how God is bringing His Word to the bibleless people? 

Link: Partnering with our Wycliffe Ministry

It is all ministry...

Our time in the U.S. continues to be a blessing. We’ve had many opportunities to speak to people about Bible Translation and our roles in supporting these efforts. Often, people say, “I’m sure you’re looking forward to returning to Papua New Guinea to continue your ministry”. As missionaries on our first home assignment, it is true that we are very eager to return to the field, but we believe that all of life is ministry. Our time at home sharing about what God is doing in Papua New Guinea is ministry. When Kathy recently judged the Science Fair for the Christian school she used to teach at, it was ministry. When Scott talks to churches or individuals about security, it is also ministry. As followers of Christ we all exist to bring glory to God. Whether serving in your local church, the local community, half way across the globe or simply within your own sphere of influence, it is ministry. For the Christian, the totality of our lives should be to bring glory to God. 

Kathy Judging the PCA Science Fair

Photo Credit: Anders Lund

Prayer Points...

• The Church in PNG: Pray for continued revival, disciple- making, growth and unity in the churches.

• Bible translators: Pray for the national & expatriate translators alike, that they would produce accurate, clear and natural translations of the Bible that will be understood and used in each language. Praise for the completion of consultant checking of the entire Baruga New Testament!

• God’s protection and provision: Please pray that He would continue to meet our needs while on furlough, as well as the needs in Ukarumpa while we are gone, and protect us from illness and discouragement.

• Our US family & friends: Pray that we continue to encourage those we visit with who struggle with poor health and very difficult situations. Praise that Kathy’s dad is now home from the hospital; pray he recovers from pneumonia and manages his Parkinson’s. 

Worshipping Together...

Our ability to worship God is one we so often take for granted. We have been blessed to be back in NH at our home church, but simultaneously we miss our times of worship in PNG. In Ukarumpa, a Sunday church service (pictured below- try to find us!) brings together expatriate missionaries from South Korea, Japan, Australia, the U.S., Canada, South and Central America and Western Europe. Often, PNG nationals join us, too, and it is a great picture of the Body of Christ with its many parts all coming together as the Church to worship and honor God. 

Photo Credit: Elizabeth Lord

Prayer Points:

• The people of PNG: A recent Bible school program in Ukarumpa resulted in over 400 children from the Aiyura Valley in attendance and 132 decisions to follow Jesus! Pray for continued revival in PNG. 

• Bible translation: Please pray for those who continue to serve in PNG and around the world, bringing God’s Word to those who need it and praise God for the Kuni dedication!

• God’s protection and provision: Please pray that He would continue to meet our needs while on furlough. 

• Our PNG friends: Please pray they would trust God’s provision for their needs and that their gardens would grow as the drought ends. 

• Our US family & friends: Please pray that we continue to encourage those we visit; many are struggling with poor health and very difficult situations. May God grant them His peace during hard circumstances. 

• Our faithful prayer & financial partners: We thank you for making our service in PNG possible. Our Wycliffe ministry budget is now at 55% but we must reach 100% to return to PNG in July. Please pray for God’s provision of new partners, both prayer and financial.

Projected Return to PNG in July...

C.S. Lewis once said, “Relying on God has to begin all over again every day as if nothing had yet been done.” This truth has taken on new meaning for us, as we rely on God for not only our daily provision but also for our long term ability to return to PNG. We are glad to share our excitement about Bible translation and how we’ve seen God moving through us and in PNG, but it is the Holy Spirit who moves in the hearts of His people to partner with our Wycliffe ministry. So ultimately, our control over our return in July is quite limited, but we have faith in the One who is in control and gives peace to those who trust in Him. It has been a wonderful and challenging experience to rely on God anew each day, and as we approach Easter, the Cross reminds us that our faith is not in vain. Jesus Christ is worthy of both our faith and our trust, and we seek to continue to serve in support of efforts to see every tribe and language receive this Good News.

Photo Credit: Kathy Watson

A Visit to JAARS

We were blessed to visit the JAARS center in Waxhaw, NC, and see where the aviation, land & water transportation, IT and media training takes place for Wycliffe pilots, mechanics and electronics specialists. We were invited to speak about our roles and ministry in PNG as well, and we had a wonderful opportunity to see many people from Ukarumpa. Some we know and are also currently on home assignment; some we only knew by name and it was great to finally meet them in person. Pray for JAARS Day on March 12th as they share with their community what God is doing around the world!

Photo Credit: Bob Mantell

Opportunities with old and new friends...

Furlough, or home assignment, has been a time for us to catch up with family and friends and meet new people along the way. We arrived in the U.S. on December 17th and spent the next several days in Dover, New Hampshire, where we visited with friends from our home church. We then traveled south for Christmas and have been on the road ever since. Thus far, we’ve traveled approximately 6,000 miles through twelve states. Along the way, we’ve had the opportunity to share about the amazing things that God is doing in Papua New Guinea and how our roles support the vital work of Bible translation. We are now back in New Hampshire and plan to spend most of the remainder of our time in the U.S. helping out in our home church, visiting people, and presenting about our Wycliffe ministry to churches, individuals and small groups in the New England area.

Photo Credit: Steve Walker

A time of education...

“Translation teams handle God’s Word like a precious metal, carefully recasting it from one language to another.” As a science teacher, Kathy loves this image of God’s Word as a precious metal, like pure gold, being poured or hammered into a new form, different looking and yet intrinsically the same, so that it will have the correct meaning in the particular culture and language that is receiving it. How do you describe the love of God in a way that will resonate correctly in a different culture and language? In Liberia, you could translate “Jesus loves me” as “Jesus loves me” and be understood. But in the Tboli language in the Philippines, “Jesus loves me” would be translated as “Jesus has a big breath for me”. And in the Awa language of Papua New Guinea, “Jesus loves me” would be best translated as “Jesus wants me in His liver”. Of the almost 7,000 known languages in the world, there are still 1800 that have no Scripture. Pray that the love of Jesus would be made known to each of them in a way they can understand!

 

A time of encouragement...

We just completed a training course called “Equip”, which was held at the Wycliffe USA Headquarters in Orlando, FL. Normally, people attend this course prior to serving overseas, but since we transitioned to Wycliffe USA while serving in Papua New Guinea, we had the opportunity to attend during our home assignment. Our fellow students included recent college graduates, retirees and former missionary kids now going to the field themselves. As we worked and worshipped together, we were reminded that we are all part of one body seeking to bring God’s Word to those who do not yet have the Bible in their own language. How encouraging to see God calling people from all walks and stages of life to fulfill His great commission!