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.