One of the joys that we have experienced while serving here in Papua New Guinea is getting to work alongside other followers of Jesus. The LORD has brought each person here for a season, and seeing their faithfulness and obedience is an encouragement to us. Some are only here for a year, but they make a huge difference. Our friend Nat (bottom row, second from the left) has been a lovely addition to our Bible study group, has served faithfully as a recruiter in Human Resources, and volunteered constantly to serve in many other ministries during her year here. Retired and in her 70s, she is still serving the LORD faithfully, even when He called her to move to PNG for a year, and we have been deeply inspired and encouraged by her. We also said goodbye recently to our friends the Whiteheads, who have served here as translators for over 50 years. They began their ministry with the Menya people before the country achieved independence in 1975, dedicated their New Testament several years ago, and spent the last few years continuing to serve the community by training more national translators from other language groups in Bible translation techniques. Our other friends, the Parkers, just finished their 20 years of service here, supporting Bible translation by teaching and working in Aviation. It doesn’t matter if God calls you to serve for a year or for a lifetime, being obedient to that call to serve, whether right in your home church, community or here with us in PNG, is what matters. It is a joy to serve the LORD, even on the difficult days, because He has already promised we will reap a harvest if we persevere and don’t give up!
