New Tools for us to Use

This week, Scott and I attended the “Sharpening Your Interpersonal Skills” workshop for six days in Goroka at New Tribes Mission. We studied topics ranging from managing stress and maintaining margin to relationship killers and confronting well, using role playing, brainstorming, and analyzing demonstrations. It was an enjoyable, interactive and challenging course that encouraged us to deeply consider our core beliefs on these topics and to compare and contrast them with a Christian worldview. It was a great opportunity to meet other missionaries and visit with friends in Goroka, too! 

Rediscovering a Fundamental Truth

Prior to coming to Papua New Guinea I used to do some security consulting. Most of the work I performed was for corporations, but the projects I enjoyed the most were for churches and Christian schools.  You see, when you consult for a Christian ministry, you can openly tell your client that prayer is the most important countermeasure and they will readily understand you.

Now that I’m in Papua New Guinea, I find myself frequently “rediscovering” this fundamental truth. In the U.S., I had far more resources at my disposal.  Here I find myself stretching to ensure that basic things get done.  Back home, I was good at assessing people’s intentions through the subtext of the conversation. Here, I miss a lot of cross-cultural nuances.  In the U.S., I knew what words like “normal” and “reasonable” meant.  Here, I routinely find myself doing things that I consider to be wildly unreasonable. It is only through prayer and reliance on God that I can do anything here.

Some of you have been on short-term missions and wonder what it would be like to serve full-time overseas.  I can tell you that it is truly an adventure. However, whatever you struggle with now will only be amplified overseas. I have good days and bad days; times when I’m on top of the world and times when I’m greatly disappointed in myself.

Through it all, God is teaching me while I serve Him. He is sovereign and I simply cannot do this by myself.  My brothers and sisters in Christ, if that sounds familiar, it is because you are also a missionary to those around you.  Keep praying, keep working and know that God wastes nothing in our lives.  -Scott

How is the miracle of Easter still transforming lives?

“My purpose is that they (you) may be encouraged in heart and united in love, so that they (you) may have the full riches of complete understanding, in order that they (you) may know the mystery of God, namely Christ, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.” Colossians 2:2-3

As I sat and storied with Hegia, my “PNG mom”, she told me how her grandmother had met the first missionaries who came to the Aiyura valley. Her grandmother thought they were spirits or ghosts when she saw their white skin! We laughed about it, and reflected on how their beliefs have changed. Hegia said she was so glad that, even though we are many colors, we are all loved the same by God, and Jesus died for us all.  What a huge blessing to be able to mutually encourage each other with that truth!  Later that week, I spoke via Skype to my friend Susan in New Hampshire and I was blessed to be using technology to stay connected, regardless of distance, to encourage and uplift each other.  Though there are many fears and uncertainties in this life, God’s Truth remains.  Let the miracle of Easter continue to transform us, that we may be an encouragement to each other in times of joy and pain, regardless of where we are planted!

“The angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified.  He is not here; He has risen, just as He said. Come and see the place where He lay.” Matthew 28: 5-6    - Kathy

Celebrating our first year in Papua New Guinea

It is almost unbelievable to us that we have served in PNG for over a year now. That landmark did not come without 12 months of joys, trials, laughter, and tears, but isn’t that always true when we look back on another year of life? We have learned so much about the culture of PNG; immersing ourselves first academically, but then heart and soul as we have gotten to know and love the people here. I have poured myself into my students and seen how God is growing and shaping them into the people He desires them to become. 

My junior high school students brainstormed and pondered how a box of toothpicks, a roll of tape and some cardboard could possibly become a model earthquake- resistant house, and they saw the plans they sketched on paper come to fruition in 3-D before their eyes. So, too, have I seen God working in and molding them in the last 8 months.  

Make no mistake, God has been working in and shaping me as well. It was not my plan to have two minor surgeries to remove a carcinoma from my face, but God is faithful and I am thankfully now skin cancer free. Several other viruses and minor injuries aside, I have been blessed this year beyond description and thank God for allowing me to serve these special kids at UISSC. He has drawn me closer to himself and to Scott this past year in more ways than I could’ve dreamed, using circumstances I never would’ve imagined. 

How has God been working in your life this past year, and have you thanked Him for the good as well as the difficult lessons you have learned? -Kathy

Providence, Prayers and Piracy

Popular media productions often depict pirates as swashbuckling heroes of the past while ignoring their historical record of indiscriminate violence. The fact was, and is, that perpetrators of piracy are neither romantic adventurers nor a harkening back to bygone eras. Piracy is alive and well in 2015 and it disproportionally occurs in the developing world, where a combination of economic desperation and resource-strapped governments create vulnerabilities to seagoing commerce and travelers alike. 

On the evening of February 3rd, 2015, I was notified that an SIL vessel, the Kwadima II, which had been carrying Papua New Guinean Bible Translators, had been overtaken in open water and boarded by pirates in off the coast of Alotau. 

Soon afterward, I found myself on an SIL aircraft heading to Alotau as a part of team sent to investigate and debrief the incident.  Over the next few days I toured the vessel, spoke to all who had been involved in the incident and worked with local authorities. My team- mates assessed and repaired damage done to the vessel and conducted critical incident stress debriefings for all involved.  

Those of you who know me well know that I'm not a particularly emotional person. Nonetheless, this event impacted me and showed me, once again, the great need the world has for Christ. 

Please remember the passengers and crew of the Kwadima II in your prayers. Please also remember the authorities who are charged with keeping order and, yes, please also remember the pirates and pray that they would come to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ. 

Tropical Tip of the Day

Leave your green pineapples on the plant until the bottoms are yellow-orange. Then you can pick them and hang them upside-down, so the sugars move to the top and it finishes ripening. Don't try to leave the pineapple on the plant until it ripens, or the rats get to it first! We learned this the hard way...

Kwadima II incident - Public Statement

On Monday February 3rd, 2015 the SIL vessel Kwadima II was overtaken in open water and boarded by pirates near Alotau. During the course of the attack, members of the passengers and crew sustained non-life threatening injuries. In addition some personal items along with translator’s notes were lost, some of the vessel’s electronics were damaged. The ship has since made it safely back to port where the passengers and crew received medical attention and returned home that night. SIL is cooperating with local authorities as this matter is investigated..