Merry Christmas 2021!!

Merry Christmas from Scott & Kathy             🎄

Christmas, past and present!  It seems like yesterday that we celebrated Christmas back in snowy NH in 2019, and now we are celebrating our second Christmas back here in PNG.  We are thankful for your faithful prayers and partnership with our Wycliffe ministry. And we are thankful for this season to remember the birth of Jesus Christ- we serve a God who does not change.  And as you can see from the pictures above, apparently we don't change much, either... :-)

Prayer Points:  Papua New Guinea: Pray for God’s grace and wisdom for all those in government this year and for a peaceful 2022. Bible translation: Pray for transformation in the language groups that will be receiving the Bible in their heart languages in 2022. Our roles in PNG: Pray for wisdom as Scott serves as Field Security Officer and as Kathy teaches and mentors her students.  God's provision: Praise for how God has provided for our health and the health of others in Ukarumpa and how He is providing for our daily needs through His people. We pray for His abundant blessing on our partners & their families throughout 2022. Stay in touch with us while we are in PNG! Mail:       P.O. Box 1 (172)        Ukarumpa        EHP 444        Papua New Guinea Skype:        sawatson91                 Phone:    675-7217-0330        Ext. 4692 On-line:  www.wycliffe.org/partner/Scott-KathyWatson

Persevering and Praising God

 “Blessed is the one who perseveres under trial because, having stood the test, that person will receive the crown of life that the Lord has promised to those who love him.” -James 1:12

This year has certainly had more than its share of challenges, but we cling to the truth that God is good, all the time, especially when life is difficult. We’ve seen the Covid-19 Delta variant arrive and cause heartache, pain and suffering. We’ve also seen brothers and sisters in Christ continue to faithfully serve, translate, and work tirelessly to get God’s Word into every language still waiting for it. We’ve been stretched to serve in more capacities than usual, from Security to Crisis Management to Covid Response teams to teaching extra classes. And through it all, God has faithfully given us the health and strength to persevere. We praise God for how we’ve seen Him working in and through us in 2021. And we look forward in eager expectation to see how He will work in 2022, as we seek to be obedient to serve others here. Please know that you have been in our thoughts and prayers this year, as we know it has been a challenging year everywhere. We have seen so many glimmers of His light in the darkness and pray that you have, too. May we all choose to be vessels through which His light can shine to a weary world.

Speaking God’s language of love in our sphere of influence

Papua New Guinea (PNG) has the greatest number of different languages on Earth (top, left). This makes it a very culturally diverse nation and also draws Bible translators from many different countries to serve here. Much like our “haus win” (above, center), God’s Word is a shelter and a comfort, especially during these challenging times. But eternally, for those whose faith is in Jesus Christ, it is also a strong tower and a mighty fortress. This is why we continue to be obedient to serve here in Ukarumpa - to see God’s Word in every language and in every life. We do this by sharing our lives and our faith with our Papua New Guinean and expatriate students and colleagues at Ukarumpa International School (bottom, left), on the Security Team, the Crisis Management Team and the Covid Response Team. And we pour ourselves into deep mentoring opportunities, like the senior girl’s community group Bible study (top, right) or Encounter, the student spiritual retreat (bottom, right). Our greatest desire is to see people follow Jesus and to walk beside them on the spiritual journey we all share. Thank you for being a partner in this ministry, by your prayers and financial support. May God bless you and your family abundantly now and throughout 2022!

Prayer Requests

1. REVIVAL HERE IN THE AIYURA VALLEY AND PNG

2. RELIEF FROM COVID-19

3. ABILITY TO CONTINUE TO TEACH IN PERSON AT UIS

4. WISDOM FOR SECURITY, CRISIS MANAGEMENT AND COVID RESPONSE TEAMS

5. HEALTH AND STRENGTH FOR MISSIONARIES HERE

6. PEACE AND JOY AS WE SERVE JESUS FAITHFULLY AND OBEDIENTLY

God is still in control...

 “Because of the LORD’s great love, we are not consumed, for His compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness.” -Lamentations 3:22-23

Thank you for your continuing prayers for Papua New Guinea and its government during the pandemic. Even now, the Eastern Highlands Province, where we live, has been classified as a High Risk province. This means greater travel restrictions and the need to cancel courses at our training center that would require translation teams to travel here from other provinces. We try to be realistic about the risks we take and expose ourselves and others to, while still continuing to serve in all of the capacities we are able to: teaching, youth ministry, security, crisis management and Covid response. Kathy is taking on three more science classes for the rest of the semester, as she fills in for another teacher who returned to the USA for a funeral. Scott continues to teach a Consumer Fraud class at the high school, while also managing a balance between security, crisis management and Covid response teams. We still have peace and have seen God’s great faithfulness and compassion, even through these challenging times. He allowed the high school students to have their spiritual retreat right before the restrictions changed, and we saw the Holy Spirit work in mighty ways among our students. Please continue to pray for their spiritual growth. Then, He allowed us to travel just as the Covid restrictions changed, so Scott could facilitate a self defense workshop (pictured, below) for another mission organization in Madang and provide security assessments of their facilities. It was a blessing for Kathy to go with him, since it was during the school break, so she could help out during the workshop. We even got in some ‘salt water therapy’ for her birthday!

Maintaining relationships

Photo Credit: Amy Evers

 Even as our province increases it’s Covid measures, it is good to know that friends can still gather, albeit outside, for food and fellowship. Rainy season has begun with the start of Spring here in the Southern Hemisphere, so we will adapt and continue to be creative as we gather and encourage one another in our ministries here. Whether serving as a teacher, Bible translator, nurse, literacy and Scripture use worker, finance or security officer, each of us has a role in getting God’s word to every language in PNG.

Prayer Points:

 
• Papua New Guinea (PNG): Pray for healing and protection from the current Covid surge here in Ukarumpa and throughout PNG.

• Bible translation: Pray for the translation teams still living in remote villages to remain healthy, faithful, and productive.

• Our roles in PNG: Pray for school to be in person for the rest of the semester, and for wisdom for Scott as Crisis Management Team leader.

• PNG missionaries: Pray for peace and wisdom for all of the families living in Ukarumpa as they navigate the current Covid restrictions and mandates.

• God’s provision: We are so thankful for God’s grace and mercy in keeping us healthy so far and even allowing us to travel during the school break. 

Thank you for continuing to hold us up in your prayers, and for your faithful financial support of our Wycliffe ministry in PNG. We could not continue to serve here without you!