God’s Word in every language, in every life

“It is Well” was the theme of our biennial Branch Conference this year, and we were encouraged to participate in a week of building unity and catching a vision of what God is doing in each region throughout PNG, as well as a 5 year action plan for moving forward. We laughed and cried, studied God’s Word, rejoiced in what has been accomplished and recognized the challenges that still lay ahead. We tackled difficult subjects, like serving the 300 “bibleless peoples” and language groups remaining in PNG, as well as “peopleless bibles” where translations have been finished but aren’t being utilized without more church engagement and scripture use training in these low education and literacy areas. Please continue to pray for God’s leading and direction in Bible translation, Scripture use, Literacy & Education, and Church engagement here in PNG. And pray for our continued endurance as we seek to further support all of these efforts through our ministries here. 

Above: What a privilege to gather & worship God with our colleagues here at our biennial Branch Conference. Each day began with singing and God’s Word, followed by testimonies and a challenging message, before getting down to reports and governance. We came away inspired and strengthened though it all, with a new sense of awe of all God is doing here in PNG! Photo credit: Susan Frey 

Prayer Points

• Papua New Guinea: Pray for God’s strengthening & growth of the PNG church & their engagement with His Word.

• Bible translation: Pray for physical & spiritual protection for the translators completing their New Testaments this year.

• Our roles in PNG: Pray for strength & endurance for Kathy as she begins Term 4 and seeks to finish the school year well. Pray for Scott’s wisdom and discernment, as he continues to serve the security needs in Ukarumpa, at regional centers, & other missions around PNG.

• Family needs: Pray for peace and healing for Kathy’s family, in the wake of her Dad’s death.

• God’s provision: Praise for how God is providing for our needs through His people. 

Would you enjoy a coffee field trip?

Our grade 7 students certainly did, as did their chaperones! Kathy joined the grade 7 class on a PNG studies field trip to a local coffee processing facility, where beans grown from around the Highlands are purchased, dried, sorted, graded and packaged for export to the roasters who will complete the process. We all gained a fresh perspective on what an intricate process it is and now we have a whole new appreciation for the labor of love behind the wonderful hot brew in our cups each morning! 

Opportunities to work together with other missions

As a missionary and career security professional, Scott has long known that when bad things happen, plans never work out exactly as expected. Still, the act of planning provides a baseline, sharpens our minds, and allows for educated improvisation. Undergirding our ability to plan and respond to critical incidents is the fact that it is God, ultimately, who is in control. Proverbs 21:31 puts it this way, “The horse is prepared against the day of battle: but safety is of the Lord.” We are responsible for our actions or lack thereof and we need to take those responsibilities seriously while remaining cognizant of the fact God’s will is never hampered by man’s actions.

It is in this spirit that Scott recently traveled with our mission's Crisis Management Team to meet with other mission organizations working in PNG. Members of seven different missions, representing five nationalities and various types of ministry, all met to pray and discuss security issues and crisis management plans. It was a great time of sharing and fellowship that not only resulted in better preparedness for our organizations, but also built stronger relationships between fellow missionaries. 

Above: Rainy season here in PNG; the rivers are full and the hills are lush and green. 

Studying God’s Creation

Examining the natural world and seeing God’s creativity in it is one of Kathy’s passions, and she loves to share that with her students. The genius of His creation is evident all around us, if we would only pause to appreciate and enjoy it. It is always a joy when her biology students get to do a lab outdoors and encounter this firsthand. What a privilege to work with such great students, and get to enjoy the beautiful summer weather here in PNG, at least in between the rain storms! 

Prayer Points

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

• Bible translation: Pray for the 3 New Testaments in the progress of typesetting and printing, to be dedicated in their language groups in 2017.

• Our roles in PNG: Pray for wisdom as Scott works on strategic security plans and Kathy mentors her students.

• Family needs: Pray for Kathy’s family, especially her mom, as they face the new year without her dad.

• God’s provision: Praise for how God is providing for our needs through His people and pray for His abundant blessing on our partners & their families throughout 2017. 

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.