Well, this month has been full of activity, and we are still in the midst of packing the house and getting ready for home assignment so I’ll get right to it.
First off, we want to say a big word of thanks to all of you who have been praying for us over the years; and especially the last 2 years. We have needed those prayers and have felt your encouragement during this time. Waiting on God’s timing during this season has not been easy. As always, He has shown himself faithful. He is our rock, our fortress and our savior (Ps 18:2)
Earlier this month Judith and I went to Port Moresby, the capital, so that Judith could get a medical check. This was a necessary and final requirement before we turn in all of her paperwork in a few days. The process of making the appointment and getting the information that we needed was anything but straightforward but the actual appointment itself went smoothly. It was also nice to have a few days of down time before the last big push.
Last week was graduation at the school here at Lapilo. We were thankful that we did not have a graduate this time around as we have been spending every spare minute working on cleaning and packing up the house. We have 3 days left to get everything done and our bags packed. Pray for strength and endurance during this time.
Here is the rough breakdown for the next couple of weeks.
- Saturday May 30th we leave Goroka for Port Moresby.
- Monday June 1st we go to the US embassy and drop off the various original documents that are a part of the application as well as Judith’s passport..
- Wednesday June 3rd Judith has an interview at the embassy
- Friday June 5th we should get all of the paperwork and Judith’s passport with her visa.
- Saturday June 6th we’ll pay one additional fee.
- Sunday June 7th we’ll head to the airport and begin our trip to the US.
- About 20 hours later (but still the same day) we’ll land at LAX so be praying for us at roughly 5:30 PM PST as Judith will be presenting her documents to the Customs and Border Protection people.
- Monday June 8th we’ll get to Oregon.
- Tuesday June 9th and beyond is still a bit of a mystery.
During these past two years we have not been able to plan much. We could only guess as to when we would be able to come back to the US. After a while we stopped even trying to guess. Even now, as we get close to the end of this chapter, it is all a bit surreal and hard to fathom. Is this actually going to happen? Are we going to be able to be back together as a family again? Initially I was thinking of planning a normal summer of travels. While these travels will probably happen the exact timing of it all will probably look different.
I do want to let you know of one specific need that we have upon our arrival. As a family we are in need of another vehicle. Daniel is currently using Stephen’s car and Stephen is using our car which means that we are needing to find a reliable car for Daniel. It is rather difficult to do much about this from over here so please be in prayer and keep your eyes and ears open for anything that might work for us.
Thanks again for standing with us as we seek the Lord’s direction in our lives.
Blessings,
Eric and Judith
Prayer Requests
- Praise that God is in control of the details of our lives.
- Pray for our final packing of the house and of our bags
- Pray for our time at the US embassy. We trust that we will be able to get Judith’s green card done next week.
- Pray for health and strength for our journey to Port Moresby and then on to Oregon.
- Pray for a car for Daniel (or for us)
- Pray for wisdom as we figure out God’s plan for us for our summer travels.
- Pray for Stephen as he finishes up this term at Moody and heads down for an in person visit at Ethnos360 Aviation’s HQ in Arizona.
- Pray for Daniel as he works this summer.
- Pray for the Malaumanda church as they are continuing their teaching at the Minini outreach. They should be in the book of Ephesians and will then move into 1 Corinthians. We have some pictures that we will share next month concerning this outreach.