I don’t know how many of you have faced a seemingly insurmountable task. The commitment is there but progress seems ever-elusive. Discouragement at times leads to periods of despair. Am I ever going to get to the end of this? Am I just wasting my time? Why am I bothering? Is it worth it? What’s the use? And the list goes on. I traveled the sea of those emotions during my early years in Malaumanda. I now know that it wasn’t a waste of time. God calmed that storm in my soul and brought me safely to shore. Of course, it is a lot easier looking back than walking through.
Every so often we get the opportunity to watch another boat being tossed on this same sea. We watch it from the safety of shore mind you and pray that the occupants of the boat will hold on to God’s Grace in the moment. I can’t tell you how many times I have traveled into the Wabuku tribe over the years. Over the last 5 years, I have been working with Jason and his family as they work in this difficult location. While he had hoped to be done during the previous evaluation things had not gone as planned. But this time around it went great! It was so much fun to shake his hand and say ‘You’re done. Great Job!’. Tears of joy to be certain. Of course, the real work for him has only just begun though he does have a renewed confidence in the Faithfulness of God.
These life pictures are important for us to ponder as we consider the unsettled nature of the world that we live in. All of us will be pushed to our limits and beyond. Paul, in 2 Corinthians 1:9b, said it well while thinking back on one of his own storms. “We stopped relying on ourselves and learned to rely only on God”. Simple, straightforward, and true.
We are so appreciative of all those who pray and support us here. The Lord uses each of you to be a blessing to us. May you be encouraged by what the Lord is doing here in PNG.
In Him,
Eric and Judith, Stephen, Daniel, and Timothy
Prayer & Praise
- Praise that we are still here in PNG and have the ability to be a part of the exciting things that God is doing here.
- Pray for the Maliyali tribe and a tribe in southern New Ireland who are at the later stages of the initial presentation of the Gospel. We have had the opportunity to spend some time helping both of these tribal teams so it is exciting to anticipate what God is going to do.
- Pray for Eric as he is heading off to Thailand in a couple of weeks for some consultant meetings. Pray also for Judith as she is holding down the fort while I am away.
- Praise that the boys are back in school after the fall break. Pray for us as we encourage them to do their best in all their subjects.
- Praise that we are just about done with our current orientation class. One family has already moved over to help the support needs at a different mission centre. The one other family will be serving here at Lapilo so we are set.
- Pray for Judith as she is working with the doctor here to address a medical issue. She is adjusting to a different sort of diet at the moment which makes life a bit challenging.
- Pray for the process of getting the invoice for the printing of the Malaumanda New Testament.
- Pray for Stephen as he has another month or so of his first semester at Moody Aviation. He is doing well though there are still some lessons to be learned. Pray also for the ongoing financial needs for his schooling.
- Pray for a good balance for us as a family. Life can get busy here with a lot of good things to be involved in but we still need to invest in our boys and marriage.