As we think back on this month we realize that it has been a full one. As you can see above, Timothy had a birthday. He turned 14 and was able to celebrate his big day with some of his Sepik friends. At about that same time Daniel had Spiritual Emphasis Week here at Lapilo. This was the main reason that their Sepik friends were in town. This was a great encouragement to Daniel and the rest of the High Schoolers. It should also be stated that Judith was in charge of the evening meals and snacks so she was pretty busy.
Just a few days before SEW began I spent 3 days in a bush location helping a team with their language and culture study. It was a full time but very profitable. The one pic below is of me working with fellow consultant Benjamin as we evaluated Adam. A week after SEW I was gone for 5 days to some leadership meetings down at the coast. These were profitable but I had a lot of catching up to do when I got back.
Now what I have described so far is a very small percentage of the various activities that we have been involved in this month. There are certainly times when we feel a bit too busy. The challenge though is to allow the Holy Spirit to guide our day instead of our ever increasing to-do list. Can we get to the end of the day and be satisfied that we have accomplished what God wanted us to? That’s our goal.
Thanks to all of you who pray for us and give towards our ministry. You are a blessing to us.
In Him,
Eric and Judith, Stephen, Daniel and Timothy
Home Assignment
We haven’t had much time to think about it, but at the end of May Daniel will be graduating from High School and we will be heading back to the US for a home assignment. That is a bit hard for us to fathom because of the busyness of our schedule. In the past we have had a place to stay near Dallas, Oregon. This time it isn’t available. So currently we have a lot of questions. What about airline tickets? Where will we stay? What car will we drive? Will we try to settle closer to where Stephen is living at school? Where will Timothy go to High School? Right now we have no answers to any of these questions which is fine. We would just ask that you pray with us as we wait to see where the Lord directs.
Prayer and Praise
- Praise for good health and strength. The one exception would be Eric’s left knee. It has been hurting for quite some time.
- Pray for Eric as he is in the midst of several complex situations as center manager. I’m where the Lord wants me but trying to keep everything functioning does not always seem to be possible. Pray for wisdom, perseverance and patience.
- Pray for the boys in school. Daniel in particular is struggling to get through Spanish. Timothy is getting good grades but his attitude is slipping a bit. You can also Pray for Stephen as he has several projects and then some exams coming up.
- Praise for the growth group that we are a part of. Picture above. It is enjoyable for us to lead this though it does add to our load.
- Praise that it appears that the Malaumanda translation is getting closer to being done. We do not have a target date for when it will be ready to ship yet but trust that it will be sometime early next year. We still hope for enough time to have a dedication before we come on Home Assignment.
- Pray for Judith as she balances helping Daniel with Spanish, serving on the school management team, and helping out in the elementary library.
- Pray for the Lord to raise up some additional teachers for the school here for 2024-25. We need math and science teachers in particular.