A full plate

by | Feb 28, 2023 | Family Updates

It is a joy to be able to share with you what the Lord is doing here in PNG. This month we have been busy with the current orientation class. We are thankful for the new missionaries that the Lord has brought to serve here in PNG. That being said we do have a significant request to bring before all of you. Virtually all of our departments here at Lapilo are short on personnel. We would ask you to specifically be praying for more teachers for our mission school and for an additional doctor, or two, for our medical clinic. These are needs that impact our whole field and are challenging roles to fill.

We also just heard that our co-workers in the orientation program who are on furlough will not be returning this coming summer from home assignment but will be transitioning to a Stateside ministry. We understand and agree with their need to change locations but their loss will be felt in the office (so to speak) and in our lives personally. So pray for us as we discuss how to adjust to this change. Thankfully we have a bit of time to sort through this.  

A Sufficient Father

A couple of days ago I returned from my trip to Malaumanda. With the exception of needing to extend the trip one day because of the weather, the whole trip went off without a hitch. It was great to be able to reconnect with the community there again.

A couple of days before I left the church leaders put on a dinner for me which we ate in the church. Kind of like a church potluck but with rice, ramen-like noodles, and some lamb flaps. Think of this as offcuts of sheep that would probably be thrown away in the states but the folks there love it. It isn’t my favorite but it’s the thought that counts right?! Most of the time at these get-togethers the men and their wives eat separately. I noticed this time around that each of the men sat down with their wives and kids and ate together from the same bowl. There was talking and laughing and a totally different feel to the meal. This is a dynamic that we have been praying about for years and I marveled to see it playing out before me. Our God and Father is sufficient and His Spirit works changes in our hearts as we seek Him. Now they are not quite ready to write a book on Biblical marriage but movement and maybe even a bit of momentum is a good thing and an encouragement to me.

Thanks so much for your prayers and for standing with us.

In Him,

Eric and Judith, Stephen, Daniel, and Timothy

The picture above is of a ladies’ luncheon that Judith was a part of putting on for over 70 missionary ladies in the area.

This is my old office where most of the Malaumanda translation was done. This is NOT the way I left it but a couple of posts rotted out and down she came.
It was fun working with some of the believers to bring the building down.
We did our best to preserve as many of the materials from the old office as we could.
The stakes are for the proposed new site for the teacher’s office. It is slated to be a 12×14 foot building with a cement floor. They will prepare the ground while we draw up the plans and figure out what we need to purchase beyond what we have from the old building.

Prayer and Praise

  • Praise that we have the health and strength to be serving here in PNG.
  • Pray for Eric as he helps the current class of new missionaries to finish up their orientation. Pray also for direction for this program moving forward.
  • Pray for a good ministry balance as there are a number of different tasks on our plate.
  • Praise that the boys are doing OK in school. More about Stephen is below.
  • Praise for my time in Malaumanda. Pray for the to-do list that I have for this portion of my ministry and the time to engage with it. Specifically, we need to rebuild a teacher’s office there sometime this year.
  • Pray for Judith as she is staying busy with her school responsibilities as well as the care team that we are a part of.
  • Pray for the printing of the Malaumanda New Testament. One of the things that I noticed during this last trip in there was the dismal condition of the Bibles that we gave the believers in 2015. We really need to find a way to get this done.
  • Pray for the personnel needs that we have around the field here. Teachers, doctors, accountants and IT people are all needed.
  • Pray for us as an organization to be able to continue to bring the Gospel to the unreached people groups here in PNG.

Update from Steven…

Stephen is doing well and we thought that we’d add the link to his latest update here. He is in his second semester and enjoying his classes. Just recently he inquired about a job with an aviation company that is right next to Moody Aviation. They gave him a job but pray that the paperwork will be completed soon and that he can start logging some time and receiving the paycheck that comes with it. We are also praying for the logistics for his upcoming second year of school which starts in July.

Here is the link to his update. If you want to receive these directly then please contact Stephen. He would love to have people praying for him.