Dear Friends and Family,
In our June newsletter we told of our trip to Kentucky to attend our granddaughter Katie’s wedding and about our concern over the warning light on our car during the whole trip. On arriving home we had the car worked on. Now it is leaking oil in a couple places. The mechanic worked on one leak, but the other requires a lot of work to get to. We really do not want to put that much money into it right now. Our next door neighbor just traded in their old car that had been her parents’ car. Since our car is 20 years old, we wonder if that is what we should do. However, we like the car. The engine still seems to be good, and it rides well and still looks new.
I, Corinne, am still getting shots in my right eye for wet macular degeneration. I don’t think the shots really heal anything, but just slow down the degeneration. I have information on some good supplemental eye formulas. I think one of them would nourish the eye, so I plan to buy one of them soon. I told Tom that is all I want for Christmas.
Tom is presently dealing with a spot on his scalp for which he is awaiting lab test to see if it is cancerous. He dealt with cancerous spots on both ears this year, which was no fun. They are clear now, though.
Some of you have asked how we fared during Hurricane Irma. Those in the Keys in South Florida were hit hard. By the time it got to us it was not very strong. The biggest trial was the power being out for 5 days. None of NTM Homes buildings suffered any damage, but some of our trees did. The papaya trees of some were destroyed. However, the ones by our house came through all right. They are ripening bountifully now and they are really sweet. We are enjoying them and sharing them with our neighbors..
Our papaya trees surviving the blast of Irma
Picking papaya from the lower crop. There is more way up high!
Our lovely duplex apartment on Greenland Ct
Coffee from the little gas burner in the blackout. First cup in 4 days. Enjoyed it, even without toast.
Down South, about six inhabitants of a rest home there died in the heat because of having no electricity during the storm. As a result, the state government is requiring NTM Homes to upgrade the air conditioning in the assisted living building. I forget the amount of the cost, but they have about one third of the needed amount, but it is quite a project. The wonderful Royal Volunteers come from up north during the winter months in their RV’s, 5th Wheels, or trailers. They are beginning to arrive now to work on various projects. Please pray with us that the money will come in for the needed materials.
Volunteers’ parking lot begins to fill up for the winter’s working schedule at NTM Homes.
Also, here at the Homes there is an urgent need for more staff. Many are themselves already at retirement age, but they labor on. Many more in five years will also have reached that age. Many church people don’t want to support missionaries who are on staff on the home front, but prefer supporting overseas missionaries. Armies have to support their workers on the home front as they are in needed positions also. Many of the retirees living here are pitching in and helping where they are able. All of us helped out cleaning up the tree branches and clutter after the storm.
Please pray for Jim Jora, Tom’s Hamtai co-translator. (You can see him on his Facebook page.) It has been raining a lot where he lives, 35 km’s from Lae. He has not had enough sun to charge his small solar panel. Our little church we attend here gave a gift for him to buy larger batteries and a larger solar panel so that he doesn’t have to take his computer to town to charge it. He will be taking some time off of translation now, as his house is leaking badly and needs to be rebuilt. He hit another snag. A company just moved in to establish a cocoa plantation and cut down the patch of Sago palm, with the type of leaves he would use for the roof. They also let a fire get away and it burnt most of the kunai grass that he was going to use on the “kitchen” roof, a separate house for cooking. He can’t afford to buy any permanent building materials.
These are some of the smaller holes in Jim Jora’s house roof. Sago palm leaves are needed for his new house.
Another burden he has is that Jim’s teenaged daughter is going blind and needs to be sent to a special school. He does not want to send her away. We are not sure where the school is located or how much it will cost. Jim is doing his best to keep moving on the Old Testament project when he can. He just now sent Tom two more completely edited chapters.
Yolis and Jim Jora, Langford, Linnen, Sherol. Linnen is the girl going blind.
It has been a bit colder the past couple weeks and feels more like winter. One day last week the morning temperature was 39, frost on windshields, etc. Up until now we have had only a sheet for covering on our bed. The past few nights the blanket has felt pretty nice.
We want to convey our thanks to all of you who have stood with us this past year with your prayers and financial support. And the Lord has provided some extra this month, and it has really helped.
Christmas is just around the corner. Last week, several people started putting up lights outside and other Christmas decorations. We decided to join them. Tom put up one string of lights and I decorated our little three-foot tree. We wish you and yours a joyous Christmas season and a prosperous New Year of our Lord, 2018.
| Love and prayers,
Tom and Corinne Palmer |
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At the NT Display at headquarters. This was during the NTM/Ethnos360 75th Anniversary celebration.