Dear Friends,
Happy Springtime! Here in Alberta, the days continue to be gray and snowy, with record-breaking wintery weather still. (I’m not the only one tired of it!!) Thankfully there is a promise of warmer weather by the end of this week…finally. I’m ready for greener days ahead!
In my last update, I asked prayer about several different things, so I thought I’d give you a bit of an update.
HEALTH: Over the past couple of weeks, I have experienced another MS flare-up as well as some gallbladder pain. The MS flare-up brought some vision issues again which lasted about a week. I’m thankful that I didn’t have any numbness or balance problems like I’ve had in the past. However, intense eye pain is not very nice to live with either and I’m looking forward to having an MRI in May to see if the MS medication is doing its job. As for the gallbladder, I am scheduled for surgery in June, so all I can do is to eat a lot of apples and try to avoid rich or greasy food for now!
HOUSING: For February and March, the Lord provided a place for me to house-sit, which was a great blessing for me. However, I knew that I would eventually need a place of my own. After comparing the pros and cons of renting vs owning, I decided that the best use of my finances would be to invest in a small home, where I could put money back into my own pocket instead of giving rental money to someone else. One of my good friend’s here in Wetaskiwin is a real estate agent, and she was a huge help and blessing to me.
Just a couple of weeks ago we found a house that seems just right for me. There is also potential of renting out the basement suite eventually, so that will help with the mortgage. The house is pretty much move-in ready, so as of April 30, I’ll be settling into my own place for the first time. (Keri and I shared a house in PNG, but now I am responsible for everything myself!!) Right now, my parents and I are scouring second-hand shops looking for furniture and everything I need to set up the place! I’m looking forward to getting into my things that have been in storage at my parents’ place for a long time!
One of the first things I need to do is to get my office space set up so that I can get back into translation work once again. I have quite a bit of work to do before I return to PNG in September. I still need to go through the final corrections of Matthew, John, Hebrews and Revelation before the final check with our mission consultants in October. I also need to go through all the other NT books, spell-checking and formatting them and getting them ready to be printed once the other books are finalized. It helps that I can work on them at my own speed once I’m settled into my place. With a busy summer ahead, I need to buckle down and keep focused on the Mengen New Testament. I know that the believers in our tribe are really anxious to have God’s Word in their hands.
The Mengen church continues to grow and reach out to others. Keep praying for our Bible teachers who carry a heavy load of discipling the believers and teaching several days a week. The Lele church has meetings for kids and teens and women, plus the church leadership meeting together faithfully. 6 days a week the church also meets for a time of singing and prayer and testimony time. Pretty neat to see how hungry the people in our village are for times of fellowship and worship.
I don’t have a lot of information about the other outreaches that our church is involved with but I would ask you to pray for the Mengen missionaries who are involved in seeing God’s Word going forth to people who live a distance away. Pray for Vincent and his wife Manuela who are carrying the load as their co-workers are back in Lele village. Also for Edward and Franseska who are on their own in their ministry. It can be exhausting and overwhelming for them and they need our support and prayers.
Thanks so much for your faithfulness to my ministry and also the Mengen people. How amazing to know that we will see our Mengen brothers and sisters in heaven one day.
With praise to the King,
Becky