Dear friends,
Whew! The last few months have been a whirlwind of activity and ministry. I’m just now starting to get unburied and attending to some neglected correspondence to you all! Let me start by getting straight to the point: Thank you for continuing to stand with us in prayer and support in this ministry of mobilization! You all are such a blessing to us. I know I do not write you enough to tell you that, but we truly value your partnership with us.
The word “advent-ure” sums up the thoughts on my heart as I think over the past few months. God has blessed with some great opportunities in ministry and also some new joys in the family. And, of course, it is “advent” season, which is always my favorite time of year. I think this year after such a brutally hot summer, the cool weather and Fall activities have been especially refreshing. (Apologies to those of you in the Northern climes who dread this time of year.)
Ministry Adventure
I mentioned in our August letter a lot of travel was ahead for the Fall, and indeed that is what happened. A quick rundown of the major highlights:
September: Team meetings at our HQ in Sanford, Florida. This was a great time for our entire team of representatives to gather together. We were joined by our broader Advancement and Mobilization teams as well to talk strategy, share insights, and hear the latest updates from the overseas fields where we work.
October: Missions Week at Frontier School of the Bible in La Grange, Wyoming. This small Bible school (about 200 students) really hits a home run during their mission week, cancelling classes and focusing solely on missions for 5 days. I was joined by two coworkers from our aviation team, and we were able to challenge the students to consider long-term service overseas with Ethnos360. About two dozen students signed up for our spring break Wayumi retreat in Pennsylvania, and a few others are applying to our overseas trips, and one or two are headed for missions training for career service with the mission!
November: a whirlwind of events (after a sweet visit with Cara and Braden in Lynchburg, VA): a teacher’s recruiting opportunity at Liberty University (pic above), a medical conference in Lexington, KY seeking doctors and nurses, and a great visit to a church in Lubbock, TX.
There were also events closer to home as my coworker Drew and I joined missions conferences at Dallas Baptist and Baylor (pic above), and hosted missions events in Plano and here locally in College Station. Many, many great conversations with students at all of these events!
Family Adventures
The big news in the family department is the arrival of our new granddaughter, Harper Dahlia Burleson, born November 28 to Andrew and Katie! Mom and baby are doing great, and Elle is really enjoying being a big sister. We are so happy to have them close by during these years. We (a.k.a., “Mums” and “Pops”) still get to keep Elle once a week.
Later this month we are thrilled to welcome Coby Clark to the family as he marries our daughter Katie soon after Christmas! Katie is working at the Bee Community, a local ministry that provides work opportunities for adults with disabilities. Coby is finishing his degree at A&M and will start PT school in the Fall. We’re really grateful to gain another wonderful son-in-law and we have great anticipation for how God will use their lives together!
It was great to see Braden and Cara at Liberty University last month and we are happy to report that they are doing well in their new lives together. We enjoyed a few days of down time with them, experiencing fall colors that we don’t get in College Station and visiting some of their favorite hangouts.
Ben and DakotaKate continue to work here in town. Ben is a real asset to his team, working remotely as an engineer for a company based out of Wisconsin. DakotaKate and I cross paths frequently in our jobs as she works full time on the Global Outreach team at our church. They are also involved in international student outreach and are a blessing to so many people here in our community.
Michael is living in San Marcos and works as a therapist for children with autism. This is a challenging role for him, but he has a real gift working with children, especially those with special needs. We are grateful for the ways God has gifted him and prepared him to help these children.
Overseas Adventures
It’s hard to believe it’s been 3 1/2 years since we were last in Papua New Guinea. Time has flown and the work there carries on. We were excited to hear about a new work beginning among the Uruwa people with one of our missionary teams. One of the ladies on this new team was in our 2017 Interface class as a college student, so it’s been exciting to see her progress through our training, to the field, to the point of allocation into a tribal ministry! Another member of that same Interface class is headed to Brazil early next year as well!
Elsewhere in Papua New Guinea, the Simbari Bible translation was dedicated earlier this year, and the North Waghi translation is being prepared for printing! These are huge milestones in bringing God’s Word to just 2 of the over 800 languages in Papua New Guinea and represent many, many years of work by our church planting teams! Praise God for these recent developments.
On the prayer side, please be praying for some of the needs on the support team in Papua New Guinea. Specifically, Numonohi Christian Academy needs teachers for next school year and time is running out for applicants to get their paperwork processed. Also, please pray that God would raise up medical and IT personnel who can fill some of the other critical support needs in the country. Just a handful of volunteers would make a huge difference. If you know of anyone who might be interested in filling some of these needs, please let me know, or direct them to our website here: Find Your Fit – Ethnos360.
Thank you again for standing with us in prayer, giving and encouragement. We are so grateful for you all.
Joyfully in Christ,
Neil and Becky
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