Dear Friends,

Thank you so much for your faithful prayers for me. The past couple of months have been interesting, and I’m thankful for our Heavenly Father who gives grace and strength each day. Although I’ve only been back in PNG about 10 weeks, I’ve managed to be sick for about 5 weeks in total! Not exactly a great way to start out my fifth term. Thankfully I have a nice house, soft bed, lots of food and medicine, and everything I need for comfort, unlike my poor Mengen friends, many of whom have also picked up some of the same nasty bugs as I have!! Thankfully I’m mostly on the mend now, although I continue to experience some pain in my lower back, but at least I can move around albeit stiffly!

Dear Friends,

Thanks so much for your faithful prayers. The past couple of months have flown by and I have been busy, busy, busy since my return to PNG in April. Things here are going very well, and we’re back into a routine once again.

It has been exciting to see to see growth and change in the lives of the Mengen believers. So many incredible stories to tell, but one special one has to do with my dear friend and translation helper Kariang. She and her husband Teli and 8 kids live in a small hamlet up the mountain from us and near a big village that has opposed the Bible teaching. For many years, Kariang has been the only believer in that area and has suffered a lot of persecution because of her stand for Christ.

Dear Friends,

Thank you so much for your faithful prayers. I know this update is long overdue, but it has taken me awhile to get settled back into a routine again! I’ve been back in our village for just over 2 weeks now, and it has been a bit of a blur, with getting unpacked and set up. My office was full of frogs for some reason, so we’ve chased out about 7 of them in the past couple of weeks! (Thankfully we haven’t come across anything too scary, other than the frogs!) Keri had done a huge amount of work before I arrived, and thankfully most things were clean and set up when I arrived! I just had my own stuff to deal with, which is plenty of work!

Dear Friends,

Thanks so much for your prayers for me as I traveled the world this week. Right from the get-go, we could see the Lord at work, as a very helpful airline employee overlooked my overweight charges in Edmonton. He also went above and beyond the call of duty to make sure I had the window seat which I really needed for the long 15 hour leg of my journey, and he moved me to the front of the plane, so I could get off quicker etc. Amazing.

Dear friends,

I’m so sorry that I haven’t written in ages!! These days have been busy ones for me, as it seems like all my speaking engagements this furlough have come up all in the past couple of months! Last month I was able to go back to the town where I grew up, so that was a lot of fun. We moved from there when I was 13, so there was a great sense of dé jà vu wherever I went and it was fun to catch up with a lot of friends whom I haven’t seen in many years.

Dear Friends,

Thanks so much for your faithful prayers and support. The past few weeks have been busy and I kind of feel like one of those downhill skiers in the Olympics, zipping quickly down the mountain. Time is flying by so quickly and in just a few weeks, I’ll be heading back to PNG!

In January I attended a seminar in Florida, held at the New Tribes headquarters. It was so fun to meet a lot of new people involved in many different forms of ministry. Out of 20 participants, 8 different mission organizations were represented, with missionaries from all over the world. The classes were uplifting and helpful, and I came away from them very encouraged.

Dear Friends,

Thanks so much for your faithful prayers and support for me. It’s amazing how time is flying by and the New Year has kind of caught me by surprise! December flashed by, with lots of family time and special get-togethers.

Now we’re into January, with blizzards and tons of snow one minute, and then sleet and rain the next minute! What’s up with this crazy weather!?! The only perk is all the exercise I get from shoveling snow and chipping away at the ice!

Dear Friends,

Where has time gone? It seems like just the other day, we were basking in warm sunshine, and now according to the forecast, we should be expecting our first snowfall tonight!! Not sure where Fall went, but somehow the days are flying by and before long I’ll be on my way heading back to Papua New Guinea!

Mengen Update: It has been really exciting to hear reports coming from my teammates in PNG. About 3 weeks ago, two of our Mengen Bible teachers started a new outreach in a village about 12 hours hike away. We are thrilled to see the Lord at work in the hearts of these people who have never heard God’s Word before.

Dear Friends,

Thanks so much for your prayers. The past couple of months have been extremely busy, but a lot of fun as I’ve traveled coast to coast in the USA…literally.

In August, I spent a couple of weeks in Connecticut with my sister’s family. It was great to see them again and to meet their new little baby! It’s amazing how fast the 3 older kids have grown up and it was hard to realize that it will likely be another 2 years before I see them all again…one of the difficult realities for overseas missionaries.

Dear Friends,

Where does the time go?!! Hard to believe that it is already August and summer is starting to wind down. Pretty soon we’ll be back to shoveling snow again! Groan.

For me, the past few months have been busy in many ways, but also a lot of fun.

VBS

A couple of weeks ago, I was able to help at a kids club at my church, teaching 15 lessons in 5 days! My session was about missions (what a surprise!), and we talked about different groups of kids from all over the world. It was neat to hear their questions, but it was also a real eye opener for me. After hearing me say that many people don’t have a Bible in their own language, one little six year old asked, “What is a Bible?” It did take long to realize that more than half of the kids in attendance were un-churched. There were also a lot of foster kids and kids in difficult circumstances. We found out that one little guy was abandoned by his mother who didn’t want the bother of caring for a child. So sad.

Dear Friends,

Thanks so much for your prayers for me.  What a month it has been!  Although I miss my life in PNG, I’m so thankful to be home in Canada again, amongst the friends and family here.  It has been a busy time in some ways and in other ways, very restful.

Last week I had the privilege of attending a 3 day evangelism seminar.  It was great to get a fresh perspective on the Gospel and learn new ways to share my faith.  Often I get so involved in my own ministry, that it is great to be reminded of other needs around the world.

“Because He lives, I can face tomorrow.  Because He lives, all fear is gone, because I know He holds the future and I can face uncertain days because He lives.”

 
Dear Friends,

 Thanks so much for your faithful prayers for me.  What a busy month this has been, and I’m still spinning from everything that has happened!!  To make a long story short, I am now home in Canada, 3 months earlier than planned!  Hard to believe you can go from the tropics to ice and snow all in the space of a few hours.  Anyway, my trip home was the longest ever, as I was in transit for something like 51 hours!  To top it all off, my passport went missing in a government office and my flights were delayed by 4 days.  Thankfully in the end, my passport was discovered behind a desk and I was able to continue on my way, arriving home in time for Easter.  It has been really special to be able to see nearly all of my family already, as we celebrated Easter together.  I’m so thankful for a wonderful, godly family who is so supportive and encouraging.  What a huge blessing it is, and one not to be taken for granted.