July 2013 Quarterly Newsletter

SO, WHAT IS “HOME ASSIGNMENT” ANYWAY?

WE’RE GLAD YOU ASKED!

                                                                                            

We are grateful to finally be decompressing in Garden Ridge, TX after a rather stressful few months of ministry and moving! From late April onward things really haven’t slowed down until now. Just to recap the main events; a successful but hectic WASC accreditation visit in late April was followed by all of the end-of-year school events, including Andrew’s graduation, which were then followed by a frantic week of packing, cleaning, and storing in preparation for a year of home assignment. Departing PNG on June 9, we spent the next three weeks traveling, visiting friends and family, and finally unpacking for the month of July in the vacant home of some friends in the San Antonio/New Braunfels area.

You may be asking, what will you be doing this year? What happens on a year of home assignment? Well, in no particular order, here are some of the things we will be filling our time with this next year: 

• Catching up with our families after four years in PNG
• Getting Andrew settled into Joshua Wilderness Institute in Hume, CA
• Getting Andrew’s driver’s license and Michael’s learner’s permit
• Partnership Development with our sending churches
• Because of the transient nature of the year, homeschooling Michael, Katie, and Cara
• Remote consultation assistance as needed for NCA’s school admin during the 2013-14 school year
• Teacher recruiting for NCA as opportu nities arise
• Medical and dental maintenance for everyone
• Supply buying for our next term in PNG
• Sharing in churches, Sunday School classes, and more about the work in PNG
• Enjoying a “sabbath” of rest from PNG ministry

                                           

PRAYER AND PRAISE
Thank you so much for your faithful prayers for us!

• Praise the Lord for safe travels to the USA and good times reuniting with family and friends!

• Praise the Lord for his faithfulness to NCA in the accreditation visit and all of the end of year activities. 

• Pray for our year of home assignment, that the Lord would provide additional opportunities for us to share about the ministry in PNG. Pray that our prayer and financial support base would be strengthened. 

• Pray for our kids as they adjust to life in the “foreign” USA.

• Pray for Ben in his second year at LeTourneau University, for Andrew as he begins his year at Joshua Wilderness Institute in California, and for the younger three as they home school and seek to make new friendships here.

NCA NEWS

Thank you to those of you who were praying for NCA’s accreditation visit back in April. The visiting team from WASC made many helpful recommendations for school improvement in the coming years. Although we will not know the exact term of renewal for a few more weeks, we were left with positive words from the committee members. Thanks also for your continued prayers for staffing of both the school and the boarding homes in the years to come.

We celebrated NCA’s commencement exercises on May 29, 2013, which was also Andrew’s 18th birthday. It was an added blessing to have Ben back for the event, along with Neil’s parents as well. We are grateful for the wonderful friendships that Andrew has had with his classmates through the years. Although many tears were shed as these friends parted ways, they will forever treasure the times they had together and the experience of growing up in PNG.

PARTNERSHIP DEVELOPMENT?

“Partnership Development” is a fancy missionary term that means we would like to take advantage of this year to deepen our relationships with our sending churches and families, and to see our prayer and financial support base strengthened. Much of this is done through spending time with you all and seeking opportunities to share in churches and other large or small group settings. How can you help? (Again, we’re glad you asked!). First and foremost, we would love to share about what the Lord is doing in Papua New Guinea in as many places as possible during our year in the USA. If your church or other group would be interested in having us share with them, please let us know so we can schedule a time to be with you! Currently, we still have many openings in our schedule for the year that we would love to fill with these opportunities. 
Second, we would appreciate your prayers for our support base to be strengthened during the year. We are so grateful for your sacrificial giving, and understand that these are difficult economic times for many, so we present this need simply so that you can pray with us. Many of you have been partnering with us for the past 17 years of ministry and we are so grateful for your faithful praying and giving for so long! 

As we have mentioned in past updates, our ability to continue ministering in PNG is contingent on the Lord providing additional monthly financial support for our ministry. We are currently at about 55% of NTM’s recommended support level, and although we do not feel that 100% support is necessary for us to continue to minister in PNG, we are asking the Lord for an increase of about $1000 per month. 

Thank you for your prayers. We know that God is able to do exceedingly above what we can ask or imagine (Ephesians 3:20), and we are confident in His ability to provide as we consider the great faithfulness He has shown us through the years.

We would greatly appreciate your prayers for our year in the USA, that we would maximize our time and be able to prioritize all of the above in the way that God would have us. We look forward to being able to catch up with many of you during this year!

Gratefully, Neil, Becky, and family