Dear Friends,

Thanks so much for your faithful prayers.  We are SO thankful for the part you play in our ministries and know that we couldn’t be here without you.  Just today we were reminded once again about how we’re all apart of a team, no matter where in the world we happen to be located!!

 

Late yesterday afternoon, one of our co-workers here in PNG was travelling by boat, when a rogue wave came along and tipped them over.  To make a long story short, this one missionary guy and 8 PNG citizens ended up spending the night in the ocean!  Imagine, 15 hours of trying to stay afloat on debris and praying for daylight.  Although most of us in PNG didn’t know what was happening (we were all asleep!), many people in our home countries had firsthand knowledge via updates on the internet.  I know that many prayers were being uplifted all over the world and in the end, the Lord made a way for these guys to be safely rescued!!  Praise the Lord!!

For those of us in our Mengen village, life continues to roll right along, with each of us busy with our various tasks.  The Flanagan family is busy getting ready for home assignment.  At the moment, Annika’s cousin is visiting, so it’s been a huge blessing for her to be able to help entertain the kids as Annika packs and sorts.  Simon is busy with last minute Bible lessons and discipleship of the Mengen believers.  Please pray that the Lord would provide everything they need as they travel home next month.

Keri is also busy these days.  She had hoped to visit some friends in Indonesia, but at the last minute, her visa was rejected.  So….at the moment she is at Hoskins awaiting a flight back into the village.  At the moment, there are very few pilots here in PNG, so our flights are few and far between these days.  It looks like Keri will have another month until the next flight.  She’s managed to stay busy so far, working on Bible translation from a distance!  She’s been able to check over Becky’s first draft of 1 Corinthians 1-6, which has been a huge blessing.

As for the Laureti family, their days are filled with homeschooling their 3 girls and working on Bible lessons.  Lourens is also teaching through the book of Ephesians on Sundays and spends a lot of time training and discipling several Mengen men as Bible teachers.  It has been a real joy to see these guys coming along, and really starting to take leadership of the church.

Thanks so much for your continued prayers for us:

  • Pray for the Flanagans as they get ready to go to America and Scotland for a year.  Pray that the Lord would bring the many details together for them.
  • Pray for the Laureti’s as they juggle home-schooling and Mengen ministry.  It is exhausting and tough for them at times.  Pray for wisdom in knowing how to best help their oldest daughter Madaleen and her educational challenges.
  • Pray for Becky and Keri as they continue on with Bible translation and discipleship.  Praise the Lord for the many opportunities they have with the ladies and kids in our village.  It’s exciting to see the hunger and growth of these women.
  • Pray for the Mengen church, that the Lord would open up all kinds of opportunities for them to witness to their unsaved friends and family members.
  • Pray too that we would have wisdom in knowing how to outreach to our neighboring villages.

Thank you so much for your faithful prayers.  You are such a vital part of reaching the Mengen people for Christ.  We certainly couldn’t be here without your sacrifice.

 With joy,

The Mengen Team (the Laureti’s, Flanagans, Wrights, Keri Pacheco, Becky Preheim)