The Hidden Missionaries

The last few weeks have been crazy and hectic. We’re just now starting to slow down and catch our breaths as we settle back into life on the NTM base in Madang. We spent two weeks at the main headquarters base near Goroka in the mountains, and we had an awesome time getting to know a lot of the people who live there and do the behind-the-scenes jobs that keep us on the field. We get to have a little taste of what they do every day as we help out on the Madang base for the next few months. Here are just a few of those jobs:

• The Business Office: They take care of all kinds of business/administrative tasks on the field.
•  The ICT department: They take care of all kinds of technology for NTM missionaries in PNG (computers, internet, phones, etc).
• The Finance Office: They look after all our finances. NTM is virtually cash-less, so they handle any transfers of funds that need to be made on the field. AND they do our PNG taxes!
• The Medical Clinic: There are several doctors and nurses that staff the clinic full time. They have a lot of modern technology, including an x-ray and an ultrasound machine! They even have their own pharmacy, so we can order medicines and supplies straight from them.

Practicing our shot giving abilities

• Tribal Supply: The people in this department fill supply orders from missionaries in the tribes. They buy all their groceries and supplies in town and send out to the jungle locations.
• The Tribal Resource Center: They print, laminate, and bind all kinds of literacy materials, books, and Bibles for missionaries in tribal locations. They can print in English, the trade language Pidgin, or in a tribal language.

Getting a tour of the Tribal Resource Center

• New Tribes Mission Aviation (NTMA): NTM has several pilots who work hard to fly our missionaries around PNG by plane and helicopter. They also do medical evacuations when necessary. Because it’s so rugged here, many towns and villages are not accessible by road, so NTMA is a vital part of our mission. There are also guys who run the business side of NTMA and organize all the flights into a schedule.
•   Schooling for Missionary Kids (MKs): There is a school for MKs (it’s only a boarding school for high school students), and they have several hundred students. There are lots of people needed to teach, be dorm parents, and help run the school. There is also a department that works with missionary families that homeschool in tribal locations. They provide resources for homeschoolers and answer all kinds of questions. They are also in charge of required annual testing for homeschooling families. 

Clint got to enjoy a few games of basketball with fellow missionaries in the school's gym

There are so many little details that our mission has thought of. They take such good care of us! These people who do support roles are not the ones that get their names in print. Their work is often hidden from the sight of those back in North America. They don’t get all the “glamour” and “glory” so to speak. But their roles are so vital for us to thrive in our tribal ministry, and we’re grateful for their faithful work!

A Breath of Fresh Air

Some days here in Papua New Guinea are amazing. We wake up so thankful that we are here and don’t want to be anywhere else. 

And then there are days when you dread getting out of bed because you are exhausted… mentally, physically, and emotionally. Life here takes so much more time and energy than in the States.

The past few weeks have been difficult. We’ve been really busy with responsibilities on the base where we are living. We’re battling another wave of homesickness with the holidays approaching. And it’s hot and humid.

Yesterday (Thanksgiving Day for us), God gave us a special gift. We flew on a small mission plane up to another New Tribes Mission base near Goroka for the final two weeks of our orientation program. We’ll be spending time learning about the various support programs that NTM has to help us as we serve on the field, including the medical clinic, school, and business offices. Being here on this base has already been like a breath of fresh air for us. The weather is cooler since we’re at 5,000 foot elevation, we don’t have a lot of responsibilities, and we were able to celebrate Thanksgiving with an awesome group of fellow American missionaries. We’re grateful for the chance to relax a bit before heading back to Madang in early December.

Even though it’s hard sometimes, we have so much to be thankful for here in PNG this Thanksgiving season.

We’re thankful for the amazing things that God has done to get us here.

We’re thankful for all of you who faithfully support and pray for us.  

We’re thankful for our families and that they are so supportive and loving as we’re here.

We’re thankful for our fellow missionaries who encourage us as we walk this journey together.

We’re thankful for God’s provision of awesome coworkers.

We’re thankful for the everyday blessings that we so often take for granted… like fans and automatic washing machines.

We’re thankful for the time of refreshment that we can have in Goroka.

Most importantly, we’re thankful for the reason that we’re here… Jesus!

Crazy, Beautiful Life

I haven’t written here in a while. Not because I don’t have things to say, but because I don’t have the words to describe them.

I wish you could taste the strange collision of life here. How it is the best job we’ve ever had, and yet how it is also the hardest. How it is so fulfilling, and yet so devastatingly difficult at times.

This past month has been a beautiful one. A combination of all kinds of things that have caused us to throw ourselves on God. The result? Abundant grace and strength for each day.

We have been taking over many of the responsibilities for running the NTM base where we’ve been living for the past few months. It’s an overwhelming job at times, but we’re slowly learning the ropes.

And we just found out on Sunday that we’ve made a lot of progress in the trade language! Clint is at Capable Mid (level 8 out of 9) and I’m at Progressing High (level 6 out of 9). We still have room for improvement, but at least we are making progress and learning so much! Getting near the end!

I’m so glad God is in control and is faithful to complete what He started. He’s so good! I’m thankful for that… otherwise what we’re doing wouldn’t matter at all!

We’re grateful too for your prayers for us! I wish you could know how much it encourages us to know that people are back home praying for us. It helps us get through the stressful days. THANK YOU!!!!

Annnd.... a picture of Kyler just for fun. :) Love this little guy and the joy he brings!

Introducing... (Part 2)

Meet Malai, Kati, and Brigita. These 3 adult siblings live just outside of the New Tribes base fence with their families. They are from the area, so they have been very involved with helping the missionaries here for years. Clint got to know them well when he was here in 2011. We have enjoyed some sweet times of fellowship with them, whether it’s been cooking a meal together or just telling stories. All three are believers with strong testimonies of trusting Christ alone for salvation.

Kati with some of her kids and Kyler

But even though they are saved, they are VERY immature in their faith, and they are literally begging us for more teaching and discipleship! They own a Bible in the trade language that they read, but they don’t understand a lot of it. They keep asking for missionaries to teach them. Unfortunately, there aren’t enough missionaries to send!

Please pray for these three families that we would be able to encourage them as they help us learn the trade language and that someone would be able to help disciple them further in their walk with Christ.

Introducing... (Part 1)

New type of blog post for a bit! Maybe it’s hard to visualize our language helpers… who they are, what they are like, how they are helping us. We want to introduce them to you, so you can know them and be praying for them!

So today, we’re introducing our friends Oscar and Grace. 

Oscar and Grace are a young couple from the Sepik (the northern province of Papua New Guinea). They have one 7-month-old daughter, Nevia. They are really good helpers and enjoy teaching us new information. We can ask them any questions, and they will gladly explain. They love having fun, telling a good joke or story, and taking us to do things with them.

Please be praying for us as we interact with them! As far as we can tell, they don’t truly understand the Gospel. They live in a lot of fear. Oscar has told us numerous stories of things they have to do or not do to please the spirits. He is very afraid of sorcery being worked against him by others to cause him to become sick and die. Grace attends the local church, but we aren’t sure if she’s saved or not. Just like America, many people that live in town here attend church because it is a “good thing” rather than to know God better.

You can be praying that their hearts would be softened towards the Gospel, and that we would be able to be a witness as we spend time with them.

You Know You're in PNG When...

The US and PNG are very different places. Yeah, I know that just shattered your world. Ok, but seriously, the culture here is really different than back home. Ever wondered what some of those differences are? Here are just a few… with more to come in future days.

One difference: the nationals "hang" their babies up to sleep in big string bags. So Kyler sometimes naps in one too!

• Little kids are scared of you because you’re a “white man”
• Said little kids are also running around naked.
• People describe you as your husband’s “woman” (yes, women are considered property here)
• You discover that two guys or two girls can hold hands in public and it’s not inappropriate at all, but a guy and a girl holding hands can raise eyebrows.
• Driving means being on HIGH alert at all times… mostly to avoid hitting any potholes, people, or pigs.
• Fights break out at the market.
• You arrive at the airport for a flight and find out it left 30 minutes early because… just because.
• You get cold if the temperature gets down to 75 degrees Fahrenheit.
• You find a baby gecko in your toilet bowl. Thankfully, I was cleaning the toilet, not sitting on it. Otherwise, you probably would’ve heard my scream all the way back in the States.
• It’s totally fine for people to ask you for stuff. All. The. Time. Because it never hurts to ask, right?
• It’s also totally fine for you to politely refuse to give them what they ask for.
• Being told that you are fat (even if you’re not really fat by Western standards) is a compliment because it means you have money to buy good food.
• Speaking of food, it grows all year. Handy for being self-sustaining.
• There are two seasons. Hot and dry, and hot and wet.
• Dog fights break out during church services (which are often held outside).

Yup, different world. Sometimes we love it. Sometimes we hate it. But it’s home now. Gotta remember, it’s not necessarily wrong, just different!

Thanks so much for praying for us as we adjust! And please continue to do so, because just when you think you've seen it all... you realize you haven't. :)

He IS Worthy!

“And they sang a new song with these words: ‘You are worthy to take the scroll and break its seals and open it. For you were slaughtered, and your blood has ransomed people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation.” – Revelation 5:9

Being a missionary is really, REALLY tough sometimes (and we’ve only been here 2 months!). Ok, yup, secret’s out! We’re not missionary superheroes (that spot’s reserved for guys like Jim Elliot…).

On the 12th, one of Clint’s younger brothers got married, and one of his sisters is getting married tomorrow. I can’t tell you how many times we have been fighting tears as we think of all of Clint’s immediate family being together…without us. I know that sounds really selfish, but it’s true.

The past two weeks, we’ve been battling fatigue, sickness, a weird allergic reaction and rash, culture stress, language evaluations, and a teething baby.

When we were still in the States, we had many people tell us, “I could never do what you’re doing!”

Honestly, we could never do it either. There’s no way we would just pack up our little family, leave everything familiar, and plunk ourselves in a hot, humid country with 800 different languages. Unless we believed that there is something more than just this life.

We have to keep reminding ourselves, He is worthy. He is worthy. He is worthy!

That’s why we’re here. Not because it’s an easy, glamorous life. Not because we are Christian superheroes. But because God is worthy to receive the praise from ALL people, even those who have never heard His name.

A lot of our new friends that are helping us learn the trade language live in so much fear. Fear of spirits that might poison them with sickness. Fear of witchcraft from other people who might be mad at them. They have no idea of the freedom that knowing Christ brings. Our hearts ache for them to be able to hear about Him.

That’s what keeps us here. When it gets tough. When we feel homesick. When we start missing crazy little things (like Little Caesar’s Pizza, for crying out loud!). He IS worthy! And they need to hear!