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!
