He Has Done Great Things

God has been doing incredible things in Papua New Guinea recently. I thought I'd share a few, and hopefully they will encourage your heart as well! To read more about any of these, check out New Tribes Mission's Facebook page.

Hewa people:
4 tribal women were sentenced by their people to die after they were supposedly convicted of witchcraft. Yes, sadly, this kind of stuff still happens in many places around the world that are without the hope of Christ. But God miraculously intervened, and their lives have been spared!

Missionary with some of the Hewa people

Pal people:
Missionaries have been working amongst the Pal people group for several years already, but just now, they are starting to see some incredible growth among the tribal believers. The church is meeting 2 times a week to study God's Word, and they are hungry for it! The missionaries are excited to be able to train some of the Pal believers so that they can take the Gospel and share it with other villages in the Pal tribe.

Our brothers and sisters in the Pal tribe

Wantakia people:
These people don't have the Gospel yet, and they are still living in fear and darkness. But a new missionary team (3 couples that we went through missionary training with) is just beginning the process of moving into this tribe. They are currently building their houses, and as soon as that is done, they will begin learning the Wantakia language and culture so that they can share God's Word with the people. So exciting!

House building begins in Wantakia

Man, we are SO excited to get to be a part of the work God is doing in Papua New Guinea! This is just a small taste of what's been going on over there, and there are dozens more stories that I could share from all across PNG!

And yet my heart breaks for the hundreds of tribes that are still living in darkness with no hope. Many are begging for missionaries to come. One man recently told a missionary "If you don't come live with us...then...then I'm going to cut off my finger." And he was serious.

"He told them, 'The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.'" - Luke 10:2

Georgia Trip

The past few weeks have been a whirlwind. It's been so good to spend time with family and friends. We've enjoyed every second!

We had a fantastic time celebrating with my cousin and his new wife as they got married on the 1st. Congratulations Jotham and Maria!

We also really enjoyed our two weeks in Georgia. It was so much fun to get to hang out with my family, especially since it's been 6 months since we last saw them. I've missed them a lot! I'm so glad that they could get a chance to see my baby bump, too. :)

We had a lot of fun talking, laughing, and playing games. Clint also got to go hiking a few times, which he thoroughly enjoyed. We also went ice skating one day (although I just watched). So thankful for the memories we made!

I honestly think that leaving family will be one of the hardest things about going overseas. It's difficult to think that we'll be apart for several years at a time, most likely missing important events like weddings and new babies. Sometimes it makes me want to cry when I think about it. In a way, it kind of feels unfair. My parents aren't going to get to see their grandkids grow up, and our children won't know their relatives very well. But then I remember Heaven. We're going to get all of eternity to catch up on the moments lost. All the shed tears, the heart-wrenching goodbyes, and the wishful yearnings will be over, and we'll be able to bask in the loving presence of Jesus forever. What a reunion that will be!

6 More Months

Now that the new year is here, we are really excited to officially start back into preparing for Papua New Guinea. In the next few weeks, we will be resuming our paperwork process, which includes getting our work permits and visas so we can live and work in PNG. While the large quantities of paperwork feel a bit daunting at times, it's also exciting to feel like we're on our way again.

We'll also be speaking in several churches in the near future, and we'd love to share in some small groups as well. If you are interested in hearing some more about our ministry, let us know!

I think we're in love with Papua New Guinea and its people. I'm sure there will be times when we won't feel much love towards them when we're feeling stressed or overwhelmed. Times when we'll have to beg God for His love to flow through us. But the end goal of planting a mature church is so worth it. These peoples' lives are so worth it. God is so worth it!

Only 6 more months to go!

 We had a really special and fun Christmas this year. Not only did we get to enjoy lots of quality time with the Teele family, but we also had some time to enjoy our first Christmas as a married couple. So thankful for the memories we have made this week that we can treasure for a lifetime!

A beautiful present from my husband

Presents at Christmas time are so much fun, especially giving them. I find so much joy in watching others open the gifts I've given them. I think that's what God must feel when He gives us blessings in life... It truly is more blessed to give than to receive.

Our first tree and presents

Clint and I loved opening the gifts from each other on Christmas morning, and we also got to open gifts that my family sent from back East. It almost made it feel like we got to celebrate with them too! By the way, Mom, Dutch Blitz was the perfect gift... it's already gotten used like five times! :)

Christmas celebrations

Christmas celebrations with the Teele family included a name exchange where we drew names and bought a gift (or several) for that person. It was so much fun getting to open those gifts on Christmas morning with all the family. 9 of the 12 Teele siblings were there, as well as 5 grandchildren, so it made for a full, chaotic, and very fun celebration!

New puppies at the Teele farm

There's always new life at the Teele farm, and some puppies arrived just in time for Christmas! Their eyes are almost open, and they are super cute!

Enjoying some Dutch Blitz

Almost any Teele gathering is incomplete without at least one game of something, whether it's invented on the spot or an actual card or board game.

Paintball with slingshots (photo from my mother-in-law)

Yesterday, we had a really fun game of paintball using slingshots. I can't resist a good, sportsy game, so I added a bit of extra padding around my middle and joined in! We had tons of fun, got plenty dirty, and loved every second of it! One nice thing about playing sports with the Teeles: if you get a group of them together, you automatically have large teams! :)

I hope your Christmas season has been a wonderful one, and even if you weren't able to celebrate with family this year, I hope that this time of celebrating the greatest Gift of all was special!

It's a Wonderful (and Busy) Life

We have been busy the last few weeks, something I'm actually very grateful for. Most of the busyness has been related to Christmas events, and it's been so much fun to get together with fellow believers to celebrate Christ's birth.

The ladies at our church here picked a wonderful theme for their Christmas party this year. They invited a speaker who works with an organization that helps free women from the sex trafficking industry in Nepal and provide them with jobs as well as teach them about Christ. After listening to her explain about the organization, we were then able to buy various handmade goods that these women had crafted as their means of support. What an incredible way to be a part of freeing the oppressed, which is exactly what Christ came to do 2,000 years ago.

Clint has kept busy cutting and selling firewood. I'm so grateful for my hardworking husband who has a desire to provide for me and care for me! It's been a huge blessing to have a bit of extra cash, and we're also able to save half of what we make to put towards our future home in Papua New Guinea!

Our baby has been busy growing and moving. I definitely look pregnant now, and I guess that's a good thing since I am! :) Just over 16 weeks to go!

We're really looking forward to the next few weeks with all of the holiday celebrations. A bunch of Clint's siblings are coming home this week, so it will be fun to spend time with them! And then on New Year's Eve, we're planning to head back East for one of my cousin's weddings, and we'll get to spend a few weeks in Georgia with my family as well!

Annndd... just for kicks, here's a picture of us, since we haven't posted one in a while. :)

Christmas is Coming!

Anyone else feel like Christmas is coming waaayyy too fast? Ok, glad I'm not the only one.

Our First Christmas Tree!

That being said, I also have to say, I absolutely LOVE Christmas time. I know in many circles there's an air of commercialism. A spirit of killing the Baby and promoting the Stuff. I know in other circles there's a debate about whether we should even celebrate Christmas since it was originally a day to worship the sun, not Christ. But honestly, I think the idea of having a special time to celebrate the birth of Christ is a precious one. Of course, the gifts are fun. The decorations are beautiful. The traditions are special. But a Baby born in Bethlehem is the most beautiful and special gift of all!

With my own baby on the way, I've had a lot of time to envision what things must have been like for Mary. When she felt her baby kick, she must have been in awe over the fact that the Son of God who had created her was so small, so helpless, and so dependent on her for life. When she dealt with morning sickness, she must have wondered why God had chosen her to bear the Messiah. She must have marveled over the miracle of life, but even more so, over the miracle of God becoming a man. What an incredible experience that must have been for her!

I hope that you are enjoying your Christmas season, and may we all think often on the Christ of Christmas... the miracle Baby who came to save us all.

For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And He will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. - Isaiah 9:6

Giving Thanks

Yes, I know Thanksgiving was yesterday, but hey, being thankful should go the whole year round, right? I've been challenged this month to really focus on being thankful. I've been attempting (and failing quite often) to think of at least 3 things that I can be thankful for whenever I encounter a frustrating situation where I normally would tend to complain. It's amazing to me how gratitude can change your entire outlook on a situation and can make your day so much more enjoyable. Paul was definitely right when he exhorted believers to always be thankful!

There are so many things that we have to be thankful for.

I'm thankful for God's unconditional love. I'm thankful that He calls me His daughter. I'm thankful that He never gives up on me. No matter what.

I'm thankful for an incredible husband who loves me, takes care of me, and is my best friend. I'm thankful for the new life growing inside me. I can hardly believe I'm halfway done with pregnancy!

I'm thankful for my wonderful family. For my loving, caring parents who hunger after God and His Word. For my beautiful sisters who are so much fun and love me, God, and others. For the beauty of adoption. For wonderful in-laws who have welcomed me with open arms.

I'm thankful for a warm, dry home. For the truck God provided for us so Clint can haul firewood. For food to eat each day. For how God has met all of our financial needs.

I'm thankful for my church family here and around the world. For the freedom to worship God. For having access to God's Word in our language.

There are so many other things I could say. God's goodness is overwhelming. His mercies know no end. What a reason to give thanks!

PNG Fact of the Day (4)

Question: What's the first step in taking the Gospel to an unreached tribal group in Papua New Guinea?

Answer: I would love to say it's something glamorous and very missionary-ish like eating grubs or sleeping in a mud hut with mosquitoes eating your insides out (because after all, isn't that what all missionaries write home about?) while you then use a few simple phrases to speak to the tribal people about Jesus and then about 200 people accept Christ and there is a huge revival. (I'm not really sure if all of that counts as only one step, though some people kind of try to lump it all together like that)

BUT... that's not reality

Really, the first step is a lot of work, and most of the time, it's done way before the missionary team actually gets there. It's called People Group Assessment (PGA for short). What's PGA you ask (even if you didn't know you asked)? Basically, it's where small teams of missionaries visit various tribal groups in a country to find out where is the most need for new missionaries to come. Currently, there are at least 15 new people groups in Papua New Guinea that have had a People Group Assessment and where New Tribes Mission would like to place new missionary teams. We will most likely be going into one of these groups in the future.

Here's a pretty cool, short video just released by New Tribes Mission that tells a bit more about PGAs. Check it out. May not seem "glamorous", but it's definitely necessary!


First Step // New Tribes Mission from New Tribes Mission on Vimeo.

The Ways of the Lord

My heart breaks for our missionary friends, Jon and Adie Leedahl and their three young boys. We have so many wonderful memories with this family from our training days in Missouri. They have such a heart for God, for their fellow brothers and sisters in Christ, and for the lost.

In mid-October, almost a month ago, Jon, who is a highly skilled missionary pilot working in Papua New Guinea, had a terrible motorcycle accident. Both his legs were severely injured, and he lost almost all his own blood. Blood donations from other missionaries kept him alive until they were able to fly him to Australia for treatment.

Jon lost his right leg. His left is battered and scarred.

When we heard the news, we sobbed. Hard. Why, God?

"Well, I guess this must be God's will." Some might say.

Yeah, but just because He allows it to happen doesn't make it easy. Doesn't make it fun.

Sometimes God's ways are definitely not my ways. I wish I could be like Jesus, crying "Not my will, but Yours be done," even in the midst of terrible tragedy. But my humanity gets in the way so often. I hurt. I question. I don't like the results. I don't understand.

Through it all, I have to remember that God is good. So, so, so good. God is loving. He is kind. He hates evil and suffering as much as I do, yet He uses each bad situation for the good of those who love Him.

If He is the most loving Being that exists...that will ever exist, I know I can trust His ways, even when I don't understand. Even when I don't see the beauty in them.

And there will be beauty in Jon and Adie's lives. There already is. There has been an overwhelming unity of believers around the world who are coming together for one purpose: to lift the Leedahls before the throne of God. Such beauty in the midst of brokenness!

Perhaps Jon's accident will call others to go. Will challenge others to lay down their lives in the service of a King who is so worthy. Who is so, so good and loving.

Perhaps it will cause others to pause. Take inventory of their lives. Ask "What am I really living for? Am I really willing to count the cost of following Christ?"

All I know is, God will bring beauty. That is His way. Even though all I see is the broken, He sees the beautiful.

The ways of the Lord are good.

You can follow Jon and Adie's story at http://theleedahls.com/.

PNG Fact of the Day (3)

A lot of people ask us about the weather in Papua New Guinea. Let's just say, it's hot there. Like really hot. It wouldn't really be so hot if there wasn't like 98% humidity all the time (ok, well, I might be exaggerating a bit. It's probably only 95%).

So basically, it's hot and humid, at least most of the time. There are definitely times when it cools off, and certain locations at higher elevations (like over 4,000 feet or more) have slightly cooler temperatures. But usually, it's pretty hot and pretty wet (if it's not wet outside from rain, you're wet from sweat). Yay for being close to the equator.