Thank you so much for your continued prayers on our behalf. Ephesians 6:18-19 often comes to mind when I think of others praying for us and our ministry.
“With every prayer and request, pray at all times in the Spirit, and with this in view, be alert with all perseverance and every request for all the saints, and pray in my behalf, that speech may be given to me in the opening of my mouth, to make known with boldness the mystery of the gospel,”
By the end of this post, I trust you will understand more as to why my request is that others pray for us regarding the gospel going forth.
Since our last update, a lot has happened. Here’s an overview of our lives and work the past 4 months.
BUILDING AN OFFICE
The second half of February was spent preparing for another large construction project, building an office building. This office was specifically needed for our teammate Zach and his ongoing Bible translation work, including his many weekly meetings with national translation helpers.We were blessed to have a dear friend come visit us in March to help with this project. Pastor Dave Damschroder, one of my wife’s former pastors and our dear friend and supporter traveled to PNG to live with us for 2 weeks in March. His purpose in coming was both to help me build the office and to be an encouragement to us, which he certainly was.
It’s very meaningful to get to share our home and life here in the village with such a close friend from home, and we are so grateful for the memories that were made as we worked together and enjoyed lots of fellowship. During his two weeks here, Dave and I were able to get the office building up and also complete several additional construction projects on both our house and our teammate’s house. His assistance was a tremendous blessing and with the completion of that work, there has been a shifting of my focus, pivoting away from construction projects, and focusing more on gospel opportunities.
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| Here's a picture of the completed office. |
GOSPEL OPPORTUNITIES
On Easter Sunday morning, I was blessed with the opportunity to preach to the people of Mawerero. It's been several years since I've preached in Tok Pisin, so it was good to “exercise that muscle” again, and I found out afterward that at least one village leader complained that I had been too adamant that salvation was by faith alone, so I guess that’s considered a success in terms of getting my point across with clarity.In April, our teammates took a break out of the village, so we got to hold down the fort by ourselves for a few weeks and with that came another opportunity to preach on a Sunday morning as well as to lead a weekend bible study for a group of men, which I thoroughly enjoyed doing for a couple weeks.
Since part of our goal for this first year is to take over things that allow our teammate Zach to focus as much time as possible on Bible translation, we’ve decided that I’ll continue to lead the weekly men’s study. Zach will of course attend to provide valuable input since he knows these people and the way they think better than I, and also can jump into discussions when they are using the nDo language to discuss what we’re studying.
I’ve also begun meeting each week with one of the men who has made a clear profession of faith. How sweet to get to share and discuss scripture with a brother in Christ from nDo. Obviously, only the Lord knows those who have truly believed the gospel, but our team is encouraged by several recent statements from individuals who seem to be gaining gospel clarity. Please pray with us for the Holy Spirit to work and provide understanding to them!
Autumn has been enjoying getting to help with the post-literacy reading program on Saturdays, which provides the opportunity of getting to know more of the ladies and men who have already completed the nDo literacy program and are working on strengthening their reading skills. Not only do we have small story booklet for them to take home each week to practice their reading, but as Zach completes translation on portions of scripture, we are beginning to provide chapters for them to take home and read, which is truly the whole point of the literacy program here.
HOME IN THE TRIBE
I truly appreciate all the things Autumn does to keep our home running smoothly that enable me to be freed up for the construction projects, teaching, and many hours of study over the last several months. Here in PNG, it feels like everything takes longer than you think it should, and I've found that reality only intensifies in the village. From cooking and baking all our food from scratch, to managing the extensive logistics of tracking and ordering all of our consumable supplies to be flown into the village every 2 months, and of course the daily work for caring for Rowen, the work she oversees allows me to spend the needed time in study and out in the village.
Speaking of Rowen, he continues to be our outgoing, social little guy. He currently thinks he needs to give a high five or hand shake to anyone and everyone he lays eyes on. He is 18 months now, and his communication skills are just exploding, and we spend time almost every day trying to figure out the new words he’s attempting to say. (He now knows the names of all the Cann family, although if you were to hear him say them, “Jude” is probably the only name that would be recognizable, and somehow “Uncle Zach” became two non-vocalized puffs of air, which makes us chuckles each time we here it.) Rowen loves and talks daily about the village chickens and pigs, my powder drills, and helicopters. It’s fun seeing his desire to be helpful develop, and he gets excited to help us carry items around the house as we complete projects, and loves standing on his kitchen stool "helping" mom while she cooks. We pray regularly that the Lord does a work in his little heart that only our God can do, and that he’ll believe the gospel at a young age. We appreciate your prayers for our little guy, both for his physical and spiritual wellbeing as we care for and shepherd him daily.
It’s unique to step into an existing ministry work like this, and some of you who have heard us talk for years about this kind of work, might be curious about the decision for me to be teaching and preaching in Tok Pisin, rather than being fulltime devoted to learning the nDo language. We still fully affirm the need for teaching and preaching in the heart language of a people group. Thankfully, Zach is able to regularly provide that here. However, the nDo language isn’t a language that can be learned in 9 months, and that’s how long we have from the time we moved into the village in January, until the Cann’s leave for their furlough. They and we believe that in light of the presence of some young believers here and the needs we see in the current ministry, it is better to have faithful on-going teaching and ministry in Tok Pisin than to have another long break in teaching and discipleship.
I am so grateful for the foundation that the Canns have laid through their faithful ministry, preaching and teaching the gospel in the heart language of the nDo people. That foundation enables me to come behind and teach in Tok Pisin to augment the nDo teaching for now, instead of having to wait through many years of language learning to be able to contribute to the teaching and discipleship needs here.
As I interact with and examine the lives of the nDo individuals who are consistently coming to hear the preaching of the Word of God, I am encouraged to see the Lord at work. Simultaneously, I feel the immense weight of the tremendous amount of work that is still to be done to see a thriving biblical church here in this people group. I am grateful that it is the Lord who brings the increase. Pray for us to be faithful as we plant and water, and to trust for God bring about the result.
Speaking of Rowen, he continues to be our outgoing, social little guy. He currently thinks he needs to give a high five or hand shake to anyone and everyone he lays eyes on. He is 18 months now, and his communication skills are just exploding, and we spend time almost every day trying to figure out the new words he’s attempting to say. (He now knows the names of all the Cann family, although if you were to hear him say them, “Jude” is probably the only name that would be recognizable, and somehow “Uncle Zach” became two non-vocalized puffs of air, which makes us chuckles each time we here it.) Rowen loves and talks daily about the village chickens and pigs, my powder drills, and helicopters. It’s fun seeing his desire to be helpful develop, and he gets excited to help us carry items around the house as we complete projects, and loves standing on his kitchen stool "helping" mom while she cooks. We pray regularly that the Lord does a work in his little heart that only our God can do, and that he’ll believe the gospel at a young age. We appreciate your prayers for our little guy, both for his physical and spiritual wellbeing as we care for and shepherd him daily.
LOOKING AHEAD IN MINISTRY
The plan for the next four months is affected significantly by our teammates’ upcoming 9 month furlough, which will begin in October. In the coming months, the plan is for me to keep preaching periodically on Sunday mornings, and to work ahead to prepare for additional teaching that I will be doing while Zach is gone.It’s unique to step into an existing ministry work like this, and some of you who have heard us talk for years about this kind of work, might be curious about the decision for me to be teaching and preaching in Tok Pisin, rather than being fulltime devoted to learning the nDo language. We still fully affirm the need for teaching and preaching in the heart language of a people group. Thankfully, Zach is able to regularly provide that here. However, the nDo language isn’t a language that can be learned in 9 months, and that’s how long we have from the time we moved into the village in January, until the Cann’s leave for their furlough. They and we believe that in light of the presence of some young believers here and the needs we see in the current ministry, it is better to have faithful on-going teaching and ministry in Tok Pisin than to have another long break in teaching and discipleship.
I am so grateful for the foundation that the Canns have laid through their faithful ministry, preaching and teaching the gospel in the heart language of the nDo people. That foundation enables me to come behind and teach in Tok Pisin to augment the nDo teaching for now, instead of having to wait through many years of language learning to be able to contribute to the teaching and discipleship needs here.
As I interact with and examine the lives of the nDo individuals who are consistently coming to hear the preaching of the Word of God, I am encouraged to see the Lord at work. Simultaneously, I feel the immense weight of the tremendous amount of work that is still to be done to see a thriving biblical church here in this people group. I am grateful that it is the Lord who brings the increase. Pray for us to be faithful as we plant and water, and to trust for God bring about the result.
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Here are some additional pictures of our lives and family over the past several months in the village.
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| Carrying water to fill our tank during a very dry 3 weeks in April. |
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| Construction projects provide great entertainment. |
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| Reading books on the swing with "Papa D" |
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