We thought that it might be a good time to check in and say hello. The last time that we were on furlough in 2018-2019 was for 10 months. That was a great time of reconnecting, but at times it felt like a really long pause from our plentiful work back in PNG. This time around we planned 6 months for furlough and I’ve mentioned to many people that it feels like we’ve been blasted out of a canon. It’s been great, but fast—whew!
We recently got finished with a road trip circuit that took us to many people and churches including (but not limited to) Virginia, Ohio, Texas, and Georgia (and, of course, North Carolina!). The Lord blessed us with good weather, safe driving, and good health along the way for which we feel very grateful. It’s been great to see people get excited about what God is doing in Papua New Guinea and how He has been faithful during these last few years of COVID uncertainty.
We also visited quite a few colleges along the way. It seems crazy to talk about, but our next furlough will be right after Nori graduates from high school in PNG. How are they growing up so fast?! I think we are up to six schools that we have seen so far! It’s been fun to hear what all the kids think about each one—even Millie (class of 2030).
Now we have fully shifted gears and I’m sitting on a couch in Waxhaw, NC with my foot elevated above my heart for the next week. I rolled my ankle over a year ago now and it healed with an inflamed nerve that would zap me every time that I stepped on it. You learn to live with things, but it certainly wasn’t ideal for life in the jungle. Now when people tell me “You’ve got some nerve!” I can say, “No, I had that removed.” :)
I guess that’s a good lead in to some prayer requests:
Please pray that my foot heals up well, quickly, and without any residual nerve issues.
Please pray for the van that we are using while we are on furlough. We just found out yesterday that it had transmission failure. It’s fixable, but puts a damper on getting around for now. Truly though, we feel blessed that this happened now (with my foot up) and not while we were traveling so much.
Please pray for our ministry budget. It hadn’t seen a budget increase in over 4 years and now we are playing catch up while we are here. Please pray for new partners that are excited about what God is doing in PNG. The financial gap is small, but we are planning to return at the end of May, which is soon!
Please pray for our time here and that we use it well to see all of the friends and family that we can before our return to PNG for another 3 year term.
A big big request that is heavy on our hearts right now is for my uncle who just found out that he has a pretty aggressive cancer. We are praying for comfort, courage, wisdom, grace, and so many other things for my uncle and aunt right now. We are also asking the Lord to work a miracle and cleanse his body. Please join us in prayer for them.
Here are some pics from the morning that we did all three services at Trinity Evangelical in Upper Sandusky, OH. We were so thankful to get to share!
One of our favorite stops along our road trip was unintended. We saw a sign off the interstate for the World’s Largest Mailbox in Casey, Illinois. It turned out to be a town FULL of giant things!
One of our many college tours. This was at Lee University in Cleveland, TN.
I was very thankful to help with a construction project before I went under the knife. Sitting around and waiting to heal isn’t my favorite, but Kristi has been wonderful to care for me and all the kids have been super helpful.
