Hello From Papua New Guinea!

Thank you all for praying and for all of your love and support. The long flights and many layovers went so much better than we could have asked for. Now, we are starting the process of “becoming PNG,” where we become more like the people of Papua New Guinea. Not importing our Western lifestyle and ideals, but instead learning to think, act, and live like a local with the end goal being to communicate the gospel clearly. (1 Corinthians 9:19-23)

The Lord has been gracious in that our family is settled in and are adjusting well to life here. We have had very helpful orientation classes the last few weeks as well as trips to the markets, driving lessons, village walks, attending a local church as well as the one here on center, homeschooling Brennan, and our own homework. Along with this, we have been digging into the process of language learning which includes learning practical expressions and nouns, as well as making observations of the place and people. These next weeks our schedule will have less classroom time and focus more so on building relationships and learning language with people in the community.

PRAYER AND PRAISE:

Praise God that our transition has been so smooth. Our family is healthy and doing well!

Praise that God provided local friends for Brennan as well as friends for Ava and Talia.

Pray that God continues to open our minds as we learn this new language, Tok Pisin.

Pray that we would be an encouragement to our fellow missionaries and the local believers we interact with. Also, that we would be a bright light to those who have not yet trusted in Jesus for salvation.

Pray for continued growth and wisdom in parenting and what that looks like in this context.

From a language learning session for learning food names. We also learned to cook a Papua New Guinea meal - which was super great, and the ladies who showed us were so fun to work with!! (Note: The round veggie with the stem (taro) will actually cause itching and burning if you touch under the skin before it is cooked, so you have to be super careful when peeling it. Grateful for the ladies telling us that!)

---

“I like that we can play with Russel and Rochelle, my good friends in PNG. They are very fun! And earthquakes - wow! It has been a fun day here.” -Brennan

“I like to play with Serenity, Harold, Jane, Brennan, and Talia.” -Ava

“For though I am free from all, I have made myself a servant to all, that I might win more of them. To the Jews I became as a Jew, in order to win Jews. To those under the law I became as one under the law (though not being myself under the law) that I might win those under the law. To those outside the law I became as one outside the law (not being outside the law of God but under the law of Christ) that I might win those outside the law. To the weak I became weak, that I might win the weak. I have become all things to all people, that by all means I might save some. I do it all for the sake of the gospel, that I may share with them in its blessings.”

– 1 Corinthians 9:19-23