Our Last Semester of Training Stateside! (31 January 2022)

Training with Ethnos360 for cross cultural church planting. We are set to graduate April 9, 2022!

We have loved our time here at the training center. The people, the teachers, and of course, the classes. We are now coming to our last semester at school and look forward to finishing well. It is funny to write "finishing," when this is truly just the beginning, but this chapter is coming to a close and fast.

After graduating in April, we will move back to Ogallala, NE and begin building a team of prayer and financial supporters. Once that is complete, we will move to Papua New Guinea as the Lord continues to lead us to least-reached people groups in that part of the world. We are walking out in faith believing He will, because He "desires that none shall perish, but all would come to repentance." (2 Peter 3:9). If you would like to partner with us whether it be in prayer, financially, or in some other way, we ask that you would be praying about that now and contact us as the Lord leads you. We would love to involve you in the work God is doing in Papua New Guinea! Our goal is to be there around June 2023. If you would like to know more about any of this please let us know.

Last semester, we picked up classes where we left off the previous year with an advanced phonetics class, which is the study of sounds in language, and phonemics, which is where we learned how to analyze phonetics data to make a clear and concise alphabet for a language that doesn't have one! We both really enjoyed these classes. As this semester rolls on we are transitioning into classes that focus more on church planting principles.

Our family last fall at a pumpkin patch.

We have thoroughly enjoyed our time at the training center. The verse James 1:2-3 was brought to mind today in speaking of the battlefield of the mind. "Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds,because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance." We are increasingly aware of the serious war with the enemy. So please PRAY for us. Not only us, but the work that God is doing in all of us, as we partner with God to see people without hope, living in darkness, and dead in their sins come to a saving knowledge of our wonderful Lord and Savior. Pray that the eyes of their hearts would be open and receptive when the day comes of sharing the gospel. Not just leaving it at salvation, but that they would be eager to study the Word and grow close with the Lord. We know none of us can do it alone, but we praise God that He is the great I AM, and He is working in people's hearts before we even talk to them. It is a great joy to read through the Scriptures and to see His heart for those without hope. Pray for our hearts and minds to be set on Jesus. While we do have our eyes fixed on Him, we are becoming increasingly aware through experience and testimonies of those who have gone before us of how much the enemy, really does not want us, or anyone, walking on the path of reaching the unreached. BUT, greater is He who is living in me/us as believers, than he who is living in the world.

Brennan and Ava in Childcare

Brennan:

Brennan has been doing really well, and he loves his friends here at the training center. Please be praying for our little man as we make the upcoming transition of moving back to Nebraska and to Papua New Guinea. He is going to be really sad to leave his friends. I am sure many of his friends will feel the same if you would like to be praying for all the kids.

Also, this dude is a bike riding and tree climbing machine!

Ava

Ava is doing really well! She loves dancing, her babies, and washing the dishes. She is just a joy all around. That little girl sass is coming out, which is comical at times. Mostly, she is very sweet though. Our kids both seem to be slow to warm, and Ava so far seems to struggle with being in new environments. Please pray for wisdom for us as parents navigating this with her as we make many transitions over this next year.

Sweet news of another baby girl!

We would love if you would keep our family in your prayers as we continue our training.

Please pray that we will keep our eyes and heart focused first and foremost on the Lord, and that we would have wisdom and discernment for navigating our responsibilities.

Please pray for Brennan as he is starting to gain a deeper understanding and know more of the Bible of who Jesus is. He is asking some really good questions. (Pretty cool!). Also, please pray for us that we would be wise in the way we teach him.

Please pray that both Brennan's heart and Ava's heart will be open and soft to God's Word as well. Specifically, that the seeds of truth we plant would land in good soil and be fruitful not only for believing the gospel but for developing into mature believers who follow Jesus.

Also, many places are getting harder to access because of the COVID-19 restrictions. Many missionaries are not able to currently return. Papua New Guinea is okay itself, but the countries we may have to travel through-such as Australia-make it much more difficult. So prayers for PNG to remain open as well as complications that are happening with connecting flights.

We will be doing our "exit interview" and applying to the field of PNG in these upcoming months, so pray for this as well.