Dear Family and
Friends,
We cannot
describe to you all how wonderful it is to be back in our ministry here in PNG
again. It has brought such peace to our aching hearts. Arriving
back at our home was extremely difficult. Seeing Ty’s room and being here
brought back such good memories but also tore our hearts right in half because
we know we won’t be making any more of those memories with our precious little
guy for a long time. Our hearts still ache every day because of our loss,
but every day, we are able to get out of bed and serve our God because He is
our strength. Right now, we are so weak, but in our weakness, God has
become so strong in our lives. People are always telling us how strong we
are. How wrong are they! God is our strength, nothing else.
We couldn’t make it without Him. We still daily long for Heaven but
realize that we have a job to do. So we will press on, serving Him to the
best of our ability, until He calls us home. And then what a glorious,
amazing, wonderful, awesome day that will be! If you haven’t read 2
Corinthians 5 in a while, read it. That is our theme!
When we
returned, Dan started right into teaching classes at GBBC again. He
really enjoyed his two classes and realized just how much he loves
teaching. He has since finished the term, with term 3 starting in about a
month. He has also been helping out with a lot of administrative work at
the college while several of the other missionaries are on furlough.
We’ve also
become very active working with Hosanna Baptist Church, which we were working
with before we left the field back in 2008. Hosanna has been around for a
while but has never become organized. We started a one-year organization
process about a month ago. We’ll be covering all of the basics with them,
spending a lot of time on doctrine and completing the church constitution by
next summer. At that point, our home church, Johnston Chapel Baptist,
plans to send a team of workers to construct a church building and pastor’s
house using some of the money many of you gave to Tyler’s Memorial Fund.
We are thrilled to help this church. Tyler always loved attending church
there and playing with all the kids. We know he must be thrilled about
the project. The people at Hosanna are all so excited about everything
going on this year. Their joy is contagious!
Amy has begun
working in the clinic again. We know we said she didn’t feel a peace
about it, but when she returned and saw the need, her heart broke for
them. She truly loves helping these people. Right now, the main
clinic is closed because her co-worker and boss, Lori, is on furlough.
Amy, along with another nurse, Rachel Prigge, is
seeing staff and students until Lori returns. They are both learning as
they go and would greatly appreciate your prayers on their behalf.
Thank you all
for your continued prayers for our family as well as for our ministry. We
are now fully-supported again, so thank you all for that. We miss and
love you.
Love, Dan, Amy,
Tyler, Kate & Claire
P.S. The girls are both doing great and loving
being home. Claire turned one last month and is still a little
sweetheart. She’s still not walking yet but takes steps here and
there. Kate loves all her new PNG friends, especially those at Hosanna.
Additional Prayer
Requests: Please pray for…
1.
The organization
of Hosana Baptist Church.
2.
The great need
for additional missionaries with ABWE in PNG (Kerowagi
in particular).
3.
Overcoming
cultural barriers in sharing the Gospel with the lost here.
4.
Daily strength
for life without Tyler.
5.
Our individual
relationships with Jesus Christ.
6.
Good health for
all of us (PNG has a lot of new bugs, so it has been rough in that respect).
7.
Amy and Rachel Prigge as they learn to diagnose and treat illnesses.
8.
3rd
and 4th year students returning from their practicals
(3 month training in a local church under the leadership of a pastor).
9.
College budget
needs and needs of our national staff members.
10.Increased teacher work load at GBBC.
11.Various administrative duties at the college.