Dear ones,

Thank you for your prayers and gifts this year. They’ve carried us through surprises, challenges, and even the mundane. Many of our friends and colleagues are starting to return to Papua New Guinea from their home countries to continue serve in the ministry of Bible Translation, after being prevented by months of COVID travel restrictions, which is a huge answer to prayer. However, some are still delayed due to health or personal challenges, while some are still meeting persistent logistical road blocks to their travel back here. Please pray for the new logistical maze that families and individuals have to walk through to return to their ministries here. We are still shorthanded at the school and have only one Doctor, and we badly need regional center managers. 2020 has brought a set of new challenges for all of us, especially those of you in the US, to face. We hope you feel our arms locking with yours as you faithfully follow God’s calling to the ministry of reconciliation and to be ambassadors of His infinite love. May we empty ourselves of our cynicism and doubts and be filled with His hope and peace.

Our family has greatly benefited from the Advent word study series from The Bible Project. It’s a good season to take a hard look at what some of the words we associate with Christmastime actually mean in Hebrew or Greek. If you or your family are looking for a good place to go deeper in the meaning of God’s arrival here on earth, we highly recommend it.

Aaron and I have loved watching our children get stretched and tested here in Papua New Guinea, since we know it is growing their faith. The blessing of their health is one we remain humbly grateful for. We’ve watched them begin to take root here in Ukarumpa, as we’ve spent nearly 12 months out of the last 16 here. Prayers for stability in their lives are held in tension with prayers for chances to get to go back and serve the Mamusi people for a time. We need your prayers to join with ours over this so that God’s path for us would remain clear. We have an endless list of ways that we can serve the needs of Bible translation in 2021 but are praying specifically about how to balance the following:

• Travelling back to Sivauna as a family to live among our Mamusi brothers and sisters. Doing life with people you are serving and discipling is crucial. This has to be done during school break or we would need to leave Evie and Abel (and Judah for the latter part of 2021) with trusted friends here in Ukarumpa.
• Facilitating courses and workshops that the Mamusi Translation Committee prioritize for their language development and discipleship. This is in addition to the next Translation Training Course happening next October.
• Returning to Kokopo to run the Regional Center so that the two translators who have been running it can have some time to focus on their village and language work, as well as rest. No one else is rising up for this long term.
• Dedicating time for Aaron to finish his thesis for his Masters degree.
• Dedicating the time for Aaron to complete the requirements to become a linguistics consultant so that he can serve translation on a wider scale here in Papua New Guinea.

Ultimately, the needs of our individual well-being, our marriage, and especially our kids remain at the front of our hearts, so we are praying that God would continue to make our paths straight regarding spiritual, emotional, and physical well-being. We know we serve a sovereign God, yet we must remain faithful stewards of all He’s given us.

“May God be merciful and bless us.  May His face smile with favor on us. May your ways be known throughout the earth, your saving power among people everywhere. May the nations praise you, O God.  Yes, may all the nations praise you. Let the whole world sing for joy, because you govern the nations with justice and guide the people of the whole world. May the nations praise you, O God.  Yes, may all the nations praise you. Then the earth will yield its harvests, and God, our God, will richly bless us. Yes, God will bless us, and people all over the world will fear Him.”

Psalm 67

As the challenging year of 2020 comes to a close, we are praying this Psalm over all of you who have partnered with us in our Wycliffe ministry. Thank you for praying and giving expectantly. The God of hope and our Wonderful Counselor has lead each of us to join the work of Bible Translation here in Papua New Guinea. Our Prince of Peace, who remains unwavering and surprised by nothing, holds His purposes for us firmly in His grasp!

Much love, joy, peace, and hope to each of you. Merry Christmas!

If you’d like to give an end-of–year gift to our Wycliffe Ministry, you may do so here:

If you’d like to give an end-of-year gift to the Mamusi Bible Translation Project fund, do so here: