Merry Christmas from Papua New Guinea! In our last update we asked you to pray for several big things we had coming up: a key terms workshop and back translation in the village, and for our kids as they started Term 2 at school. Thanks for your prayers! We’re delighted to report that all three of these things went very well!

While Aaron stayed in the village after we left in October, he ran a weekend key terms workshop for the language committee to make some decisions on key biblical terms to use in John’s Gospel. This will impact not just this book but all the rest, and we pray that these decisions will be instrumental in clarifying the meaning and importance of the biblical text.

In October the translation team was also able to finish up all the preliminary checks and get a great start on the back translation of John. In November they finished the back translation, paving the way for a translation consultant to come to the village in February to check and (hopefully) sign off on the quality of this important book.

Our strong desire is to have all the steps complete so that digital and/or print copies of John are in people’s hands before we leave for the USA next June. We face an array of steps and challenges before we get there, but we’re trusting the Lord to have His way in the process.

In November, Rebekah had the honor of attending the Label New Testament Dedication on the Southern Coast of New Ireland Province. It was a happy celebration in which the brand new New Testaments were pulled out of boxes and placed into people’s hands. There were many reminders throughout the ceremony about how important it is to read and study Scripture and allow it to change one’s heart. The churches sang songs of praise and different groups dressed up in a variety of traditional dress to dance and sing in worship. It’s a beautiful gift to be able to witness events like this. Who but God could write these pages in my (Rebekah) story when I’m just an ordinary person He keeps equipping to say yes? I am grateful for His care and guidance in my life, as I know you are in yours. This event was deeply special for me, because the translation advisor is one of my dear friends, who has been serving here with her teammate since the 1980s. Please pray for this community to have a hunger for God’s Word, and to bear fruit that only the Holy Spirit can grow.

Can you imagine not having a library full of books in your language? Or if your only books were from a completely foreign culture and language? One exciting event coming up is a Literacy Materials Workshop here in Ukarumpa in January. A group of four people from the Mamusi literacy team are coming from Sivauna to Ukarumpa in January to participate. They have been gathering and editing stories to bring to the workshop, where they will be learning to make those into books for use in childhood and adult literacy activities back in the Mamusi area. Please pray for commercial travel logistics, a huge challenge here, and for their time in Ukarumpa to be fruitful.

As we round the corner of 2024 into 2025, we have many things to do before we leave for Home Assignment in June (after Evie graduates). Please pray for our family to be well connected and refreshed through the Holy Spirit, even though Aaron and I have several trips (none together).

Please pray for Evie. She’s in the middle of her senior year with some big decisions to make. Her closest friend had to unexpectedly return to the USA in November. Pray she’ll be intentionally nourishing her soul, loving God and loving others as she emerges into adulthood. Pray for God’s joy to be her strength.

Please pray for her brothers (and parents!) as they come to grips with the reality that she is leaving our PNG home for good in a few months. We trust God with our family’s story, even when it is painful. We anticipate with hope what He will continue to cultivate in each of us on our journey.

Please pray for financial provision for our furlough travel.

And, if it wasn’t clear above, please pray over the logistics regarding getting the Gospel of John printed and recorded to distribute before we leave in June. Serving in this context, with no Kinko’s down the road, getting something typeset, printed and delivered takes a lot of time.

We are so grateful to be your hands and feet here. Thank you for your prayers and gifts.

Happy New Year! (Judah IS very tall, but he is not quite satisfied, as you’ll notice by his toes). Each of us had at least two of our dearest friends move away in 2024, but we’ve each seen God’s care and love multiply. Praise God for good friends. Pray with us as we heal and continue following God in our lives. We’re grateful for each other, and we’re grateful for you.

May God allow each of you to flourish as He carefully tends your lives. He is so good and trustworthy. May you rest and act in intentional ways that bring Him appropriate glory. May your lives lovingly draw others in to wonder at what He, Immanuel, has done in you.