Nena aou loumatene rong mae, Nutu le tampuni kumang pengana ngallo mu saene roelle kumangkae katena nena la rongtepae la kae le Yesus Kristus mule yae.

And I already know this, that God who began good work inside you will continue his work and it will go on until the day when Jesus Christ returns. — Philippians 1:6

Dear Friends,

Very soon after our family’s arrival back in Papua New Guinea, I (Aaron) made the journey to our village, Sivauna. The weather on the sea did not cooperate with my plans, but I eventually made it safely. At the end of this village trip, I was feeling a novel mix of frustration at the inefficiencies (9 travel days for only 9 days in the village) and joyous gratitude for all the ways I saw the Lord moving. It’s a privilege now to tell you all about the latter.

Some of you have been standing with us for over 12 years, since we first began stepping away from worship ministry to train with SIL for our calling here. This month marks a specific milestone: It has been exactly 10 years since we began working in the Mamusi language program. For a decade now, we have labored together through high and low seasons of this ministry. In low seasons, progress felt slow, travel was grueling, and the “good work” seemed to depend entirely on my physical presence in the village to keep the wheels turning.

This trip, I saw a shift from that reality.

A New Kind of Presence

The 10-Year Harvest

Because so many of you have stayed with us for so many years, we are so excited to share about some fruit that can only come from long-term stability:

• Independent Initiative: While I was away on furlough, the translation team didn’t wait for me. They drafted new chapters, managed a healthy leadership transition, and kept the translation work moving.
• The Literacy Surge: I arrived to find 31 literacy books written, edited, and ready for the next steps—something that wasn’t even on my radar for this trip. The literacy team did the hard work of creation; I now get to do the joy-filled work of facilitating the printing.
• A Shift in the Church: After years of friction with local church leadership, we are now seeing active partnership. A new local Catechist joined us this trip, eager to help the Mamusi language take its rightful place in the liturgy.

Achieving Acceleration

The trajectory has changed. We are now moving at a pace that was impossible during our first years. We are hopefully preparing for a consultant check in November 2026 for both Philippians and a revision of the Gospel of Luke. This just 20 months after our last consultant check for John in February 2025. The consultant check before that was in 2017.

This acceleration is the direct result of a decade of your diligent and fervent prayers. You haven’t just funded a project; you are invested in a team that is now standing on its own feet.

Looking Ahead to 2026

As my role continues to shift from “project director” to “specialist advisor and mentor,” I’m asking you to pivot your prayers with me:

1. For Digital Connection: Pray that our “distance mentoring” via WhatsApp becomes as effective as my face-to-face time.
2. For Local Confidence: Pray that the team continues to realize they have the authority and the tools to solve problems in real-time.
3. For Sustained Growth: Pray that this year marks the beginning of a new era of local momentum in Translation, Literacy, and Scripture Use.
4. For Relational Connection: Pray for healthy communication among the team and with myself, that we will continue to build each other up as the body of Christ should.
5. For Reading of God’s Word: Pray that Gospel of John will continue to be read and applied in the lives of our brothers and sisters here.

Thank you for being at the core of our journey all these years. We are seeing the “good work” being completed, one verse and one meeting at a time.