A Reflection on 2009
We hope you had a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! We have spent some time the past week reflecting on all the Lord has done for us in 2009. We have faced many good times, as well as many difficult times. Through them all, we have seen the Lord’s hand in our lives, and have experienced His peace in every situation.
We remember back to beginning the year in Missouri where we were serving with NTM at the Mission Training Center while Jessica received treatment for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. We are still amazed with the Lord’s provision in this area as he provided a wonderful therapist who He used to help Jessica begin to heal. He provided housing and the finances to cover many medical and travel expenses.
In March we began a “praise trip”—a testimony of God’s healing in our family. We traveled from Missouri to Ohio where a couple whose children are missionaries in Indonesia graciously opened their basement apartment to us. We then traveled to Pennsylvania, and then out to the west coast. We had so many encouraging visits with friends, family, and supporters all along the way, and were sorry time didn’t permit us to see everyone this time. We arrived in WA the end of April where we spent time preparing for our return to PNG. The Lord provided housing for several weeks with some dear friends of ours who have five kids near our kids’ ages. This was a healing time for our whole family. We were even able to leave the kids with this family and attend a Family Life Marriage Conference which was such an encouragement to us as a couple after the stressful year with Jessica’s sickness putting a strain on our marriage. It was so good to reflect on the Lord’s faithfulness in our lives, and to recommit our marriage to Him.
For the remainder of our time in Washington some friends of ours opened their beautiful home on the bay to us. We felt as if we were on a vacation with the ocean right outside our door. Our yard was home to several bald eagles who we enjoyed watching each day. Isaiah 40:31 often came to mind as we observed the eagles. “But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.” The Lord was preparing our hearts to return to the place where our daughter was carjacked at gunpoint. We knew he was clearly preparing the way, and He would take away the fears we had.
The beginning of July we traveled back to PNG with a special stop in Tokyo to visit a college friend of ours and her family whom we hadn’t seen in ten years. We arrived at Lapilo on July 5 and took several weeks to get over jet lag and get settled into our house. We were once again so thankful for our family’s overall smooth transition back into the country.
The end of July brought school starting for the kids, and Phil starting back into his ministry in the computer department. The coming months brought many struggles and times of discouragement. We are thankful for how the Lord brought us through and allowed this to be a growing time in our lives.
Mid-November, Phil, along with three other men from Lapilo, had the privilege to travel to Indonesia to finish constructing his sister, Joanna’s house in the tribe. He thoroughly enjoyed his time and was so thankful for the opportunity to be a blessing to the single girls who are working hard and making such great progress in the language of the people they desire to soon be able to share the gospel message with.
The end of November through December brought many activities for the kids with Christmas programs and piano recitals, etc. It was difficult as always to celebrate Thanksgiving and Christmas without our family, but the Lord provided some special times with co-workers during this time. Kristi and Karina were able to go with a group of co-workers to the local hausik (hospital)the day after Christmas to sing carols, share the Christmas story, and give toys and clothes to all the patients in the children’s ward as well as snacks to the many family members and hospital staff. This was a growing time for us as we looked at the living conditions in the hospital and realized how blessed we are to have nice clean hospitals in the States where we can receive quality treatment. The children’s ward we visited had thirty beds in one room, and the adult ward had 45 patients(men and women) in one big room separated only by a half wall in some places. Jessica was also able to visit this same hospital with the Student Council where they passed out toiletry items—soap, toothbrushes, and toilet paper which is not provided by the hospital and most patients have none of their own.
As we reflect on this year, we are grateful for all the Lord has taught us. We are thankful for how the Lord used each of you in our lives to encourage us in our endeavor to return to the field. Thank you for opening your homes, providing meals, and fellowship. We thank you for standing with us through your prayers and financial gifts. We do count it a privilege to be partnering with you to help reach the people of Papua New Guinea.
Phil and Kristi Jansma
Trip to Indonesia
My sister, Joanna Jansma, and her co-worker, Kubili Condit, allocated to the Nagi people group of Papua, Indonesia last January. They spend many hours each day working along side the people, building relationships. They are doing an outstanding job learning the language and culture. When they first moved in, a group of national builders came in and built a shell of a house; however, they were unable to finish the job properly. And so the house still sits. Joanna and Kubili have been staying in their co-workers home while they are on furlough, but this family will be returning soon. I felt God leading me to take a trip to Indonesia to help my sister. I decided to ask around here to see if any other missionary would be interested in joining me on the trip. We were so thrilled when three men said they’d love to come help. All three of these men are skilled in construction. The team will be leaving tomorrow, the 16th of November and will return the 1st of December.
Please pray we will make all our many connections. We will first take a twin engine plane from Goroka to the border town. Then we will take a taxi to the border where we will walk across and then meet another taxi on the Indonesian side. We will overnight in the mission guest house and will then fly in a small plane to a nearby village where we will shuttle into the tribe in a helicopter. In a country where nothing goes as planned and you plan for the “unexpected” , we learn to keep flexible. Pray we will have good weather and will be protected from the many diseases in this area. Pray also for our families we leave behind. They will most definitely need an extra amount of grace and strength during this time we are away. This trip has already been a HUGE encouragement to the girls. Thank you for your part in making it possible through your prayers and giving!
Sincerely,
Phil Jansma
Life returns to normal
First of all, we want to apologize for not writing sooner. It has been a very busy last few months. Life is finally starting to normalize again so I thought I would sit down and try to recall some of the many ways God has answered your prayers as well as share some new items of prayer.
What first comes to mind is how smoothly the transition has been for Jessica in coming back here to PNG. This has been nothing short of a miracle! We know it was because of your prayers. We are very excited to see how well she is fitting back into PNG life, especially, in spite of all the various incidents of violence that happen around us. She is doing well in school, and is enjoying participating in Student Council. Please continue to pray for her as she has quite a full schedule and big homework load. This makes getting to bed at a decent hour difficult at times, and we have found that adequate sleep is crucial for her.
When Phil first came back to work there were many issues that had arisen while we were away that needed resolved. We praise the Lord for giving us wisdom and patience to work through each situation. Right now Phil is doing research and testing some new gadgets that will greatly affect our missionaries‘ ability to send and receive emails. Please pray for wisdom in evaluating whether the products will be a good use of His finances.
After being away for a year from the school, one of our main concerns was for our children and how they would fit back into their respective classes. So far the adjustments have gone very well. We are grateful to the Lord for helping them, and for the wonderful teachers God has provided.
We praise the Lord for the great day we had celebrating PNG Independence Day with our national neighbors on September 16th. Hundreds of people came to enjoy games and food. This is always a highlight of the year, and a good opportunity to show God’s love to the tribal people who live nearby.
Kristi is helping out at the school for a bit each morning as recess monitor. Kayla enjoys tagging along and “going to school” like her brother and sisters. 
We were asked to be seventh grade class advisers this year. We are excited about the opportunity to get to know some of the kids in Jessica’s class. Please pray we will have opportunities to impact them spiritually throughout this year.
Phil is enjoying leading a discipleship group of jr. high boys on Wednesday evenings. Please pray for this group to grow in their walk with the Lord this year.
Please continue to pray for our health. Currently there is a widespread cholera epidemic in PNG.