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.