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.
ICCM (International Conference on Computing and Missions)
Tomorrow, June 10, I will be leaving the family for six days to attend a special tech conference in Indiana. During this time, I hope to find out about all the latest tools and computing technologies that missionaries from all over the world are using. I hope this time can be profitable for learning and also for building friendship networks through which we can help each other further missions around the world. Pray for Kristi as she holds the fort down here at home with all the many responsibilities.
You can find out more about the conference at ICCM
2009 Audio Presentation
As hard as we tried, we were not able to see every one of you who prays for us and supports us financially. Time did not allow us that opportunity during this quick trip out West. Although it would never be the same as coming to see you…I did realize yesterday, that I could upload the message from last week and at least you could listen to a little testimony/message about our ministry and what God has been teaching us. Let me know if it was helpful.
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Little pieces of technology
One part of missionary life that every kid remembers well are the long car rides. When I was a child the endless hours of Interstate never seemed to end. You can only look at so many trees or so many fields of grass before they get really old. I remember trying “anything” to make those trips exciting. One time we were playing the license game as we drove through eastern Montana…anyone who has driven those roads know that seeing any car is lucky and when you do meet up with them, they have a pretty good chance of being from Montana. LOL Anyway, we purchased a portable DVD player for our children and it has been lifesaver for those long hauls across the United States. It is so nice to drive for hours and never hear a peep out of the kids except for a chuckle here or there…now we try not to abuse it, but who can’t help but be thankful for little pieces of technology that make our lives a little more enjoyable.
The Ends of the Earth…a little closer.
Although at times we feel like we are at the ends of the earth. Certain technologies have really helped to bridge that gap in communications between missionaries and their home churches, families, and friends – worldwide. For many years our connection to the outside world was one phone line that was 28.8kbs on a good day. We roughly paid 1500 dollars a month to pass data through that phone line. Thanks to the many years of pioneering help of a retired airplane pilot, by the name of Gabor Leidenfrost, we were able to secure a license from the PNG government to install our first satellite dish. This is the first satellite dish for the field of PNG. What a blessing that has been. We went from 28.8 to regular DSL speeds. Although we still pay roughly the same amount each month, the amount of data we push through it that dish far exceeds what we could do in the past. Through the use of this technology, missionaries can skype their families and churches. Leadership can setup online meetings, and an unbelievable amount of resources have been made available to the missionaries…thanks to the web. So although it can take 20+ hours of flying by commercial jet to reach us on this side of the world, a single email can arrive in a matter of seconds. Man have times changed! I wonder what Hudson Taylor would have thought of this technology. God has been gracious to us.