How to answer...
Except the Lord build the house, they labor in vain that build it.
As you know, we have been thinking and praying about what tribal folks to actually work with. Making this decision involves a huge amount of research and, more than anything, some real, Godly wisdom. We have letter after letter from tribes - asking for God's talk, wondering why no missionary has come even though they have written multiple times. If you haven't yet seen one of these letters, check out this pair from the same tribe in the Sepik region of Papua New Guinea.
In this process we have seen God faithful already- He has given our partners insight and contacts that have helped us understand the situation better. Please keep them in your prayers as they are meeting with many folks there in Papua New Guinea right now.
We are learning also about the expectations of the people. One of the reasons that we need to be very careful about where we actually survey is that once we have visited a place, the people there expect us to come back and work there. The problem then, is that when a team or two survey an area and decide before the Lord to work elsewhere, the people may close the door to any possible future work there. Since there are a couple of places that are on our list which have already had visits by previous NTM teams, we have to be pretty sure that the Lord is leading us to work there before we even set foot in the village. Please pray! Our partners are planning an aerial survey (mapping village locations from a plane with GPS) for the 22nd of February, and then are going to be following up with a few on-foot treks through potential work areas. Pray for us for guidance, team unity, etc, during this time.
This week:
- Pray for us as we present in our home church in McKinleyville this Sunday.
- Pray for us as we prepare to encourage folks here on how to pray for us. We are refining our skits, games, and prayer time as well as looking for suitable locations for the presentation.
- Continued wisdom in solar planning. It looks like solar panels have gone up in price since we last investigated and so we are trying to be as thorough and careful in our design as possible. Have you ever tried to plan an entire house (including outlet locations) without a clear vision of the building site/situation? Sometimes we feel like blind people in a dark room playing darts...
- Contentment: we long to be in PNG with our partners, planning, talking, meeting people. These last weeks we have felt disconnected and a bit diverted (although we know that the Lord is in it.)
- More partners for our ministry. We trust that God is raising up just what we need at just the right times. We do feel the need for those willing and able to work alongside us in prayer and financially.
Nate for us 5
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