Time for a Huddle...

"Nothing so clears the vision and lifts up the life, as a decision to move forward in what you know to be entirely the will of the Lord." - John Paton

The last week certainly has flown by for us. Between packing up in Yuba City and preparations for 'Camp Grenada' (a family reunion that is hosted at my folk's place), we have had little time to rest, reflect, and plan. Yet there is so much that needs to be planned for over the next couple of weeks.

With that in mind, Elizabeth and I have committed to taking Thursday, May 31 to fast and pray - seeking God's guidance and provision. Would you consider making a special effort to labor with us in prayer on that day?

Since the leadership in Papua New Guinea has asked that we plan to be there in the middle of August, these requests are all the more urgent for us. We trust that you are already praying with us and because of that, we feel free to be more candid than we would in a more general newsletter.

There are three things that we particularly need God's provision for:

• Monthly support. Simply put, we cannot function effectively in Papua New Guinea at our current level of support. This issue has been a tough one for us as we have shared with folks about missions and our ministry. I (Nate) have felt that too often the real message of Missions (obedience to the will of God by making known the Gift of God, all for the Glory of God) has been marred by continual appeals for money. We are trusting God for direction in this regard. Would you seek Him with us? We will be asking the following questions:

• How much support is enough?
• Are there better ways to effectively communicate the real message of missions that include the opportunity for people to financially partner with us?
• What are our real needs?
• What do we communicate about our needs?
• What is the balance between wisdom (counting the cost) and faith (God's promise to provide)?
• How can we be more faithful in our stewardship of what He has already given us?
  

• All those things as well as asking for God to raise up a support team for us. Again, we completely want to see Him honored in this area.

• A Specific Ministry. We have been trained for many things. Between our college degrees and work experience, we could pretty much do whatever they ask of us on the field. At the same time, God has given us a special desire to disciple tribal believers, translate the scripture, and to assist a tribal church in planting another tribal church. We would ask that you earnestly seek Him with us for guidance in our specific role in bringing the gospel to unreached people.

  For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the measure of faith God has given you. Romans 12:3

• Grace. As a family, we have been on the road, moving from one place to another for the last three months and are looking forward to two to three months more of the same. As you might have guessed this has taken its toll on our kids as well as on us. We are trying to figure out how to give stability in the midst of extended transition. Exacerbating the whole situation is the instability in our schedule, which is based on evening and morning meetings as well as weekend travel.

Please consider praying with us this week, especially making Thursday a day set-aside for lifting up these requests.
Thanks so very much,
Nate for the family