Hiatus…

Based on our recent reports what you may have assumed we’ve been doing. *

What’s up with the Claasens… the short version:

September found us frantically working to ready materials (Bible Translation, Church planting goals, Language targets) for consultant visits at the end of the month. It was then that Elizabeth officially was cleared for vernacular (read Pal language) ministry! When the consultants flew out, so did we to go to the yearly conference for missionary families in Goroka. This year our friends from Living Hope Church in Dixon California made the long journey to bless us all with great teaching, worship music, and a VBS program that the kids thoroughly enjoyed.

After conference we brought the team into Pal for a couple of days to see the work and get a taste of our daily living experience here. When they left, Elizabeth and Elias left with them. They spent the next 5 weeks in the States (bringing Elias’s lifetime percentage to 26.9% of his total lifespan in the U.S.A. ) While they spent time with family and friends, Nate, Noah, and Tim were fending for themselves – working together to accomplish daily life and progress in school and work without killing each other. (It was during this period that Nate discovered that Tim can leap more than 7 feet in distance to land on a target – in this case… Dad’s backside…OOOOOF!)

Don’t get me wrong, we did more than wrestle – it was during this five weeks that we finished teaching the first ever literacy school in the Pal language, and finalized our first official portions of Pal scripture! We were blessed by the Lord’s grace at every turn to make such good progress.

After literacy school graduation ceremonies, we caught the helicopter out to our mission base and spent time checking the translation portions with a consultant. Then we went to a workshop where we drafted a goodly portion of the book of Ephesians in the Pal language. What a great experience to be tutored in the practice of bringing the meaning of God’s Word into a new language!

Elizabeth and Elias returned to us toward the end of that workshop, and boy what a grateful Nate there was there! (OK we were all happy to be back together.) Since then we have returned to the bush, continued work with literacy graduates strengthening their skills, begun new portions of translation work, and fixing our house up a little for upcoming monsoon season.

We are so grateful to be doing what we are doing, thanks so much for praying for us and keeping us here with your faithfulness.

Nate for the Cs

Pray!

• Thanks Lord, for the relationships that You have provided in Pal
• Thanks Lord, for the continued growth and interest by the community in our work
• Thanks Lord, for great co-workers whose talents and abilities complement ours well
• Thanks Lord, for a season to celebrate your Son’s birth
• Thanks Lord, for the work teams that have given of their time and resources to see things in Pal move forward
• Thanks Lord, for the upcoming literacy classes an revised books that are ready for them
• Thanks Lord, for completed scripture in the Pal language
• Thanks Lord, for family and friends, for safety in travel and reunion.
• Please Lord, would you give us wisdom as we focus on a few Pal people to train as coworkers.
• Please Lord, would you give us wisdom as we use your resources to do this work.

*And the truth is, yes, we spent two mornings at Jais Aben Resort swimming, resting, and (most important?) eating ice cream – our family vacation for the year… can’t say that life in PNG is without its perks…