Thankful hearts

Happy Thanksgiving! 

What a great time to be reminded of all that we have and enjoy - and to keep thankfulness as an ever present part of our lives as Christ-followers.

It is not every year that we get to spend holidays with our families - what a special treat! Another special thing for us this year is that we get to eat some turkey a cost-prohibitive dish in PNG. You may laugh, but homesick us actually did linger over the 1/4 turkey that was offered for $75 in town one year. Last year, we tried to source an emu for the special day, but the bird that we had agreed to buy met an untimely end (and another table) the week before Thanksgiving. This year, we definitely were able to eat our fill. 

We aren’t just thankful for being able to consume gobs of tryptophan filled protein. We are also very thankful for:

• Time with our families and our friends. Almost everyday, we get to say to someone “We wish we lived closer to you!” The fellowship and encouragement that we have experienced in your homes has been out of this world.
• Opportunities to share the work that we are doing in PNG. There are still a few more official meetings that we have - sharing the work with a kids program at our sending church, doing a missions update at another partner church, and giving an encouragement from the pulpit on our last Sunday in country. Talking about what God has done and is doing in Mesi-land and in PNG as a whole is super encouraging for us because it brings Him honor and it energizes His church.
• The Mesi medical program is still going! This may not seem like a big deal, but it is nothing short of miraculous. Faithful men and women are working every week to care for the needs of their community. They are having to rely on the Lord in so many ways - and He is meeting them. For instance - two Mesi fellas hiked down to town (45 mile hiking + 80 miles in the back of a pickup) for medicine only to find that medicines were not available and the folks who had helped in the past were not feeling so generous. They were able to buy some medicines though and brought them back home. That said, another missionary explained their situation to the administrators in another town and those guys jumped right in to help get some supplies for the Mesi people. We are so thankful for the provisions!
• We just got our approval to return to PNG in January! This is a big deal in the time of COVID. With that approval in hand, we can now look for tickets. Please pray for us as we try to figure out the best tickets, the connections, and required testing. 
• We are thankful too for all of the medical help that we got this last 6 months. From Elizabeth’s surgery to wisdom teeth removals (Noah and Tim both), to optometry visits, and other needed checkups, we are extra grateful for the professional and kind folks that have cared for us in the midst of these stressful days.

Visiting a museum where Elizabeth's grandfather's Navy uniform is on display.

Things to continue to pray for:

• This will be the first time we will be departing for the field as a family of four. It’s going to be hard. Don’t get us wrong, we are confident that Noah is in good hands and will be able to deal with life well. We will all miss him in so many ways. Please pray for us and for him as we try to connect well but differently and as we try to support well from a distance.
• Pray for us as we purchase airline tickets. Between trying to figure out connections and baggage allowances, there is always the ever-changing COVID situation that keeps us on our toes. Pray for good prices and clarity for routing. Pray too for negative COVID tests along the way.
• Pray for us as we organize, clean, and pack. So many things need to be sorted - does it fit in the totes to got to PNG, should it go to a new home, or should it be placed in storage for the next time we are home? While doing that, we will need to try to clean the granny house at Elizabeth’s folks’ to prepare it for renters. Oh, and we will be trying to celebrate the holidays with 2 different families as well. Pray for energy, clarity, and lots of patience for us.
• Pray too for our ministries in PNG. We’ve been keeping up part-time with the Mesi church and with the leadership team on the field. On the Mesi church side of things, there are a few things that the Bible teachers have been asking for help in dealing with - like inter-village conflict - that we’d like to help them deal with soon. Also, we are heading back to a leadership team that has been working short-staffed in the midst of tough times. We expect to hit the ground running - both with meetings and with travels on the field.
• Pray for us as we depend on the Lord in all of these things. We know that our own wisdom and resources are not enough for the day ahead. We feel the need more and more to have people praying daily for God’s work in and through us. If it is not already, would you consider personally or in a small group making it part of your daily habit to pray for us, the Mesi church, and the field of PNG? 

We so appreciate all of you!
Nate for us

PS: Some have asked about our bottom line (meaning bucks) - we do have significant medical and travel costs from this home assignment time and are saving to purchase a vehicle for the field. If you want to give to these things, here is a link.