The Scott Who Drew for the Rainforest People

God has an amazing way of weaving together threads of our lives with those we've never met.  Needing an illustration for the "armour of God", someone suggested I ask Karyn, a member of our Thursday Bible Study if she could illustrate the text.  Twenty-four hours later, the soldier here was ready and will be included in the Mesem New Testament. Now Karyn was born in Scotland. I was born in Winchester.  The Mesem who will use this picture for generations to come live in a remote rainforest area half a world away.  I don't think Karyn knew last month that God would use her gifts to bless a group of people who she has only recently learned existed, and whose knowledge of them is confined to what she can see on our website. But God has done just that.

Meanwhile in Papua New Guinea, the roofing iron for Susie's house has been purchased. Christians from Canada, the US, Brazil, and Vietnam have come together to help a woman they don't know but who is related by the blood of Christ.  There is something so powerful and beautiful in all of that.We're part of a family so big we don't know each other but we love and care for each other anyway. I know God smiles on that.  We pass along to Susie notes from everyone who writes. She is encouraged and that in itself is a gift to us.We're still going via Gapfill.org to help with her school fees but the house is the most immediate need and we are so, so thankful that so much has come together so quickly for her. A PNG sister wrote to express her thanks on behalf of  this "unseen" widow. I thought of that and smiled. No one is unseen. We might think we are, but God sees and He is not far fro any one of us.

Thanksgiving is next week. We are most blessed.

Keep on Praying Mantis

I was looking through our photos the other day and saw that Neil had captured this picture when he was translating.  If you look closely, you'll see that Mantis is posed right over a section of scripture.  The New England sense of humor set in and I thought, "We need to study scripture and keep on praying, Mantis,or we'll never see the scripture in the hands of the Mesem.

Our final days in Papua New Guinea were not as I had envisioned them.  I thought of chances to sit with friends, visit places that I have loved and take photos with people who mean a lot to me. I thought of going through the market and enjoying the produce.  I had vague ideas of how to celebrate Tony's graduation, which, though it was from a long distance academy, was no less an accomplishment. He didn't get Pomp and Circumstance, there was not prom, or graduating class, but he is great guy who did a great job finishing his senior year in extraordinary circumstances.

Our time, however, did not end as we thought it would. We knew our truck had been stolen and demolished while we were in the US. We didn't know someone had helped themselves to some of our electrical equipment and personal items.  It was disappointing. We were very thankful that a Lutheran missionary couple offered us use of their vehicle while we finished in PNG.  Neil and Tony went to pick up that vehicle the day after we arrived back to Bobiufa.  While on their way, they were held up at shotgun point.  I knew we were back.  It set the tone for our ending days in PNG.

While we faced a number of challenges, including the theft of Neil's computer from a locked vehicle, and ultimately, lost luggage courtesy of an airline error on the way home. (No, it has not been found, but the contents are invaluable to us).  What was most tragic was the death of Susie Leo's husband.  Leo was a police officer who was a very committed and loving Christian.  Many of you have seen him in our pictures of "Flat Stanley" which was a project for our nieces school class.  While the police world wide are known as ones who protect us, we don't always think of "police gentleness". Yet, Leo was a gentle and loving man who cared deeply for his family.  He also cared deeply for missionary kids who struggled with their faith and he and Susie opened their home to many young people sharing the love of God and a bit of good kaukau with all who came their way.

I was shocked by the difficulty Susie faced in the aftermath of Leo's death. She has five children still living. (She lost her daughter to cancer last year) and she is a dear friend. Her struggles make any hardship we face pale in comparison.  I talked to her via Skype this week.  She's got a place to live until December and then she has to move.  Our friends at GapFill.org are raising funds for her to be able to pay school fees as there is no free universal education in Papua New Guinea.

I share all this to ask you to keep praying. I have no doubt we made it home because of your prayers. I am sure that this New Testament has been prayed through to this point. What we need is to keep praying, praying for the Mesem, praying for the New Testament to be completed without further delays, pray for the finances, pray for the families of the people involved in supporting and praying for all this.  We need to pray for one another. We need to pray for revival. We need to pray that the scriptures are not delayed because of any more because of extraordinary circumstances. Pray for the health, safety and employment of all involved. Pray that daily needs are met. Pray for revival. Or as we say to our friend Mantis, "Keep on Praying".  We're eternally grateful and we know the Mesem will be as well.

Thoughts?

This past week I've been thinking a lot about the final 18 months of Mesem New Testament translation and the ministry in which we've been involved in PNG for more than 20 years. I was actually thinking of how faithful, loving, generous, and truly amazing, have been those who have prayed and sacrificed for the sake of reaching the Mesem. There are dozens of churches, and many, many wonderful Christian friends, who have stayed faithful to answering God's call to reach the Mesem.

How many? It is said that it takes at least 100 "donors" to keep a missionary on the field. I know that the number of people who have sacrificed for this work, far exceeds that number, but there are a dozen or so families that have given, prayed and fasted, not to mention painted, cleaned, moved, stored, archived, called, and researched...just to name a few tasks....and participated in this work in ways that are known only to the Lord and perhaps to us in some measure. There are single parents, single women, couples with disabled children, pastors who are AG and pastors who are Baptist, who have stood by us for as long as we've been in Papua New Guinea. They've stayed faithful for more than 20 years to a group of people they have never met, and never seen in person. I really don't have words to adequately describe just what a gift this is to us and to the Mesem.

As "the missionary" we get to go, be with the people, and see first hand the fruit of what God is doing. The rest of the people in the ministry, those at home, don't get that opportunity. I have often wondered how we can best share the day the New Testament is dedicated with that faithful cohort. A number of friends have been saving for years to come to Papua New Guinea when that time comes. (Lord willing, summer 2012...speaking from a Northern Hemisphere perspective). Many, of course, cannot come and we really would like to know how to best share the dedication celebration with them. So I put this out here to ask for ideas, suggestions, or whatever comes to you as what might be the best way to share that day. Thoughts?

Photographs and Memories

First, the photographs:
Last week Christiane sent me a number of beautiful photographs to use for the New Testament. At the same time I had a terrific conversation with Carolyn, the typesetter at Life Publisher. (Typesetter is the wrong word, "Publishing Guru" might be better!). It was exciting and wonderful to see how the New Testament is coming together in all the little details that make it a book people will treasure for generations. There's much to be done. Neil is still spell checking Acts, which is 14% of the New Testament and that will speed along the final check. When Webers return from their skiing holiday I'll be begging them for some help with the topical index as well.

At present, we are in Bothel, WA for a couple of weeks to afford us some time at Missionary Renewal Asia Pacific. This is a pastoral care center for missionaries. Although it is staffed by AGWM missionaries, members of many missions take advantage of the help and resources that are available. The transition back to the US for Tony is much greater than for us, and we are very proud of him and thankful for some time to get those college applications in while we've still got a decent Internet connection.

Then the Memories:
At this point in life, we do reflect on the many years we've spent working to this point. It's never been something we have or could have done without the Lord's Body sustaining us all the way through. We began living in a remote village without electricity, before the days of email and cell phones, waiting for those planes to fly over and drop the precious mail bag. How often friends and family encouraged us with letters and cards and packages. Times have changed and it is no longer possible to live in the deep interior. Now we live with a cell phone, have real honest to goodness electricity ( and a back up generator as the power is intermittent) and even access to the Internet. Yet spiritually we have the same desire as we did so many years ago. We still long to see a real move of God among the Mesem, one that is characterized not just by reading the Word but by being doers and hearers of the Word of God. We remain committed to the belief that if the Church of Jesus Christ did what He told us to do, it would change the world.

There's a beautiful line in John just after Jesus washes the feet of the disciples. He said, "Now you know these things. You'll be blessed if you do them".

May we be blessed.

The Bigger Sacrifice

Most of you reading will know Neil's dad passed on December 8th. My father-in-law would have been 86 this weekend so his death was not unexpected but no matter what stage of life, it is still hard to say good-bye someone you love.

As parents, we joke that the one thing we don't want Tony to do is to move far, far away from us as we did with our parents. Obviously, if the Lord calls him into ministry, we can accept that and be very happy and supportive, but the reality is that as a parent, having your children move far away is difficult. When we left MA in 1987, it seemed to be a very dramatic event to me, much more so when we left for PNG the following year. The older I get I realize that what I was experiencing was even greater for my parents and my father-in-law.

I cannot help but wonder if in His eyes, they made the greater sacrifice.