last family pic

Our family - before we parted ways at the airport.
My parents & brother arrived in Papua New Guinea just over two weeks ago and are settling in pretty well it seems.
It'll be probably two years until we are together as a family - when Josh comes back for college.

Trip to the Mountains

A few weeks ago I had the opportunity to go with 5 Mexicans on a week long mission trip up into the mountains. We went to help work on a Mexican coworkers' house there.
While we were there we were able to meet some of the indigenous believers and fellowship with them at church on Sunday. This is a very young church. I think the first believer believed last year maybe. They are all new believers, but are growing and maturing little by little! God is doing His work in them.
I have collected updates from coworkers Matt & Starr from the last few months to show you what God is doing in their area.

Matt and Starr and the others on the missionary team are working together to disciple believers Juan and Cleotilde.
“They are growing and are a huge encouragement,” Matt wrote. “Starr and I are also trying to provide teaching for the other believers who aren’t faithfully attending the study with Juan and Cleotilde.”

For 400 years the indigenous people have known the name and story of Jesus – but it isn’t the same Jesus recorded in the Bible.
The one they know about never really died, so he never really rose either.
“Which means "their" Jesus never paid in full the price to bring mankind back to God from his slavery to sin and death,” wrote missionaries Matt and Starr Arnold.
This makes the actual death of Jesus a key issue.
And after 36 Bible lessons, Starr Arnold and her co-worker, Shirley, were ready to present the truth of Christ’s death, burial and resurrection to two women, Shipa and Rupa. And the women were ready to hear.
“Shipa walked the two miles last week to hear about this Jesus, although she was sick enough to stay in bed.” wrote Matt. And she was in bed for two days after the lesson.
As Starr & Shirley read from the Bible how Jesus had died, Shipa gasped. This was not the Jesus that she had heard about. Later, when she heard that Jesus rose, she sighed and smiled. Truth dawned on her face.
When asked if she believed that Jesus died in her place, her response was, “How can I not believe?”
Rupa had the same reaction. She also gasped when she heard that Jesus had died and sighed with a smile of relief when she heard He rose again.
“Later, she gave clear testimony of understanding that she is a sinner and that Jesus died for her,” wrote Matt.

Missionaries have set in motion the plans to hold the first baptism later this month. (this week sometime) Three believers Juan, Cleotilde and Marcelo were the first to ask to be baptized. This is a huge step for them and will identify them as Christians to the entire village. Pray that others will decide to join them.
The churchplanters have asked the believers from a neighboring tribe to be involved in the baptism. The neighboring tribe's church elders will come over the mountains to baptize their brothers and sister in Christ.

Last week 18 indigenous ladies showed up for a women’s meeting. Starr taught them that Jesus is God’s Son and that He was also the Creator. She then taught that Jesus Christ, the Son of God, is their Savior.
A number of believers shared their belief in God’s Son. There are several women attending who have not yet trusted Christ. Pray that they will continue to come and hear God’s truth.
The men’s discipleship class began the week before. Three indigenous believers and coworkers Matt and Kevin met for three hours. Two other believers will return for the meeting this week. Pray that these five men will continue to grow and will become church leaders.

These are some prayer requests that they have asked to be prayed for. It is so exciting to hear how God is working and to be able to see it happen!

Pray that one by one, these indigenous people will not only come to know Jesus, but share the Gospel with their neighbors.

Pray that the churchplanters will clearly and patiently continue to teach the truths of Scripture, dispelling long-held myths and deceptions. And pray also for the listeners, that they will come to believe and trust in the one true Jesus.

Pray for safety of the neighboring tribe's elders as they travel for the baptism and for a good time of fellowship with their brothers and sister in Christ. Pray also for the believers as they identify with Christ in baptism, and that other believers would follow them in baptism.

I'm Back

Sorry it's been a while. Due to travelling, transition, moving temporarily & looking for a place to live I have not been able to have internet connection & I have not taken the time to update you. Look for a nice long post tomorrow Lord-willing.

And pray that I might be able to find a place to live. There has been no openings to live with a Mexican family in their home - rent a room - so I am looking into renting a small house in a central location - close to church & people from the church, friendly neighborhood, etc. We'll see what God opens up!

Lily of the Valley Orphanage

Me with two kids - the boy has a behavioral problem & has gotten kicked out of school. He, I think, wants some love. The girl, Karen, is mentally handicapped. Her sister grew up here too and has stayed on to work in the kitchen so Karen gets to see her sister everyday!

The kids love digital cameras! They love to have their pictures taken, then run to the camera so they can see themselves on the LCD screen! I taught a few of them how to use a digital camera & they loved that they were able to frame the picture themselves, use the zoom & take the picture. It was hard to get the camera back! This was taken by Blanca, who learned super quick.

Lily of the Valley Orphanage

Yoshi Carillo (student at the Bible Institute who's heading into missions) is a favorite with the kids! She's very fun, hyper-active & wise. She's good with the young ones & the teens.

Many of these kids at the orphanage have families, but their families can't afford them. They get to see their mother & siblings (and father if he's still around) for a few days each year at holiday times. A few kids are together with siblings. These guys have sad stories and crave personal attention & love.
This orphanage also accepts handicap children. The little guy sitting down in the picture is sitting down because he cannot walk. He has legs, but he drags himself everywhere with his arms. He has a beautiful smile.

Lily of the Valley Orphanage

Julie Tibberts (mk visiting her family for the summer) & some kids from the orphanage.

I visited an orphanage a while ago. Lily of the Valley Orphanage has 115 kids & is run by a couple who has never been able to have kids of their own, but now have over 100 that call them Mom & Dad. He is from Pennsylvania & she is from Puerto Rico. It is an amazing place - they have a George Muller mentality. They trust God for their daily tortillas literally & He has never let them down!

paletas

Libni showed us where to get the best paletas, at Germania paletas in the background. It's actually about 20 minutes out of town in a place famous for their icecream & paletas.

Paletas are a frozen treat on a stick. The base can be made with milk or water - so you can choose creamy or icy. In Panama the flavors were all fruit. Here, however, they have other flavors too! They had coconut, lemon, nut, guava, banana, strawberry, mango, and others - I don't remember all that they have. However, the one I was scared to try was avocado! An avocado icy popcicle!?! Libni said that was one of her favorites!

future co-workers

This week we didn't have Spanish classes, so I took the opportunity to hang out with students from the Bible Institute & Missions Institute here. Some of these guys will be future co-workers! Others are getting Bible, missions, & churchplanting training to go back to their home areas & work in ministry there.
There is one family - the Amayas - from Honduras. There are two guys from Tijuana, two guys from here, and one guy from farther south. Libni, my language helper, is from here also. There are others in the training, but these were the ones that had not left yet for summer break or those who are staying here for the summer.

my street - north

my street - standing in front of my house looking north

my house - sorta - at least for a few more weeks

the house I'm housesitting for another missionary

She'll be coming back in a few weeks, so I'm looking for my own place.
There is an apartment above a Mexican family available located close to other missionaries which I will take if we can't find something with a family in my church or other churches in the area.

my street - south

My Street - I'm in front of my house looking south

Green Grass!

This past week all my coworkers & I got together for a conference at a hotel about 2 hours away.

It was there that I realized that there are two things that I miss about that US that I did not realize I was missing. The first is grass - green grass! In this city there is virtually no grass, much less green grass. If there is grass it is only a little patch in someone's "yard" - too little to be good for anything but mowing. The hotel had a courtyard area full of green grass! We set up a volleyball net and played in our bare feet! My first time to go barefoot outside since I got to Mexico! (In the desert here there are thorns everywhere outside called torritos - goatheads in Arizona. They REALLY hurt when you step on one!) After living so long in Panama & seeing all the jungle - it was good to see some green again here in Mexico.

The other thing that I was missing and I thoroughly enjoyed at the conference was worshipping the Lord corporately in English - singing and praying together in my heart language. It made me realize from experience the importance of learning the tribal language. They must hear the Gospel in their heart language to be able to understand clearly. I have been going to church here now for six weeks in Spanish - but the Spanish does not communicate (yet) the way sermons & songs in English do. It's the same with the tribal people.

One of other things that I really enjoyed this past week was meeting most of my mountain coworkers & learning about how things are going in the areas where they are working. I will be sharing some of that with you in the days to come.

There were beautiful sunsets every night!

Libni

My language helper, Libni, and I. She helps me twice a week with Spanish & we hang out a lot besides langauge times. She's 19 and is attending the Bible Institute here in the city. She's also studying with the Red Cross to be a paramedic.

Trip

Sorry that the pics are in reverse order. That's the way it happened. So, just scroll down, then scroll back up for chronological order!
Anyway, last week I had the opportunity to fly out to a place in the mountains where some coworkers are working with an indigenous group. As it turned out b/c of the weather, we did not leave the airstrip, but rather turned right around & flew back to the city. It was good to be able to get an idea what "the mountains" look like. I think most or all of the people we work with live in an environment like these people do.

This work has been going on for some time. There are 4 families living in the area. One couple is working on translation. Another couple is full time discipleship and evangelism. Another couple works with them in evangelism & discipleship and also teaches the believers carpentry. And the other couple lives in town and works with mestizos & indigenous people in the town.

This is not a place one of the places where I might go - but it was an opportunity to see a mountain work in Mexico & get more acquainted with Mexico & the other coworkers.

Final approach back into the city. Um, this fields in the airport area are abnormally green. This area is well fertilized & well watered. This is not what the rest of the area looks like.