Please Pray

I just returned from a three day missions conference in Woodville, WI. It was an enjoyable time. There were three other missionary couples that I had not met before, and it is always good to fellowship with other missionaries. The church was rather small but very friendly and took excellent care of us. Now I'm for the next week or so and involved with Easter activities at my home church.

I received a prayer request from my future coworkers that I wanted to pass on. I have mentioned before about the difficulties of our transportation situation. Our road has been completely closed for a few months now, and the nearest airstrip is about an 8 hour hike. On Thursday morning (Wednesday evening US time), some inspectors from the government will be coming out to look at our proposed airstrip. We need them to approve a shorter than usual airstrip in order to use the site we have available.

Please pray for safety for those traveling, good weather to allow the travel to occur, and favor in the eyes of the inspectors. While this is only a preliminary approval, it is very necessary in order to have an airstrip in our village. Praise the Lord that we have a prayer hearing and prayer answering God!

A Quick Note

I thought I'd better take some time to post a quick update. Since my last entry, I spoke in western Indiana and then went from there to Milwaukee, WI to attend a week long conference at Falls Baptist Church. The Lord really worked during the week and opened my eyes to truths from His Word, turning head knowledge into heart reality.

On Friday, I received a call from a church that I visited last February. They voted last Wednesday to take me on for support. That increase brings me to 61%. It is a blessing to see the Lord at work in this area.

I am now safely home again and trying to get caught up on housework and paperwork. I also am trying to put some time in at the hospital again after a 3 1/2 week absence. I don't hit the road again until mid-March, and I am enjoying the brief break.

Frigid Wisconsin

While I'm home again after another foray into a very cold and snowy Wisconsin. The snow sure does make for pretty scenery though. I was at Holmen, Wisconsin on Sunday, February 17th. I was slated to speak in the Sunday evening service, but the area received around 9 inches of snow throughout the morning and early afternoon. That made for a rather small crowd on Sunday evening.

On Monday, I drove about 30 minutes east to Sparta, Wisconsin where I stayed through Thursday. I enjoyed getting to know my hostess, a single lady with two cats. She collects flamingoes. I never dreamed that flamingoes came in so many shapes, sizes, and uses! I spoke in a church there on Wednesday evening.

I had planned to leave first thing Thursday morning, but the cold overnight (around 15 below zero), apparently did a number on my car. But the pastor very generously spent his time and energy getting it running again. I left Sparta around 2pm and arrived safely in Springfield to greet another snow storm. This has been quite a winter:-)

Overall, the trip had some unexpected turns, but, as always, the Lord was faithful. It never ceases to comfort me that He not only knows the future but controls it as well.

As an additional encouragement, I got a call Wednesday night from a pastor in Georgetown, IL. That church voted Wednesday evening to take me on for support. That increase brings my support level to 59%.

South Carolina

As expected, February is developing into a very busy month. My few days away at the beginning though were both enjoyable and profitable and helped to provide spiritual strength for my schedule. Last week, I enjoyed being in my home church for the services on both Sunday and Wednesday. I had planned to speak in Schaumburg, IL on Wednesday (February 6th), but that meeting was cancelled due to a forecasted 10 inches of snow. Thursday morning, I started for South Carolina. I stopped overnight in the Cincinnati, Ohio area to go to the Creation Museum. That was very impressive and informative. I would highly recommend a visit.

This week I have had the privilege of being part of a mission conference at Heritage Bible Church. I and the other missionary wives spoke to the ladies on Saturday morning, then I presented my ministry in the Sunday evening service. It has been enjoyable, although a bit daunting as Heritage is a very large church, at least 5 times larger than any of my previous churches. But the Lord gives grace whether I am speaking to many or to few.

On Friday, I will head back to Illinois, then leave Saturday for Wisconsin. A case of extremes, as I go from warm South Carolina to frigid Wisconsin:-) But I'm excited to see the Lord at work there as well.

Home Again

It's good to be home again for a few days. I have been gone the past two weekends, first to Wisconsin, and most recently in eastern Illinois. I spoke in three churches and met many kind people. It is a blessing to see the Lord at work in ministries in so many places. I've been doing quite a bit of driving beside the flat, empty fields of Illinois. It's amazing how even their barrenness has its own sort of beauty.

I'm taking a couple of days later this week just to get away. It's easy in my busyness to forget the reason behind it, and I wanted to just spend some time with the Lord and catch up on things. February is shaping up to be a very busy month, but I'm excited to see what the Lord will do.

Keep praying that the Lord will accomplish His perfect work in me and get me to New Guinea in His time.

Snowy Trip

Well, I had rather an interesting trip to Wisconsin. As planned, I drove to northern Illinois Saturday evening and had a wonderful time with the pastor and his wife as well as a missionary couple that was speaking in their church the following morning. I attended that presentation Sunday morning and then left immediately for Waupaca. 4.5 hours later, I arrived without incident. This was a church of about 100-150 with many kind people. I spent the night with a lady in the church and enjoyed fellowshipping with her.

The fun started the next morning. It had snowed a little during the night, but the roads were pretty clear. I was about 15 minutes south of Waupaca when I encountered a snow plow clearing the shoulder of the state route. I swung out a little bit to go around him and encountered the unplowed snow covering the center line. I can't completely describe what happened next. I only know that I fishtailed a good bit and then spun completely around and ended up in the snow on the far side of the opposite lane, facing back toward Waupaca. I am very grateful for the Lord's protection in that the car did not flip (as I fully expected it to), and neither I nor the car were hurt. I called 911 and they sent a wrecker to pull the car out of the ditch. I was back on my way in about 30 minutes. I had another bit of a scare when I got on the interstate though. Going over 50mph caused a severe vibration throughout the car. I was a bit concerned and so called my dad and brothers to solicit advice. We finally determined that I had probably gotten snow in my rims by sliding sideways into the snow bank. As I continued to drive, the snow melted and the vibration disappeared.

So, all in all, it was a rather eventful trip. I'm headed back up to Wisconsin this weekend and am praying for a bit more boring time. I will be speaking at one church on Sunday morning and in another church about ten minutes away for a 1:30pm service. (They adjusted their service because of the Packers playoff game that evening. They're passionate about the Packers in Wisconsin! Good thing I'm not a Bears fan or I'd never get any support up there:-)

Anyway, I'd appreciate your prayers as I continue on the deputation trail. Please join me in praising the Lord for His gracious protection.

Prayer Request

I hadn't intended on posting again so soon, but I just got a message that I wanted to share. The next paragraph came from an email sent by Randy Smith, the missionary with whom I will be working. He is discussing the road that links us to the nearest town of any size where we can get mail, visit the bank, and buy supplies.

"The road is presently thoroughly closed. Our options for getting ourselves and supplies in and out of the bush have dwindled to the point that walking 25km to Nomane to catch a New Tribes airplane or paying SIL quite a bit of money ($380 to over $900 depending on how many of us are going and from what base the chopper is coming) are our best two options. Two days ago Brother Sailas and I flew into Nomane and walked home to Kiari. We saw first-hand the condition of the road. Two areas are especially bad and really cannot be fixed adequately without a machine of some kind. I am checking into purchasing a strong motorcycle or a four-wheeler for ferrying passengers and supplies b/t the Nomane airstrip and Kiari when the road is closed. Of course, we're still trying to get the airstrip moving ahead, but things move slowly in PNG. We are still waiting to see the new regulations that the CAA is supposed to be writing re rural airstrips."

The road has always been a challenge, but it has become more of a problem in the last year or so. I would appreciate your prayers about the situation. To get a little bit of an idea what the issue is, click here. Note especially the position of the rear passenger tire:-) This picture was taken just a few weeks ago, but the road was still passable at that point. It apparently has deteriorated even further.